User interface for creating a spreadsheet data summary table

ES 2 564 584 T3

DESCRIPTION

User interface for creating a summary table of spreadsheet data

Data summary tables can be used to analyze large amounts of data. An example of a data summary table is PivotTable Pivot Views that can be generated using Microsoft Corporation's EXCEL spreadsheet software. A data summary table provides an efficient solution for displaying and summarizing data that is supplied by a database program or that is in a data list on a spreadsheet. A user can select the data fields to include within the data page, row, column, or data regions of the data summary table and can choose parameters such as sum, variance, count, and standard deviation that will be displayed for the selected data fields. The data in a database that can be queried from a spreadsheet program or a data spreadsheet that includes lists, can be analyzed in a summary table of the data.

Although a data summary table is designed so that data can be analyzed efficiently and intuitively, creating the data summary table itself can be challenging for novice users. For example, some programs provide wizards that help the user create a summary table of the data. While these wizards can be helpful in creating a summary table of the initial data, the wizards cannot easily be used to modify the screen once it is created. Other programs allow users to drag and drop desired fields directly into the data summary table. Although these programs provide the user with greater flexibility in creating the screen, these programs may be less intuitive for a novice to use.

US6626959 discloses a method that allows a user to selectively reformat a spreadsheet pivot table in one of a plurality of predefined formats, including various striped report formats. The pivot table with the new format offers a better appearance to a pivot table, keeping all its functionality within the spreadsheet program. A PivotTable is created by the user by selecting specific fields from the data and functions to appear in the PivotTable, and specifying the organization of the PivotTable fields and functions. The arrangement of the fields and associated data labels in the pivot table and the calculation of the pivot table data are performed automatically by the spreadsheet program based on user input and user field selections and the layout of the selected fields. A pivot table includes a row region, a column region, and a data region. Row region 120 contains data grouped in a columnar fashion by its associated fields. The data region contains the data calculated based on the original data records by applying the selected functions. The column region is arranged on top of the data region and can contain one or more fields as determined during the creation of the pivot table.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved system for the creation of a data summary table, as well as a corresponding method and a computer-readable medium.

This object is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims.

Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified way that is described later in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential characteristics of the claimed matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed matter.

According to one aspect, a graphical user interface for creating a data summary table includes a field panel, which includes a list of a plurality of fields, and a display panel, which includes a plurality of zones, the zones representing data summary table areas, wherein the display panel is programmed to allow one field of the plurality of fields in the field panel to be added to a first zone of the zones. A data summary table is updated in the field to be added to the display panel.

According to another aspect, in a computer system having a graphical user interface for a data summary table, a method including: selecting a field from a list of a plurality of fields; adding the field to a first zone of a plurality of zones, the zones representing areas of the data summary table; and updating a data summary table about the field that is added to the first area of ​​the display panel.

In accordance with another aspect, a computer-readable medium has computer-executable instructions to perform steps including: selecting a field from a list of a plurality of fields; adding the field to a first zone of a plurality of zones, the zones representing areas of the data summary table; and updating a summary table of data about the field that is added to the first area of ​​the display panel.

ES 2 564 584 T3

Brief description of the drawings

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates an example general purpose computer system;

Figure 2 illustrates an example sheet of a spreadsheet program;

Figure 3 illustrates an example data summary table and task pane of the spreadsheet program;

Figure 4 illustrates the example task pane of Figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates another example task pane;

Figure 6 illustrates an example of a menu for replacing a field in a display panel of a task pane;

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a method for placing a field of a display panel of the task panel of Figure 4;

Figure 8 illustrates the data summary table and example task pane of Figure 3 with a field added to the table;

Figure 9 illustrates the data summary table and example task pane of Figure 3 with multiple fields added to the table;

Figure 10 illustrates the data summary table and example task pane of Figure 9 with a field rearranged in the table;

Figure 11 illustrates another example task pane;

Figure 12 illustrates an example menu for modifying a layout of the task panel of Figure 11;

Figure 13 illustrates the example task pane of Figure 11 in a different layout;

Figure 14 illustrates the example task pane of Figure 11 in a different layout;

Figure 15 illustrates the example task pane of Figure 11 in a different layout;

Figure 16 illustrates the example task pane of Figure 11 in a different layout;

Figure 17 illustrates an example of a method for placing a field of a display panel of the task panel of Figure 4;

Figure 18 illustrates another example of a method for placing a field of a display panel of the task panel of Figure 4;

