Persistent formatting for interactive charts

• US 9,400,973 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2011
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tolle, Kristin Michele, Monroe, Jenefer Lea, Heijster, Stephen Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): AMIN, MUSTAFA A
• Application Number:
  US13/159,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,870 Days
• Field of Search: 345/440
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

User requested format alterations to interactive chart elements, comprising, but not limited to, legends, axes, gridlines, data labels, axes labels, error bars, and datapoints, whether they be represented as points, bars, pie wedges, etc., are persisted in spite of chart navigations, underlying data changes and/or format alterations. Interactive chart element format persistence is maintained by the association and storing of data identifying a format change on the data and index rule for the respective chart element.

Claims

1. A method of applying formatting for an interactive chart to be displayed to a user of a computer system, comprising:

applying a first initial default format to a first chart element, a second initial default format to a second chart element, and a third initial default format to a third chart element displayed in the interactive chart, the first chart element, the second chart element, and the third chart element corresponding to bar chart elements, and the first, second, and third initial default formats each differentiating, respectively, the first, second, and third chart elements from one another;

hiding the third chart element from being displayed in the interactive chart so that the third chart element is not visible, the interactive chart continuing to display the first chart element and the second chart element; and

changing, responsive to the hiding, a formatting of the second chart element from the second initial default format to an altered default format, the altered default format differentiating the second chart element from the first chart element.

2. The method of claim 1, the changing a formatting of the second chart element comprising:

changing a color of the second chart element.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

changing, responsive to the hiding, a relative position between the first chart element and the second chart element.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

redisplaying the third chart element in the interactive chart after the changing; and

reapplying the second initial default format to the second chart element responsive to the redisplaying.

5. A method of applying formatting for an interactive chart to he displayed to a user of a computer system, comprising:

applying a first initial default format to a first chart element, a second initial default format to a second chart element, and a third initial default format to a third chart element displayed in the interactive chart, the first, second, and third initial default formats each differentiating, respectively, the first, second, and third chart elements from one another, when the first, second, and third chart elements are displayed together;

hiding the third chart element from being displayed in the interactive chart so that the third chart element is not visible, the interactive chart continuing to display the first chart element and the second chart element;

changing, responsive to the hiding, a relative position between the first chart element and the second chart element; and

changing, responsive to the hiding, a formatting of the second chart element from the second initial default format to an altered default format, the altered default format differentiating the second chart element from the first chart element, when the first and second chart elements are displayed together.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising;

redisplaying the third chart element in the interactive chart after the changing; and

reapplying the second initial default format to the second chart element responsive to the redisplaying.

7. The method of claim 5, comprising:

displaying, in the interactive chart, a child chart element of the first chart element;

applying the first initial default format to the child chart element;

receiving a request to apply a user override format to the child chart element, the user override format overriding the first initial default format applied to the child chart element; and

applying the user override format to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the first initial default format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed.

8. The method of claim 7, the child chart element and the first chart element not displayed concurrently.

9. The method of claim 5, comprising:

applying the first initial default format to a child chart element of the first chart element when the child chart element is displayed in the interactive chart;

receiving a request to apply a user override format to the first chart element, the user override format overriding the first initial default format applied to the first chart element and to the child chart element; and

applying the user override format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed and to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed.

10. The method of claim 5, comprising:

displaying a first child chart element and a second child chart element of the first chart element in the interactive chart, the first initial default format applied to the first child chart element and to the second child chart element;

receiving a request to apply a user override format to the first child chart element, the user override format overriding the first initial default format applied to the first child chart element; and

applying the user override format to the first child chart element when the first child chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the first initial default format to the second child chart element when the second child chart element is displayed.

11. The method of claim 5, the interactive chart comprising a PivotChart.

12. The method of claim 11,

the PivotChart generated from an interactive table,

the interactive table built from a data cache, and

the data cache created from data in a data source.

13. The method of claim 5, comprising:

applying a user override format to at least one of the first chart element, the second chart element, or the third chart element; and

storing a property of the user override format in a data tuple associated with the at least one of the first chart element, the second chart element, or the third chart element.

14. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:

displaying an interactive chart comprising at least a first chart element, the first chart element displayed in a default format;

receiving a first request to expand the first chart element such that a first child chart element and a second child chart element of the first chart element;

are displayed;

displaying the first child chart element and the second child chart element in the default format and hiding the first chart element responsive to the receiving a first request;

receiving a second request to apply a user override format to the first child chart element, the user override format overriding the default format applied to the first child chart element;

applying the user override format to the first child chart element responsive to the receiving a second request;

receiving a third request collapse the first child chart element and the second child chart element such that the first chart element is displayed;

redisplaying the first chart element in the default format and hiding the first child chart element and the second child chart element responsive to the receiving a third request;

receiving a fourth request to apply an updated format to the first chart element, the updated format overriding the default format;

applying the updated format to the first chart element responsive to the receiving a fourth request;

receiving, after the applying the updated format to the first chart element, a fifth request to expand the first chart element such that the first child chart element and the second child chart element are displayed; and

redisplaying the first child chart element in the user override format and displaying the second child chart element in the updated format and hiding the first chart element responsive to the receiving a fifth request.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, the interactive chart comprising a PivotChart.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, comprising:

storing data associated with the user override format in a data tuple associated with the first child chart element responsive to the receiving a second request.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, the user override format comprising a user override color.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, the interactive chart comprising a second chart element displayed concurrently with the first chart element and concurrently with the first child chart element and the second child chart element.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, the updated format not applied to the first child chart element.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, where data associated with the first chart element and data associated with the second chart element are mutually exclusive.