Patent ID: 7669115

Claim:
A system for facilitating information exchanges, the system comprising: a client computer that includes a spreadsheet-based application program and a browser program and that communicates with a server across a network, wherein the spreadsheet-based application program is programmed to: render at least one spreadsheet having a plurality of data cells; query the server to determine whether a collaborative group that includes a plurality of users is defined within the server; when the collaborative group is defined within the server, provide each of the plurality of users of the collaborative group with access to the at least one spreadsheet; and allow each of the plurality of users to link the at least one spreadsheet with at least one supporting document that is stored in the server and that is operatively associated with the at least one spreadsheet; wherein the browser program is programmed to allow each of the plurality of users to view the at least one supporting document from a screen view of the spreadsheet; and wherein data to be used in rendering a first spreadsheet by the spreadsheet-based application program is determined by a first set of user selections on a toolbar displayed on a screen associated with the client computer, the first set of user selections defining a current view, and wherein a second spreadsheet rendering by the spreadsheet-based application program is determined by user changes to the first set of user selections on the toolbar, wherein any unchanged user selections from the first set of user selections are automatically incorporated into a second current view determined by the user changes.