Method and system for direct cell formatting in a spreadsheet

Claim 2

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a computer spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet data array having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table separately from said data array for storing an index pointing to an item of cell format information stored in the first table, the second table storing the index in association with cell identifying information; generating an index to the item of cell format information stored in the first table; storing the cell format information in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the cell format information in at least one location in the second table; and displaying a selected cell in accordance with the stored cell format information.

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a selected cell in accordance with the cell format information comprises the steps of: in response to a command to display data elements for a selected cell, conducting a binary search in the second table to locate an entry corresponding to the selected cell; retrieving an index from the second table pointing to an item of cell format information stored in the first table; utilizing the retrieved index, retrieving said item of cell format information stored in the first table; imposing the cell format information retrieved from the first table upon the data elements for the selected cell to obtain formatted data elements; and storing the formatted data elements in a display memory.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1, wherein the first table is a font palette that stores operating system font descriptor information, style information, and color information.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1, wherein the cells in the worksheet and the index in the second table are accessed with the cell identifying information.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: locating an entry in the second table corresponding to the selected cell utilizing a binary search; if the binary search indicates that a wild card character is stored in either a row identifier or a column identifier for the selected cell, retrieving the index for the initial entry of the entire row or column, respectively; otherwise, retrieving the index associated with the row identifier and column identifier of the selected cell; and utilizing the retrieved index from the preceding two retrieving steps to retrieve cell format information from the first table.

Claim 7

The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of: for a new format, searching the first table to determine if the new format is already extant; if the new format is already extant, assigning the index for the extant format to the cell identifier in the second table; if the new format is not already extant, creating a new index to the next location in the first table and assigning the new index for the new format to the cell identifier in the second table.

Claim 8

The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; storing the usage counter in the first table in association with the cell format information; incrementing the format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to the predetermined format.

Claim 9

The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of decrementing the format usage counter each time a format modification results in the discontinuance of usage of the predetermined format from a cell, and eliminating the format information from the first table when the format usage counter reaches zero.

Claim 10

The method of claim 7, wherein the new format includes formatting information selected from the group consisting of character font, character size, style, and color.

Claim 11

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet data array having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table separate from said data array for storing an index pointing to cell format information stored in the first table; combining predetermined elements of cell format information to create a default cell format; generating an index to the default cell format; storing the default cell format in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the default cell format in at least one location in the second table; and initializing each of the cells with the index to point to the default cell format.

Claim 12

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet data array having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table separate from said data array for storing an index pointing to cell format information stored in the first table; combining predetermined elements of cell format information to create a default cell format; generating an index to the default cell format; storing the default cell format in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the default cell format in at least one location in the second table; and initializing each of the cells with the index to point to the default cell format.

Claim 13

The method of claim 10, wherein the first table is a font palette that stores operating system font descriptor information, style information, and color information.

Claim 14

The method of claim 10, wherein the second table is a direct cell formatting array that stores the index in combination with cell identifying information.

Claim 15

The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of changing a cell format, comprising the steps of: recalling the index for a cell of interest; recalling the format pointed to by the index; modifying the cell format information in accordance with a desired format to generate modified cell format information; determining whether the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table; in response to determination that the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table, incrementing a format usage counter and storing the index to the extant format in the second table; and in response to determination that the modified cell format information is not already extant in the first table, storing the modified cell format information in the first table, creating a new index to the modified cell format information, and storing the new index in the second table.

Claim 16

The method of claim 13, further including the step of scanning the first table for an existing format information upon creation of a modified format and returning the index for the existing format information to the second table if a duplicate entry is found.

Claim 17

For use with a computer application program, a system for displaying character information with formatting, comprising: a data array for storing information corresponding to a character or group of characters that are displayed according to a selected one of a plurality of display formats; a first table for storing a plurality of display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of said plurality of display formats in association with an identifier associated with a character or group of characters stored in said data array; means responsive to being provided with said identifier for retrieving said index to said one of said plurality of display formats from said second table; means responsive to said retrieved index for retrieving a selected one of said plurality of display formats from said first table; and means for imposing said selected one of said plurality of display formats upon said character or group of characters in said data array.

