Use of temporary optimized settings to reduce cycle time of automatically created spreadsheets

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention provide a solution for reducing cycle time of automatically created spreadsheets. Specifically, an embodiment of the present invention provides a way to create a spreadsheet from data that is in a native format more quickly and/or efficiently. To do so, the invention accesses a control file using optimized settings to create the spreadsheet. Then, after creation of the spreadsheet, the invention uses a second control file having the final settings to modify the spreadsheet in preparation for output. The invention may use agents to perform all or a portion of these activities.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for reducing cycle time of automatically created spreadsheets, comprising:
 obtaining a first control document having optimized settings for the spreadsheet, the optimized settings include disabling non-essential background activities;   optimizing a spreadsheet application by applying the optimized settings to the spreadsheet application;   creating the spreadsheet by importing data from a source document different from the control document in a natural format that is different from a format of the spreadsheet into the spreadsheet using the optimized settings in the spreadsheet application;   obtaining a second control document having final settings for the spreadsheet;   setting the final settings; and   outputting the created spreadsheet.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control document is a pre-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second control document is a post-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the optimized settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the final settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-essential background activities disabled by the optimized settings include at least one of:
 automatic saving,   automatic calculation, or   background error checking.   
     
     
         7 . A system for automatically creating a spreadsheet, comprising:
 an optimized settings obtainer for obtaining a first control document having optimized settings for the spreadsheet, the optimized settings include disabling non-essential background activities;   an optimized settings setter that optimizes a spreadsheet application by applying the optimized settings to the spreadsheet application;   a spreadsheet creator for creating the spreadsheet by importing data from a source document different from the control document in a natural format that is different from a format of the spreadsheet into the spreadsheet using the optimized settings in the spreadsheet application;   a final settings obtainer for obtaining a second control document having final settings for the spreadsheet;   a final settings setter for setting the final settings; and   an outputter for outputting the created spreadsheet.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the first control document is a pre-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the second control document is a post-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the optimized settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the final settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the non-essential background activities disabled by the optimized settings include at least one of:
 automatic saving,   automatic calculation, or   background error checking.   
     
     
         13 . A program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium for automatically creating a spreadsheet, the computer readable medium comprising:
 program code for obtaining a first control document having optimized settings for the spreadsheet, the optimized settings include disabling non-essential background activities;   program code for optimizing a spreadsheet application by applying the optimized settings to the spreadsheet application;   program code for creating the spreadsheet by importing data from a source document different from the control document in a natural format that is different from a format of the spreadsheet into the spreadsheet using the optimized settings in the spreadsheet application;   program code for obtaining a second control document having final settings for the spreadsheet;   program code for setting the final settings; and   program code for outputting the created spreadsheet.   
     
     
         14 . The program product of  claim 13 , wherein the control document is an pre-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         15 . The program product of  claim 13 , wherein the second control document is a post-creation settings control document. 
     
     
         16 . The program product of  claim 13 , wherein the optimized settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         17 . The program product of  claim 13 , wherein the final settings are set via calls to an optimized settings class library. 
     
     
         18 . The program product of  claim 13 , wherein the non-essential background activities disabled by the optimized settings include at least one of:
 automatic saving,   automatic calculation, or   background error checking.   
     
     
         19 . A method for deploying a system for automatically creating a spreadsheet, comprising:
 providing a computer infrastructure being operable to:
 obtain a first control document having optimized settings for the spreadsheet, the optimized settings include disabling non-essential background activities; 
 optimize a spreadsheet application by applying the optimized settings to the spreadsheet application, 
 create the spreadsheet by importing data from a source document different from the control document in a natural format that is different from a format of the spreadsheet into the spreadsheet using the optimized settings in the spreadsheet application; 
 obtain a second control document having final settings for the spreadsheet; 
 set the final settings; and 
 output the created spreadsheet. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the non-essential background activities disabled by the optimized settings include at least one of:
 automatic saving,   automatic calculation, or   background error checking.