Systems, methods and articles for a web-based spreadsheet application

• US 9,910,843 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2015
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Thomas, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): VAUGHN, GREGORY J
• Application Number:
  US14/613,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20160224536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for creating an electronic spreadsheet using a web-based spreadsheet application. A web-server hosting a web-based spreadsheet website comprises one or more computer(s) having at least one computer processor, memory, data storage and a network communication device (e.g. a network adapter). The web-server is configured to transmit a spreadsheet web application to a user computing device (e.g. a personal computer, smartphone, etc.) having a web-browser via the internet. The spreadsheet web application is configured to program the web-browser of the computing device to display and execute a spreadsheet web application having various features and functionality, including one or more of a separate design section and preview panel, a test data feature, line by line building of a spreadsheet without a starting grid of rows and columns, an embedded spreadsheet feature, an embedded worksheet display within a line feature, or any combination of these features.

Claims

1. A system for creating a spreadsheet for receiving input data and performing one or more calculations and/or functions using the input data, comprising:

a web-server hosting a web-based spreadsheet website, the web-server comprising one or more computer processors, memory and data storage;

the web-based spreadsheet website configured to transmit to a web-browser of a user computing device a spreadsheet web application in a web-browser programming language for programming the web-browser to run the spreadsheet web application, the spreadsheet web application configured to display and execute a web spreadsheet interface comprising a design section having a plurality of user-selectable spreadsheet commands and functions for adding columns in creating a spreadsheet, the design section configured to design a spreadsheet in a line by line sequence in which each line in the design section defines a column of a spreadsheet, and a preview panel separate from the design section which displays a spreadsheet preview of a spreadsheet in an end-user mode as the spreadsheet is being created using the design section, the preview panel having a user selectable command to add rows to the spreadsheet displayed in the spreadsheet preview.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that test data can be entered into the spreadsheet preview and the spreadsheet preview calculates the spreadsheet according to a design of a spreadsheet in the design section.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that a spreadsheet is created without a starting grid of rows and columns, and in which rows and/or columns of a spreadsheet are formed only as the rows and/or columns are added by using the design section.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that a line of a spreadsheet references a second spreadsheet created using the spreadsheet web application.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured with an embedded worksheet function to embed a worksheet within a first line of a first spreadsheet, the embedded worksheet function configured to create an embedded worksheet comprising a second spreadsheet different from the first spreadsheet in which a value of the second spreadsheet is used by the first line in executing the first spreadsheet.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the embedded worksheet function is configured to recursively embed a different referenced spreadsheet in a referencing spreadsheet in which a value of the referenced spreadsheet is used by a line of the referencing spreadsheet in executing the referencing spreadsheet.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the spreadsheet web application is configured to display the embedded worksheet in the first line.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the web-based spreadsheet website is further configured to:

receive from the user computing device a first spreadsheet created using the spreadsheet web application, save the first spreadsheet on the storage device;

generate an end-user spreadsheet application of the first spreadsheet in which at least one locked field of the first spreadsheet is locked from being modified by an end-user and at least one data field allows an end-user to enter user data into the data field, the end-user spreadsheet web application configured to display and execute the first spreadsheet on a web browser of a computing device; and

transmit the end-user spreadsheet web application to a web browser of an end-user computing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the web-browser programming language is one or more of the following:

JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, HTML, or scripting language for a web-browser.

10. A system for creating a spreadsheet for receiving input data and performing one or more calculations using the input data, comprising:

a computing device comprising a computer processor, memory, data storage and a network communication adapter;

the computing device further comprising a web-browser and a spreadsheet web application in a web-browser programming language which programs the web-browser to execute the spreadsheet web application, the spreadsheet web application configured to display and execute a web spreadsheet interface comprising a design section having a plurality of user-selectable spreadsheet commands and functions for creating a spreadsheet, the design section configured to design a spreadsheet in a line by line sequence in which each line in the design section defines a column of a spreadsheet, and a preview panel separate from the design section which displays a spreadsheet preview of a spreadsheet in an end-user mode as the spreadsheet is being created using the design section, the preview panel having a user selectable command to add rows to the spreadsheet displayed in the spreadsheet preview;

the spreadsheet web application further comprising an embedded worksheet function to embed a worksheet within a first line of a first spreadsheet, the embedded worksheet function configured to create an embedded worksheet comprising a second spreadsheet different from the first spreadsheet in which a value of the second spreadsheet is used by the first line in executing the first spreadsheet;

wherein the spreadsheet web application is configured to display the embedded worksheet in the first line.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the embedded worksheet function is configured to recursively embed a different referenced spreadsheet in a referencing spreadsheet in which a value of the referenced spreadsheet is used by a line of the referencing spreadsheet in executing the referencing spreadsheet.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that a spreadsheet is created without a starting grid of rows and columns, and in which rows and/or columns of a spreadsheet are formed only as the rows and/or columns are added by using the design section.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured to allow a user to designate at least one locked field from being modified by an end-user and to designate at least one data field which allows an end-user to enter user data into the data field.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that test data can be entered into the spreadsheet preview and the spreadsheet preview calculates the spreadsheet according to the design of a spreadsheet in the design section.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the web-browser programming language is one or more of the following:

JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, HTML, or scripting language for a web-browser.