Figure 19 illustrates another example of a method for placing a field of a display panel of the task panel of Figure 4;

Figure 20 illustrates an example filter task pane;

Figure 21 illustrates an example of a manual filter area for another filter task pane;

Figure 22 illustrates an example pop-up menu with the filter task pane of Figure 20;

Figure 23 illustrates another example of a pop-up menu with the filter task pane of Figure 20;

Figure 24 illustrates an example dialog box for the filter task pane of Figure 20;

Figure 25 illustrates another example of the filter task pane;

Figure 26 illustrates an example pop-up menu with the filter task pane of Figure 25;

Figure 27 illustrates another example of the task pane;

Figure 28 illustrates an example tooltip for the task pane of Figure 27.

Detailed description

The embodiments will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein are examples and should not be construed as limiting; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete. Like numbers refer to like items throughout the description.

The embodiments described in this document refer to data summary tables used to analyze the data in a computer system.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary computer system 100 is illustrated. The computer system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 can take a variety of forms, such as, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a handheld computer. Furthermore, although the computer system 100 is illustrated, the systems and procedures described herein may also be implemented in various alternative computer systems.

System 100 includes processor unit 102, system memory 104, and system bus 106 that couples various system components, including system memory 104 to processor unit 102. The system bus 106 can be any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. System memory includes read-only memory 108 (ROM) and random access memory 110 (RAM). A basic input / output system (BIOS) 112, which contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computer system 100, is stored in ROM 108.

ES 2 564 584 T3

The computer system 100 further includes a hard disk drive 112 for reading and writing to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drive 114 for reading or writing to a removable magnetic disk 116, and an optical disk drive 118 for reading or writing. write to a removable optical disc 119, such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical media. The hard disk drive 112, the magnetic disk drive 114, and the optical disk drive 118 are connected to the system bus 106 via a hard disk interface 120, a magnetic disk drive interface 122, and an interface 124 of the optical drive, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, programs, and other data for the computer system 100.

Although the example environment described herein may employ a hard disk 112, a removable magnetic disk 116, and a removable optical disk 119, other types of computer-readable media capable of storing data can be used in the example system 100. . Examples of these other types of computer-readable media that can be used in the example operating environment include magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video discs, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), and read-only memories. (ROM).

A number of program modules can be stored on hard disk 112, magnetic disk 116, optical disk 119, ROM 108, or RAM 110, including an operating system 126, one or more application programs 128, other modules 130 program, and program data 132.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer system 100 through input devices such as a keyboard 134, a mouse 136, or other pointing device. Examples of other input devices include a toolbar, menus, touch screen, microphone, joystick, pad, pen, satellite dish, and scanner. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 102 through a serial port interface 140 that is coupled to the system bus 106. However, these input devices can also be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). An LCD screen 142 or other type of display device also connects to the system bus 106 through an interface, such as a video adapter 144. In addition to display 142, computer systems can typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.

The computer system 100 can operate in a network environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 146. Remote computer 146 may be a computer system, server, router, network computer, peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above in connection with computer system 100. The network connections include a local area network (LAN) 148 and a wide area network (WAN) 150. Such network environments are common in offices, corporate computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.

When used in a LAN environment, the computer system 100 is connected to the local network 148 through a network interface 152 or adapter. When used in a WAN network environment, the computer system 100 typically includes a modem 154 or other means for establishing communications with the wide area network 150, such as the Internet. Modem 154, which can be internal or external, is connected to system bus 106 through serial port interface 140. In a network environment, the program modules depicted in relation to the computer system 100, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are examples, and other means of establishing a communication link between the computers may be used.

The embodiments described herein can be implemented as logic operations in a computer system. The logic operations can be implemented (1) as a sequence of steps implemented in computer or program modules that run on a computer system and (2) as interconnected logic or hardware modules that run on the computer system. This implementation is a matter of choice depending on the performance requirements of the specific computer system. Accordingly, the logical operations that make up the embodiments described herein are known as operations, steps, or modules. It will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that these operations, steps, and modules can be implemented in software, in firmware, in special-purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof, without departing from the scope of the present invention as stated. indicated in the appended claims. This software, firmware, or a similar sequence of computer instructions can be encoded and stored on computer-readable storage medium and can also be encoded into a carrier wave signal for transmission between computing devices.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an example program 200 is shown. In one example, the program 200 is Microsoft's EXCEL spreadsheet software program that runs on a computer system, such as the computer system 100 described above. Program 200 includes a spreadsheet 205 with a sample list of data 210. A user can create a summary table of the data from the data 210.

