System and method for selecting and processing information in an electronic document

• US 7,032,171 B1
• Filed: 10/22/1999
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carroll, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/425,177
• Time in Patent Office: 2,370 Days
• Field of Search: 715/539, 715/520, 715/521, 715/531, 715/764, 715/780, 715/821, 715/822, 715/823, 715/824, 715/856, 345/764, 345/780, 345/821, 345/822, 345/823, 345/824, 345/856
• US Class Current: 715/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A system and method processes selected regions in an electronic text to edit the selected region on a continuous basis, without destroying the original highlighting and forcing the user to re-bracket the entire section. The user can extend, retract, and separate selected regions. These selected regions can then be universally processed with any function available to the processor, including highlighting, printing, copying, deleting, or spell checking. The invention economizes on keystrokes and cursor actions, since the whole region of text desired to be highlighted does not have to be rebuilt every time a change is made. The invention also enables a user to select text by moving a cursor from left to right and top to bottom, and to deselect text by moving a cursor from right to left and bottom to top.

Claims

1. A method of processing at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions within an electronic document generated by a word-processing application, the method comprising the steps of:

accepting input to select a continuous target information region within the electronic document;

accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the continuous target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

accepting input to process the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the deselected portion is not processed according to the selected function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the continuous target information region comprises text.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein accepting input to select the continuous target information region comprises storing locations of a first begin select delimiter located left of the continuous target information and a first end select delimiter located right of the continuous target information region.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the continuous target information region comprises storing locations of a second end select delimiter that is located between the first begin select delimiter and first end select delimiter and a second begin select delimiter that is between the second and first end select delimiters.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting input for creating additional associated noncontiguous target information regions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting further input to change content of the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic document comprises graphical information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the continuous target information region and the at least one portion of the continuous target information region that is deselected are each defined by a rectangle, each rectangle having two delimiters located at opposite corners.

9. A system for processing at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions within an electronic document generated by a word-processing application, comprising:

an input interface to accept input to select a continuous target information region within the electronic document and input to deselect at least one portion of the continuous target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

a processor unit connected to the input interface, the processor unit processing the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the deselected portion is not processed according to the selected function.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the continuous target information region comprises textual information.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor unit stores a begin tag and an end tag for each of the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising an output interface to transmit a display that shows the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions in a different manner than the at least one deselected portion of the continuous target information region.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the input interface accepts input from at least one of a keyboard, a speech to text converter, a mouse, a pressure pad and a trackball device.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the input interface receives input for a positional indicator and the processor unit selects information when the positional indicator is moved in a first direction and deselects information when the positional indicator is moved in a second direction.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the electronic document comprises graphical information.

16. A computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for selecting at least two associated noncontiguous information regions of an electronic document that are separated by at least one information separating region, wherein the electronic document is generated by a word-processing application, the computer readable program code in the computer usable medium comprising:

computer readable program code for causing a computer to accept input that selects a continuous target information region within the electronic document;

computer readable program code for causing a computer to accept further input that selects the at least one information separating region, wherein the at least one of the information separating regions is located within the continuous target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, and wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

computer readable program code for causing a computer to process the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the deselected portion is not processed according to the selected function.

17. A system for processing noncontiguous target information within an electronic document generated by a word-processing application, the system comprising:

input means to accept input for selecting a continuous target information region within the electronic document and input for selecting at least one information separating region that divides the continuous target information region into at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

processor means operatively connected to the input means for processing the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the information separating region is not processed according to the selected function.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the continuous target information region contains textual information.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor means stores a begin tag and an end tag for each of the associated noncontiguous target information regions.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising display means for displaying the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions in a different manner than the at least one information separating region.

21. A method of processing at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions within an electronic document generated by a graphics based application, the method comprising the steps of:

accepting input to select a continuous target information region within the electronic document;

accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the continuous target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

accepting input to process the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the deselected portion is not processed according to the selected function.

22. A method of processing at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions within a text-based electronic document, the method comprising the steps of:

accepting input to select a continuous target information region within the text-based electronic document;

accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the continuous target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected;

and accepting input to process the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function, wherein the deselected portion is not processed according to the selected function.

23. A method of processing at least two noncontiguous target information regions within an electronic document, the method comprising the steps of:

accepting input to select a first continuous target information region within the electronic document;

accepting input to select a second continuous target information to form the at least two noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the first continuous target information region remains selected; and

accepting input to process the selected at least two noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function.

24. A method of processing at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions within two or more documents or two or more applications, the method comprising the steps of:

accepting input to select a target information region within the two or more documents of two or more applications;

accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the target information region to form the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions, wherein the at least two associated noncontiguous target information regions remain selected; and

accepting input to process the at least two selected associated noncontiguous target information regions according to a selected function.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein accepting input to select a target information region comprises accepting input to move a positional indicator in a first direction and accepting input to deselect at least one portion of the target information region comprises moving the positional indicator in a second direction.