Interactive tooltip

• US 7,533,340 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2004
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Maguire, Justin M. III, Lowry, Kent R., Hudson, Margaret G., Rader, Marcella, Huynh, Tuan, Tikunova, Mariya, Patterson, Eric W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Termanini; Samir
• Application Number:
  US10/962,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20050050470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 715/711, 715/714, 715/715
• US Class Current: 715/711
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

An interactive tooltip provides access to help information and enhanced editing capabilities. The interactive tooltip may be useful for a user editing a function within a spreadsheet formula. The present invention may integrate HTML-like interactivity with a conventional tooltip to provide a new interface for working with the associated data. The interactivity of the tooltip may provide additional levels of help or documentation when requested and may provides additional editing navigation functionality within the associated data. Embodiments of the present invention may provide a tooltip in close proximity to the associated data, while the associated data is being edited. In the case of a spreadsheet, a tooltip may be provided when the user begins editing a function within a spreadsheet cell. The help facility may recognize that the user has begun entering a function.

Claims

1. A method for providing an interactive tooltip in an electronic document, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location of the electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet;

recognizing an entered function name in the editing location of the electronic document in response to a user entering the function name;

retrieving tooltip information associated with the recognized function name;

retrieving a description of data required for the function; and

displaying the tooltip information in a display location, the display location being proximate to the editing location of the electronic document, wherein the tooltip information includes a function name and an argument name, the function name providing a link to a function name help topic, the argument name providing a link to a portion of the editing location of the electronic document corresponding to the argument name, the tooltip information identifying the argument name as being currently entered and the description of data required for the function.

2. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication comprises recognizing the entry of an equals sign, a function name, and an open parenthesis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein recognizing the entered function name comprises comparing the entered function name to a function list and finding a matching function name in the function list.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the tooltip information comprises displaying a currently selected argument name in a boldfaced format in order to identify the argument name as being currently entered.

6. A computer implemented method for providing an interactive tooltip associated with data in an editing location of an electronic document, the method comprising:

providing, by the computer, a first text string displayed in the interactive tooltip in response to a user entering the function name, in proximity to the associated data in the editing location of the electronic document comprising a function name that provides a link to help information corresponding to the associated data in the editing location of the electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet; and

providing a second text string displayed in the interactive tooltip in proximity to the associated data in the editing location of the electronic document comprising an argument name identifying an argument name as being currently entered and describing data required for a function that operates as a selection tool for selecting a portion of the associated data in the editing location of the electronic document.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the associated data comprises text data.

8. A method for providing an interactive tooltip, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location of an electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet;

receiving a function name in the editing location of the electronic document;

recognizing the function name in the editing location of the electronic document in response to a user entering the function name;

retrieving tooltip information associated with the recognized function name, wherein the tooltip information includes the function name and an argument name associated with the function name comprising a description of data required by a formula associated with the function name, the tooltip information identifying the argument name as being currently entered;

displaying the tooltip information in a display location, the display location being proximate to the editing location of the electronic document;

determining if the function name associated with the tooltip information has been selected;

if the function name has been selected, then displaying a help topic corresponding to the function name;

determining if the argument name displayed in the interactive tooltip has been selected; and

if the argument name displayed in the interactive tooltip has been selected, then selecting an area of the editing location of the electronic document corresponding to the argument portion of the function.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining if the argument name associated with the function name has been selected; and

if the argument name has been selected, then selecting a portion of the editing location corresponding to the argument name.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location comprises recognizing an entry of an equals sign.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein recognizing the function name comprises comparing the function name to a function list and finding a matching function name in the function list.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein displaying the tooltip information comprises displaying the function name in an underlined format.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein displaying the tooltip information comprises displaying a currently selected argument name in a boldfaced format.

14. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for providing an interactive tooltip, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location of an electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet;

receiving a function name from the editing location of the electronic document;

recognizing the function name in response to a user entering the function name;

retrieving tooltip information associated with the recognized function name, wherein the tooltip information includes the function name and an argument name associated with the function name comprising a description of data required by a formula associated with the function name, the tooltip information identifying the argument name as being currently entered;

displaying the tooltip information in a display location, the display location being proximate to the editing location of the electronic document;

determining if the function name associated with the tooltip information has been selected;

if the function name has been selected, then displaying a help topic corresponding to the function name;

determining if the argument name associated with the tooltip information has been selected; and

if the argument name displayed in the interactive tooltip has been selected, then selecting an area of the editing location of the electronic document corresponding to the argument portion of the function.

15. A method for providing an interactive tooltip, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location of an electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet;

receiving a function name from the editing location of the electronic document;

recognizing the function name in response to a user entering the function name;

retrieving tooltip information associated with the recognized function name, wherein the tooltip information includes the function name and an argument associated with the function name comprising a description of data required by a formula associated with the function name, the tooltip information identifying the argument name as being currently entered;

displaying the tooltip information in a display location, the display location being proximate to the editing location of the electronic document;

determining if the argument name associated with the tooltip information has been selected; and

if the argument name has been selected, then displaying a help topic corresponding to the argument name.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining if the function name associated with the tooltip information has been selected; and

if the function name has been selected, then displaying a help topic corresponding to the function name.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location comprises recognizing the entry of an equals sign.

18. A system for providing an interactive tooltip associated with data in an electronic document, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

receive an indication that a function is being entered in an editing location of the electronic document, wherein the electronic document comprises a spreadsheet and the editing location comprises a data cell of the spreadsheet;

receive a function name from the editing location of the electronic document;

recognize the function name in response to a user entering the function name;

provide a first text string in the interactive tooltip comprising the function name that provides a link to help information corresponding to the associated data; and

provide a second text string in the interactive tooltip comprising an argument name describing data required for a function that operates as a selection tool for selecting a portion of the associated data in the editing location of the electronic document corresponding to the second text string wherein the interactive tooltip is displayed in proximity to the editing location of the electronic document, the interactive tooltip identifying an argument name as being currently entered.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the associated data location is a spreadsheet cell.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the associated data location is a formula bar.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the associated data comprises text data.