Intermediate viewer for transferring information elements via a transfer buffer to a plurality of sets of destinations

• US 8,161,401 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2008
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Yen-Fu, Dunsmoir, John W., Bosma, John H., Walker, Keith R., Selvage, Mei Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Application Number:
  US12/251,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20090044140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 715/770, 715/769, 715/724
• US Class Current: 715/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes

Abstract

A method for viewing and controlling data intermediately between source and destination by receiving from a graphical user interface a user designation of a plurality of sets of copy command destination positions within contents of a computer file, wherein each destination point is allowed to be included in more than one set of destination points; displaying to the user information elements contained in an operating system clipboard transfer buffer; receiving a user selection of information elements in the clipboard transfer buffer; receiving a user definition of a subset of the previously-designated copy command destination positions; and automatically copying the selected information elements to positions in the computer file according to the user defined subset of copy command destination positions.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving from a graphical user interface a user designation of a plurality of sets of copy command destination positions within contents of a computer file, wherein each destination position is allowed to be included in more than one set of destination positions;

displaying to a user information elements contained in an operating system clipboard transfer buffer;

receiving a user selection of information elements in the clipboard transfer buffer,

receiving a user definition of a subset of the previously-designated copy command destination positions; and

automatically copying the selected information elements to positions in the computer file according to the user defined subset of copy command destination positions.

2. The method as set forth claim 1 further comprising allowing user manipulation of the displayed information elements prior to the copying of the information elements.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising providing a do list and an undo function for reversing actions recorded within the do list.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the copying of the selected information elements comprises performing spell checking on text information elements selected for copying.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the copying of the selected information elements comprises performing grammar checking on text information elements selected for copying.