System in an office application for providing content dependent help information

• US 7,644,133 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2008
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Harari, Albert, Etorre, Yves-Nicolas, Bauchot, Frederic, Soler, Catherine
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUQ, FARZANA B
• Application Number:
  US12/099,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 707/1, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/100
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

System and program product are provided for facilitating on-line help information in an office application which includes one or more objects. The on-line help information is dependent on content of a selected object of the office application. A user of the office application is provided with help information setting forth an example directly derived from content of the currently selected object or cell. Content of a user entry field within the object is parsed to determine whether a predefined keyword is present, and if so, at least one parameter associated with the keyword and at least one format or rule related to the at least one parameter are identified. The at least one format and rule specified in the help information are employed in correcting content of the user entry field, for example, for display to the user.

Claims

1. A system for providing on-line help information in an office application comprising at least one object, the on-line help information being dependent on content of the selected object, the system comprising:

means for detecting an on-line help command as a result of a user action, the user employing the office application;

means for identifying the selected object;

means for determining if the selected object comprises a user entry field of the office application;

means for identifying content of the user entry field of the selected object if the selected object comprises the user entry field;

means for parsing the content of the user entry field to identify whether a predefined keyword is present, the predefined keyword being characterized by a character string;

means for identifying predefined help information associated with the identified predefined keyword, the predefined help information specifying at least one parameter associated with the predefined keyword and at least one format and rule related to the at least one parameter;

means for parsing content of the user entry field to identify therein the at least one parameter specified in the predefined help information;

means for verifying that a format of the identified at least one parameter within the user entry field satisfies the at least one format specified in the predefined help information;

means for verifying that the identified at least one parameter within the user entry field satisfies the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information;

means for correcting the content of the user entry field according to the at least one format and/or the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information if the content of the user entry field does not satisfy the at least one format and/or the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information of the predefined keyword identified in the content of the user entry field; and

wherein the on-line help information comprises at least one predefined keyword recorded in a table, the table comprising for each predefined keyword;

a character string identifying the predefined keyword; and

help information comprising;

a parameter template specifying at least one parameter associated with the predefined keyword, and at least one format and rule related to the at least one parameter; and

help text and/or a reference pointing to a location where the help text is recorded.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for identifying a predefined help text in the help information associated with the identified keyword; and

means for displaying the identified predefined help text.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein means for identifying the content of the user entry field further comprises:

means for copying the content of the user entry field to a working buffer.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for storing the corrected content in a working buffer.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

means for copying onto the selected object the corrected content of the working buffer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the office application is a multi-dimensional spreadsheet comprising a plurality of cells identified by a cell address along each dimension, the on-line help information being dependent on the content of a selected cell.

7. A computer storage device and program product for providing on-line help information in an office application comprising at least one object, the on-line help information being dependent on content of a selected object, comprising:

a computer readable storage device having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to detect an on-line help command as a result of a user action, the user employing the office application;

computer readable program code configured to identify the selected object;

computer readable program code configured to determine if the selected object comprises a user entry field of the office application;

computer readable program code configured to identify content of the user entry field if the selected object comprises the user entry field;

computer readable program code to parse the content of the user entry field to identify whether a predefined keyword is present, the predefined keyword being characterized by a character string;

computer readable program code configured to identify predefined help information associated with the identified predefined keyword, the predefined help information specifying at least one parameter associated with the predefined keyword and at least one format and rule related to the at least one parameter;

computer readable program code configured to parse content of the user entry field to identify therein the at least one parameter specified in the predefined help information;

computer readable program code configured to verify that a format of the identified at least one parameter within the user entry field satisfies the at least one format specified in the predefined help information;

computer readable program code configured to verify that the identified at least one parameter within the user entry field satisfies the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information;

computer readable program code configured to correct the content of the user entry field according to the at least one format and/or the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information if the content of the user entry field does not satisfy the at least one format and/or the at least one rule specified in the predefined help information of the predefined keyword identified in the content of the user entry field; and

wherein the on-line help information further comprises at least one predefined keyword recorded in a table, the table comprising for each predefined keyword;

a character string identifying the predefined keyword; and

help information comprising;

a parameter template specifying at least one parameter associated with the predefined keyword, and at least one format and rule related to the at least one parameter; and

help text and/or a reference pointing to a location where the help text is recorded.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

computer readable program code configured to identify a predefined help text in the help information associated with the identified keyword; and

computer readable program code configured to display the identified predefined help text.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer readable program code configured to identify the content of the user entry field further comprises:

computer readable program code configured to copy the content of the user entry to a working buffer.

10. The computer program product code of claim 7, wherein the computer readable program code configured to current the content of the user entry field, further comprises:

computer readable program code configured to store the corrected content in a working buffer.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

computer readable program code configure to copy onto the selected object, the corrected content of the working buffer.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the office application is a multi-dimensional spreadsheet comprising a plurality of cells identified by a cell address along each dimension, the on-line help information being dependent on the content of a selected cell.