For example, referring now to FIG. 3, an example user interface 302 of program 200 is shown. User interface 302 includes an initial data summary table 320 (the data in table 320 of

ES 2 564 584 T3 summary are blank in figure 3). The data summary table 320 can be created from data from various sources. In one example, as shown in Figure 3, the data summary table 320 can be created from data from one or more databases, as described below. In other embodiments, the data summary table 320 can be created from data in a spreadsheet, such as the data 210 shown in FIG. 2.

The user interface 302 of the program 200 also includes a sample task panel 450 that can be used to create and modify the data in the summary table 320. For example, task pane 450 includes a list of data fields 210. The user can select and deselect the fields of task pane 450 to create data summary table 320, as described below.

I. Task panel

Referring now to FIG. 4, an example task panel 450 is shown. Task panel 450 generally includes a field panel 452 and a layout panel 454. Task pane 450 is used to create and modify data summary table 320, as described below.

Field panel 452 includes a list 453 of each field in a given database or spreadsheet (eg, spreadsheet 205 as shown in FIG. 2 above). A scroll bar 451 is provided because the list 453 of the fields is longer than the space provided by the field panel 452. In some embodiments, field panel 452 (and layout panel 454 as well) can be resized by the user. Each field in list 453 includes a check box next to the field. For example, the Result field includes a check box 460 located adjacent to the field legend. When adding a field to list 453 in layout panel 454 as described below, the check box associated with the field is checked. For example, box 460 for the Result field is checked, as it has been added to the design panel 454.

The layout panel 454 includes a plurality of zones representing aspects of the data summary table 320 that is created using the task panel 450. For example, layout panel 454 includes a row area 455, a column area 456, a value area 457, and a filter area 458. The row area 455 defines the labels for the rows of the resulting data summary table 320. Column area 456 defines the labels for the columns of the data summary table 320. The value area 457 identifies the data that is summarized (eg, aggregation, variation, etc.) in the data summary table 320. The filter zone 458 allows the selection of the filter that applies to all other fields in the other zones 455, 456, 457 (for example, a field can be placed in the filter zone 458 and one or more elements associated with the field can be selected to create a filter to display only the elements for all other layout panel 454 fields that are associated with the element (s) selected for the field in filter zone 458).

One or more of the field panel 452 fields are added to one or more of the layout panel 454 areas to create and modify the data in the summary table 320. In the example shown, the user can click, drag and drop a field from list 453 of field panel 452 to one of the zones of layout panel 454 to add a field to data summary table 320.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the user can hover over a particular field included in field panel 452, such as "Store Sales" field 466. As the user hovers over the field, the user is presented with a crosshair 472 cursor, indicating that the user can click and drag the selected field in the field panel 452 to one of the panel areas 454 design. Once the user selects the field, the crosshair 472 reverts to a normal cursor, and the Store Sales field 466 can be dragged and dropped into the value area 457, as shown. A field can be similarly removed from layout panel 454 by selecting and dragging the field from layout panel 454.

In another example, the user can check the checkbox associated with a particular field in field panel 452 to add the field to layout panel 454. For example, if the user selects the checkbox 460 associated with the Result field displayed in the task pane 450 of Figure 4, this field can be added to the value zone 457 as the Result field 462. As described below, program 200 can be programmed to analyze and place the selected field in an appropriate area of ​​layout panel 454. The user can similarly deselect a checked field to remove the field from the layout panel 454. For example, if the user deselects box 460, the Result field 462 is removed from the layout panel 454.

In an optional example, if a user clicks on a given field to select the field without dragging the field to one of the zones on the layout panel 454, the user may be presented with a menu (for example, similar to menu 482 that shown in figure 6), which allows the user to select which zone the field places.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an example procedure 500 is shown for adding a field of field panel 452 to an area of ​​layout panel 454. In operation 501, the user selects a field that appears on field panel 452 to add to layout panel 454. At step 502, a determination is made with

ES 2 564 584 T3 as to whether the user selects the check box associated with the particular field. If the user selects the check box, control proceeds to step 503, and program 200 can automatically determine which area of ​​layout panel 454 is placed in the selected field. Next, in step 507, the field is added in the relevant area of ​​the layout panel 454.

If a determination is made at step 502 that the user has not selected the check box, control passes to step 504. At step 504, a determination is made as to whether the user has selected, dragged, and dropped the field in one of the areas of the design panel 454. If the user has released the field in one of the zones of the layout panel 454, control passes to operation 507, and the field is added to the zone.

