User interface for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

• US 7,350,141 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fisher, Oliver G., Kotler, Matthew J., Gounares, Alexander G., Franklin, Christopher Matthew, Wolf, Richard J., Anantharaman, Vinod, Morgan, Matthew D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Quoc A.
• Application Number:
  US10/942,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20050044486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 715/503, 715/504, 715/513, 715/514, 715/515, 707/101
• US Class Current: 715/209
• 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 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

An architecture integrates spreadsheet functionality into tables commonly used in word processing programs and HTML documents. The architecture presents a table user interface (UI) that resembles a table when not being edited and adds spreadsheet elements to the table when being edited. Underlying the table UI, the architecture separates data handling functions from presentation functions. The architecture includes a table appearance manager to manage how the table appears in a document including such characteristics as table resizing, selection, cut, copy, paste, split, merge, table formatting and so on. The architecture also has a spreadsheet functionality manager to manage the spreadsheet functions for the table, such as recalculation, formula handling, sorting, referencing, and the like. The bifurcated architecture supports cross-table referencing, reference editing, automatic universal recalculation throughout all tables in the document, and nested table structures in which one table is nested within a cell of another table.

Claims

1. A method implemented at least partially by a computer comprising:

displaying a document with both text in a body of the document and text in a spreadsheet table of the document, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality, the document configured in a markup language, without object-linking or object-embedding to word processing or spreadsheet applications;

enabling a user to perform a control function on the body text and the spreadsheet table text to detect spelling or grammatical errors, the control function initiated via actuation of a single control; and

responsive to actuation of the single control, applying the control function to both the body text and across boundaries of the spreadsheet table to the spreadsheet table text.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the document comprises rendering the document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the document comprises displaying the spreadsheet table, when the spreadsheet table is being edited, to resemble a spreadsheet.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the control function initiated via the single control detects both spelling and grammatical errors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the control function is to evaluate and modify an aspect of the document;

and apply resultant modifications to the document across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the control function comprises:

a grammar-check function to detect said grammatical errors across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the control function comprises:

a spell-check function to detect said spelling errors across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

8. One or more processor-readable media having processor-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

displaying a document with both text in a body of the document and text in a spreadsheet table of the document, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality, the document configured in a markup language, without object-linking or object-embedding to word processing or spreadsheet applications;

enabling a user to perform a control function on the body text and the spreadsheet table text to detect spelling or grammatical errors, the control function initiated via actuation of a single control; and

responsive to actuation of the single control, applying the control function to both the body text and across boundaries of the spreadsheet table to the spreadsheet table text.

9. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein displaying the document comprises instructions for rendering the document.

10. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein displaying the document comprises instructions for displaying the spreadsheet table, when the spreadsheet table is being edited, to resemble a spreadsheet.

11. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein the control function initiated via the single control detects both spelling and grammatical errors.

12. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein the control function is to evaluate and modify an aspect of the document;

and apply resultant modifications to the document across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

13. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein the control function comprises:

a grammar-check function to detect said grammatical errors across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

14. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein the control function comprises:

a spell-check function to detect said spelling errors across both the body text and the spreadsheet table text.

15. A method implemented at least partially by a computer comprising:

displaying a document with both text in a body of the document and text in a spreadsheet table of the document, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality;

the document configured in a markup language, without object-linking or object-embedding to word processing or spreadsheet applications;

enabling a user to select a control function to modify or evaluate an aspect of the document, the control function initiated via actuation of a single control; and

responsive to actuation of the single control, applying the control function to both the body text and across boundaries of the spreadsheet table to the spreadsheet table text.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the control function is selected from a group of functions including formatting, spell checking, grammar checking, find, find and replace, auto-correct, applying document themes, inserting lists, images, drawings, charts, hyperlinks, automatic detection of hyperlinks, and list autodetection.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the control function is any text feature that can be applied to the body text and the applying comprises applying that text feature to the spreadsheet table text.

18. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, perform the method as recited in claim 15.