16. A method for creating a spreadsheet for receiving input data and performing one or more calculations using the input data, comprising:

a web-server transmitting a spreadsheet web application to a web-browser of a user computing device, the spreadsheet web application in a web-browser programming language for programming the web-browser to execute the spreadsheet web application, the web-server comprising one or more computer processors, memory and data storage and hosting a web-based spreadsheet web site;

wherein the spreadsheet web application is configured to display and execute on the user computing device a spreadsheet web interface comprising a design section having a plurality of user-selectable spreadsheet commands and functions for creating a spreadsheet, the spreadsheet web application configured to create a spreadsheet in a line by line sequence without a starting grid of rows and columns in which each line in the design section defines a column of a spreadsheet, and in which rows and/or columns of a spreadsheet are formed only as the rows and/or columns are added by using the design section, and a preview panel separate from the design section which displays a spreadsheet preview of a spreadsheet in an end-user mode as the spreadsheet is being created using the design section, the preview panel having a user selectable command to add rows to the spreadsheet displayed in the spreadsheet preview.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured with an embedded worksheet function to embed a worksheet within a first line of a referencing spreadsheet, the embedded worksheet function configured to create an embedded worksheet comprising a referenced spreadsheet different from the referencing spreadsheet in which a value of the referenced spreadsheet is used by the first line in executing the referencing spreadsheet.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the spreadsheet web application is configured to display the embedded worksheet in the first line.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the embedded worksheet function is configured to recursively embed a different referenced spreadsheet in a referencing spreadsheet in which a value of the referenced spreadsheet is used by a line of the referencing spreadsheet in executing the referencing spreadsheet.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the web-server receiving from the user computing device a first spreadsheet created using the spreadsheet web application;

the web-server storing the first spreadsheet on the storage device;

the web-server generating an end-user spreadsheet application of the first spreadsheet in which at least one locked field of the first spreadsheet is locked from being modified by an end-user and at least one data field allows an end-user to enter user data into the data field, the end-user spreadsheet web application configured to display and execute the first spreadsheet on a web-browser of a computing device;

the web-server transmitting the end-user spreadsheet web application to a web browser of an end-user computing device.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the spreadsheet web application is further configured such that test data can be entered into the spreadsheet preview and the spreadsheet preview calculates the spreadsheet according to the design of a spreadsheet in the design section.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the web-browser programming language is one or more of the following:

JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, HTML, or scripting language for a web-browser.

23. A method for creating a spreadsheet for receiving input data and performing one or more calculations using the input data, comprising:

a computing device receiving from a web-based spreadsheet website via the internet a spreadsheet web application in a web-browser programming language, the computing device comprising a computer processor, memory, data storage, a web-browser, and a network communication adapter;

the computing device executing the spreadsheet web application which programs the web-browser to execute the spreadsheet web application;

the spreadsheet web application displaying and executing a spreadsheet web interface comprising a design section having a plurality of user-selectable spreadsheet commands and functions for creating a spreadsheet, the design section configured to design a spreadsheet in a line by line sequence in which each line in the design section defines a column of a spreadsheet, and a preview panel separate from the design section which displays a spreadsheet preview of a spreadsheet in an end-user mode as the spreadsheet is being created using the design section, the preview panel having a user selectable command to add rows to the spreadsheet displayed in the spreadsheet preview, the spreadsheet web application configured with an embedded worksheet function to embed a worksheet within a first line of a first spreadsheet, the embedded worksheet function configured to create an embedded worksheet comprising a second spreadsheet different from the first spreadsheet in which a value of the second spreadsheet is used by the first line in executing the first spreadsheet the spreadsheet web application configured to selectively display the embedded worksheet in the first line in response to a command from a user.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

the computing device receiving a command from a user to display the embedded worksheet in the first line.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

the computing device transmitting a first spreadsheet created using the spreadsheet web application to the web-based spreadsheet website.

26. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer program carrier readable by a computer and embodying instructions executable by the computer to perform a method for creating a spreadsheet for receiving input data and performing one or more calculations using the input data, comprising:

transmitting a spreadsheet web application to a web-browser of a user computing device via the internet, the spreadsheet web application in a web-browser programming language for programming the web-browser to execute the spreadsheet web application, the web-server comprising one or more computer processors, memory and data storage and hosting a web-based spreadsheet web site;

wherein the spreadsheet web application is configured to display and execute on the user computing device a spreadsheet web interface comprising a design section having a plurality of user-selectable spreadsheet commands and functions for creating a spreadsheet, the spreadsheet web application configured to create a spreadsheet in a line by line sequence without a starting grid of rows and columns in which each line in the design section defines a column of a spreadsheet, and in which rows and/or columns of a spreadsheet are formed only as the rows and/or columns are added by using the design section, and a preview panel separate from the design section which displays a spreadsheet preview of a spreadsheet in an end-user mode as the spreadsheet is being created using the design section, the preview panel having a user selectable command to add rows to the spreadsheet displayed in the spreadsheet preview.