Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Su-Piao Bill Wu

Brian M Jones

Chad B Rothschiller

Shawn Alan Villaron

Robert R McCaughey

Carol Lining Liu

Michael J McCormack

Robert Andrew Little

Daniel C Battagin

Shahar Prish

Robert C Collie

Andrew K Bishop

Lee B Graber

Eric W Patterson

Josh Pollock

Raman S Iyer

Robert Wayne Coffen

Gabhan Berry

Sharad Kumar Garg

Richard Lee Dickinson

Michelle Elena Keslin

Andrew James Becker

Charles Scott Walker

Joseph John McDaid

Eoin James Burke

Christopher John Gross

Sumit Chauhan

Ashley L Morgan

Dan Jump

Xiaohui Pan

Michael J Eatough

Chad B Rothschillwe

Paul A Hafner

Larry Tseng

A formula abstraction system is described. The system includes detecting a user-generated formula in a cell of a spreadsheet document, generating a graphical user interface that queries entries of a custom function based on the user-generated formula, forming the custom function by abstracting the user-generated formula to the custom function based on the entries, and storing the custom function in a function library of the spreadsheet document. The custom function applies the user-generated formula in a user-selected cell of the spreadsheet document.

Abstraction of formulas into reusable functions

Third party data embedding may be provided. Data associated with a third party provider may be saved in a native application save file. If a save file opened by the application is determined to comprise third party data, the application may determine whether an appropriate data provider is available. The application may connect to the data provider and provide on-demand, asynchronous access to the third party data upon request from a user.

Embedding and retrieving data in an application file format

A method and computer-readable medium are provided for saving the contents of a memory structure stored in a volatile memory. According to the method, corrupted portions of the memory structure are identified and an attempt is made to repair these portions. If the corrupted portions cannot be repaired, the saving of these portions is skipped. The uncorrupted and repaired portions of the memory structure are then saved to a data file stored on a mass storage device. If portions of the memory structure cannot be repaired or skipped, an attempt is made to save only the user data contained in the memory structure to the data file. In this manner, the user data contained in the memory structure may be saved to a data file even in cases of severe corruption.

Method and computer-readable medium for verifying and saving an electronic document

A mechanism is provided for embedding an object in a receiving or client document such that a client application may operate on the embedded object to include interrogation and modification of data contained in the embedded object. When a given document object is embedded into a receiving document, data representing the embedded object is saved to a data stream storage for the receiving document. When the embedded object in the receiving document is subsequently requested in response to an operation executed on the embedded object, the receiving application obtains the data representation of the embedded object from the data stream storage. Once the receiving application obtains the data representation of the embedded object, the receiving application may perform operations on the embedded object by accessing the embedded object via its data representation.

Exposing embedded data in a computer-generated document

File formats, methods, and computer program products are provided for representing a workbook in a modular content framework. The modular content framework may include a file format container associated with modular parts. A file format includes logically separate modular parts that are associated with each other by one or more relationships where each modular part is associated with a relationship type. The modular parts include a workbook part operative as a guide for properties of the workbook and a worksheet part associated with the workbook part and operative to specify a definition of cells within a worksheet associated with the worksheet part. The modular parts may also include a document properties part containing built-in properties associated with the file format and a thumbnail part containing associated thumbnails. Each modular part is capable of being interrogated separately, extracted from the workbook, and/or reused in a different workbook.

File formats, methods, and computer program products for representing workbooks

Methods and systems provide for breaking a computer-generated document into a number of components where the components have explicit relationships with each other. A relationship representation is generated for the components of the document. A user may then navigate the relationships between the components to quickly understand the nature of the document and its components and to locate particular portions of the document that are important to the user. In addition, the user may open, edit and reuse particular components of the document apart from the rest of the document and without having to open or edit the document.

Management and use of data in a computer-generated document

A method and computer-readable medium are provided for loading the contents of an electronic data file. According to the method, corrupted portions of a data file are identified and an attempt is made to repair these portions. If the corrupted portions cannot be repaired, the loading of these portions is skipped. The uncorrupted and repaired portions of the data file are then loaded into memory. If portions of the data file cannot be repaired or skipped, an attempt is made to load only the user data contained in the data file. In this manner, the user data contained in the data file may be loaded even in cases of severe corruption.

Method and computer-readable medium for loading the contents of a data file

Methods and systems provide for bi-directional communication between a spreadsheet application worksheet and a database data source that allows modified data to be written from a spreadsheet application to source data in a database data source from which the original pre-modified data was obtained. Offline data changes in a spreadsheet application are cached by a data provider application and are published to a remote data source when the spreadsheet application is synchronized with the data source. Error conditions and data conflicts resulting from new or modified data published to a database data source from a spreadsheet application worksheet are reported to a user of the spreadsheet application worksheet through a data provider application to allow the user an opportunity to resolve error conditions and data conflicts between the user's data changes and other data changes made to the same source data contained in the database data source.

Data source write back and offline data editing and storage in a spreadsheet

An electronic spreadsheet is provided for automatically creating, expanding, and validating lists of cells. A list is created by receiving a user request for selecting a cell range, identifying a list range for the selected cell range, determining a header row for the list range, and generating a border for surrounding the list range. A list is expanded by determining that one or more cells are adjacent to the list and automatically expanding the list to include the new cells. A list is validated by determining a data type of data entered into the list and comparing the data type of the data entered into the list to a list data type. If, as a result of the comparison, the data type of the data entered into the list does not match the list data type, then the data type of the data entered into the list is invalid.

Creating and managing structured data in an electronic spreadsheet

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Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Su-Piao Bill Wu