Claim 18

For use with a computer application program, a system for displaying character information with formatting, comprising: a data array for storing information corresponding to a character or group of characters that are displayed according to a selected one of a plurality of display formats; a first table for storing a plurality of display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of said plurality of display formats in association with an identifier associated with a character or group of characters stored in said data array; means responsive to being provided with said identifier for retrieving said index to said one of said plurality of display formats from said second table; means responsive to said retrieved index for retrieving a selected one of said plurality of display formats from said first table; and means for imposing said selected one of said plurality of display formats upon said character or group of characters in said data array.

Claim 19

The system of claim 15, wherein said display format retrieving means comprises an eight bit indexed lookup table.

Claim 20

The system of claim 15, wherein said display format imposing means comprises a computer system display memory.

Claim 21

The system of claim 15, wherein said index retrieving means comprises a binary search engine.

Claim 22

The system of claim 18, wherein said binary search engine is operative for conducting a binary search based on a spreadsheet cell identifier comprising a row identifier and a column identifier.

Claim 23

The system of claim 19, wherein if the binary search indicates that a wild card character is stored in either the row identifier or column identifier for a selected cell, said index retrieving means is operative for retrieving the index for the initial entry of the entire column associated or row, respectively, as appropriate; otherwise, said index retrieving means is operative for retrieving the index associated with the row identifier and column identifier of the selected cell.

Claim 24

The system of claim 15, further comprising: means for searching said first table to determine if a particular display format is already stored therein, wherein for a new format, said searching means searches said first table to determine if said new format is already extant; means for assigning the index for an extant format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is already extant; and means for creating a new index to another location in said first table and assigning said new index for the new format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is not already extant.

Claim 25

The system of claim 21, further comprising; means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; means for storing said format usage counter in said first table in association with said display formats; and means for incrementing said format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to said predetermined format.

Claim 26

The system of claim 22, further comprising: means for decrementing said format usage counter each time a format modification results in the discontinuance of usage of the predetermined format and eliminating said display format from said first table when said format usage counter reaches zero.

Claim 27

The system of claim 15, wherein said display format includes formatting information selected from the group consisting of character font, character size, style, and color.

Claim 28

The system of claim 15, further comprising: means for modifying a display format associated with a character or group of characters; and means for installing said modified display format in said first table; and means for updating the index of said characters or group of characters in said second table to point to said modified display format in said first table.

Claim 29

The system of claim 15, further including means for detecting and eliminating duplicate entries in said first table.

Claim 32

The method of claim 27, further including the steps of: in response to a user command to modify a format for a selected cell, creating a modified display format; searching the first table to determine if the modified format is already extant; if the modified format is already extant, incrementing a format usage counter associated with the extant display format; assigning the index for the extant display format to the selected cell; and displaying the selected cell according to the modified format.

Claim 33

The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of: saving the spreadsheet including each cell together with the index associated with the cell; and saving the first table after removing currently unused display formats.

Claim 34

An improved spreadsheet structure comprising: a plurality of data cells displayed according to one or more display formats, each data cell associated with a cell identifier; a first table for storing the display formats; a second table separate from said data array for storing an index to one of the display formats stored in said first table in association with a cell identifier; and means for associating one of the indices with the display identifier for each cell such that the data in each cell is displayed according to the display format associated with the index for the cell.

Claim 35

An improved spreadsheet structure comprising: a plurality of data cells displayed according to one or more display formats, each data cell associated with a cell identifier; a first table for storing the display formats; a second table separate from said data array for storing an index to one of the display formats stored in said first table in association with a cell identifier; and means for associating one of the indices with the display identifier for each cell such that the data in each cell is displayed according to the display format associated with the index for the cell.

