Spreadsheet Borders
Borders around spreadsheet data or other data in arrays should look and
behave very much like text borders. The Figure below shows a typical border
within a spreadsheet document.
A publisher border within a spreadsheet document
Note that the border goes below the column headers (A, B, C, D) and to the
right of the row labels (1, 2, 3, 4)--it should not overlap these cell
boundaries. The border at the bottom and the border on the right side can be
placed within the adjacent cells (outside of the cells that constitute the
publisher).
In contrast to word-processing applications, borders in spreadsheet
documents (or other documents with array data) can overlap. That is, a user
can select a row of cells to be a publisher and an overlapping column of those
cells to be another publisher. You should never display more than one
publisher border at a time. When a user selects a spreadsheet cell that is part
of more than one publisher, you should display only the border of the
publisher that was last edited. (This can be accomplished by comparing the
modification dates of the publishers.)
If it is absolutely necessary to display all section borders within a document
menu to toggle all borders on and off.
When data is added to or deleted from a publisher that consists of a
spreadsheet cell or other array, its border should grow or shrink to
accommodate the addition or deletion of data. A publisher should behave like a
named range in a spreadsheet. For example, if a user cuts a row within a
publisher that consists of a named range in a spreadsheet, you should shrink
the publisher data and its border correspondingly.
When a user cuts a publisher and its entire contents within a spreadsheet
document, the entire section should be held in the Clip board. Do not leave an
empty publisher border in a spreadsheet (as recommended for text borders).
If a user attempts to paste a copy of an existing publisher, you should warn the
user by displaying an alert box (see the separate section entitled