JP4020620B2 - Electronic form display device, electronic form processing system, and electronic form display program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic form processing apparatus used in an online procedure through a network or the like, and more particularly, to display processing when data is input to the electronic form.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, various procedures such as application, notification, and application to ministries and companies have been performed by the user filling in and submitting necessary items on paper documents such as application forms.
[0003]
However, due to recent advances in network technologies such as the Internet, it is predicted that such procedures will be performed electronically online in the future. A user enters necessary information into an electronic form equivalent to a paper form, creates an electronic document (electronic application form, notification form, etc.), and sends it electronically to the application destination online using the Internet. It will be very convenient if you can follow the procedure.
[0004]
When performing various online procedures using electronic forms, the user needs to input necessary items into the application form and other electronic forms obtained. Usually, a user receives the electronic form from a server that provides the electronic form via a network or the like, or obtains the electronic form in the form of a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and then uses his / her personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “personal computer”). Use the terminal device to enter necessary information into the electronic form. Specifically, a target electronic form is opened and displayed on a personal computer screen, and necessary information is input to each input location using an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The size of the electronic form varies, but if the electronic form to be input is larger than the display area of the display unit of the terminal device used by the user, the entire electronic form is displayed in the display area. There are times when it cannot be done. In such a case, the user needs to scroll the display screen in order to input all parts of the electronic form. Moreover, even if it is a large form, if it is intended to display the whole in the display area, the characters must be made small, which causes problems that it is difficult for the user to view and difficult to input.
[0006]
On the other hand, there is also a method in which the electronic form is divided into a plurality of areas (for example, divided into a plurality of pages) and displayed in order for each area to input necessary items. In this way, characters and the like can be displayed to a certain extent. However, this method has a problem in that it is difficult for the user to grasp the entire electronic form, and therefore it is not possible to know which part is currently being input or when the input operation will be completed.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. When inputting to an electronic form, the electronic form is displayed in an easy-to-see manner while grasping the whole, so that the user can efficiently input the electronic form. It is an object to be able to perform work.
[0012]
  Of the present inventionOneIn an aspect, in an electronic form display device having an input unit and a display unit, a first display means for displaying an electronic form including a plurality of input areas as an entire form on the display unit, and a plurality of input items through the input unit. A selection means for receiving selection of an input area including the second display means for displaying the contents of the input items included in the selected input area as an individual form separately from the entire form, and the individual form Input data display means for displaying the input data input on the individual form and also displaying the input data on the corresponding input area in the entire form during input to the individual form.
[0013]
  According to the above electronic form display device, an electronic form including a plurality of input areas is displayed on the display unit.Here, the input area includes a plurality of pieces of input information. When the user operates the input unit to select one of a plurality of input areas, an individual form corresponding to an input item included in the input area is displayed as a separate form. The user can input to the individual form. Further, according to such an electronic form display device, when a user performs input in an individual form, the input data is not only in the corresponding part in the individual form but also in the corresponding part of the input area in the entire form. Is also displayed. Such display on the corresponding part in the entire form is performed while the user inputs the individual form. In other words, when a user performs input for a plurality of input items included in an individual form, the electronic form display device displays the input data on the individual form, and the entire input data is input during the input to the individual form. Display in the corresponding part of the form. Therefore, the user can perform the input work while always grasping where in the corresponding input area the user is inputting.
[0014]
  In one aspect of the data providing server device,The second display means displays the individual form so as not to overlap an input area corresponding to the individual form in the entire form.
[0015]
  According to this aspect, the input area selected by the user in the entire form and the individual form corresponding to the input area are displayed simultaneously. Therefore, the user can perform necessary input operations on the individual forms while grasping the correspondence with the input areas in the entire form.
[0016]
  In still another aspect of the electronic form display device, the individual form displays input items included in the corresponding input area as a question in a questionnaire format.
[0017]
  According to this aspect, the individual form displays the input items in the corresponding input area as questions in a questionnaire format, so that the user can easily perform necessary input work by answering the questionnaire.
[0018]
  According to another aspect of the present invention, an electronic form processing system includes the electronic form display device described above, and a server device that is communicably connected to the electronic form display device via a network. Has means for receiving the input data from the electronic form display device, creating an electronic document including the received input data, and transmitting the electronic document to a procedure destination.
