Larry S Tseng

US Patent:

7225189, May 29, 2007

Filed:

Feb 19, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/782074

Inventors:

Michael J. McCormack - Snohomish WA, US
Robert W. Coffen - Redmond WA, US
Richard L. Dickinson - Seattle WA, US
Sumit Chauhan - Sammamish WA, US
Eric W. Patterson - Sammamish WA, US
Paul A. Hafner - Redmond WA, US
Larry Tseng - Sammamish WA, US
Xiaohui Pan - Bellevue WA, US
Michael J. Eatough - Kirkland WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

G06F 7/00
G06F 17/00

US Classification:

707 10, 715503

Abstract:

Methods and systems provide for bi-directional communication between a spreadsheet application worksheet and a database data source that allows modified data to be written from a spreadsheet application to source data in a database data source from which the original pre-modified data was obtained. Offline data changes in a spreadsheet application are cached by a data provider application and are published to a remote data source when the spreadsheet application is synchronized with the data source. Error conditions and data conflicts resulting from new or modified data published to a database data source from a spreadsheet application worksheet are reported to a user of the spreadsheet application worksheet through a data provider application to allow the user an opportunity to resolve error conditions and data conflicts between the user's data changes and other data changes made to the same source data contained in the database data source.