Patent ID: 7930323
Filing Date: 2011-04-19
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for auto formatting a table in real-time in a graphical page layout program in a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer display, said method performed by a computer coupled to said GUI and said computer display, said computer programmed to perform said method in response to user input, said method comprising: displaying a plurality of data elements of a database in a table format on a GUI on a computer display by a graphical page layout program representing a layout of a graphical page, said graphical page layout program performed by a computer couple to said computer display; accepting a table column event generated in response to a user action of altering a size of a column of said table format on said GUI; presenting a strategy menu comprising a plurality of white space formatting strategies, wherein each of said plurality of white space formatting strategies comprises at least one formula for calculating the amount of white space around objects in each column and calculating a plurality of new column widths of said table based on column content; accepting a user-selected white space formatting strategy related to said plurality of data elements of said database, wherein said user-selected white space formatting strategy is selected from said plurality of white space formatting strategies; and intercepting said table column event and applying said user-selected white space formatting strategy to at least one column of said table format of said layout of said graphical page after and in response to said user action whereby a plurality of columns of said layout of said graphical page are automatically reformatted according to said user-selected white space formatting strategy, wherein said user-selected white space formatting strategy may be switched during operation.