Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-17
2002-08-27
Hong, Stephen S. (Department: 2176)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06442575
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to editing a table in an electronic document. More particularly, this invention relates to using a table tool to add an integrated header to a table, to add a nested table to a table, and to merge cells within a table.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Use of word processing program modules has increased in recent years due in part to the flexibility and simplicity of these programs. Oftentimes, documents with tables are produced using these word processing program modules. Unfortunately, documents with tables are not as easy to produce as documents composed entirely of text. Thus, word processing program developers have tried to develop easier, simpler, and more user-friendly mechanisms for producing and editing tables in an electronic document to provide a more competitive word processing program.
In order to better understand how tables are produced and stored in an electronic document, it is helpful to review how elements of a document, in general, are produced and stored. Some word processing program modules store elements of an electronic document on a character basis. For these character-based word processing program modules, new table-forming characters may be added as characters to the word processing program module so that tables may be inserted into a document. For example, referring to
FIG. 1
, several different table-forming characters
10
are illustrated: a horizontal line
15
, a vertical line
20
, corner characters
25
,
30
,
35
,
40
, four-way junction
45
, and t-junctions
50
,
55
. Using these table-forming characters
10
, a user may construct a table of virtually any size and shape using either a keyboard or a mouse to add the table-forming characters to a document.
In early versions of program modules with table-forming characters, the addition of textual characters to a table might destroy the shape of the table since any added characters could push or move the table-forming characters and, thus, destroy the shape of the table. In later improvements, program modules were provided with some intelligence to determine whether the characters on a line constitute a table and, if so, to make certain adjustments. For example, the program may make an adjustment to switch to an over-type mode or to wrap text to the next line. Although table-forming characters provide an adequate solution for tables in word processing program modules that store elements on a character basis, some word processing program modules do not store elements of a document on a character basis. Thus, a different solution is needed to provide easy-to-use tables for these program modules.
Some word processing program modules store text as a stream of characters with paragraph marks. The paragraph marks hold formatting information for the stream of characters. Typically, in these stream-based program modules, cells in a table are composed of a series of paragraphs with special table formatting. The special table formatting may describe attributes of the cell such as the type of border of the cell, the row that the cell is in, the height of the row, whether text is displayed at the top, the middle, or the bottom of the cell, justification of text in the cell, and other attributes. Thus, although the table appears on screen as a single object, it may be stored as a series of paragraphs.
Some word processing program modules also include master cells and slave cells for tables. Typically, master cells control the formatting of slave cells. Slave cells are suppressed, i.e., their borders, contents, etc., are controlled by the master cell. Referring now to
FIG. 2
, a table
200
is illustrated including master cells and slave cells. In
FIG. 2
, the dashed lines represent lines that define cell borders, but which are not displayed on-screen. It should be understood that a row in a table typically must be the same height across the entire row. Thus, there is a need for master cells and slave cells. Cell
205
appears to the user as one large cell when it is actually composed of four cells: a master cell
210
and slave cells
215
. It should also be understood that cell
217
is composed of master cell
220
and slave cells
225
. Generally, all slaves cells must be calculated before the complete cells
205
,
217
can be drawn because the complete cell boundaries are not known until all the slave cells have been calculated.
In some stream-based word processing program modules, a table drawing tool for drawing tables is available. Generally, a table drawing tool allows a user to insert a one-cell table by clicking down a mouse button at a point in a document. The user holds down the mouse button and drags the mouse to increase or decrease the size of the table. When the user releases the mouse button, the table is inserted into the document at the insertion point. Prior to the availability of a table drawing tool, a table was inserted into a document by selecting an insert table command from a menu.
Although using the prior art table drawing tools are more convenient than selecting an insert table command from a menu, there are problems with these prior art table drawing tools. For example, these prior art table drawing tools do not allow users to insert an integrated header into a table. An integrated header is a cell merged into the cell border of another cell. Referring now to
FIG. 3A
, an integrated header
300
is illustrated. The integrated header
300
is part of the table
305
. The integrated header
300
may be used for any purpose, such as displaying a title
310
for the table
305
. Using prior art methods, the integrated header
300
may be inserted using the table-forming characters
10
illustrated in FIG.
1
. However, using these table-forming characters is time-consuming for the user. Moreover, if the integrated header
300
needs to be resized, then the table-forming characters will have to be manually adjusted accordingly by the user.
Another prior art method for forming the integrated header
300
is to manually merge and split cells in a table to form the integrated header
300
. However, this process is time-consuming, difficult to master, and counterintuitive to a user's expectations. For example, the user expects to be able to use a table drawing tool to add the integrated header. However, prior art table drawing tools do not provide the capability of adding an integrated header. Thus, there is a need for an intuitive method for using a table drawing tool to quickly add an integrated header.
Another problem of the prior art table drawing tools and methods is the problem of creating nested tables. Referring now to
FIG. 3B
, a nested table
315
is illustrated. A nested table is typically either entirely inside another cell, or entirely surrounds another cell. Thus, a nested table is typically one table “nested” within a second table as illustrated, in FIG.
3
B. The nested table
315
is nested within the table
320
. Using prior art methods, the nested table
315
may be inserted into a document using the table-forming characters
10
illustrated in FIG.
1
. However, using these table-forming characters is time-consuming for the user. Moreover, if the nested table
315
needs to be resized, then the table-forming characters will have to be manually adjusted accordingly by the user.
There are prior art methods for simulating the nested table
315
by merging and removing borders, but this is not so useful because text does not flow around the nested table, and the table itself does not move in the cell with other content. However, this process is time-consuming, difficult to master, and counterintuitive to a user's expectations because the user expects to be able to use a table drawing tool to add the nested table. Thus, there is a need for an intuitive method for using a table drawing tool to quickly add a nested table.
Yet another problem of the prior art table drawing tools and methods is editing a table to merge cells or remove cell borders. Referring now to
FIG. 4
, a table
400
and table drawing tool
403
are il
Namba Katsuhiro
Pratley Christopher Hugh
Hong Stephen S.
Merchant & Gould
Microsoft Corporation
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