Claim 36

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 30, wherein each index is located with a binary search in the second table.

Claim 37

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 30, further including means for modifying the display format associated with the index for a cell and means for updating the index to correspond to the modified display format.

Claim 38

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 30, further including means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the usages of display formats.

Claim 39

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 33, further comprising means for incrementing the format usage counter when a cell is formatted with an already extant display format.

Claim 40

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 34, further comprising means for decrementing the format usage counter when a display format is removed from a cell.

Claim 41

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 30, further including: means for modifying a display format; means for scanning the table for an existing display format identical to the modified display format; and means for replacing a previous index for a cell with the index for the existing identical display format.

Claim 42

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a computer spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table for storing an index pointing to an item of cell format information stored in the first table; generating an index to the item of cell format information stored in the first table; storing the cell format information in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the cell format information in at least one location in the second table; for a new format, searching the first table to determine if the new format is already extant; if the new format is already extant, assigning the index for the extant format to the cell identifier in the second table; if the new format is not already extant, creating a new index to the next location in the first table and assigning the new index for the new format to the cell identifier in the second table; maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; storing the usage counter in the first table in association with the format information; incrementing the format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to the predetermined format; locating an entry in the second table corresponding to a selected cell utilizing a binary search; if the binary search indicates that a wild card character is stored in either a row identifier or a column identifier for the selected cell, retrieving the index for the initial entry of the entire row or column, respectively; otherwise, retrieving the index associated with the row identifier and column identifier of the selected cell; utilizing the retrieved index from the preceding two retrieving steps to retrieve cell format information from the first table; displaying the selected cell in accordance with the stored cell format information.

Claim 43

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a computer spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table for storing an index pointing to an item of cell format information stored in the first table; generating an index to the item of cell format information stored in the first table; storing the cell format information in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the cell format information in at least one location in the second table; for a new format, searching the first table to determine if the new format is already extant; if the new format is already extant, assigning the index for the extant format to the cell identifier in the second table; if the new format is not already extant, creating a new index to the next location in the first table and assigning the new index for the new format to the cell identifier in the second table; maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; storing the usage counter in the first table in association with the format information; incrementing the format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to the predetermined format; locating an entry in the second table corresponding to a selected cell utilizing a binary search; if the binary search indicates that a wild card character is stored in either a row identifier or a column identifier for the selected cell, retrieving the index for the initial entry of the entire row or column, respectively; otherwise, retrieving the index associated with the row identifier and column identifier of the selected cell; utilizing the retrieved index from the preceding two retrieving steps to retrieve cell format information from the first table; displaying the selected cell in accordance with the stored cell format information.

Claim 44

The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of decrementing the format usage counter each time a format modification results in the discontinuance of usage of the predetermined format from a cell, and eliminating the format information from the first table when the format usage counter reaches zero.

Claim 45

The method of claim 37, wherein the new format includes formatting information selected from the group consisting of character font, character size, style, and color.

Claim 46

For use with a computer application program, a system for displaying character information with formatting, comprising: a first table for storing a plurality of display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of said plurality of display formats in association with an identifier associated with a character or group of characters; a character or group of characters that are displayed according to one of said plurality of display formats; means responsive to being provided with said identifier for retrieving said index to said one of said plurality of display formats from said second table; means responsive to said retrieved index for retrieving a selected one of said plurality of display formats from said first table; and means for imposing said selected one of said plurality of display formats upon said character or group of characters; means for searching said first table to determine if a particular display format is already stored therein, wherein for a new format, said searching means searches said first table to determine if said new format is already extant; means for assigning the index for an extant format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is already extant; means for creating a new index to another location in said first table and assigning said new index for the new format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is not already extant; means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; means for storing said format usage counter in said first table in association with said display formats; and means for incrementing said format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to said predetermined format.

