System and method for interactively manipulating data in an application

A method for manipulating data in a data processing application, the method comprising:

• receiving an input;
• determining whether the input represents a special input;
• upon determining that the input represents the special input, determining whether the special input is being used in a table-like manner, and if so,
• updating a pseudo-table associated with data entered in the table like manner;
• and
• performing table-like features using the pseudo-table without presenting an input window for defining the pseudo-table.

A system for manipulating data, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory into which a plurality of instructions are loaded, the plurality of instructions performing a method comprising:
• detecting a special input from an input device;
• determining whether the special input is associated with a table-like structure;
• and
• upon determining that the special input is associated with the table-like structure, performing a table-like function without presenting an input window associated with the table-like structure.