[0019]
  According to the electronic form processing system, input data obtained by using the electronic form display device of the present invention is transmitted to the server device via the network, and the server deviceIsAn electronic document containing the input data is submitted to the procedure online. Therefore, the user can perform a desired procedure online.
[0020]
  In one aspect of the electronic form processing system, the server device further includes means for receiving designation of an electronic form from the electronic form display device and transmitting the designated electronic form to the requesting electronic form display device.
[0021]
  According to this aspect, the user can acquire the electronic form from the server device by designating the necessary electronic form.
[0023]
  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the computer displays the electronic form including a plurality of input areas as an entire form on the display unit through the input unit,Includes multiple entriesSelection means for receiving selection of input area, selected input areaInput items included inSecond display means for displaying the contents of the information as an individual form separately from the entire form,Function as input data display means for displaying input data input to the individual form on the individual form and also displaying it on the corresponding input area in the entire form during input to the individual form The electronic form display device can be realized by executing the electronic form display program to be executed by a computer having an input unit and a display unit.
[0024]
  Therefore, the form display program can be used as the electronic form display device described above by executing it on a personal computer or a company terminal device. Moreover, each means of the electronic form display apparatus mentioned above can be comprised by this form display program.
[0027]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0028]
[Overall system]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electronic form processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, in this system, a user terminal 2, an electronic form processing server, and a procedure destination terminal 7 are connected via a network 1. The network 1 can be, for example, the Internet or a LAN constructed in a specific company or organization.
[0029]
The user terminal 2 is a terminal device operated by a user who performs various procedures using an electronic form. For example, the user terminal 2 is a personal computer at a user's home or a terminal device at a workplace. The user terminal 2 can read data from the CD-ROM 6 using a drive device (not shown). In the present embodiment, electronic form data and an electronic form display program are stored in the CD-ROM 6.
[0030]
Therefore, the user first reads out the electronic form display program from the CD-ROM 6 and installs it on the user terminal, and then reads out the desired electronic form from the CD-ROM 6 and performs an input operation.
[0031]
It should be noted that the user terminal 2 is an electronic document (an electronic form itself and data input to the electronic form by the user (hereinafter simply referred to as “input data”). ), Or a function of transmitting only input data by the user via the network 1.
[0032]
The procedure destination terminal 7 is a terminal device of a destination with which a user performs a specific procedure, such as a public office or a private company. The procedure destination terminal 7 receives an electronic document created by a user inputting necessary items via the network 1 and executes a predetermined procedure based on the received electronic document.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, the electronic form transmission destination server enters between the user and the procedure destination, and performs proxy or assistance for the procedure to be performed by the user. The server 3 and the input data database ( DB) 4 and electronic form DB5. The input data DB 4 stores an electronic document or input data transmitted from the user terminal 2. The electronic form DB 5 stores various electronic forms.
[0034]
The server device 3 receives an electronic document or input data from the user terminal 2, stores it in the input data DB 4, and performs necessary management. The server device 3 takes out the electronic document from the input data DB 4 or takes out the input data from the input data DB 4 and takes out the corresponding electronic form from the electronic form DB 5 and combines them to create an electronic document. 1 through online to the procedure destination terminal 7. In this way, the user can submit a necessary electronic document to the procedure destination through the management and proxy processing of the electronic form processing server. In some cases, the user can use the user terminal 2 and the network 1 to directly submit an electronic document to the procedure destination terminal 7 directly without going through the electronic form destination server.
[0035]
[Electronic form data]
Next, the data structure of electronic form data used by the user will be described. FIG. 2 conceptually shows the data structure of electronic form data. As shown in the figure, the electronic form data 10 is composed of whole form data 20 and questionnaire form data 30. As will be described in detail later, in the present invention, in the input work of a large electronic form, the entire electronic form is displayed, and a questionnaire form corresponding to each of a plurality of areas included in the electronic form is displayed so that the user can Make it easy to input data while grasping the entire form. The entire form data 20 is data prepared for the entire electronic form, and the questionnaire form data 30 is data prepared for each of a plurality of areas included in the electronic form.
