Method for automatically protecting data from being unintentionally overwritten in electronic forms
OwnerGerhard Spitzinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method that can be applied to data processing programs that allow the user to repeatedly change data (10), especially programs that process electronic forms such as spreadsheet routines. The invention provides a method with which an erroneous overwriting of initially correct data (10) can be avoided. To this end, the method allows an automatic selection of critical data (12), that is data that shall not be overwritten, from the quantity of data (10) to be processed. Said critical data (12) are automatically protected from being unintentionally overwritten.
Claims11
A method for protecting data (12) to be protected in programs for processing data (10), the programs comprising accessible data (14) and data (12) to be protected, the method comprising the following steps:
- a) the read-in of data (10);
- b) the automatic identification of the data to be protected (12);
- and
- c) the protection of the identified data and/or the data (12) to be protected through a safeguarding against an unintentional access.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the identified data are automatically protected.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that a manual protection of the data (12) to be protected is effected arbitrarily and/or additionally.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the unintentional access is a write access, and the method protects write-protected data (12).
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the unintentional access is a reading of the data (12), and the method protects read-protected data (12).
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the data (12) to be protected are identified through a semantic and/or syntactic analysis of the data (10), especially through the recognition of formulas and numeric and/or specifically formatted data (10) and/or the detection of access authorization of the users.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the data (10) are read in through a data input by a user.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the data (10) are automatically read in via an interface to other programs.
The method according to at least one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the method comprises a further step:
- d) the display of the identified data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.