Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Matthew D Morgan

Alexander G Gounares

Matthew Jay Kotler

Oliver Griffith Fisher

Christopher Matthew Franklin

Richard J Wolf

Vinod Anantharaman

A system architecture integrates spreadsheet functionality into text. The architecture allows insertion of discrete individual fields, referred to as 'free floating fields', inline with normal textual sentences. In an HTML document, for example, the free floating fields are elements constructed along with text elements and rendered together as an integrated document. Once rendered, the free floating fields present contents that resemble normal text consistent with the surrounding text. The free floating fields offer spreadsheet functionality, including the ability to handle complex formulas, reference values in a separate free floating field or table, and automatically recalculate the formulas when a source value changes.

Spreadsheet fields in text

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.

User interface for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

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.

System and method for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

System and method for integrating spreadsheets and word processing tables

A system architecture integrates spreadsheet functionality into text. The architecture allows insertion of discrete individual fields, referred to as 'free floating fields', inline with normal textual sentences. The free floating fields offer spreadsheet functionality, including the ability to handle complex formulas, reference values in a separate free floating field or table, and automatically recalculate the formulas when a source value changes. The values and formula results can also be formatted (e.g., numbers, date, times, currency, etc.), like a spreadsheet, while remaining part of the normal text of a document. The architecture also has a spreadsheet functionality manager to manage the spreadsheet functions for the free floating fields, such as recalculation, formula handling, sorting, referencing, and the like.

A system architecture integrates spreadsheet fields and functionality into text. In one implementation, a free floating field is presented in line with text in a document. The free floating field is configured to present content derived from a source. Upon modification of the source, the content in the free floating field is automatically updated to reflect changes to the source. In a particular implementation, where the source is a spreadsheet, modifications made to the spreadsheet are then reflected in updates in the free floating fields of the text.

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Matthew D Morgan