Intelligent copy and paste operations for application handling units, preferably handsets

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with the invention there is provided a method of transferring data from one application to another in an application handling unit controlling a plurality of applications, said transfer being handled by copying data to and pasting data from clipboard storage means, said method comprising identifying predetermined types of subitems in the contents of the data copied to the clipboard; and displaying said types of subitems for selection by the user upon reception of a pasting request for the data on the clipboard into said another application.
The transfer is handled by copying data to clipboard storage means as a complex data structure, e.
g.
a full SMS message including all available information e.
g.
the text message and the sender ID.
Then the complex data structure is analyzed, and predetermined types of subitems in the complex data structure are identified.
These subitems may be ordinary words, phone numbers or dates.
When the user requests the pasting of an item in the complex data structure into another application, a list of subitems will be displayed and the user may select the item which he finds appropriate to paste.
The main difference compared with prior art is that the transferred item is defined when pasting from the clipboard instead of when copying to the clipboard.
The text editing facilities on a phone are very poor at present in contrast to the menu selection facilities.
An example of the menu selection facilities is given in EP 463 856.
The invention provides a user interface which has a copy and paste function for copying data between applications and which is easy to use.
To reduce the length of the list presented when pasting, some analyzing may be performed upon the detection of a pasting request.
When an SMS message has been requested to be pasted into a phone number memory location in a phone book, only words allowable according the phone number syntax rules may be presented.
First, the contents of the complex data structure are divided into separate words by detecting dividing points as spaces or the like