[0036]
Specifically, the entire form data 20 includes object information 21 and area information 22. The object information 21 is information on each object included in the entire electronic form. In general, one electronic form has various descriptions (for example, description of description) included in the electronic form, a plurality of input fields (input fields), a function for performing predetermined processing (for example, calculation) on input data, and the like. Each is included as an object. The object information 21 is information on various objects as described above that constitute one electronic form.
[0037]
The area information 22 is information that defines the relationship with the questionnaire form data prepared for each area, and includes area division information 23, questionnaire form link information 24, and questionnaire form display position information 25. The area division information 23 is information indicating how the electronic form as a whole is divided into a plurality of areas. For example, each object information 21 in the whole form data 20 is each of the plurality of areas. It can be information indicating whether it belongs to an area.
[0038]
The questionnaire form link information 24 is information indicating a correspondence relationship between each of a plurality of areas constituting the electronic form and the questionnaire form data 30 corresponding thereto. Therefore, when the user designates one of a plurality of areas included in the electronic form, the questionnaire form data 30 corresponding to the area can be specified by referring to the questionnaire form link information 24.
[0039]
The questionnaire form display position information 25 is information that defines the position on the display screen where the questionnaire form corresponding to each area should be displayed for a plurality of areas constituting the electronic form. Specifically, the questionnaire form display position information 25 is defined so that a questionnaire form corresponding to an area is displayed at a position that does not overlap with the display position of one area selected by the user.
[0040]
On the other hand, the questionnaire form data 30 includes object information 31. Similar to the object information 21 in the entire form data 20, the object information 31 is information on various objects constituting the questionnaire form for each area.
[0041]
One piece of electronic form data 10 is constituted by the various information as described above.
[0042]
[Form display program]
Next, the form display program will be described. The form display program is read from the CD-ROM 6 and installed in the user terminal 2, and is activated when the user browses and inputs the electronic form.
[0043]
FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the form display program 40. The form display program 40 includes an input data transmission I / F 41, an input I / F 42, a form display / input data storage unit 43, a data transfer control unit 44, and a questionnaire form acquisition control unit 45. Each of these functions is realized by the CPU of the user terminal 2 executing a form display program.
[0044]
When the electronic form data 10 to be displayed is designated by the user, the form display / input data storage unit 43 displays the entire form data 20 in the electronic form data 10 as a display unit of the user terminal as shown in FIG. To display.
[0045]
When the user designates a specific area in the entire form, the form display / input data storage unit 43 identifies the area designated by the user based on the area division information 23, and sends it to the questionnaire form acquisition control unit 45. Inform. The questionnaire form acquisition control unit 45 refers to the questionnaire form link information 24, specifies the questionnaire form data 30 corresponding to the area, and transmits it to the form display / input data storage unit 43. The form display / input data storage unit 43 displays the questionnaire form specified in this way on the display unit of the user terminal based on the questionnaire form display position information 25.
[0046]
Input data input to the entire form or the questionnaire form displayed in this way is input to the form display / input data storage unit 43 via the input I / F 42 from an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the user terminal 2 Is stored in a predetermined storage unit. Further, based on the stored contents, the form display / input data storage unit 43 inserts and displays the input data in the entire form or the questionnaire form in which the user inputs the input data. At that time, when the user inputs necessary items to the questionnaire form, the data transfer control unit 44 applies not only to the input field in the questionnaire form but also to the input field in the corresponding entire form. The form display / input data storage unit 43 is controlled to display the same input data.
[0047]
Further, when the user finishes the input operation for the electronic form and inputs a transmission instruction to the user terminal 2, the form display / input data storage unit 43 receives the input data through the input data transmission I / F 41. Send.
[0048]
[Example of electronic form display]
Next, a display example of an electronic form by the above-described form display program will be described. 4 to 6 are display examples of electronic forms on the user terminal 2, and these are executed by the above-described form display program.
[0049]
FIG. 4 conceptually shows a display example of an electronic form (overall form) and a questionnaire form. Note that each area (A area to F area) and the questionnaire form in the overall form 50 shown in FIG. 4 actually include descriptions of input items and input fields, but in FIG. In order to conceptually show the relationship between the form and the questionnaire form, details in the form are not shown.
