Extensible architecture for chart styles and layouts

Abstract

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that enhance chart customization. As one non-limiting example, a chart style reader reads the settings associated with available chart styles from one or more style files. A chart layout reader reads the settings associated with available chart layouts from one or more layout files. The chart style and layout files can be custom-defined by a user, and/or can be system-defined (built-in). Menu options can be displayed in the user interface to allow a user to select a particular chart style and/or layout. When the user selects a particular chart style and/or layout, the settings stored in the file are applied to a chart in the document by a chart object renderer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a computer system of one implementation.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the business logic of a charting program operating on the computer system of FIG. 1 in one implementation.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a charting program operating on the computer system of FIG. 1 in one implementation.

FIG. 4 is a high-level process flow diagram for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 illustrating the stages involved in customizing a chart based on style and layout files.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 illustrating a portion of the contents of an example XML layout file.

FIG. 7 is a simulated chart for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 illustrating the layout settings in FIG. 6 applied to a particular chart.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 illustrating a portion of the contents of an example XML style file.

FIG. 9 is a simulated chart for one implementation of the system of FIG. 1 illustrating the style settings in FIG. 8 applied to a particular chart.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform steps comprising: reading a plurality of settings associated with at least one chart style from at least one style file;reading a plurality of settings associated with at least one chart layout from at least one layout file;displaying at least one style option corresponding to the at least one chart style, the style option being operable to be selected by a user;displaying at least one layout option corresponding the at least one chart layout, the layout option being operable to be selected by the user;in response to the user selecting a particular one of the at least one style option, applying the settings for the corresponding chart style to a chart in a document; andin response to the user selecting a particular one of the at least one layout option, applying the settings for the corresponding chart layout to the chart in the document.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the style file is a text file.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the style file is an XML file.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the layout file is a text file.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the layout file is an XML file.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one style file includes a plurality of style files, each of the plurality of style files having settings for a particular corresponding style.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one layout file includes a plurality of layout files, each of the plurality of layout files having settings for a particular corresponding layout.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the style file and layout file are a database.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one style file and the at least one layout file are the same file.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the settings in the style file specify a plurality of elements that are visible on the chart and a positioning for each of the elements.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the settings in the layout file specify a plurality of formatting settings for visible and hidden elements.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one chart style and the at least one chart layout are user-defined.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one chart style and the at least one chart layout are system-defined.

14. A method for enhancing chart customizations comprising the steps of: reading a plurality of chart settings from a plurality of files, the chart settings being selected from the group consisting of chart layout settings and chart style settings;displaying a plurality of chart options corresponding to the chart settings, the chart options being operable to be selected by a user; andin response to the user selecting a particular one of the chart options, applying the chart settings for the corresponding chart option to a particular chart in a document.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of files are XML files.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of files were custom-defined by the user.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of files were system-defined.

18. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform the steps recited in claim 14.

19. A system for enhancing chart customizations comprising: a chart style reader operable to read a plurality of style settings from at least one style file;a chart layout reader operable to read a plurality of layout settings from at least one layout file;a chart object renderer operable to communicate with the chart style reader to apply at least a portion of the style settings to a particular chart upon selection from a user of a particular chart style; andthe chart object renderer being further operable to communicate with the chart layout reader to apply at least a portion of the layout settings to the particular chart upon selection from the user of a particular chart layout.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the chart object renderer is further operable to communicate with a display device to display the particular chart to the user.