JP2005339295A - Document processor, and method and program for processing document - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document processor for raising visibility relative to an electronic document and additional information when a plurality of kinds of additional information are attached to the same page of the electronic document, and to provide a document processing method and a document processing program. <P>SOLUTION: When a plurality of annotations (additional information) are attached to the same page of the electronic document, an annotation merge discrimination part 27 discriminates whether an annotation where a distance between attachment positions is shorter than a prescribed distance, exists or not on the basis of position information which indicates the attachment positions of the annotations included in annotation information stored in a secondary storage part 25, in timing of inputting a merge indication. When existence is determined, an annotation merge part 28 merges the annotations where the distance between the attachment positions is shorter than the prescribed distance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus, a document processing method, and a document processing program, and more specifically, a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document, a document processing method of the document processing apparatus, and the document The present invention relates to a document processing program executed in a processing device.

  In recent years, a technique for attaching additional information such as character information, image information, audio information, and link information to an arbitrary position of an electronic document without affecting the text of the electronic document has been widely used. Note that the additional information is collectively referred to as an annotation in this specification.

  Examples of systems that can attach this annotation to an electronic document include DocuWorks (registered trademark) of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. and Acrobat (registered trademark) of Adobe Corporation in the United States.

  By the way, in a system capable of attaching an annotation as described above to an electronic document, a plurality of users can use a plurality of client devices each having a function of attaching an annotation to the electronic document. A usage form in which annotations are attached is conceivable. For example, there are a form in which a common electronic document such as an apparatus manual is reviewed by a plurality of reviewers, and a form in which collaborative work such as a meeting or a meeting is performed while referring to a common electronic document such as a plan.

  In this case, in all client devices used by each user, after the user browses the common electronic document and the annotation attached to the electronic document, the electronic document or annotation is updated by another user. When this happens, it is preferable to clearly indicate that the update has been made in order to standardize the recognition of the electronic document to be browsed.

As a conventional technique applicable for this purpose, the update time information of the document information stored in the document file is stored, and when the desired document information is read from the document file, the read document information is updated. There has been a technology for referring to time information, determining whether or not the document information has been updated after the user has referred to the previous time, and displaying the updated document information in accordance with the determination. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-50590

  By the way, when multiple annotations are attached to the same page of an electronic document, when annotations overlap each other, or when the attachment position is irregular, etc. There was a problem that the visibility to the document was poor.

  In the above conventional technique, no consideration is given to the case where the annotations are overlapped or the attachment position is irregular, and this problem is powerless.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and improves the visibility of an electronic document and additional information when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing apparatus, a document processing method, and a document processing program.

  In order to achieve the above object, a document processing apparatus according to claim 1 is a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document, and a plurality of additional information for the same page of the electronic document. Is attached, a determination means for determining whether or not there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and between the attachment positions when the determination means determines that the additional information exists. Coupling means for coupling additional information whose distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

  The document processing apparatus according to claim 1 is configured to have a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document.

  Here, in the present invention, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, it is determined whether there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The additional information whose distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance when it is determined that the data exists is combined by the combining means.

  That is, according to the present invention, additional information whose attached position distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance is combined and combined into one additional information, whereby the electronic document and the additional information for displaying the additional information are displayed. Visibility to information can be improved.

  Thus, according to the document processing apparatus of claim 1, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. It is determined whether or not information exists, and when it is determined that information exists, additional information whose distance between attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance is combined. When the additional information is attached, the visibility of the electronic document and the additional information can be improved.

  In the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 2, when the plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the determination unit is identical to a predetermined one in the page. It is determined whether or not there is additional information attached in the area, and the combining means combines additional information attached in the predetermined same area when it is determined by the determining means that the additional information exists. It is good also as what to do.

  In particular, the invention according to claim 2 is the same as the invention according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined same area is represented by one character unit on the same page of the electronic document. Enclosed rectangular area, rectangular area surrounding characters described in the same page in units of words, rectangular area surrounding characters described in the same page in one sentence unit, and described in the same page The sentence may be at least one area of a rectangular area surrounding the paragraph.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 4, the combining means of the present invention may use the position of the center of gravity of the attachment position of each additional information to be combined as the attachment position of the combined additional information.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 5, the combining means of the present invention combines the additional information to be combined under at least one condition of order of attachment time, number of people attached, and order of number of browsing. It may be a thing.