Claim 47

For use with a computer application program, a system for displaying character information with formatting, comprising: a first table for storing a plurality of display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of said plurality of display formats in association with an identifier associated with a character or group of characters; a character or group of characters that are displayed according to one of said plurality of display formats; means responsive to being provided with said identifier for retrieving said index to said one of said plurality of display formats from said second table; means responsive to said retrieved index for retrieving a selected one of said plurality of display formats from said first table; and means for imposing said selected one of said plurality of display formats upon said character or group of characters; means for searching said first table to determine if a particular display format is already stored therein, wherein for a new format, said searching means searches said first table to determine if said new format is already extant; means for assigning the index for an extant format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is already extant; means for creating a new index to another location in said first table and assigning said new index for the new format to said identifier in said second table if the new format is not already extant; means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the instances of usage of a predetermined format; means for storing said format usage counter in said first table in association with said display formats; and means for incrementing said format usage counter each time a new or modified format is created that corresponds to said predetermined format.

Claim 48

The system of claim 40, further comprising: means for decrementing said format usage counter each time a format modification results in the discontinuance of usage of the predetermined format and eliminating said display format from said first table when said format usage counter reaches zero.

Claim 49

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table for storing an index pointing to cell format information stored in the first table; combining predetermined elements of cell format information to create a default cell format; generating an index to the default cell format; storing the default cell format in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the default cell format in at least one location in the second table; and initializing each of the cells with the index to point to the default cell format; recalling the index for a cell of interest; recalling the format pointed to by the index; modifying the cell format information in accordance with a desired format to generate modified cell format information; determining whether the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table; in response to determination that the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table, incrementing a format usage counter and storing the index to the extant format in the second table; and in response to determination that the modified cell format information is not already extant in the first table, storing the modified cell format information in the first table, creating a new index to the modified cell format information, and storing the new index in the second table.

Claim 50

An improved method of formatting cells and characters in a spreadsheet, comprising the steps of: allocating a worksheet having a plurality of cells containing data elements; allocating a first table for storing cell format information which represents the appearance of the cells and the data elements within the cells; allocating a second table for storing an index pointing to cell format information stored in the first table; combining predetermined elements of cell format information to create a default cell format; generating an index to the default cell format; storing the default cell format in the first table according to the index; storing the index to the default cell format in at least one location in the second table; and initializing each of the cells with the index to point to the default cell format; recalling the index for a cell of interest; recalling the format pointed to by the index; modifying the cell format information in accordance with a desired format to generate modified cell format information; determining whether the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table; in response to determination that the modified cell format information is already extant in the first table, incrementing a format usage counter and storing the index to the extant format in the second table; and in response to determination that the modified cell format information is not already extant in the first table, storing the modified cell format information in the first table, creating a new index to the modified cell format information, and storing the new index in the second table.

Claim 51

The method of claim 42, further including the step of scanning the first table for an existing format information upon creation of a modified format and returning the index for the existing format information to the second table if a duplicate entry is found.

Claim 54

An improved spreadsheet structure comprising: a plurality of data cells displayed according to one or more display formats; a first table for storing the display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of the display formats stored in said first table in association with a cell identifier; means for associating one of the indices with the display identifier for each cell such that each cell is displayed according to the display format associated with the index for the cell; means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the usages of display formats; and means for incrementing the format usage counter when a cell is formatted with an already extant display format.

Claim 55

An improved spreadsheet structure comprising: a plurality of data cells displayed according to one or more display formats; a first table for storing the display formats; a second table for storing an index to one of the display formats stored in said first table in association with a cell identifier; means for associating one of the indices with the display identifier for each cell such that each cell is displayed according to the display format associated with the index for the cell; means for maintaining a format usage counter indicative of the usages of display formats; and means for incrementing the format usage counter when a cell is formatted with an already extant display format.

Claim 56

The improved spreadsheet structure of claim 45, further comprising means for decrementing the format usage counter when a display format is removed from a cell.