Patent ID: 8667411

Claim:
A copy and paste method comprising: receiving a selection of a copy source display area to be copied from a display screen of a display unit, wherein said copy source display area comprises elements which are specified by style; generating, using a processing unit, data on a paste target element specified by style from stored data in a storage unit on display information for said copy source display area, wherein generating said data on said paste target element further comprises detecting data on display information for an element from said data on display information for said copy source display area and storing said data in said storage unit, and deleting a style from said data on display information for said element when said style is directly specified in said element while maintaining said style in said element upon display in a paste destination display area; generating, using said processing unit, data on a copy source style related to said paste target element from said data on display information for said copy source display area and said data on said paste target element, wherein a paste candidate style table is created for said data on each paste target element of said copy source display area comprising entries of at least style property, style value, specified selector, and specified location for said each paste target element of said copy source display area and is stored in said storage unit, and wherein generating said data on said copy source style related to said paste target element further includes converting any style value into an absolute value, when said any style value is set as a relative value in said paste candidate style table; indicating, using said input device on said display screen of said display unit, a paste destination display area into which said copy source display area is to be pasted; generating, using said processing unit, data on a paste destination style associated with said paste target element from data on display information for said paste destination display area stored in said storage unit and said data on said paste target element; determining, with said processing unit, from said generated data on said copy source style and said data on said paste destination style, whether said paste destination style would change said copy source style; when it is determined that said paste destination style would change said copy source style, processing said copy source style into said paste destination style in order to make said paste destination style consistent with said copy source style, and generating data on said paste destination style with said copy source style therein; and displaying said paste destination display area, with said copy source display area pasted therein, on said display screen using said data generated on said paste destination style with said copy source style therein.