Generating a dynamic index for a file of user creatable cells
First Claim
1. A system for organizing data in a file and for generating and maintaining a dynamic index for the file, comprising:
- a storage device for storing a file comprising a plurality of cells containing data elements, each cell having cell attributes;
an index generator, coupled to the storage device, for generating one or more index data structures for storing an index associated with the cells in the file;
an input device coupled to the storage device, for accepting the data for the cells and for accepting inputs representing events associated with the cells;
an event processor, coupled to the input device, for automatically processing events associated with the cells;
means, coupled to the storage device and the event processor, for dynamically updating an index responsive to an event associated with a cell;
an outline processor, coupled to the input device and the storage device, for hierarchically Organizing the cells in the file; and
a display device, coupled to the storage device, for selectively displaying the file and an index in a notebook metaphor format.
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Abstract
A system and method of automatically indexing information to allow a user to view "cross sections" of the information as desired. Information in a document is divided into "cells". As the user adds or changes information in cells of a document, the system updates one or more indexes to reflect the new contents of the document. Thus, indexes are generated and maintained, using a variety of index criteria, without any user effort or intervention. Index criteria may include cell contents of data elements as well as cell attributes. The user may view indexes by means of special index pages that form part of the document. Cells in the index pages are linked to other cells within the document so that a user may access any document cell directly from the index, as desired.
53 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for organizing data in a file and for generating and maintaining a dynamic index for the file, comprising:
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a storage device for storing a file comprising a plurality of cells containing data elements, each cell having cell attributes; an index generator, coupled to the storage device, for generating one or more index data structures for storing an index associated with the cells in the file; an input device coupled to the storage device, for accepting the data for the cells and for accepting inputs representing events associated with the cells; an event processor, coupled to the input device, for automatically processing events associated with the cells; means, coupled to the storage device and the event processor, for dynamically updating an index responsive to an event associated with a cell; an outline processor, coupled to the input device and the storage device, for hierarchically Organizing the cells in the file; and a display device, coupled to the storage device, for selectively displaying the file and an index in a notebook metaphor format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for organizing and indexing data in a file, comprising:
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a storage device for storing a file comprising a plurality of user creatable cells containing data; an input device, coupled to the storage device, for accepting the data for the cells and for accepting commands for manipulating the data; an outline processor, coupled to the input device and the storage device, for selectively organizing the cells in hierarchical form; an event processor, coupled to the input device, for automatically processing events associated with the cells in the file; an index generator, coupled to the storage device and the event processor, for initializing at least one dynamic index associated with the cells in the file, and for maintaining the index responsive to the events associated with the cells; and an output devices, coupled to the outline processor and the index generator, for selectively displaying the data in the cells and the indexes as a notebook metaphor format.
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15. A computer-implemented process for organizing data in a file and for generating a dynamic index for the file, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a file comprising a plurality of user creatable cells containing data elements, each cell having cell attributes; organizing the cells hierarchically; generating at least one index associated with the cells of the file;
accepting an input representing an event on a cell;
dynamically updating the index responsive to the event represented by the input; anddisplaying the file and an index in a notebook metaphor format. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A computer-implemented process for generating a dynamic index for a file, the file comprising a plurality of user creatable cells containing data, comprising the steps of:
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(a) initializing at least one index associated with the cells; (b) accepting an input representing an event on a cell; (c) determining the type of the event; (d) responsive to the event being an addition of data to a cell, storing in the index a new index entry corresponding to the cell; (e) responsive to the event being a modification of a cell, performing the steps of; (e.1) removing from the index an index entry corresponding to the cell; and (e.2) storing in the index a new index entry corresponding to the cell; (f) responsive to the event being a deletion of data from a cell, removing from the index an index entry corresponding to the cell; (g) selectively displaying a representation of a selected index; and (h) responsive to user input, selectively displaying one or more cells corresponding to a selected index entry.
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Specification