The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 10, 2006
Filed:
Oct. 08, 2004
Matthew J. Kotler, Kirkland, WA (US);
Alexander G. Gounares, Kirkland, WA (US);
Oliver G. Fisher, Redmond, WA (US);
Matthew D. Morgan, Seattle, WA (US);
Christopher Matthew Franklin, Bellevue, WA (US);
Matthew J. Kotler, Kirkland, WA (US);
Alexander G. Gounares, Kirkland, WA (US);
Oliver G. Fisher, Redmond, WA (US);
Matthew D. Morgan, Seattle, WA (US);
Christopher Matthew Franklin, Bellevue, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
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.