Sorting spreadsheet data by format
The present invention comprises methods and user interfaces for organizing data displayed within a data application. Specifically, the present invention provides methods and systems for arranging the display of the data by a format applied to one or more portions of the data. The formats comprise different visual characteristics of the displayed data. In exemplary embodiments, the data application organizes the data by the fill color of the cell, the font color of the data within the cell, or the type of icon inserted into the cell. The organizations comprise any type of rearrangement of the data. In exemplary embodiments, the data application sorts or filters the displayed data according to the format.
1. A method executable on a computer system for organizing data cells in a cell table, the computer system having a graphical user interface including a display device and one or more user interface selection devices, the method comprising:
receiving a selection of data cells within a column of the cell table, wherein the selected data cells comprise less than all data cells within the column, wherein the selected data cells within the column of the cell table comprise at least one data cell associated with a first format and at least one data cell associated with a second format that is different from the first format, wherein non-selected data cells within the column of the cell table are associated with at least a third format, wherein the selected data cells within the column of the cell table are not associated with the third format, and wherein the first, second, and third formats are associated with a same format type;
displaying on the display device a menu, wherein the menu displays options for organizing the selected data cells, and wherein the menu options comprise the first format and the second format but not the third format;
receiving a selection of the first format by which to organize the selected data cells;
organizing the selected data cells based on the first format;
displaying the organized data cells, including displaying the at least one data cell having the first format and the at least one data cell having the second format; and
simultaneously displaying the non-selected data cells associated with at least the third format.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying on the display device a second menu, wherein the second menu displays one or more options for organizing the selected data cells according to one or more cell arrangements, and wherein the one or more cell arrangements comprise at least one of:
displaying selected data cells having the first format above selected data cells not having the first format; and
displaying selected data cells having the first format below selected data cells not having the first format;
receiving a selection of one of the one or more cell arrangements; and
displaying the selected data cells including the at least one data cell associated with the first format and the at least one data cell associated with the second format according to the selected cell arrangement.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the format type is cell fill color, and wherein the first format, the second format, and the third format are different colors.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected data cells are scanned for one or more formats associated with the selected data cells, and wherein the menu options comprise only the one or more formats associated with the selected data cells.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of receiving the selection of the first format by which to organize the selected data cells comprises activating the at least one data cell associated with the first format.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying an organization icon in the selected data cells;
receiving a selection of the organization icon; and
in response to the selection of the organization icon, displaying the organization state of the selected data cells comprising one or more of: a selected format, a format type, and a selected cell arrangement.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the format type is cell font color, and wherein the first format, the second format and the third format are different cell font colors.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the format type is cell icon type, and wherein the first format, the second format, and the third format are different cell icon types.
9. A computer system for organizing data cells in a data spreadsheet comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and containing computer-readable instructions that are executable by the at least one processor to perform the following steps:
receiving a selection of data cells within a column of the data spreadsheet, wherein the selected data cells comprise less than all data cells within the column, wherein the selected data cells within the column of the data spreadsheet comprise at least one data cell associated with a first format and at least one data cell associated with a second format that is different from the first format, wherein non-selected data cells within the column of the data spreadsheet are associated with at least a third format, wherein the selected data cells within the column of the data spreadsheet are not associated with the third format, and wherein the first, second, and third formats are associated with a same format type;
displaying on the display device a menu, wherein the menu displays options for organizing the selected data cells, and wherein the menu options comprise the first format and the second format but not the third format;
receiving a selection of the first format by which to organize the selected data cells;
organizing the selected data cells based on the first format;
displaying the organized data cells, including displaying the at least one data cell having the first format and the at least one data cell having the second format; and
simultaneously displaying the non-selected data cells associated with at least the third format.
10. The computer system of claim 9 , further comprising:
displaying on the display device a second menu, wherein the second menu displays one or more options for organizing the selected data cells according to one or more cell arrangements, and wherein the one or more cell arrangements comprise at least one of:
displaying selected data cells having the first format above selected data cells not having the first format; and
displaying selected data cells having the first format below selected data cells not having the first format;
receiving a selection of one of the one or more cell arrangements; and
displaying the selected data cells including the at least one data cell associated with the first format and the at least one data cell associated with the second format according to the selected cell arrangement.
11. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the format type is cell fill color, and wherein the first format, the second format, and the third format are different colors.
12. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the selected data cells are scanned for one or more formats associated with the selected data cells, and wherein the menu options comprise only the one or more formats associated with the selected data cells.
13. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the step of receiving the selection of the first format by which to organize the selected data cells comprises activating the at least one data cell associated with the first format.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the format type is cell font color, and wherein the first format, the second format and the third format are different cell font colors.
15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the format type is cell icon type, and wherein the first format, the second format, and the third format are different cell icon types.