  Furthermore, the combination means of the present invention may insert delimiter information indicating delimiters at the boundary between the combined additional information, as in the sixth aspect of the present invention. Note that the delimiter information includes text information indicating lines such as a broken line, a solid line, and a one-dot chain line.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, a document processing method according to claim 7 is a document processing method in a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document, and is provided on the same page of the electronic document. On the other hand, when multiple additional information is attached, it is determined whether there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Is for combining additional information having a predetermined distance or less.

  Therefore, according to the document processing method described in claim 7, since it operates in the same manner as the invention described in claim 1, a plurality of additional information is added to the same page of the electronic document as in the invention described in claim 1. When attached, the visibility of the electronic document and additional information can be improved.

  In the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 8, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the information is attached to the same predetermined area on the page. It is also possible to determine whether or not the additional information exists, and to combine the additional information attached in the same predetermined area when it is determined that the additional information exists.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, a document processing program according to claim 9 is a document processing program executed in a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document. When a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page, a determination step for determining whether there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and the determination step includes When it is determined, the computer is caused to execute a combining step of combining additional information in which the distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

  Therefore, according to the document processing program described in claim 9, the computer can be operated in the same manner as in the invention described in claim 1. Therefore, as in the invention described in claim 1, on the same page of the electronic document. On the other hand, when a plurality of additional information is attached, the visibility of the electronic document and the additional information can be improved.

  According to the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 10, when the plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the determination step includes the same predetermined number in the page. It is determined whether or not additional information attached in the area exists, and the combination step combines the additional information attached in the same predetermined area when it is determined by the determination step. It is good also as what to do.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, it is determined whether there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is a predetermined distance or less. When it is determined that it exists, the additional information in which the distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance is combined, so when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, The effect that the visibility with respect to an electronic document and additional information can be improved is acquired.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case will be described in which the document processing apparatus, document processing method, and document processing program according to the present invention are applied to a document processing system configured as a client / server system.

〔System configuration〕
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the document processing system 90 includes electronic data used in the document processing system 90 (including not only document data but also all other electronic data supported by the document processing system 90). And a client system 94 used by a user of the document processing system 90.

  The server system 92 includes a document management server 10 that manages electronic documents (hereinafter also simply referred to as “documents”) and an annotation management server 20 that manages annotations. The document management server 10 is a server that mainly stores and retrieves documents, and the annotation management server 20 is a server that mainly stores and retrieves annotations attached to documents.

  In this way, by providing the document management server 10 that manages the entire document and the annotation management server 20 that manages the annotations attached to the electronic document, additional corrections to a plurality of electronic documents can be independently performed by a plurality of users. Even when it is performed, it is possible to avoid a contradiction in the contents of the final electronic document, correction of correction, and the like.

  For example, even if one user adds a supplementary explanation as an annotation to a certain part of the original electronic document, while another user makes a modification that deletes the same part, the edited part Is registered in the annotation management server 20 in association with the electronic document main body managed by the document management server 10, so that there is no inconsistency in the electronic document main body and content such as additional correction corresponding thereto. Management can be performed.

  As shown in the figure, the document management server 10 includes a control unit 11 that controls the operation of the document management server 10 as a whole, a main storage unit 12 for storing various types of information, and a display such as a liquid crystal display. A display unit 13, an operation unit 14 including a keyboard and a mouse (pointing device), a document database DB1 described later, various programs, a secondary storage unit 15 for storing various parameter information, and the like, And a transmission / reception unit 16 for exchanging various kinds of information with an external device, and these units are electrically connected via a system bus S1. That is, the document management server 10 according to the present embodiment is configured by a normal personal computer (hereinafter also referred to as “PC”).

