User interface for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

• US 7,155,667 B1
• Filed: 06/21/2000
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fisher, Oliver G., Kotler, Matthew J., Gounares, Alexander G., Franklin, Christopher Matthew, Wolf, Richard J., Anantharaman, Vinod, Morgan, Matthew D.
• Primary Examiner(s): BOTTS, MICHAEL K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Quoc A.
• Application Number:
  US09/599,810
• Time in Patent Office: 2,379 Days
• Field of Search: 715/784, 715/503, 715/804, 715/792, 715/821, 715/523, 715/504
• US Class Current: 715/210
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

An architecture integrates spreadsheet functionality into tables commonly used in word processing programs and HTML documents. The architecture presents a table user interface (UI) that resembles a table when not being edited and adds spreadsheet elements to the table when being edited. Underlying the table UI, the architecture separates data handling functions from presentation functions. The architecture includes a table appearance manager to manage how the table appears in a document including such characteristics as table resizing, selection, cut, copy, paste, split, merge, table formatting and so on. The architecture also has a spreadsheet functionality manager to manage the spreadsheet functions for the table, such as recalculation, formula handling, sorting, referencing, and the like. The bifurcated architecture supports cross-table referencing, reference editing, automatic universal recalculation throughout all tables in the document, and nested table structures in which one table is nested within a cell of another table.

Claims

1. A method implemented at least partially by a computer, the method comprising:

presenting a word processing table having multiple cells within a document; and

presenting a free floating field configured for insertion into the document;

exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

enabling a user to reference a cell in the word processing table when entering a formula into the free floating field;

overlaying a formula edit box on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell; and

resizing the formula edit box as the user enters the formula, while maintaining the size of the particular cell and table as a whole,

wherein the method is provided by a single software architecture.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting multiple word processing tables; and

enabling a user to reference a cell in a first word processing table when entering a formula in a cell in a second word processing table.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying a value in a cell of the word processing table; and

upon modification, automatically recalculating any formula in the word processing table that is affected by the modification.

5. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, perform the method as recited in claim 1.

6. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising:

facilitating addition of one or more rows to the word processing table by operation of a row addition control adjacent a lowermost row in the table; and

facilitating addition of one or more columns to the word processing table by operation of a column addition control adjacent an outermost column in the table.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the word processing table has rows and columns, and the exhibiting comprises depicting row headers for the rows and column headers for the columns.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein one of the first and second spreadsheet tables contains a formula referencing contents of the other of the first and second spreadsheet tables.

2. A method implemented at least partially by a computer, the method comprising:

presenting a word processing table and a free floating field within a document;

exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

presenting a first spreadsheet table supporting spreadsheet functionality and having multiple cells; and

presenting a second spreadsheet table nested within a cell of the first table,

wherein the document is a markup document, and the presenting comprises rendering the markup document, and

wherein the method is provided by a single software architecture.

9. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for:

presenting a word processing table having multiple cells within a document; and

presenting a free floating field configured for insertion into the document;

exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

enabling a user to reference a cell in the word processing table when entering a formula into the free floating field;

overlaying a formula edit box on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell; and

resizing the formula edit box as the user enters the formula, while maintaining the size of the particular cell and table as a whole,

wherein the computer-executable instructions are implemented by a single software architecture.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the word processing table has rows and columns, and the exhibiting comprises depicting row headers for the rows and column headers for the columns.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

presenting multiple word processing tables; and

enabling a user to reference a cell in a first word processing table when entering a formula in a cell in a second word processing table.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

modifying a value in a cell of the word processing table; and

upon modification, automatically recalculating any formula in the word processing table that is affected by the modification.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

facilitating addition of one or more rows to the word processing table by operation of a row addition control adjacent a lowermost row in the table; and

facilitating addition of one or more columns to the word processing table by operation of a column addition control adjacent an outermost column in the table.

14. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for:

presenting a word processing table and a free floating field within a document;

exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

presenting a first spreadsheet table supporting spreadsheet functionality and having multiple cells; and

presenting a second spreadsheet table nested within a cell of the first table,

wherein the document is a markup document, and the presenting comprises rendering the markup document, and

wherein the computer-executable instructions are implemented by a single software architecture.

15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein one of the first and second spreadsheet tables contains a formula referencing contents of the other of the first and second spreadsheet tables.

16. A computing system for implementing an architecture comprising:

means for presenting a word processing table having multiple cells within a document;

means for presenting a free floating field configured for insertion into the document;

means for exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

means for enabling a user to reference a cell in the word processing table when entering a formula into the free floating field;

means for overlaying a formula edit box on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell; and

means for resizing the formula edit box as the user enters the formula, while maintaining the size of the particular cell and table as a whole,

wherein the architecture implemented by the system is a single software architecture.

17. The computing system of claim 16, wherein the word processing table has rows and columns, and the exhibiting comprises depicting row headers for the rows and column headers for the columns.

18. The computing system of claim 16, further comprising:

means for presenting multiple word processing tables; and

means for enabling a user to reference a cell in a first word processing table when entering a formula in a cell in a second word processing table.

19. The computing system of claim 16, further comprising:

means for modifying a value in a cell of the word processing table; and

means for, upon modification, automatically recalculating any formula in the word processing table that is affected by the modification.

20. The computing system of claim 16, further comprising:

means for facilitating addition of one or more rows to the word processing table by operation of a row addition control adjacent a lowermost row in the table; and

means for facilitating addition of one or more columns to the word processing table by operation of a column addition control adjacent an outermost column in the table.

21. A computing system for implementing an architecture comprising:

means for presenting a word processing table and a free floating field within a document;

means for exhibiting spreadsheet features together with the word processing table when a user is editing the word processing table;

means for presenting a first spreadsheet table supporting spreadsheet functionality and having multiple cells; and

means for presenting a second spreadsheet table nested within a cell of the first table,

wherein the document is a markup document, and the presenting means comprise means for rendering the markup document, and

wherein the architecture implemented by the system comprises a single software architecture.

22. The computing system of claim 21, wherein one of the first and second spreadsheet tables contains a formula referencing contents of the other of the first and second spreadsheet tables.