If a determination is made in operation 504 that the user has not dragged and dropped the field, in an optional realization control it goes to operation 505 because the user has selected the field without selecting the check box or by dragging / by releasing the field in an area of ​​the design panel 454. At step 505, program 200 presents the user with a menu that allows the user to select the zone to which they want to add the field. Next, at step 506, the user selects the desired zone. In operation 507, the field is added to the zone.

Once the field has been added to the area of ​​the layout panel 454, control passes to step 509, and the program 200 updates the data summary table 320 accordingly, as described below.

Referring back to Figure 4, once a field such as the Result field in field panel 452 is added to one of the areas of design panel 454, the check box (e.g., box 460) associated with that field in the field panel 452 is checked to indicate that the field is part of the data summary table 320. Also, the font of the field label associated with the field in the field panel 452 is in bold. Similarly, when a field has not yet been made part of the data summary table 320 (or has been removed from it), the checkbox associated with the field is left unchecked and the field is displayed in a font. normal, rather than bold. Other procedures for indicating the fields that are part of the data summary table 320 may also be used.

As the fields are added and removed from the layout panel 454 of the task panel 450, the resulting data summary table 320 is modified accordingly. For example, the user is initially presented with task panel 450 that includes field panel 452, as shown in Figure 3. Referring to FIG. 8, when the user adds the Result field to the value area 457 of the layout panel 454, a sum of the data associated with the Result field is automatically added to the data summary table 320. Referring to Figure 9, the user can add additional fields (for example, Average Sales, Customers, Gender) to the zones of the layout panel 454, and the data summary table 320 is updated to include the data related to the added fields.

Referring to FIG. 10, the user can also move fields from one zone to another zone in the layout panel 454 of the task panel 450, and the data summary table 320 is updated accordingly. For example, the user can move the Gender field from column zone 456 to row zone 455, and the data summary table 320 is automatically updated accordingly to reflect the change. The user can also move fields within a given area 455, 456, 457, 458 to change the order in which the fields are displayed in the data summary table 320. For example, the user can move the Gender field over the Customer field in row zone 455 so that the Gender field is displayed before the Customer field in the data summary table 320.

Referring now to Figure 6, in one example, if the user clicks and releases a field such as Product Categories field 481 located on display panel 454 without dragging the field, the user is presented with a menu 482 that allows user manipulate field placement within display panel 454. For example, menu 482 allows the user to change the position of the field within a given zone (ie Move Up ”, Move Down, Go To Beginning, Go To End), move the field between zones (ie Move to Row Labels, Move to Values, Move to Column Labels, Move to Report Filter), and remove the field from the display pane 454 (that is, Remove Field). Only options that are available for a particular field are shown as active options in menu 482 (for example, Move to Row Labels is shown as inactive in the example because field 481 is already in row zone 455).

Referring back to FIG. 4, task pane 450 also includes a manual update check box 469. When check box 469 is selected, the resulting data summary table 320 is not automatically updated as fields are added, rearranged, and removed from display panel 454 to task panel 450. For example, if the user selects the manual update check box 469 and then adds a field to row area 455 of display panel 454, the data in summary table 320 is not automatically updated to reflect the newly added field . Instead, the update occurs after the user selects a manual update button 471 that is activated once a change has been made and a manual update can be performed. Manual updates can be used to increase efficiency when working with large amounts of data that require a

ES 2 564 584 T3 retrieval and significant processing time to create the data summary table 320. In this way, the desired fields and filtering can be selected before the creation or revision of the data summary table 320, which occurs after selection of manual update button 471, thus improving efficiency.

Referring to Figure 11, the fields displayed in field panel 452 represent online analysis process (OLAP) type data fields. (In contrast, the fields shown in field panel 452 in Figure 5 are non-OLAP, sometimes referred to as relational fields.) OLAP is a category of tools that provides an analysis of the data stored in a database. OLAP tools allow users to analyze the different dimensions of multidimensional data. OLAP data fields are arranged in a hierarchical structure with a plurality of levels. For example, the 1991 Sales Fact field includes Store Sales, Unit Sales, and Store Cost subfields. The subfields can be accessed by clicking the drill indicator (plus / minus sign +/-) 556 to expand and collapse the subfields. OLAP data can be organized into dimensions with hierarchies and measures.

