System and method for integrating spreadsheets and word processing tables
First Claim
1. A method implemented at least in part by a processor, the method comprising:
- integrating text and tables within a document;
presenting first and second tables within the document, wherein the first table has a first cell with first contents and the second table has a second cell with second contents;
referencing the first cell in the first table from the second cell in the second table, wherein the referencing updates the second cell in the second table to reflect a modification for the first cell in the first table;
nesting the first table within a third cell of the second table using a grid object, a spreadsheet object, and a table object to independently manage one or more nested tables;
displaying the nested first table within the third cell of the second table; and
recalculating a value of the first table nested within the second table, wherein the second table reflects the recalculated value.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
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.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method implemented at least in part by a processor, the method comprising:
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integrating text and tables within a document; presenting first and second tables within the document, wherein the first table has a first cell with first contents and the second table has a second cell with second contents; referencing the first cell in the first table from the second cell in the second table, wherein the referencing updates the second cell in the second table to reflect a modification for the first cell in the first table; nesting the first table within a third cell of the second table using a grid object, a spreadsheet object, and a table object to independently manage one or more nested tables; displaying the nested first table within the third cell of the second table; and recalculating a value of the first table nested within the second table, wherein the second table reflects the recalculated value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions for integrating spreadsheet functionality into tables, the computer-executable instructions comprising instructions for:
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integrating text and tables into a document; referencing a first cell located in a first of the tables from a second cell in a second of the tables, each of the first table and the second table supporting a plurality of spreadsheet functionalities; providing column headers and row headers during editing of the first or the second table within the document, and not providing such headers at other times; providing automatic universal recalculation of the tables in response to a modification of at least one of the tables; nesting an inner table of the tables within a third cell of an outer table of the tables using a grid object, a spreadsheet object, and a table object to independently manage one or more nested tables; displaying the nested inner table within the third cell of the outer table; and recalculating a value of the inner table nested within the third cell of the outer table, wherein the third cell or another cell of the outer table reflects the recalculated value. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions for integrating spreadsheet functionality into tables used in word processing and markup language documents, the computer-executable instructions comprising instructions for:
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integrating spreadsheet functionality into tables used in word processing and markup language documents; creating a spreadsheet object, a grid object, and a table object to manage one or more tables in a document; referencing content in a first of the tables from a second of the tables, the content of the first table being nested within a cell of the second table within the document and each of the first table and the second table supporting a plurality of spreadsheet functionalities; independently managing one or more nested tables using each table'"'"'s own underlying set, at least one underlying set comprising the spreadsheet object, the grid object, and the table object; displaying the nested first table as enclosed in the cell of the second table; and providing automatic universal recalculation in response to a change in a value in one or more tables in the document. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A spreadsheet architecture embodied on one or more computer-readable media for providing spreadsheet functionality to tables, the spreadsheet architecture comprising:
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a document renderer configured to integrate text and tables into a document; a spreadsheet engine configured to reference content in a first of the tables from a second of the tables, wherein the first table is nested and displayed within a cell of the second table and each of the first table and the second table are configured to support a plurality of spreadsheet functionalities; a set of objects to independently manage the first table and the second table, the set of objects comprising a grid object, a spreadsheet object and a table object; and a recalculation engine configured to provide automatic universal recalculation in response to a change to a value in one or more tables in the document. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification