JP2005301689A - Data management software - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data management software capable of setting a notification rule only for a specified folder that a user desires and giving notice without reference to a transmission/reception system of a data file. <P>SOLUTION: A common file folder 4 for which a user has set a notification rule is monitored by the data management software 9 and when a data file in this common folder 4 is updated, the data management software 9 detects that and gives notice to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to data management software.

When sending an e-mail, it has been widely performed to attach a data file and send it. Some general application software for electronic mail can set a notification rule for newly arrived mail (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). The notification rule includes, for example, a sender, a title, and the like. When an e-mail that matches the set notification rule arrives, the fact is notified to the user by a dialog display, a system sound, or the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-269154 JP-A-11-234324

  However, with the method described above, it is not possible to set a notification rule only for new mail that is distributed to a specific folder desired by the user.

  Further, the method of transmitting and receiving data files is not limited to electronic mail, and for example, a shared folder or FTP may be used. In such a case, it is troublesome to set a new mail notification rule in accordance with each data file transmission / reception method. In particular, in the case of a shared folder, it is not possible to set a notification rule because information on the data file acquisition destination cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a data management software capable of setting a notification rule only for a specific folder desired by a user and capable of performing notification regardless of a data file transmission / reception method. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the data management software according to the first aspect of the present invention is a data management software for causing a computer to manage data files, wherein the data management software is selected from a plurality of folders existing in the computer. The user is allowed to select the folder, and when the selected folder is changed, the user is notified of the change.

  In order to achieve the above object, the data management software according to the second aspect of the present invention is data management software for causing a computer to manage data files, wherein the data management software is stored in a plurality of folders in the computer. The user selects a desired folder, selects a notification method when a change is made to the selected folder, stores the selected folder and the selected notification method, and stores the selected folder. Whether or not a change has been made is determined, and when it is determined that a change has been made to the selected folder, the user is notified in accordance with the stored notification method.

  According to the first and second aspects, when a specific folder desired by the user is changed, the user is notified of the change.

In order to achieve the above object, data management software according to the third aspect of the present invention is data management software for causing a computer to manage data files.
The data management software causes a computer to store a data file received from an external computer with a predetermined protocol in a predetermined folder according to a predetermined rule, and at the time of the storage, the predetermined folder is a desired folder selected by the user. If it is determined that the predetermined folder is a desired folder selected by the user, the user is notified that the data file has been received. It is characterized by that.

  According to the third aspect, when a data file is received from an external computer and the data file is a data file distributed to a specific folder desired by the user, the data file is received. The user is notified.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide data management software capable of setting a notification rule only for a specific folder desired by a user and capable of performing notification regardless of a data file transmission / reception method.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a data file transmission / reception system using data management software according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, as an example of a data file transmission / reception method, data file exchange on a shared folder will be described. However, the concept of FIG. 1 can be similarly applied to the case of e-mail and FTP described later.

  In the data file transmission / reception system of FIG. 1, clients 2 and 3 are connected to the file server 1. Shared folders 4 and 5 are provided on the file server 1, and the clients 2 and 3 are data files in the shared folder 4 (in this example, document files are used as examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto) 6 , 7 and the data file 8 in the shared folder 5 can be shared.

  In addition, an application (data management software) 9 for setting a notification rule for a data file in a shared folder on the file server 1 is installed in the client 2. The data management software 9 monitors the shared folder 4 for which the notification rule is set by the user. For example, when the document file 6 in the shared folder 4 is updated by the application 10 installed in the client 3. This is detected and the user is notified that the folder has been changed. Here, the notification rule can be set for each shared folder, and even if the document file 8 in the shared folder 5 in which the notification rule is not set by the user is updated, the user is notified of that fact. There is nothing.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the data file transmission / reception system according to the concept of FIG.

  In the data file transmission / reception system of FIG. 2, a CPU 22 is provided inside the client 21, and notifies a user according to a data management software program stored in a hard disk (HD) 23. In this case, notification is made by displaying a dialog on the monitor 25, or sound is reproduced from the speaker 26. The RAM 24 is a working memory used when a data file is received. When various input operations are performed via an input device such as the mouse 27 and the keyboard 28, processing corresponding to each input operation such as notification rule setting processing is executed.

  In addition, a mail server 30 and an FTP server 31 are connected to the client 21 via the Internet 29, and data files can be transmitted and received by e-mail, FTP, or the like. Here, in the data management software, when a data file is received by e-mail or FTP, a process of distributing the received data file is performed. This distribution process is a process of distributing the received data file to any one of a plurality of folders provided in advance according to a distribution rule (sender, title, etc.) set by the user. The distribution rule is stored in, for example, an XML file format.

  Further, a file server 33 is connected to the client 21 via the LAN 32 so that the data file can be shared with other clients. In the case of a shared file, the data file is not distributed, and the data file can be stored in an arbitrary folder by an arbitrary operation of the user.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of data management software stored in the HD 23.
The application control unit 41 is a control unit that controls the operation processing of the data management software, performs display control, and the like.

  First, the data file attached to the e-mail transmitted from the mail server 30 is transferred to the mail distribution unit 43 via the mail reception unit 42 and stored in the mail distribution rule storage area 44 in the HD 23. Sorted into a predetermined folder according to the minute rule. Similarly, the data file transmitted from the FTP server 31 is transferred to the FTP distribution unit 46 via the FTP reception unit 45, and in accordance with a distribution rule stored in the FTP distribution rule storage area 47 in the HD 23. Sorted into folders. The data file from the file server 33 is transferred to the folder monitoring unit 48. In this case, the data file is not distributed.

  After the data file is stored in the folder, the notification application unit 51 determines whether or not the folder has been changed. When the folder has been changed, the notification application unit 51 prompts the user according to the notification rule stored in the notification rule storage area 52. Notification is made. Here, the change of the folder is when a new data file is added to the folder or when a data file is deleted. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the notification rule includes a folder name of a folder that the user desires to notify, a notification type for designating a notification method when performing notification, character data for dialog display, and voice notification. Among them, two of the folder name and the notification type are stored in the notification rule storage area 52 as files described in XML format, for example. The notification data is stored in the file storage area 50 and is read by the file management unit 49 as necessary.

  For example, when the notification type is dialog display, the dialog display character data stored in the file storage area 50 is read out and displayed on the monitor 25 via the dialog display unit 53. . When the notification type is voice, the voice data for voice notification stored in the file storage area 50 is read and voice notification is performed via the voice output unit 54.

  Next, notification processing by the data management software of FIG. 3 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 5 may be performed every time the data management software is started, or may be performed at predetermined time intervals while the data management software is resident. .

  First, prior to making a notification, the notification application unit 51 acquires a folder list (step S1). Then, it moves to the top of the folder list (step S2). Next, the data file stored in the first folder is searched to extract a difference file (step S3). Here, the difference file is a file describing the difference between the current state of the folder and the past state. For example, when a data file is added, the added data file becomes a difference from the past folder. This difference file extraction process will be described in detail later.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a difference file (step S4). If there is a difference file, the process proceeds from step S4 to step S5 to perform notification rule search processing (step S5). This notification rule search process will be described in detail later.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a notification rule to be applied to the first folder, that is, whether or not the folder name of the first folder matches the folder name described in the notification rule (step S6). If there is a notification rule to be applied, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S7, and notification is made according to the notification rule to be applied (step S7). Then, the process proceeds to step S8.

  On the other hand, if there is no difference file in the determination in step S4, if there is no notification rule to be applied in the determination in step S6, or if notification is made in step S7, the process moves to the next folder (step S8). At this time, it is determined whether or not there is a next folder (step S9). If there is a next folder, the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 that there is no next folder, the process ends.

  Next, the difference file extraction process in step S3 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as an initial setting, the difference file list is set to “none” (step S11). Then, the latest file list of the currently selected folder (a list of file names and the like of files stored in the currently selected folder) is acquired (step S12). Next, the previous file list of the latest file list stored in advance in the folder is called (step S13). Next, it moves to the top of the latest file list acquired in step S12 (step S14). Thereafter, the same flag indicating that the file recorded in the acquired latest file list and the file recorded in the previous file list are the same is set to “FALSE” (step S15). Next, it moves to the head of the previous file list called in step S13 (step S16).

  Next, the latest file list is compared with the previous file list to determine whether or not the same file as the file written in the latest file list is in the previous file list (step). S17). If it is determined in step S17 that the same file does not exist, the process moves from step S17 to step S18 to move to the next file in the previous file list (step S18). At this time, it is determined whether or not there is a next file (step S19). If there is a next file, the process proceeds to step S17.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that the same file exists, the process proceeds from step S17 to step S20, and the same flag is set to “TRUE” (step S20). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S21.

  If it is determined in step S19 that there is no next file or after the process in step S20, it is determined whether or not the same flag is set to “FALSE” (step S21). If the same flag is set to “FALSE”, it is determined that there is a difference between the latest file list and the previous file list, and the process proceeds from step S21 to step S22 to transfer the file to the difference file list. It adds (step S22). Then, it moves to the next file recorded in the latest file list (step S23). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the same flag is not set to “FALSE”, the process proceeds to step S23 without changing the difference file list.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not there is a next file (step S24). If there is a next file, the process proceeds to step S17. If there is no next file, the process proceeds from step S24 to step S25, the file list is updated based on the difference file, and the updated file list is stored (step S25). The file list saved in step S25 becomes the previous file list called in step S13.

  Next, the notification rule search process in step S5 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as an initial setting, the application notification rule is set to “none” (step S31). Next, a list of application notification rules is acquired (step S32), and the list is moved to the top of the acquired notification rule list (step S33).