In the embodiment shown, each field that appears on field panel 452 includes a plurality of components. A field can be highlighted by the cursor over or by clicking on the field. For example, each field, such as the product field shown in Figure 11, includes selection areas 558 and 559 that allow a user to select and drag the field. Each field also includes a 560 checkbox that can be used to add / remove the field from the 320 data summary table. In addition, each OLAP data type field can include a 556 perforation indicator that is used to expand and collapse the subfields associated with the field. Additionally, each field includes a drop-down menu area 562 used to access filter options, as described below.

Referring back to Figure 4, task panel 450 also includes a control 470 that allows the user to modify the layout of task panel 450. For example, the user may select control 470 to access a layout menu 572 as shown in Figure 12. Layout menu 572 is used to organize panels 452 and 454. For example, if the user selects fields and stacked layout 573 in control 470, field panel 452 is positioned above display panel 454 in task panel 450 to form a single integrated panel, as shown in the figure Four. If the user selects Fields and Side-by-Side Layout 574 on control 470, field panel 452 is positioned along side layout panel 454 on task panel 450 to form a single integrated panel, as shown in Figure 13. If the user selects Fields only 575 on the 470 control, the field panel 452 is displayed in isolation, as shown in Figure 14. If the user selects Layout Only 2 by 2 576 on control 470, display panel 454 is shown in isolation with zones 455, 456, 457, 458 arranged in a 2 x 2 square, as shown in Figure 15 If the user selects 1 by 4 577 Layout only on the 470 control, the display panel 454 is shown in isolation with zones 455, 456, 457, 458 arranged in a 1 x 4 square, as shown in the figure. 16.

In the example shown in Figure 5, the fields in field panel 452 are listed in alphabetical order. For lists including OLAP-type data, such as the one shown in Figure 4, the measures are displayed first, and the dimensions are listed in alphabetical order below. In the examples shown, the dimension folders are displayed in expanded form, with all other fields displayed in collapsed form. Other settings can also be used.

II. Automated layout of a field in a presentation panel

Referring back to Figure 4, if a user selects a field by checking the checkbox associated with the field, the program 200 is programmed to automatically place the selected field in one of the areas of the display panel 454, as described then.

In general, fields of a numeric type are added to the value area 457, and fields of a non-numeric type are added to the row area 455 of the display panel 454. For example, fields of a numeric type (for example, monetary sales figures) are typically aggregated and therefore placed in the 457 value zone, while fields of a non-numeric type (for example, names Product Code) are typically used as row labels and are therefore automatically placed in row area 455.

Referring now to FIG. 17, an example procedure 600 for automatically adding a selected field to one of the areas of display panel 454 is shown. In operation 601, the user selects a field on field panel 452 using, for example, the check box associated with the field. Next, at step 602, a determination is made as to whether the field is of a numeric type. If the field is of type numeric, control passes to operation 603, and the field is added to the value zone 457 for aggregation. If the field is determined to be non-numeric in step 602, control passes to step 604, and the field is added to row area 455.

In some embodiments, a numeric type field may also be analyzed prior to adding the field to value area 457 to determine if a different location on display panel 454 is more appropriate. For

For example, a field that includes a plurality of zip code values ​​is of the numeric type, but it is typically desirable to place a field as in row area 455, rather than in value area 457. For this For this reason, numeric-type fields are further analyzed in some embodiments using the semantics of the data to identify the desired placement on the display panel 454.

In one embodiment, a lookup table, such as, for example, Table 1 below, is used to identify numeric-type fields that are added to row area 455 instead of value area 457.

Table 1

<td>Field type string</td><td>Minimum value</td><td>Maximum value</td>

<td>^cp</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>year</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>trimester</td><td> 1</td><td> 4</td>

<td>Trim</td><td> 1</td><td> 4</td>

<td>month</td><td> 1</td><td> 12</td>

<td>week</td><td> 1</td><td> 52</td>

<td>day</td><td> 1</td><td> 31</td>

<td>go</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>number</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Social Security number</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>ssn</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>phone number</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>date</td><td></td><td></td>

In Table 1, the Field Type String column includes text strings that are compared to the title for the selected field, as described later. In the example shown, the title for the selected field is compared to each string in the Field Type String column of Table 1 to identify case-sensitive matches.

