Patent ID: 7657571

Claim:
A method for generating a published snapshot of a spreadsheet having electronic file data, the method comprising: receiving a request for the snapshot; in response to receiving the request for the snapshot, generating the snapshot, wherein generating the snapshot includes: retrieving the electronic file data associated with the requested snapshot, wherein the retrieved electronic file data comprises static data and dynamic data and a plurality of objects; receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of objects for publishing in the snapshot; determining a current state of the dynamic data in the one or more objects selected for publishing in the snapshot, wherein determining the current state of the dynamic data comprises calculating a value for a formula in the retrieved electronic file data and refreshing data that is linked to an external data source in the retrieved electronic file data; dissociating the value from the formula after calculating the value; dissociating the refreshed data from the external data source such that the refreshed data in the saved snapshot does not reference the external data source; identifying proprietary information in the one or more objects selected for publishing; and saving the snapshot, the saved snapshot comprising the one or more objects selected for publishing, the current state of the dynamic data, including the value and the dissociated refreshed data, and wherein the identified proprietary information and objects not selected for publishing are not viewable in the snapshot when the snapshot is accessed.