Enhanced Find and Replace for Electronic Documents

Abstract

An enhanced find and replace feature for a spreadsheet program module is disclosed. The enhanced find and replace feature allows users to search for terms and attributes across multiple sheets of a workbook. The find and replace feature also allows searches to be performed based on the formatting attributes of a cell as well as the textual or numerical contents of a cell. The enhanced find and replace feature also allows users to perform bulk formatting of cells (even cells without text) in a spreadsheet. In another aspect, the enhanced find and replace feature lists all the results of the find operation in a results list so that the user may choose which result(s) to view and edit. In another aspect, the find and replace feature is modeless so that a user can search for terms or attributes, view a results list, exit the find and replace feature, perform editing functions in the document and then return to the find and replace feature. With modelessness, when the user clicks into a worksheet and clicks back into the find and replace dialog, the search resumes on the current selection in the worksheet.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for populating at least one field in a dialog of a spreadsheet program module, the method comprising:
 editing at least one field in the dialog to correspond to at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic of a cell in a spreadsheet; and   executing a find operation for identifying other cells in the spreadsheet with the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic of the cell by receiving a selection of the cell containing the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein editing the at least one field the dialog to correspond to at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic of the cell comprises applying the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic to the at least one field in the dialog. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein receiving the selection of the cell comprises receiving an indication of a selection made by a user. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein receiving the indication of the selection made by the user comprises the user moving a cursor over the cell. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , further comprising, in response to the user moving the cursor over the cell, modifying a visual representation of the cursor. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining that there is no text in the at least one field in the dialog of the spreadsheet. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein executing the find operation for identifying other cells with the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic comprises identifying other cells with the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic and no text. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein executing the find operation for identifying other cells with the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic comprises identifying other cells with the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic and text. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-implemented method for performing a replace operation on a file of a spreadsheet program module, the method comprising the following steps:
 finding a cell in a spreadsheet with an editable non-textual formatting attribute in a find field of a find and replace dialog of a spreadsheet; and   replacing the editable non-textual formatting attribute of the found cell with another editable non-textual formatting attribute received in a replace field of the find and replace dialog for the replace operation.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving the editable non-textual formatting attribute in the replace field by determining the editable non-textual formatting attribute of a corresponding cell. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , further comprising determining the editable non-textual formatting attribute of a corresponding cell by receiving a selection of the corresponding cell that contains the editable non-textual formatting attribute. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , further comprising changing a shape of a cursor used to select the corresponding cell from a first shape to a second shape distinct from the first shape upon receiving the selection of the corresponding cell containing the at least one editable non-textual formatting attribute. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , further comprising determining that there is no text in the replace field in the dialog of the spreadsheet.
 replacing the editable non-textual formatting attribute of the found cell with another editable non-textual formatting attribute received in a replace field of the find and replace dialog for the replace operation.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the found cell is without text. 
     
     
         16 . A system for populating at least one field in a dialog of a spreadsheet program module, the system comprising:
 a memory storage; and   a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to:
 receive a selection of a formatted cell in the spreadsheet; 
 determine, in response to selecting the formatted cell, at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic of the selected formatted cell; and 
 populate the determined at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic to the at least one field in the dialog. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the processing unit is further operative to apply the at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic populated to the dialog to at least one other cell. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising the processing unit being operative to execute a find operation for identifying cells with the populated at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising the processing unit being operative to execute a find operation for identifying cells with the populated at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic and no text. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising the processing unit being operative to execute a find operation for identifying cells with the populated at least one editable non-textual formatting characteristic and text.