  On the other hand, the annotation management server 20 also includes a control unit 21 that controls the operation of the annotation management server 20 as a whole, a main storage unit 22 for storing various types of information, and a display unit 23 that includes a display such as a liquid crystal display. , An operation unit 24 including a keyboard and a mouse, a tag annotation database DB2 to be described later, a pen input annotation database DB3, various programs, a secondary storage unit 25 for storing various parameter information, and the like. And a transmission / reception unit 26 that exchanges various types of information with the apparatus, and these units are electrically connected via a system bus S2. That is, the annotation management server 20 according to the present embodiment is also configured by a normal PC.

  The client system 94 includes a client device 50 provided for each user of the document processing system 90 and a pen-type annotation device 56 used when performing pen input to the client device 50.

  As shown in the figure, the client device 50 includes a control unit 51 that controls the operation of the entire client device 50, a main storage unit 52 for storing various types of information, a display unit 53 configured to include a display, An operation unit 54 including a keyboard and a mouse, and a transmission / reception unit 55 for exchanging various kinds of information with an external device are provided. These units are electrically connected via a system bus S3. Has been.

  The client device 50 is configured to display an image on the display unit 53 based on data read from the main storage unit 52 or data acquired from the server system 92 or the like via the transmission / reception unit 55.

  The client device 50 according to the present embodiment is configured as a so-called tablet PC that employs a display unit 53 provided with a touch panel display that is configured by overlapping a touch panel (not shown) on the display surface. Therefore, the annotation device 56 can directly instruct (handwritten input) on the display surface of the display unit 53.

  Here, as the controller corresponding to the handwritten input, any controller for recognizing and processing handwritten data as 'digital ink (handwritten characters)' may be used. It is not necessary to have a function to perform (handwritten character recognition function). Even in this case, it can be handled as the top-level format of the text, and can be searched with handwritten characters or processed (color change, etc.). The digital ink data format may be handled as image data (for example, bitmap data).

  As described above, when the client device 50 reads a paper document, the client device 50 writes the document using the annotation device 56 in the same way as adding a mark such as an underline or a circle to the document and writing a comment. Input is possible.

  In addition to the handwriting input function using the annotation device 56 as described above, the client device 50 can display a predetermined shape (in this embodiment) at an arbitrary position of the document in a state where the display unit 53 displays the document. , A rectangular sticky note attached function is provided. Here, an arbitrary comment can be directly described in the tag, or link information indicating a link destination such as a comment or a related article can be associated with the tag. When link information is associated with a sticky note, a mark having a predetermined shape (in this embodiment, a square) indicating that the link is attached is displayed on the sticky note. In this case, in the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the tag itself is an annotation.

  In this way, the client device 50 attaches a sticky note to an arbitrary position such as a noteworthy place or a place requiring supplementary explanation, in the same manner as sticking a sticky note to a paper document when reading the paper document. State.

  The document processing system 90 is configured such that the document management server 10, the annotation management server 20, and the plurality of client devices 50 as described above are electrically connected by a network 60 via a transmission / reception unit provided in each. Yes. In the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, the Internet is applied as the network 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is not limited to this. Intranet, LAN (Local Area Network), VAN (Value Added Network), telephone line network, Various networks such as ECHONET and HomePNA can be applied alone or in combination.

  The document management server 10 and the annotation management server 20 according to the present embodiment function as an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) server, and each client device 50 functions as an HTTP client. The server 20 and each client device 50 can access each other via the network 60.

  Information relating to annotations handwritten by the client device 50 using the annotation device 56 (hereinafter also referred to as “handwritten input annotations”) and annotations attached as sticky notes (hereinafter also referred to as “sticky note annotations”). Is temporarily stored in the main storage unit 52, then transmitted to the annotation management server 20 via the network 60 at a predetermined timing, and stored in association with the document body. Then, when the client device 50 reads the document later, the information related to the annotation added in the past is also read together with the document body and displayed on the display unit 53.

[Configuration of Display Screen by Display Unit 53 of Client Device 50]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a display screen by the display unit 53 of the client device 50 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, in the display area 53A of the display unit 53 of the client device 50, a button display area 53B, which is an area for displaying a plurality of buttons each having a predetermined role, and a document 84 are displayed. A document display area 53C is provided.

