Text edit system with enhanced undo user interface
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsBruce Raymond Baker, Adrian Storisteanu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Present edit systems having undo/redo functions are typically inflexible and do not permit users of computer systems to make use of these functions to the greatest advantage. The disclosed edit system having an enhanced undo interface, permits the selective display of undo elements intermixed in the edit view of the document with actual text elements and positioned relative to the affected text The user may select any undo element and selectively restore changes to the text. A series of user interface enhancements provide the user with a flexible set of capabilities for manipulating and assessing changes to a document.
Claims20
An improved method implemented in a programmed computer system for editing a document containing initial text stored in and displayed by said computer system, comprising the steps of:
- displaying the document;
- accepting user input to define a sequence of changes to the initial text of the document;
- obtaining user input so as to select a subset of the sequence of changes to the text of the document;
- displaying the document with said subset of the sequence of changes;
- selecting and undoing changes in the subset of the sequence of changes irrespective of the sequence in which the changes to the initial text of the document were made;
- implementing changes in the sequence of changes which are not selected and undone to provide an edited document;
- and
- displaying and storing the edited document and the selected changes undone so that the stored document has text corresponding to the undone changes along with the remaining sequence of changes.
A programmed computer system to enable a user to edit a document containing initial text stored in and displayed by said computer system, comprising:
- means for a user to enter into the computer system a plurality of changes to the initial text of the document so as to provide a sequence of changes;
- means for selecting a subset of the sequence of changes;
- means for displaying the document with the subset of the sequence of changes;
- means for selecting and undoing changes in the subset of the sequence of changes irrespective of the sequence in which the changes to the initial text of the document were made;
- means for implementing changes in the sequence of changes which are not selected and undone so as to provide an edited document;
- and
- means for displaying and storing the edited document and the selected changes undone so that the stored document includes text corresponding to the undone changes along with the remaining plurality of changes.
A computer program product comprising:
- a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the editing of a document containing initial text, the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising:
- computer readable program code means for causing a computer to enter a plurality of changes to the initial text of the document so as to provide a sequence of changes to the document;
- computer readable program code means for selecting a subset of the sequence of changes;
- computer readable program code means for causing the document to be displayed on a monitor with the subset of the sequence of changes;
- computer readable program code means, in response to user inputs, for selecting and undoing changes in the subset of the sequence of changes displayed on the monitor irrespective of the sequence in which the changes to the initial text of the document were made;
- computer readable program code means for implementing changes in the sequence of changes which are not selected and undone so as to provide an edited document;
- and
- computer readable program code means for displaying and storing the edited document and the selected changes undone so that the stored document has text corresponding to the undone changes along with the remaining plurality of changes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.