JP2000020507A - Document management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store a document file independently of an application environment and to reduce the capacity of a storage device necessary for storing document files. SOLUTION: An image data preparing means 102 prepares image data from the code data of a document file outputted front a code data edition means 101. An image data dividing means 105 refers to the code data and divides the image data in page unit. A file data management means 107 stores the code data and the image data in an external storage device 109 in a corresponding state. In the case of updating document files, a page data comparing part 110 mutually compares image data obtained before and after updating in each page and newly stores only the data of a changed page.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a document management apparatus used for a personal computer, a workstation, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers).
"PC") and workstation (hereinafter "W")
S ”) has spread rapidly, and the systematization of document management created by them has become important.

In a document management apparatus, the data format of a document file to be stored is mainly classified into two types: code data created on an application, and image data obtained by reading a document with a scanner. A conventional document management device manages a document file using either one of the data.

When managing a document file by using code data, it is necessary to hold a corresponding application. Then, when referring to or updating the stored code data, a corresponding application is started and necessary processing is performed on the application.

[0005]

However, there are many types of applications, and the above-mentioned conventional document management apparatus needs to install necessary applications on all the PCs to be used, which requires a huge amount of work. It costs.

In addition, even if the same application is created, data created in different versions may not be compatible. Therefore, it is necessary to keep all versions of the application in accordance with frequent application revisions. .

On the other hand, image data generally has a large data amount, and simply storing image data on a hard disk occupies a large amount of its storage area. Further, since the image data is in units of one file, when the image data is changed and both the document files before and after the change are saved, the data capacity required for the storage device is doubled even if only one copy is changed. Becomes

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a document management apparatus which is not affected by the environment of an application and which reduces the capacity of a storage device required for storing data. .

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention takes the following measures. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document management apparatus, comprising: code data editing means for editing code data of a document file; image data creation means for creating image data from the code data; A configuration including a file data management unit that manages them in association with each other is adopted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the first aspect, the image data creating means creates print data and reduced display data as the image data.

With this configuration, the code data and the image data of the document file can be stored in association with each other. Therefore, if the corresponding application is not installed due to an application revision or the like, the entire document file can be referred to by the image data. Further, when one of the image data and the code data is destroyed, the other can refer to the document data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a configuration is provided that includes a page dividing unit that divides the image data into page units by referring to the code data.

According to this configuration, when the image data of the stored document file is referred to, the image data can be extracted in units of pages, so that the time required for referring to the document file can be reduced as compared with the case where the image data is stored in units of files. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the created image data and the saved image data having the same file name are stored in page units. It is characterized by comprising a comparing means for comparing and newly storing only the data of the page having a difference in the comparison result in the storage area.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus of the fourth aspect, the comparing means deletes data of a page which has no difference from the stored image data among the created image data. , A configuration is employed in which information indicating that similar data has already been stored for a page from which data has been deleted is stored.

With these configurations, when storing both the image data of the document file before and after the change, the duplicated portion is deleted, so that the data capacity required for the external storage device can be reduced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, there is provided a file access management means for registering file access management for each type of data of the document file. It adopts the configuration to do.

With this configuration, the level and security of the update right can be set for each type of data.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, at the time of display processing or print processing, the data type of the document file stored in the storage area is selected. And an output file selecting means for reading the data.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the output file selecting means performs either one of print data or code data of the document file stored in the storage area during the printing process. When both the print data and the code data are not stored in the storage area, the display data of the document file stored in the storage area is selected.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the output file selecting means is configured to perform the processing when the display data of the document file is not stored in the storage area during the display processing. When the print data of the document file stored in the storage area is selected, and when the print data of the document file is not stored in the storage area, the code data of the document file stored in the storage area is selected. .

With these configurations, an appropriate type can be selected from the stored data, and a display process or a print process can be executed.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the document management apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the code data editing means 101
The editing process of the input code data is performed by using 51.
Further, the code data editing means 101 outputs the edited code data to the code data holding means 103 via the file data management means 107.

The image data creating means 102 creates image data from the code data edited by the code data processing means 101. The image data creating means 102 has an image reducing function, and creates two types of image data, ie, print data having a high resolution and display data having a small data amount. Further, the image data creating means 102 transfers the created image data to the image data holding means 1 via the file data managing means 107.
04.

The code data holding means 103 is a buffer for temporarily holding code data, and the image data holding means 104 is a buffer for temporarily holding image data. The image data read by the scanner or the like is input to the image data holding unit 104 via the file data management unit 107.

The image data dividing means 105 divides the image data of each file held in the image data holding means 104 into units of one page with reference to the code data.

By dividing image data having a large data amount into pages, only necessary portions can be divided and transferred at the time of data transfer, so that traffic congestion on the LAN can be reduced. Further, the time until the data transfer is completed can be reduced, and the waiting time of the user can be reduced.