[0050]
In this example, the entire form 50 is divided into A area to F area. FIG. 5A shows a display example in the area B shown in FIG. In this example, the B area 51 is composed of input items related to occupation and income. A questionnaire form display button 52 is displayed in the B area 51. As shown in FIG. 4, when the user presses the questionnaire form display button 52 in a state where the entire form is displayed, the questionnaire form 55 is displayed as a new window. A display example of the questionnaire form 55 is shown in FIG.
[0051]
In the questionnaire form 55, the input items included in the corresponding area B are presented to the user in the form of a questionnaire-type question. Therefore, even an unfamiliar user can easily input necessary items by answering the presented questions.
[0052]
FIG. 6 is a display example when the user actually selects the B area, displays the corresponding questionnaire form 55, and inputs the questionnaire form 55. As described in the description of the form display program, when the B area is selected and the questionnaire form 55 is displayed, the questionnaire form 55 is displayed on the display screen 60 at a position that does not overlap with the B area. That is, when a user displays a questionnaire form in an area, the area in the entire form and the corresponding questionnaire form are displayed so that they can be viewed simultaneously. Therefore, when performing a large electronic form input operation on the display screen of the user terminal 2, the user displays the entire form and grasps the whole, but the part that is actually input is larger by the questionnaire form. It can be displayed and input items can be input easily.
[0053]
Further, when the user inputs necessary items to the questionnaire form 55 in such a state that the questionnaire form 55 is displayed, the input data is inserted and displayed in the questionnaire form 55 on the display screen. It is inserted and displayed in the area 51 in the entire form. In the example of FIG. 6, when the user completes the input to the item “(2) years of service” in the questionnaire form 55, not only the item of years of service in the questionnaire form 55 but also the B area 51 in the overall form. Input data is also displayed in the item of years of service.
[0054]
As a result, the user can always grasp how much the input has progressed in the area while inputting easily using the questionnaire form.
[0055]
[Electronic Form Usage Procedure]
Next, a procedure using an electronic form will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process in which a user inputs necessary items into an electronic form and submits them to a procedure destination through an electronic form processing server. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of the form input process in FIG. .
[0056]
First, referring to FIG. 7, the user selects a specific electronic form in the CD-ROM 6 and performs a form input process (step S1). Details of the form input process are shown in FIG.
[0057]
The form input process described below is performed by the CPU of the user terminal executing the above-described form display program. First, when a user starts a form display program (step S10) and selects a specific electronic form (overall form) stored in the CD-ROM 6 (step S11), the entire form is displayed on the user terminal 2. It is displayed on the display screen (step S12).
[0058]
Next, the form display program determines whether or not the user has instructed transmission of input data (step S13). When the transmission instruction is not performed, the form display program determines whether or not the user has pressed the questionnaire form display button 52 (see FIG. 5A) in a specific area in the entire form. If the questionnaire form display button 52 is not pressed, the questionnaire form is not displayed, and the user inputs directly to the entire form (step S15).
[0059]
On the other hand, when the questionnaire form display button is pressed (step S14: Yes), the form display program acquires the questionnaire form link information 24 in the electronic form data 10 (step S16), and further acquires the questionnaire form display position information 25. Then, the questionnaire form is displayed in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6 (step S18). In this state, when the user inputs necessary items to the questionnaire form (step S19), the input data is also transferred to the entire form (step S20). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the input data is displayed on both the questionnaire form and the entire form.
[0060]
In this way, when the user finishes inputting necessary items and closes the questionnaire form by pressing a predetermined button displayed in the questionnaire form (step S21), the process returns to step S13, and an input data transmission instruction is issued. It is determined again whether or not. The above process is repeated until a transmission instruction is issued, and when the user inputs a transmission instruction (step S13: Yes), the process returns to the main routine shown in FIG.
[0061]
Referring to FIG. 7 again, when input data is obtained by the form input process, it is transmitted to the electronic form processing server. The electronic form processing server stores the received input data in the input data DB 4 (step S3). Then, an electronic form corresponding to the input data is extracted from the form DB 5 and combined with the input data to create an electronic document, and is transmitted to the procedure destination terminal 7 via the network 1 (step S4). Thus, the user can perform an online procedure with respect to the procedure destination using the electronic form.