If a match is made between a text string in the Field Type String column and the title for the selected field, the numeric elements in the field are parsed by the values ​​in the Minimum Value and Maximum Value columns of Table 1 The value in the Minimum Value column specifies the minimum value of any of the elements of the given field type String type. The value in the Maximum Value column specifies the maximum value of any of the elements of the given field type String type. If no Minimum Value is defined in Table 1 for a particular String type field type, a determination is made as to whether the numeric elements are whole numbers below the Maximum Value. If no Maximum Value is defined for a particular field type String type, a determination is made as to whether the numeric elements are whole numbers above the Minimum Value. If there is neither a Minimum Value nor a Maximum Value that is defined for a particular String type field type, a determination is made as to whether the numeric elements are integers.

For example, if a selected field includes the heading Month, Table 1 is parsed and a match is identified with the String value of field type month. The numeric values ​​associated with the field are then analyzed to determine whether the numeric values ​​fall within the minimum and maximum values ​​1 and 12 (representing January through December). In one embodiment, all numeric elements for the field are tested. In other embodiments, such as when there are a significantly large number of numeric elements, only a sample of the numeric elements is checked against the minimum and maximum values ​​in Table 1. If all the values ​​are within the minimum and maximum values, the field is then added to row area 455, instead of value area 457, as described below.

The text strings and the minimum and maximum values ​​shown in Table 1 are examples only, and different strings and values ​​can be used. For example, text strings and minimum / maximum values ​​can be modified based on the geographic location in which the data is generated (for example, phone number values ​​may vary based on geographic location). In other embodiments, different types of semantic checking can be used. For example, the number of digits in numeric elements can be analyzed in addition to or instead of checking the actual values ​​of numeric elements. For example, if a title for a field matches the text string cp (i.e. zip codes), the number of digits for numeric items in the field can be examined to see if the digits fall within a minimum of five (for example, 90210 includes five digits) and a maximum of ten (for example, 90210-1052 includes ten digits).

Referring now to FIG. 18, an example procedure 610 for automatic placement of a selected field on display panel 454 is shown. Procedure 610 is similar to procedure 600 described above, except that numeric-type fields are displayed. further analyze. In operation

ES 2 564 584 T3

611, the user selects a field in field panel 452 using, for example, the check box associated with the field. Next, at step 612, a determination is made as to whether the field is of a numeric type. If the field is of a non-numeric type, control passes to operation 613, and the field is added to row area 455.

If the determination in step 612 is that the field is of type numeric, control passes to step 615. In step 615, the title for the field is parsed and, in step 616, the title is compared to a table search for text strings as shown in Table 1 above. If there is no match between the legend and a text string in operation 616, control passes to operation 619, and the field is added to value zone 457. If a match occurs in operation 616 between the legend and a text string in Table 1, control passes to operation 617.

In operation 617, the numeric elements of the field are parsed, and in operation 618, the values ​​of the numeric elements are compared to the minimum and maximum values ​​in Table 1 associated with the text string. If the numeric elements fall outside the minimum and maximum values ​​as described above, control passes to operation 619, and the field is added to the value zone 457. If the numeric elements fall within the minimum and maximum values ​​in step 618, control passes to step 613, and the field is added to row area 455.

In this way, specific numeric type fields can be identified and placed in row area 455, instead of default value area 457 automatically. If a field is automatically placed by program 200 in a particular area of ​​display panel 454 and the user wants the field to be placed in a different area, the user can select and drag the field to the desired area.

In some embodiments, fields associated with date information are identified and placed in column area 456, rather than row area 455 or value area 457. For example, procedure 630 shown in Figure 19 It is similar to procedure 610 described above, including operations 61-619. However, in operation 618, if the numeric elements fall within the minimum and maximum values, control passes to operation 631. At step 631, a determination is made as to whether the field is a date field. In the example shown, this determination is made by the text string that the legend matches. For example, if the field title includes the text date and corresponds to the text of the date series in Table 1, then the field is identified as a date field. If the field is a date field, control passes to operation 632, and the field is added to the zone in column 456. If the field is not a date field, control passes to operation 613, and the field is added to row area 455.

In alternative embodiments, the metadata associated with a particular field can be used to identify the attributes about the field. For example, metadata can be used to identify whether a field is a numeric field and / or a date.