The operation unit 106 transmits a user access request to the file data management unit 107 when performing processing such as updating, displaying, or printing on a document file stored in the external storage device 107.

The file data management means 107 stores the code data held in the code data holding means 103 and the image data held in the image data holding means 104 in the external storage device 109 in association with each other. Is registered in the file management database 152.

The file data management means 107
When a user requests access to a document file through the operation unit 106, the file management database 1
Whether or not the corresponding data is stored is checked by searching 52, and if there is corresponding data, the data is read from the external storage device 109.

The file access management means 108 sets the level of the update right and the security for each type of data, and the file data management means 107
When data stored in the data 09 is read, restrictions are imposed.

The external storage device 109 is an area for storing code data and image data of a document file.

When updating a document file stored in the external storage device 109, the page data comparing means 110 compares differences in image data of different versions of the same document file on a page-by-page basis. Only the data history information indicating that the data has already been saved is saved, and only the data of the page with different data is newly added and saved.

The output file selecting means 111 manages the data format of each document file stored, and appropriately selects the data format of the document file requested to be displayed and printed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a hierarchical structure of data stored in the external storage device 109.

As shown in FIG. 2, each document file is integrated under a document management file 201. And
At the lower level of the document management file 201, there is a version management file 202 for managing data for each version, and code data is stored under each version management file 202. In addition, a page management file 203 for managing image data for each page exists in a lower layer of the version management file 202, and the image data is stored in page units under each page management file.

As described above, since one document file can be collectively stored in different data formats, the document file can be referred to without depending on the user's environment. If not, all document files can be referenced by the image data. Further, when one of the image data and the code data is destroyed, the other can refer to the document data.

Here, a document file composed of a plurality of versions may have the same data portion in each version.
If all of these image data are redundantly stored, the capacity of the external storage device is wasted.

On the other hand, in the document management file system of the present invention, a new version of image data to be saved is compared with the already saved version of image data, and a duplicate data portion is not saved. I do.

When performing the difference management, the page data comparing means 110 compares the data in page units, deletes the image data of the duplicated pages, and stores only the changed and added page data in the external storage device 109. Will be saved.

For example, in FIG. 2, if only the third page of the second version of the image data has been updated with respect to the first version, the third version of the page management file 203 contains the third version. Only the image data of the page is saved.
Then, only data history information indicating that data of the same content has already been stored is stored. Then, the file data management unit 107 reads out the image data with reference to the data history information.

As described above, by managing the difference, the image data is not redundantly stored.
External storage device 10 required to store image data
9 storage capacity can be saved.

Next, the relationship between the data format of the held document file and the data format used for display and print processing will be described with reference to the relationship diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, there are three types of data formats of the document file to be stored: code data, print data, and display data. The document file is classified into seven types according to the data format in which the document file is stored.

The output file selecting means 111 manages each document file according to the document type. When the file data management unit 107 receives a display instruction or a print instruction, the output file selection unit 111 refers to the document type and stores the specified data in the external storage device 10.
9 to the file data management means 107.

For example, at the time of display processing, the output file selecting means 111 reads display data having a small data amount from the external storage device 109. However, when the display data is not stored as in “Type 2”, the output file selecting unit 111 reads the print data from the external storage device 109. When neither the display data nor the print data is stored as in “type 7”, the output file selecting unit 111 reads the code data from the external storage device 109.

In the printing process, the output file selecting means 111 reads out either the print data or the code data from the external storage device 109. However, when neither the print data nor the code data is stored as in “Type 3”, the output file selecting unit 111 reads the display data from the external storage device 109.

As described above, by referring to the document type data, an appropriate type can be selected from the stored data, and a display process or a print process can be executed.

Hereinafter, a document registration process of the document management apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, steps (hereinafter referred to as "ST")
In 401 to ST402, the code data editing means 10
The code data input to 1 is edited on the application and output to the image data creating means 102 and the code data holding means 103.

Next, in ST403, two types of image data, print data and display data, are created from the code data input to the image data creating means 102.
The created image data is stored in the image data holding unit 1.
04 is output.

Next, in ST404, the image data held by the image data holding means 104 is divided by the image data dividing means 105 in page units based on the code data.

Here, if the data to be stored is not new registration in ST405, an update process by difference management described later is executed in ST406.

If the data to be stored is new registration in ST405, or if the update processing is completed in ST406, in ST407, the file data management means 107 associates the code data of the document file with the image data. , File management information such as a file name is registered in the file management database 152.

Next, in ST408, the file access management means 108 sets a security level such as a password for the document file for each data.

Then, in ST409, the external storage device 10
9, the document file is stored, and the document registration process is completed.

Next, an update process of the document management apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the image data of the updated document file is called a new version, and the image data of the document file before the update is called an old version. The total number of pages of the new version is I, and the page number to be compared with the new version is i.
J is the total number of pages of the old version, and j is the page number to be compared with the old version.