  Next, it is determined whether the changed folder matches the folder to which the notification rule should be applied (step 34). If it is determined in step S34 that the notification rule does not match the folder to which the notification rule is to be applied, the process proceeds from step S34 to step S35 and moves to the next notification rule (step S35). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a next notification rule (step S36). If there is a next notification rule, the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, if there is no next notification rule, the process ends.

  If the notification rule matches the folder to which the notification rule is to be applied in the determination in step S34, the process proceeds from step S34 to step S37, the application notification rule is set to “Yes” (step S37), and the process is performed. finish.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, a notification rule can be set regardless of the data file transmission / reception protocol. It is also possible to set a notification rule only in the designated folder.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the presence / absence of a folder change is determined every time the application is started. However, in the second embodiment, a data file is received by a predetermined protocol such as e-mail or FTP. In addition, it is determined whether or not the folder has been changed. Note that the hardware configuration similar to that described in FIG. 2 may be used.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing performed on the data management software when an e-mail is received from an external PC. Note that the processing when the data file is received by FTP may be performed in the same manner as in FIG.

  First, when an e-mail is received (step S41), a list of e-mail sorting rules set in advance by the user is acquired (step S42). Next, it moves to the head of the sorting rule list (step S43).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the received e-mail conforms to the sorting rule described in the sorting rule list (step S44). If it is determined in step S44 that the classification rule is not met, the process proceeds from step S44 to step S45 to move to the next classification rule in the classification rule list (step S45). At this time, it is determined whether or not there is a next sorting rule (step S46). If there is a next sorting rule, the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if there is no next sorting rule, the process proceeds to step S48.

  If it is determined in step S44 that the received e-mail conforms to the sorting rule, the process proceeds from step S44 to step S47 and moves to the folder specified in the sorting rule (step S47). Then, after the data file is stored in the moved folder, the process proceeds to step S48.

  Next, a notification rule list is acquired (step S48), and it moves to the head of the acquired notification rule list (step S49). Then, it is determined whether or not the folder moved in step S47 conforms to the notification rule described in the notification tool list (step S50). If not conforming to the notification rule, the process proceeds from step S50 to step S51 to move to the next notification rule in the notification rule list (step S51). At this time, it is determined whether or not there is a next notification rule (step S52). If there is a next notification rule, the process proceeds to step S50. On the other hand, if there is no next notification rule, the process ends.

  If it is determined in step S50 that the notification rule matches, the process proceeds from step S50 to step S53 to notify the user (step S53). Thereafter, the process ends.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a new file in the specified folder every time a data file is received.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are naturally possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the protocol is not limited to e-mail or FTP, and data may be received from an HTTP server using HTTP.

  Further, the above-described embodiments include various stages of the invention, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the column of the effect of the invention Can be extracted as an invention.

It is a conceptual diagram of the data file transmission / reception system using the data management software which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a system configuration | structure figure of a data file transmission / reception system. It is a functional block diagram of data management software concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating a notification rule. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the notification process by the data management software which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a difference file extraction process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating notification rule search processing. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of the notification by the data management software which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... File server, 2, 3, 21 ... Client, 4, 5 ... Shared folder, 6-8 ... Data file (document file), 9 ... Application (data management software), 22 ... CPU, 23 ... Hard disk (HD) 24 ... RAM, 25 ... monitor, 26 ... speaker, 27 ... mouse, 28 ... keyboard, 29 ... Internet, 30 ... mail server, 31 ... FTP server, 32 ... LAN, 33 ... file server, 41 ... application control unit, 42 ... mail receiving unit, 43 ... mail sorting unit, 44 ... mail sorting rule storage area, 45 ... FTP receiving unit, 46 ... FTP sorting unit, 47 ... FTP sorting rule storage area, 48 ... folder monitoring unit, 49 ... File management unit, 50 ... File storage area, 51 ... Notification application unit, 52 ... Notification rule storage area, 53 Dialog display, 54 ... audio output unit

Claims (4)

In data management software that lets a computer manage data files,
The data management software is
Let the user select the desired folder from multiple folders,
Data management software characterized by causing the user to be notified when there is a change in the selected folder. In data management software that lets a computer manage data files,
The data management software is
Let the user select the desired folder from multiple folders,
Select the notification method when a change is made to the selected folder,
Storing the selected folder and the selected notification method;
Let us determine whether changes have been made to the selected folder,
Data management software characterized in that, when it is determined that a change has been made to the selected folder, the user is notified according to the stored notification method. The computer determines whether a change has been made to the selected folder,
Every time a predetermined time interval or a predetermined event occurs, the list information of the data file stored for each of the selected folders is repeatedly acquired,
3. The data management software according to claim 2, wherein the data management software is executed by comparing the latest list information in the list information repeatedly acquired with the previous list information. In data management software that lets a computer manage data files,
The data management software is
A data file received from an external computer with a predetermined protocol is stored in a predetermined folder according to a predetermined rule,
During the storage, the user determines whether the predetermined folder is a desired folder selected by the user,
As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the predetermined folder is a desired folder selected by the user, the data management software is configured to notify the user that the data file has been received. .

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