Patent ID: 6968504

Claim:
A computer implemented method for defining a formatting style in a target document, the method comprising the steps of: determining the selection of the document element in the source document, the document element having an associated formatting style; determining a paste point in a target document, the target document having a corresponding formatting style; receiving an instruction to paste the document element in the target document at the paste point; determining whether the corresponding formatting style and the associated formatting style are identical; determining whether the corresponding formatting style has been used or redefined in the target document; defining the corresponding formatting style to be identical to the associated formatting style, in response to a determination that the corresponding formatting style and the associated formatting style are not identical and that the corresponding formatting style has been used or redefined in the target document; determining whether the corresponding formatting style belongs to a formatting style group; determining whether a member formatting style in the formatting style group has been used or redefined in the target document; applying the associated style to the pasted document element; and renaming the associated style, in response to a determination that the member formatting style in the formatting style group has been used or redefined in the target document and that the corresponding formatting style and the associated formatting style are not identical.