First, in ST501 to ST504, the first page of the new version is read from the image data holding unit 104 to the page data comparison unit 110, and the first page of the old version is read from the external storage device 106 to the page data comparison unit 1
10 is read.

Next, in ST505 to ST506, it is compared whether the first page of the new version matches the first page of the old version.

Here, if the first page of the new version does not match the first page of the old version, in steps ST507 to ST508,
The comparison target page of the old version is incremented (increased by one page), and comparison is again made in ST505 to ST506 as to whether the image data of the first page of the new version matches the incremented page of the old version.

The processing from ST 505 to ST 508 is repeated until the first page of the new version matches the j-th page of the old version in ST 506 or the old version page to be compared ends in ST 507.

When the first page of the new version matches the j-th page of the old version, in ST509 to ST510, the first page of the new version is deleted, and data history information indicating that data of the same content has already been saved. Is written. If the first page of the new version does not match any page of the old version, the first page of the new version is stored in ST511.

Next, in ST512 to ST513, the page to be compared with the new version is incremented (increase by one page).
Then, the processing of ST504 to ST510 is performed on the new version of the incremented page. And S
The processing from T504 to ST513 is repeated until the new version page to be compared ends in ST511.

If the i-th page of the new version matches the j-th page of the old version in ST506, ST509 to ST
At 510, the new version of the i-th page is deleted, and data history information indicating that data of the same content is already stored is written. If the i-th page of the new version does not match any page of the old version, the i-th page of the new version is stored in ST511.

Then, in ST512, when the page of the new version to be compared ends, the update processing is completed.

As described above, by comparing the image data in page units and deleting the duplicated data, the capacity of the external storage device required for storing the image data can be reduced.

Next, a process of reading a document file by the document management apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in ST601, data designating a document file name to be read is stored in the file data management unit 1 through the operation unit 106 in accordance with a user's instruction.
07.

Next, in ST 602 and ST 603, it is confirmed whether or not the designated document file is stored in the external storage device 109 by searching the file management database 152 of the file data management means 107.

If the specified document file is not confirmed, in ST604, the file data management unit 107 outputs a document absence error display instruction to a display unit not shown in FIG. A message is displayed.

If the specified document file is confirmed, the security of whether the user can open the specified document file is checked by the file access management means 108 in ST605 and ST606.

If the designated document file cannot be opened, in ST607, the file data management means 107
Then, a security error display instruction is output to display means (not shown in FIG. 1), and a security error message is displayed on the display means.

When the designated document file is opened, the designated document file is read from external storage device 109 by file data management means 107 in ST608. The read document file is output from the file data management unit 107 to a display device or a recording device (not shown in FIG. 1) according to a user's instruction.

In the above embodiment, a document file has been described as an object to be managed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other files such as an image file can also be managed.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, the contents of a document can be referred to without being affected by the environment of an application, the capacity of a storage device required for storing data can be reduced, and display processing, It is possible to provide a document management device that selects an optimal file during a printing process.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a hierarchical structure of data stored in an external storage device of the document management device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a relationship diagram showing a relationship between a stored data format of a document file of the document management apparatus and a data format used for display and print processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a document registration process of the document management apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing update registration processing of the document management apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a reading process of the document management apparatus in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 code data editing means 102 image data creation means 103 code data holding means 104 image data holding means 105 image data division means 106 operation means 107 file data management means 108 file access management means 109 external storage device 110 page data comparison means 111 output file Selection means

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. Code data editing means for editing code data of a document file, image data creating means for creating image data from the code data, and file data for managing the code data in correspondence with the image data A document management apparatus, comprising: a management unit. 2. The image data creating means creates two types of image data of print data having a high resolution and display data obtained by reducing the data.
Document management device as described. 3. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a page dividing unit that divides the image data into page units by referring to the code data. 4. A comparing means for comparing created image data with stored image data having the same file name on a page-by-page basis, and newly storing only data of a page having a difference in the comparison result in a storage area. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. The comparing means deletes data of a page of the created image data which does not differ from the stored image data, and the same data is already stored in the page from which the data has been deleted. 5. The document management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein information indicating that the document is present is stored. 6. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a file access management unit for registering file access management for each type of data of the document file. 7. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising an output file selecting unit that selects and reads out the data type of the document file stored in the storage area during the display process or the print process. Document management device described in Crab. 8. The output file selecting means selects either print data or code data of the document file stored in the storage area during the printing process, and stores both the print data and the code data in the storage area. 8. The document management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein if not, display data of the document file stored in the storage area is selected. 9. An output file selecting means, in a case where display data of a document file is not stored in the storage area during the display processing, selects print data of the document file stored in the storage area. 9. The document management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, when print data of the document file is not stored in the storage area, the code data of the document file stored in the storage area is selected.