System and method for filtering and sorting data

• US 6,738,770 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2001
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Deep Sky Concepts, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Deep Sky Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Gorman, John G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic, Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): AL HASHEMI, SANA A
• Application Number:
  US09/823,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20020143780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/4, 707/7, 707/102, 706/47, 715/503, 715/504, 715/509
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

System and method for filtering and sorting data. The system includes data management system for displaying a data table having a plurality of rows and columns of data cells. Each of the columns in the data table has an associated filter cell whereby the user may input filter criteria. In response to receiving the filter criteria in the filter cells, a data management system filters and sorts each of the data cells in the data table. In one embodiment of the invention, the data management system records the order in which the user inputs the filter criteria and generates a sorting priority list that defines a sorting priority for the data cells. The data management system sorts the data cells using the sorting priority list. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the invention, the data management system displays the data cells that satisfy the filter criteria contiguously and interleaved between those data cells that do not satisfy the filter criteria.

Claims

1. A method of managing data, the method comprising:

displaying a table comprising a plurality of rows and columns of data cells, wherein a number of the rows or columns of cells of the table have an associated filter cell and an associated sort procedure, and wherein the content of each of the data cells belongs to at least one data set;

receiving filter criteria via one or more of the filter cells;

providing a sorting priority list that defines a sorting order for the sort procedures, wherein the sorting priority list is generated based at least in part upon the order in which a user enters filter criteria in the filter cells;

identifying which of the data cells satisfy the filter criteria that is associated with the respective data cells;

sorting the data sets of the identified data cells, wherein the sorting is based at least in part upon one of the sort procedures and the sorting priority list; and

displaying the sorted data sets of data cells, wherein the identified cells are displayed contiguously and interposed between non-identified data cells, wherein the data cells are identified, sorted, and displayed in response to receiving character-by-character input or upon the lapse of a preset pause period, and wherein the data sets associated with the identified data cells are graphically displayed to a user via highlight, color or other image marking that is different from the highlight, color, or image marking that is used for the non-identified data cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first of the identified data cells is displayed about one-third from the top of the table.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the filter cells and the data table are displayed in a single window.

4. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising:

removing one of the characters that comprise the filter criteria thereby modifying the filter criteria; and

performing the identifying and sorting using the modified filter criteria.

5. A method of managing data, the method comprising:

displaying in a window a plurality of filter cells and a table comprising a plurality of rows and columns of data cells, wherein the content of each of the data cells belongs to at least one data set, wherein each of the columns or rows has an associated sort procedure, and wherein each of the data cells is associated with at least one of the filter cells;

receiving filter criteria via one of the filter cells;

identifying which ones of the associated data cells contain data that satisfies the filter criteria of the filter cell that is associated with the data cells; and

sorting the data sets of the identified data cells, wherein the sorting is based at least in part upon one of the sort procedures, and wherein the identifying and sorting are done in response to receiving character-by-character input or upon the lapse of a preset pause period.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter cells and the data table are displayed in a single window.

7. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising displaying the sorted sets of data cells.

8. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising:

providing a sorting priority list that defines a sorting order for the sort procedures; and

sorting the data sets of the identified data cells in order of the sort procedures in the sorting priority list.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the sorted data sets are displayed contiguously and interposed between non-identified data sets.

10. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising sorting the non-identified data sets according to a predefined criteria.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the pause period is calibrated for optimum responsiveness by the user.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein sorting groups the sorted data sets contiguously.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter criteria is provided by a user.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the table is displayed by a first program and wherein a second program provides the filter criteria to the first program.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the data sets associated with the identified data cells are graphically displayed via highlight, color or other image marking that is different from the highlight, color, or image marking that is used to display the non-identified data cells.

16. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising disabling the display of the non-identified data sets.

17. The method of claim 5, wherein the non-identified data sets are displayed in a first window, and wherein the sorted data sets are displayed in a second window.

18. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter criteria comprise wildcard tokens for single characters or strings.

19. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter criteria for one of the filter cells is designated by a user via user selection from a list of predetermined values.

20. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter criteria is selected from the following operators:

not, greater than, less than, near, and distant from.

21. The method of claim 5, wherein the filter criteria comprise a criteria range.

22. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising identifying each of the data cells that are in the same row as the identified data cells, wherein all of the identified data cells collectively comprise a data set, and wherein during the sorting act the data set is sorted.

23. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the rows define the data set.