In some embodiments, the following rules are used when an OLAP data identification field is automatically added to display panel 454 and data summary table 320:

A. OLAP hierarchies / OLAP named sets

1. the hierarchy is added to the row area

two. the hierarchy is nested inside all other fields in the row zone

3. for hierarchies with multiple levels, the highest level field is displayed in the data summary table and the user can drill to view the lowest level fields

B. OLAP measures / OLAP KPI expressions

1. if at least one measure has already been added, the measure is added to the same zone as the measures that have already been added

two. adding the second measure introduces a data field (see, for example, the field Σ Values ​​in figure 10) in the display panel, and the data field is placed in the default column area - the field of data is displayed in the design zone when there are two or more fields in the value zone

3. when added, the data field is nested inside all other fields in the column zone

Four. the data field resides in any of the row or column zones

In some embodiments, the following additional rules are used when a non-OLAP data identification field, or relational field, is automatically added to the display panel 454 and the data summary table 320:

A. For non-numeric fields, the field is added to the row zone - the field is nested inside all other fields in the row zone

B. for numeric fields, the field is added to the value zone

ES 2 564 584 T3

1. if at least one field is already in the value zone, this field will be added to the same zone as the field already added

two. adding the first field to the value zone introduces the data field in the display panel, and the data field is placed in the column zone by default

3. when added, the data field is nested inside all other fields in the column zone

Four. the data field resides in any of the row or column zones

III. Filtering task pane

Referring back to Figure 11, one or more filters can be applied to items for a particular field, to limit the information that is included in the data summary table 320. For example, the user can use drop-down area 562 for a particular field that appears in field pane 452 of task pane 450 to access a filtering task pane 700.

Referring now to FIG. 20, an example of the filter task panel 700 is shown. The interface 700 generally includes a drop-down control field selector 705, a manual filter zone 707, and a filter control zone 709.

The control drop down selector 705 can be used to select the different fields for filtering. For OLAP data, the fields in the control drop-down selector 705 can be displayed in a hierarchical arrangement, and the drop-down control 705 can be used to select different levels of OLAP data for filtering. In the example shown, the selected field is the Country field.

Manual filter area 707 lists all items associated with the field displayed in control drop down selector 705. Check boxes are associated with each list item in manual filter area 707 to allow the user to manually select the items that are included in the filter. Referring to Figure 21, for OLAP data, sub-items can be accessed by clicking the plus / minus drill indicator (+/-) to expand and collapse the items associated with each field listed in the filter area. manual 707. For example, the food and drink items are shown in expanded form. Checkbox 713 is selected for the food item, which results in the selection of each food sub-item as well. For the beverage item, only the Alcoholic Beverages sub-item is selected, and the box 712 associated with the beverage item is provided with a mix indicator to show that only a portion of the beverage item sub-items is selected. A select all check box 711 can be selected to select / deselect all items at all levels displayed in filter area 707.

Referring back to Figure 20, when the user uses the control drop-down selector 705 to select a different field, the manual filter area 707 is updated accordingly to the list of items related to the field displayed in the selector. control dropdown 705. If the newly selected field is from another level in the same hierarchy as the field originally selected in the control dropdown selector 705, the manual filter area 707 remains unchanged, since all levels of the elements are displayed in the area of manual filter 707 for OLAP data.

The filter control area 709 lists the filter controls that are available for your application in the selected field displayed in the control drop-down selector 705. The controls 710 allow the user to change the order in which the filter items are listed. . For example, the user can select one of the 710 controls to have the filtered items listed in alphabetical order of AZ or Z A. The 715 control is used to provide additional sorting options, such as, for example, sorting by a particular field.

The user can select control 720 to remove all filtering for the field in drop-down selector 705. Controls 725 and 730 allow the user to select particular filters to apply to the field in drop-down selector 705. For example, if the user selects the control 725, the user is presented with a drop-down menu 740, shown in FIG. 22. Menu 740 lists a plurality of filters that can be applied to the selected field. The filters listed in menu 740 are the filters that are typically applied to label fields. These filters include, without limitation, begins with, does not begin with, ends with, does not end with, contains, and does not contain. The user can select a filter from menu 740 to apply that filter to the elements in the field. Similarly, the user can select control 730 to access drop-down menu 745, shown in Figure 23. Menu 745 includes filters that can be applied to value fields. These filters include, without limitation, is equal to, is not equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, between, and not between.

Referring now to FIG. 24, when the user selects a filter from one of the drop-downs 740, 745, the user is presented with a dialog box such as dialog box 760 to construct the desired filter. In dialog box 760, a field checkbox 772 is pre-populated with the field selected in the control drop-down selector 705, and a filter checkbox 774 is pre-populated with the filter

ES 2 564 584 T3 selected from drop-down 740, 745. The user can select a different field by selecting from the drop-down menu in the field selection box 772 to, for example, access other fields currently included in the value zone 457 The user can select a different filter by selecting the drop-down menu in the filter selection box 774, which provides a list of all available filters for the drop-down data type. A criteria box 776 allows the user to place the value for filtering in it. For example, if the user selects the Store Sale option in the manual filter area 707 and then selects the filter greater than from the drop-down 745, the dialog box 770 is presented to the user. The user can enter the value 50000 in criterion box 776 to configure the filter to filter all sales from stores that are greater than $ 50,000.

