Easy-to-use data report specification

• US 7,289,976 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2004
• Issued: 10/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Covington, Clinton D., Karimov, Pavel R., Cooper, Robert, Kihneman, Brian E., Woodall, Zachary P.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEROUX, ETIENNE PIERRE
• Application Number:
  US11/020,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20060173876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/100, 707/102, 709/219, 705/26
• US Class Current: 707/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/345 Summarisation for human users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A method and system for the graphical specification and modification of reports is disclosed which enables data reports to be easily created via a report design dialogue. The report design dialogue includes a group-level outline panel containing controls for grouping, as well as other report controls such as those for sorting and aggregating. A method and system for creating a group-level outline panel using an existing database report is also disclosed. Finally, a computer-readable medium storing a computer-interpretable data structure that stores one or more report specifications is disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium accessible to a computing system and encoding a computer program for report specification comprising:

displaying an ungrouped data;

displaying a control for performing a grouping on said ungrouped data;

receiving an input on said control;

displaying a group-level outline panel having a prompt for allowing field selection;

receiving an input on said prompt;

displaying a pull down menu having a list of fields of said data;

receiving an input on a field in said list of fields to perform said grouping;

performing said grouping of said ungrouped data based upon said field forming a grouped data; and

displaying said grouped data.

2. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 1, further comprising receiving an input on one or more of said plurality of additional report controls to modify one or more of said default values.

3. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 2, further comprising a control for displaying additional controls.

4. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 2, further comprising a control for displaying fewer controls.

5. A computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, further comprising receiving an input to reorder two or more groupings already displayed.

6. A computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, further comprising a control for enabling numerical processing of records in a group.

7. A computer-readable medium as defined in claim 6, wherein said numerical processing comprises summing data values of a given column.

8. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 6, wherein said numerical processing comprises computing an average of data values of a given column.

9. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 6, wherein said numerical processing comprises computing a median of data values of a given column.

10. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying said group-level outline panel in an expanded form having a plurality of additional report controls initially set to default values.

11. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 10, further comprising:

displaying a second control in said group-level outline panel for performing a second grouping on said grouped data;

receiving an input on said second control;

performing said second grouping based upon said input on said second control;

displaying said second grouped data;

displaying in said group-level outline panel a second plurality of additional report controls initially set to default values.