  In the client device 50 according to the present embodiment, a document reading button 70 specified when reading a document managed (stored) in the document management server 10 and a tag annotation are attached to the document as the plurality of buttons. The annotation button 72 specified at the time, the save button 74 specified when saving the tag annotation 86 and the handwritten input annotation 88 displayed in the document display area 53C, and managed (stored) in the annotation management server 20. A search button 76 that is specified when an annotation is searched for and displayed in the document display area 53C is displayed in the button display area 53B.

  Further, as the plurality of buttons, an update button 78 specified when updating the display contents of the document display area 53C and an annotation displayed in the document display area 53C are combined according to a predetermined condition (hereinafter referred to as “ A merge button 80 designated when the page is displayed, and a page turning button 82 composed of a previous page feed button 82A and a next page feed button 82B for turning the displayed document page back and forth. It is displayed in the button display area 53B.

  The client device 50 is equipped with a function (page turning display function) for switching the display in units of pages while turning a page so as to read a book. By using this page turning display function, for example, capturing is performed. It is configured so that desired information can be quickly searched from a large number of information.

  That is, when searching for information in the client device 50, the page turning operation is performed by pointing the two buttons of the previous page forward button 82A and the next page forward button 82B with the annotation device 56, the keyboard of the operation unit 54, the mouse, or the like. The desired page information can be displayed on the display unit 53 while performing the above.

  In addition, the client device 50 can execute the function assigned to the button other than the page turning button 82 by specifying the pointing with the annotation device 56, the keyboard of the operation unit 54, the mouse, or the like. .

  In the client device 50 according to the present embodiment, as described above, buttons for executing various functions by being displayed in the display area 53A of the display unit 53 are provided as software. Needless to say, hardware buttons may be provided on the display unit 53, the operation unit 54, or the like, or a predetermined key on the keyboard of the operation unit 54 may be used as each button.

[Document Management Server 10 and Document Database DB1]
By the way, the document management server 10 according to the present embodiment accepts “registration” and “document reading” in response to an instruction from the outside.

  The above "registration" is, for example, 'http: // datacenter. company. co. jp / access. cgi? As shown in DocumentID = 8gjk3cl3 ′, it is given from the outside by a path such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locators) or a directory to a document to be registered indicating an address indicating a storage location of the document in the document database DB1. .

  The document management server 10 sequentially assigns document IDs to the document (group) indicated by the given path, and registers the document name and document text in the document database DB1 for each document ID. At this time, the data structure in the document database DB1 is as shown in FIG. 3 as an example. Here, the document name or the document text may be a path to a document such as a URL.

  When it is detected that the document reading button 70 is specified in any of the client devices 50, the client device 50 notifies the document management server 10 of information indicating that fact. In response to this, the document management server 10 creates a list of document names in the document database DB1 and transmits it to the client device 50 that is the access source.

  In response to this, the client device 50 displays a list of document names in a list box or the like, and prompts the user to select. In response to this, when the user designates a desired document name with the annotation device 56 or the keyboard or mouse of the operation unit 54, the client device 50 transmits the designated document name to the document management server 10. .

  In response to this, the document management server 10 reads the document text and document ID corresponding to the document name received from the client device 50 from the document database DB1, and transmits the document text to the client device 50. As a result, the text of the document corresponding to the designated document name is displayed in the document display area 53C of the display unit 53 of the client device 50.

[Annotation management server 20, annotation database for sticky note DB2, annotation database for pen input DB3]
On the other hand, the annotation management server 20 according to the present embodiment accepts “save” and “search” according to instructions from the outside.

  That is, when it is detected that an annotation is given to the document in a state where the document is displayed on the display unit 53 in any one of the client devices 50 and the save button 74 is specified, the client device 50 does so. Is sent to the annotation management server 20. Thereby, the annotation management server 20 associates the information related to the annotation instructed to be stored with the document with the annotation, and when the annotation is a tag annotation, the annotation is stored in the tag annotation database DB2. If it is a handwritten input annotation, it is registered (stored) in the pen input annotation database DB3.

  That is, for example, when the annotation management server 20 receives a “save” instruction from any of the client devices 50 and the annotation to be saved is a sticky note annotation, an annotation registration process is performed as shown below. Is done.