[0062]
[Modification]
In the above example, the electronic form data and the form display program are stored in the CD-ROM 6 possessed by the user. In contrast, the electronic form can be provided to the user terminal via the network from the electronic form processing server instead of the CD-ROM.
[0063]
In this case, the user first connects to the electronic form processing server via the network 1 and designates the desired electronic form. The electronic form processing server acquires the designated electronic form data from the form DB and transmits it to the requesting user terminal via the network 1. The subsequent processing is the same as in the above example. The data structure of the electronic form data, the configuration and operation of the form display program are the same as those described above.
[0064]
Note that the form display program needs to be acquired by the user in advance by some means and installed in the user terminal, but the electronic form processing server responds to the user's request through the network 1 to the user terminal. A form display program may be provided. Further, when a request for a specific electronic form is received from the user, the electronic form processing server is configured to attach a form display program to the requested electronic form and transmit it to the requesting user terminal 2. You can also.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the electronic form is composed of a plurality of areas, and the questionnaire form can be displayed for each area. Therefore, even when the electronic form is larger than the display screen of the user terminal, While displaying the entire electronic form, only the input part can be displayed in an easy-to-see form. Therefore, if the user uses the questionnaire form, the user can easily input the electronic form with a relatively large display and kind input support of the questionnaire format.
[0066]
Even when the questionnaire form is being displayed, the entire electronic form is displayed and the questionnaire form is displayed so that it does not overlap with the corresponding area. While you are typing, you can see the progress of your input process by looking at the corresponding area in the entire form.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic form processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a data structure of electronic form data used in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a form display program according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between an electronic form (overall form) and a questionnaire form.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of an area with an electronic form and a corresponding questionnaire form.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example when an electronic form (entire form) and a questionnaire form are displayed simultaneously.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a procedure using an electronic form.
8 is a flowchart of the form input process in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 network
2 User terminals
3 servers
4 Input data DB
5 Form DB
6 CD-ROM
7 Procedure terminal
10 Electronic form data
20 Overall form data
30 Survey form data
40 Form display program
50 Whole form
52 Questionnaire form display button
55 Questionnaire form
60 Display screen

Claims (8)

In an electronic form display device having an input unit and a display unit,
First display means for displaying an electronic form including a plurality of input areas as an entire form on the display unit;
Selection means for receiving selection of an input area including a plurality of input items through the input unit;
Second display means for displaying the contents of the input items included in the selected input area as an individual form separately from the entire form;
Input data input to the individual form is displayed on the individual form, and input data display means for displaying also on the corresponding input area in the entire form during input to the individual form, An electronic form display device comprising the electronic form display device.   2. The electronic form display device according to claim 1, wherein the second display unit displays the individual form so as not to overlap an input area corresponding to the individual form in the entire form. The individual forms, electronic forms display device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that displaying the input items included in the corresponding said input area as survey questions. An electronic form display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A server device communicably connected via a network with the electronic form display device,
The server apparatus has means for receiving the input data from the electronic form display device, creating an electronic document including the received input data, and transmitting the electronic document to a procedure destination. 5. The electronic device according to claim 4 , further comprising means for receiving designation of an electronic form from the electronic form display device and transmitting the designated electronic form to the requesting electronic form display device. Form processing system. An electronic form display program executed by a computer having an input unit and a display unit, the computer comprising:
First display means for displaying an electronic form including a plurality of input areas on the display unit as a whole form;
Selection means for receiving selection of an input area including a plurality of input items through the input unit,
Second display means for displaying the contents of the input items included in the selected input area as an individual form separately from the entire form;
Function as input data display means for displaying input data input to the individual form on the individual form and also displaying it on the corresponding input area in the entire form during input to the individual form An electronic form display program characterized in that The electronic form display program according to claim 6 , wherein the second display unit displays the individual form so as not to overlap an input area corresponding to the individual form in the entire form. The electronic form display program according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the individual form displays an input item included in the corresponding input area as a question in a questionnaire format.

Images