Method and system for the direct manipulation of cells in an electronic spreadsheet program or the like

Abstract

A method and system for directly manipulating cells in an electronic spreadsheet program or the like. After the user has selected the cells to be manipulated, the user merely positions the cursor over any part of the outside border of the selected group of cells, depresses and holds down a predefined mouse button, drags the border to a new location and then releases the mouse button, Depending upon which mouse button or control key was depressed, the user may be presented with options such as whether the manipulation should be to move or copy the selected cells, or the selected cells may be moved and no option presented. Depending upon which control key was depressed or upon the location of the repositioned border, the selected cells may be pasted over existing cells, or they may be inserted into the spreadsheet causing the existing cells to be shifted right and/or down.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . In a computer system having a display device, a mouse having a predefined mouse button and controlling movement of a pointer displayed on the display device, and a spreadsheet having a plurality of cells, wherein at least one cell contains data manipulable by the spreadsheet, the spreadsheet being displayed on the display device, a method of transferring spreadsheet-manipulable contents associated with a first cell into a second cell, the method comprising the acts of: 
 transferring the spreadsheet-manipulable contents associated with the first cell to the second cell in response to user input commands consisting essentially of: 
 a first user command selecting the first cell in the spreadsheet;  
 a second user command comprising positioning a pointer over the first cell, depressing the predefined mouse button, and dragging the first cell to the second cell; and  
 a third user command releasing the predefined mouse button.  
   
     
     
         2 . A method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the spreadsheet-manipulable data relates to a mathematical formula.  
     
     
         3 . A method of manipulating data in a computer system, the computer system having a display device and a user controllable pointer positioning device with signal generating means, the pointer positioning device controlling movement of a pointer displayed on the display device, wherein a program is operating on the computer system, the program using a worksheet to store and manipulate data, the worksheet consisting of a grid of intersecting columns and rows, wherein the intersection of each column and row is a cell capable of containing data manipulable by the program, the method comprising the acts of: 
 in response to input, selecting a cell or a plurality of cells in the worksheet;    in response to movement of the pointer positioning device, positioning the pointer over the selected cell or plurality of cells;    activating a drag mode in response to both the selection of the cell or plurality of cells and the activation of the signal generating means while the pointer is positioned over the selected cell or plurality of cells;    in response to movement of the pointer positioning device while the drag mode is activated, positioning the pointer over a cell or a plurality of cells in a new area of the worksheet;    in response to deactivation of the signal generating means, deactivating the drag mode; and    in response to deactivating the drag mode, moving the data contained in the selected cell or plurality of cells to the cell or plurality of cells in the new area of the worksheet thereby enabling the program to modify the moved data.    
     
     
         4 . In a computer system having a display device, a mouse having a predefined mouse button and controlling movement of a pointer displayed on the display device as a first shape, and a spreadsheet having a plurality of cells, wherein at least one cell contains data manipulable by the spreadsheet, the spreadsheet being displayed on the display device, a method of transferring spreadsheet-manipulable contents associated with a first cell into a second cell, the method comprising acts of: 
 in response to input, drawing an outside border around the first cell in the spreadsheet;    in response to movement of the mouse, positioning the pointer over the first cell and changing appearance of the pointer to a second shape to indicate that the outside border may be dragged across the spreadsheet;    in response to depression of the predefined mouse button while the pointer appears as the second shape and movement of the mouse with the predefined mouse button depressed, dragging the outside border to the second cell; and    in response to a release of the predefined mouse button, moving the contents associated with the first cell into the second cell.    
     
     
         5 . A method as defined in  claim 4 , wherein the spreadsheet-manipulable contents relate to a mathematical formula.  
     
     
         6 . A method as defined in  claim 4 , wherein the changing act comprises changing the appearance of the pointer from the first shape to the second shape as the pointer is positioned over the outside border.  
     
     
         7 . A method as defined in  claim 6 , wherein the first shape is a plus sign.  
     
     
         8 . A method as defined in  claim 6 , wherein the second shape is an arrow.