  First, the annotation management server 20 displays the position information indicating the position to which the annotation to be saved is attached, the display name of the annotation, the link destination when the annotation is linked, and the document with the annotation. The client apparatus 50 is given the document ID of the client apparatus 50 and the terminal ID of the client apparatus 50 that has instructed the storage. At this time, the user name (or user ID) of the user who has given the annotation to be saved, the public attribute related to the annotation, the status indicating the status of the annotation (new, existing, deleted), and the annotation are given. The client device 50 also gives the time.

  Then, the annotation management server 20 displays the annotation ID, terminal ID, user ID (or user name), document ID, position information, display name, link destination, public attribute, status, and generation time in the form of a tag annotation. Save in database DB2. At this time, the data structure in the tag annotation database DB2 is as shown in FIG. 4 as an example.

  In the figure, the annotation ID is used to manage individual annotations, and a unique ID number is assigned to each annotation for one tag. Here, the annotation ID includes a method issued on the client system 94 side and a method issued on the annotation management server 20 side. Note that at least two combinations of annotation ID and document ID need to be unique. If the given annotation ID or the above-mentioned two-tuple is not new, the line indicated by that annotation ID or the above-mentioned two-tuple is overwritten.

  The terminal ID is an ID number that uniquely identifies the client device 50. Here, the terminal ID may directly indicate the hardware of the client device 50 used by the user, or may correspond to an IP (Internet Protocol) address or a host name. The user ID (or user name) is information for uniquely identifying the user operating the client device 50, and corresponds to, for example, a login user name. Further, as the document ID, a unique ID number is assigned to each document stored in the document database DB1. Here, in the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, even if the document file name is the same, if it has been posted to the document database DB1 multiple times, it is registered with a different document ID.

  On the other hand, the position information is information indicating an attachment position (attachment position) of an annotation for one sticky note. In the present embodiment, the page number in the document indicated by the corresponding document ID and the position coordinates on the page indicated by the page number (here, the coordinates of the two points of the upper left corner point and the lower right corner point of the annotation) Indicated by a combination of In the present embodiment, the document display area 53C is set in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the size based on the horizontal size and vertical size of the document displayed in the document display area 53C (here, in the horizontal direction). A rectangular area of 1/50 (1/50) of the horizontal size of the display document and 1/60 (1/60 of the vertical size of the display document) in the vertical direction is divided into a matrix. A consecutive number is assigned in advance in the horizontal direction from the upper left to each divided region, and the number is applied as the position coordinate.

  The display name of the annotation indicates a comment described in the annotation (sticky note), and the link destination indicates link information associated with the annotation. In the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, as an example, the link information is represented as 'http: // MessageServer / threadViewer?' It is assumed that a path such as a URL or a path to a directory such as MessageId = 1517 'is given.

  The user can set the display name and link destination for each annotation to be given. This display name and link destination can be set every time an annotation is given or every time an annotation save instruction is issued.

  On the other hand, the public attribute is, for example, that the annotation can be made public (no restriction) (= Pub), is made public only to other specific users or groups (= Frd), and is made private (for personal use) ( = Priv), and only when the authentication is obtained, the disclosure is permitted (= Protect).

  For specific disclosure (= Frd) and authentication disclosure (= Protect), sub-attributes such as a user, a group, or an authentication code (user name and password) can be set. In addition, in the case of specific disclosure and authentication disclosure, not only display-only disclosure (read-only) but also a sub-attribute of full access setting that permits editing by others can be set. Needless to say, shared viewing of documents and annotations is usually disclosed as read-only. This is to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience due to the fact that anyone can edit freely. However, depending on the usage form, it may be more convenient to make it freely editable. In such a case, a full access setting may be performed.

  The user can set these public attributes for each annotation to be given. This public attribute can be set every time an annotation is given or an annotation save instruction is issued. Also, any attribute may be set as a default in advance, and when there is no change instruction, the default attribute may be set. If there is no instruction to change the public attribute when saving the annotation, the attribute set at that time is accepted.

  In the case where the disclosure is permitted only when the authentication is obtained (= Protect), the disclosure is permitted only when the password authentication according to a predetermined procedure is obtained. When displaying annotations, all annotations, including non-publication annotations, are transmitted from the annotation management server 20 to the client system 94, and the public attributes set in the annotations are checked on the client system 94 side. Display (public) / non-display (non-public), or the annotation management server 20 transmits only the annotation to be published.