Referring now to Figure 25, controls 725 and 730 can be modified based on the type of field displayed in drop-down control selector 705. For example, task pane 700 includes a field of type date and, for example, Therefore, it includes a control 725 that allows you to filter by date, and a control 730 that allows you to filter by value. The user can select control 725 to access floating menu 760 shown in figure 26. The floating menu 760 includes a plurality of filters that can be applied to a data type field.

In some embodiments, the user is presented with only the controls that apply to a selected field. For example, if the user selects a non-date field and the type is non-numeric, control 725 is active to provide a drop-down menu 740 with the filters applicable to that field. If the user selects a date field, the control 725 is active to provide a drop-down menu 760 with filters applicable to the date fields. If the user selects a field of type numeric, not date, control 730 is active to provide a drop-down menu 745 with filters applicable to numeric data fields.

In some embodiments, the filters may be associated with a particular field before adding the field to the data summary table 320. The filter is actually applied when the particular field is added from the data summary table 320. In this way, the amount of data that is accessed and summarized in the data summary table 320 can be reduced, which increases efficiency. If a filter is applied to a field that is already included in the data summary table 320, the data summary table 320 updates to the filter view to show only the filtered items.

Additional details regarding the application of the selected filters to the data can be found in patent application US 2011/0167330 A1, filed June 21, 2005 and entitled Aggregate Filtering Reports Dynamically Based on Values ​​Derived from One or More Filters previously applied 752 (see FIG. 25) on filter panel 700 which is positioned adjacent to all filters that have been applied. Referring now to Figure 27, once a filter is applied to a given field, a filter icon 810 is displayed adjacent to the field in field pane 452 of task pane 450 to indicate that a filter is applied to the field. . In some embodiments, a similar filter icon is also associated with each filtered field on display panel 454 and data summary table 320.

In addition, when the pointing device is positioned over the particular field with the filter icon 810, a tip tool 830 is provided, as shown in Figure 28. The tip tool 830 lists the filtered fields in one of three Sections, Filters, Manual Label Filters, and Value Filters. The tip tool 830 also lists the filtered fields in the order of evaluation with the type of filter applied. For filters with longer labels, a portion of the label can be truncated as needed to fit inside the tip tool. For each filter, an information window 830 shows that a manual filter is applied first on the Year field in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Information window 830 indicates that a text filter is then applied to the Name field, which requires the text ab. Additional filtering is also displayed in information window 830. In this way, the user can identify which filters will be applied to the data summary table 320, and can also identify the order in which the filters are applied by examining tip tool 830.

In the example shown, the user can use a drop-down area 562 (see Figure 11) for a specific field described in task pane 450 to access filter task pane 700. If user accesses interface 700 of the data summary table 320, the default field displayed in drop-down control selector 705 is the field that is currently selected in data summary box 320. The user can select another field using drop-down control selector 705. In other embodiments, filter task pane 700 can also be accessed from within the data summary table 320 by selecting drop-down areas 862 in the dialog box. data summary 320. See Figure 9. In other embodiments, the user can access the filtering task pane 700 by selecting one or more fields in the data summary table 320 and right clicking on the selected fields to access one or more filtering options. These options can include, for example, include or exclude selected fields in a manual filter, or filter the search performed using a tag, date, or value filters described above.

If the filter task pane 700 is accessed from the data summary table 320, the fields listed in the drop-down control 705 can be selected based on where the user accesses the interface 700. For example, if the user selects the drop-down zone 862 of a field in a row of the data summary table 320, it is

ES 2 564 584 T3 show all the fields currently in the rows. If the user selects instead of the drop-down 862 of a field in a column of the data summary table 320, all fields are currently displayed in columns.

In the example shown, the filtering information is stored with the particular field to which it applies. For example, if filtering is applied to a field that is not part of the data summary table 320, the filtering information is associated with the field and is applied when the field is added from the data summary table 320. Similarly, if a field with a filter is removed from the data summary table 320, the filtering information is retained with the field, so if the field was later added back to the data summary table 320, the filter is reapplied. As noted above, filtering for a field can be removed by selecting the field and then selecting control 720 (see Figure 20).

The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that various modifications and changes can be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims. .