24. The method of claim 8, wherein the sort procedure sorts the content of the data cells based at least in part upon the number of characters that are input into the filter cells.

25. The method of claim 8, wherein the sorting priority list is generated based at least in part upon the order in which the user inputs filter criteria in the filter cells.

26. The method of claim 9, wherein the first of the sorted data sets is displayed about one third from the top of the table.

27. The method of claim 10, additionally comprising displaying the non-identified data sets in the window.

28. The method of claim 15, wherein the user may disable the graphical identification of one or more of the sorted data sets.

29. The method of claim 15, wherein the user may enable the graphical identification of one or more of the non-identified data sets.

30. The method of claim 19, wherein one or more predetermined values are selectable by a user and wherein data cells that satisfy any one of the predetermined values are identified in response to a user selection.

31. The method of claim 19, wherein in response to user selection of one of the legal values for one of the filter cells, predetermined search criteria are assigned to other of the filter cells.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the identifying and sorting acts occur in response to the user selection of one of the legal values.

33. The method of claim 31, additionally comprising displaying a set of pre-stored filter criteria for filtering two or more of the rows or columns.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the set of pre-stored filter criteria is selectable by a user, and wherein the identifying and sorting acts occur in response to the selection of the set.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the content of each of the data cells is selectable by a user, and in response to a selection of one of the cells, the content of the selected data cell becomes the filter criteria for the row or column of the selected data cell.

36. A system for managing data, the system comprising:

means for displaying a table comprising a plurality of rows and columns of data cells, wherein a number of the rows or columns of cells of the table have an associated filter cell and an associated sort procedure, and wherein the content of each of the data cells belongs to at least one data set;

means for receiving filter criteria via one or more of the filter cells;

means for identifying which ones of the data cells satisfy the filter criteria that is associated with the respective data cells;

means for sorting the data sets of the identified data cells, wherein the sorting is based at least in part upon one of the sort procedures, and

means for displaying the sorted data sets contiguously and interposed between non-identified data sets, wherein the first of the sorted data sets is displayed about one third from the top of the table.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the data cells are identified and sorted in response to receiving character-by-character input or upon the lapse of a preset pause period during which no input character is received.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the data sets associated with the identified data cells are graphically displayed via highlight, color or other image marking that is different from the highlight, color, or image marking that is used to display the non-identified data cells.

40. The system of claim 36, additionally comprising:

means for providing a sorting priority list that defines a sorting order for the sort procedures, wherein the sorting priority list is generated based at least in part upon either the order in which the user inputs filter criteria in the filter cells or the number of characters that are input into the filter cells; and

means for sorting the data sets of the identified data cells in order of the sort procedures in the sorting priority list.

37. A system for managing data of a database, the system comprising:

a module for displaying a table comprising a plurality of rows and columns of data cells, wherein a number of the rows or columns of cells of the table have an associated filter cell and an associated sort procedure, and wherein the content of each of the data cells belongs to at least one data set, and wherein the content of the data cells is from the database;

a module for receiving filter criteria via one or more of the filter cells, for identifying which of the data cells satisfy the filter criteria that is associated with the respective data cells, and for providing a sorting priority list that defines a sorting order for the sort procedures, wherein the sorting priority list is generated based at least in part upon the order in which the user inputs filter criteria in the filter cells; and

a module for sorting the data sets of the identified data cells in the order of the sort procedures in the sorting priority list, wherein the sorting is based at least in part upon one of the sort procedures.

41. The system of claim 37, wherein the filter cells and the data table are displayed in a single window.

42. The system of claim 37, additionally comprising a module for displaying the sorted sets of data cells.

43. The system of claim 37, wherein the sort procedure sorts the content of the data cells based at least in part upon the number of characters that are input into the filter cells.

44. The system of claim 37, wherein the sorted data sets are displayed contiguously and interposed between non-identified data sets.

45. The system of claim 37, additionally comprising a module for sorting the non-identified data sets according to a redefined criteria.

46. The system of claim 37, wherein the data cells are identified and sorted in response to receiving character-by-character input or upon the lapse of a preset pause period during which no input character is received.

47. The system of claim 37, wherein the data sets associated with the identified data cells are graphically displayed via highlight, color or other image marking that is different from the highlight, color, or image marking that is used to display the non-identified data cells.

48. The system of claim 37, wherein the non-identified data sets are displayed in a first window, and wherein the sorted data sets are displayed in a second window.

49. The system of claim 45, additionally comprising a module for displaying the non-identified data sets in the window.