  The status indicates whether the annotation has been newly created (= New), has already existed (= Exist), or has been deleted (= Deleted). If the user erases the annotation once given by an electronic eraser or the like, this is “Deleted”. In this case, the annotation data deleted from the tag annotation database DB2 due to this deletion instruction is not lost, but only the status is changed. That is, when there is a new annotation addition time, attribute or position change, etc., the generation time of the annotation before the change, the generation time of the annotation after the change, and the deletion time of the deleted annotation (not shown). The annotation access history is registered and managed in the tag annotation database DB2 for each annotation.

  Here, when displaying the annotation, all annotations including the “Deleted” annotation are transmitted from the annotation management server 20 to the client system 94, and the status set in the annotation is checked on the client system 94 side. Then, display / non-display is switched, or only “Exist” is transmitted to the client system 94 on the annotation management server 20 side.

  The generation time is a time when an annotation for one sticky note is attached (drawn in the display area 53A) in the client device 50, and includes a date and a time. This is managed for each annotation for one tag by the server separately from the time when the save button 74 is designated and saved on the client device 50.

  Further, the browsing count indicates the number of times the annotation is referred to. Immediately after the annotation is added to the document, the number of browsing times is registered as 0 (zero) in the tag annotation database DB2. Each time information related to the annotation is transmitted to the client device 50 in accordance with an annotation search instruction or the like, the information is incremented by one.

  In addition, regarding the annotation that has already been assigned, if there is a location move (that is, a change in location information), or if there is a change in the public attribute of the annotation, the original annotation is assumed to have been effectively deleted, The status is set to “Deleted”, and a new annotation ID is issued for the annotation in the latest state. By doing this, even if the annotation once given is deleted or changed, all annotations including the “Deleted” annotation are transmitted from the annotation management server 20 to the client system 94, and the client By checking the status on the system 94 side and switching the display / non-display for those whose status is “Deleted”, it can be reproduced in the original state as necessary.

  The above is a description of the case where the annotation to be saved is a tag annotation, but when the annotation to be saved is a handwritten input annotation, the annotation management server 20 uses the annotation as shown below. Registration processing is performed.

  First, the annotation management server 20 includes the annotation content of the annotation to be saved, the positional information and color and shape of the annotation, the document ID of the document with the annotation, and the terminal ID of the client device 50 that has given the saving instruction. Is provided from the client device 50. At this time, the user name (or user ID) of the user who has given the annotation to be saved, the public attribute related to the annotation, the status indicating the status of the annotation (new, existing, deleted), and the annotation are given. The client device 50 also gives the time.

  Then, the annotation management server 20 pen-inputs the annotation ID, terminal ID, user ID (or user name), document ID, position information, annotation content, color, shape, public attribute, status, and generation time in a table format. Is stored in the annotation database DB3. At this time, the data structure in the pen input annotation database DB3 is as shown in FIG. 5 as an example.

  In the figure, the annotation ID, terminal ID, user ID, document ID, location information, public attribute, status, generation time, and number of browsing are the same as those in the annotation database DB2 described above. However, regarding the annotation ID, what is registered in the tag annotation database DB2 is allocated for each tag, whereas in the pen input annotation database DB3, only one point is allocated for each stroke. Different.

  On the other hand, the annotation content in the figure is the trajectory information of one-stroke annotation, and is data used to reproduce the drawn annotation, for example, data such as bitmap or vector data. The color shape is the color of the ink used for the annotation and shape information such as a circle or a square. Further, the line type indicates a line type such as the thickness of the annotation, a solid line, or a dotted line.

  When the client device 50 detects that the search button 76 is designated in a state where the document is displayed in the document display area 53C of the display unit 53, the client device 50 notifies the annotation management server 20 of information indicating that. In response to this, the annotation management server 20 reads information related to the annotation for which the search has been instructed from the tag annotation database DB2 and the pen input annotation database DB3.

