Method for requesting and viewing a preview of a table attachment on a mobile communication device

Abstract

A process is set forth for previewing a table attachment on a mobile communication device, and upon identifying table content of interest viewing and/or retrieving the entire table from an attachment server. In one embodiment, a small 4×4 row/column preview is presented on the device of every table found in a document attachment, with the cell content textual information limited to the requesting device display capabilities. This limitation avoids any requirement to download large amounts of individual cell content to the device. Thus, the user is able to quickly identify which tables are of interest and then request a full table download from the attachment server in an on-demand fashion. In this regard, the preview table itself preferably also functions as a link to the full table stored at the server to facilitate easy retrieval to the device for viewing in a spreadsheet view.

1 . A process for implementation on a mobile communication device, comprising:
 issuing a request for a remotely stored document, said request including an indication of display capabilities for said mobile communication device;   receiving at least a portion of said remotely stored document;   determining whether said portion includes a table preview of a full table;   if said portion does not include a table preview then displaying normal text content of said document;   if said portion includes a table preview then displaying said table preview embedded in said document at the location of said full table, said preview table having a predetermined number of rows and columns of said table with cell content textual information limited to said display capabilities for said mobile communication device; and   generating a menu at said mobile communication device for initiating one of either retrieval or viewing of said full table in response to which said device transmits a further request for additional portions of said full table.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said receiving includes receiving a document ID that is associated with said full table. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said displaying said table preview further includes displaying text content associated therewith. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said predetermined number of rows does not exceed four, said predetermined number of columns does not exceed four, and said cell content textual information is limited to no more than thirty-two characters. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising issuing further requests for additional portions of said document. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 2 , wherein said table preview includes a link to said document ID. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein said link is included in a header of said table preview. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said menu includes a menu command to retrieve said full table. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said menu includes a menu command to view said full table. 
     
     
         10 . A mobile communication device process comprising:
 issuing a request for a remotely stored document having at least one embedded table, said request including an indication of display capabilities for said mobile communication device;   receiving and displaying said remotely stored document with a preview table component embedded in said document at the location of said table, said preview table component having a predetermined number of rows and columns of said table with cell content textual information limited to said display capabilities for said mobile communication device, wherein said receiving and displaying further includes receiving a document ID associated with said table in said remotely stored document; and   generating a menu selection at said mobile communication device for initiating one of either user retrieval or viewing of said table in response to which said device transmits said document ID to identify said table in said remotely stored document.   
     
     
         11 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , wherein said predetermined number of rows does not exceed four, said predetermined number of columns does not exceed four, and said cell content textual information is limited to no more than thirty-two characters. 
     
     
         12 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , wherein said displaying said preview table component further includes displaying text content associated therewith. 
     
     
         13 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , further comprising issuing further requests for additional portions of said document. 
     
     
         14 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , wherein said table preview includes a link to said document ID. 
     
     
         15 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 14 , wherein said link is included in a header of said table preview. 
     
     
         16 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , wherein said menu includes a menu command to retrieve said full table. 
     
     
         17 . The mobile communication device process of  claim 10 , wherein said menu includes a menu command to view said full table.