Expanding a selected area of text, associating a data label with the expanded area of text, and storing the expanded area of text and data label in a clipboard

• US 10,102,196 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2016
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Lee, Boon Beng, Kee, Chew Yee, Lee, Yei Lan, Ong, Chin Kuan, Tham, Mun Yew
• Primary Examiner(s): KELLS, ASHER
• Application Number:
  US15/345,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20180129638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A method is provided for cutting and pasting text at a computing device. A user selects an area of text on a display of the computing device. The computing device expands the selected area of text to form an expanded area of text to make sure that no text that the user wanted to select is inadvertently omitted. The computing device associates a data label with a portion of the expanded area of text, and the computing device stores the data label and the associated portion of the expanded area of text, preferably within the clipboard of the computing device. When a user enters input text on the computing device, the computing device parses the input text to determine if a data label stored in the clipboard matches the input text. If there is a match, the computing device displays stored text associated with that data label within a popup window, for example. If a user chooses one of the items in the popup window, the data label is replaced by the portion of text that was chosen and matches the data label.

Claims

1. A method of cutting and pasting text comprising:

determining a selected area of text selected by a user;

expanding the selected area of text to form an expanded area of text;

associating a data label with a portion of the expanded area of text;

storing the data label and the associated portion of the expanded area of text;

entering input text on an electronic device;

detecting a matching data label within the input text, the matching data label matching the data label;

displaying the portion of the expanded area of text;

receiving an indication that a user wants to replace the matching data label with the portion of the expanded area of text; and

replacing the matching data label with the portion of the expanded area of text

wherein the step of storing the data label and the associated portion of the expanded area of text comprises storing the data label and the associated portion of the expanded area of text in a clipboard of a computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of expanding the selected area of text comprises expanding the selected area of text as a background process.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of associating a data label with a portion of the expanded area of text comprises determining a pattern in the portion of the expanded area of text using pattern recognition.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the portion of the expanded area of text comprises displaying the replacement text in a suggestion window on the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting the matching data label within the input text comprises extracting the data label from the input text.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the portion of the expanded area of text comprises displaying a suggestion list of multiple phrases that are associated with the data label.