  That is, the annotation management server 20 receives a “search” instruction from the client device 50. At this time, the annotation management server 20 receives information on the document ID and the annotation assignment range from the client device 50. Then, the annotation management server 20 searches the tag annotation database DB2 and the pen input annotation database DB3 based on the information (search conditions), reads out information related to annotations that can be displayed, and accesses the client device 50 as the access source. Send to.

  In response to this, the client device 50 displays the annotation indicated by the information received from the annotation management server 20 so as to be superimposed on the document being browsed. FIG. 2 shows an example of a state in which the tag annotation 86 and the handwritten input annotation 88 are displayed superimposed on the document 84 by the above processing.

[Annotation Merge Function]
By the way, the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of sticky note annotations attached to the same page of an electronic document, and there is a sticky note annotation in which the relationship between the attachment positions matches a predetermined condition. Furthermore, it has an annotation merging function for merging the tag annotations and creating a new tag annotation.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the annotation management server 20 and the client device 50 for executing the annotation merging function.

  As shown in the figure, in order to execute the annotation merging function, the annotation management server 20 has a tag annotation registered in the secondary storage device 25 to determine whether there is an attachment position relationship that matches a predetermined condition. An annotation merge determination unit 27 that determines whether or not, and an annotation merge unit 28 that merges the sticky note annotations that match the predetermined condition according to the determination result by the annotation merge determination unit 27 into a new tag annotation. Each client device 50 includes a display control unit 57 that controls the display unit 53 to display the tag annotation after merging by the annotation merging unit 28.

  The annotation merge determination unit 27 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not there is a tag annotation whose attachment position relationship matches a predetermined condition in accordance with a merge instruction input at a predetermined timing, and the determination result (Hereinafter, referred to as “judgment result information”).

  In the present embodiment, the timing at which a signal indicating that the merge button 80 is designated from any one of the client devices 50 (hereinafter referred to as “merge instruction signal”) is applied as the predetermined timing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and periodic timing every predetermined time (for example, 0.1 second) using a timer (not shown) or the like built in the annotation management server 20 or the client device 50 is used. When any of the buttons except the merge button 80 is designated by the user (read document, attach sticky note annotation, save annotation, search annotation, update display content in document display area 53C, and display It is also possible to adopt a form in which the page turning of the document is given)

  Further, in the present embodiment, as the predetermined condition, the condition that the attachment is made in the same page and the distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance is applied, but the present invention is not limited to this. The words that are attached to the same page and that are attached to the same rectangular area that encloses the characters that are described in the same page in a single character unit, and that are written in the same page The condition that the unit is attached to the same rectangular area surrounded by the unit, the condition that the character described in the same page is attached to the same rectangular area surrounded by one sentence unit, and the same page It is also possible to adopt a form in which at least one of the conditions that the sentence being described is attached to the same rectangular area surrounding each paragraph is applied.

  On the other hand, the annotation merging unit 28 according to the present embodiment merges the sticky note annotations that match the predetermined condition according to the determination result information output from the annotation merge determination unit 27 according to a predetermined rule, and the post-merging tag annotation Information (hereinafter referred to as “merge annotation information”).

  In the annotation merging unit 28 according to the present embodiment, when a display name (comment) is described in a tag annotation to be merged, the comment is merged as text information and for each tag annotation to be merged. The text information indicating the attached user and the text information indicating the date and time of attachment are added.

  In the annotation merging unit 28 according to the present embodiment, delimiter information (here, text information indicating a broken line, hereinafter referred to as “separator”) is inserted at the boundary between the merged tag annotations. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the delimiter information is not inserted may be employed.

  In the present embodiment, the rule of merging in the order of attachment time of the tag annotation is applied as the predetermined rule. However, the rule is not limited to this, and it is merged for each user who attached the tag annotation. It is also possible to apply a rule, a rule of merging in order of the number of times the tag annotation is viewed, or the like.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of merged text information created by the annotation merge unit 28 as described above. The text information is displayed as a display name (comment) in the tag annotation after merging.

  In the example shown in the figure, a sticky note annotation 86A in which “Oh ...” is described as a display name, a sticky note annotation 86B in which “Oh ...” is described as a display name, and “No. The case where the three tag annotations of the tag annotation 86C in which “.

  The information indicating the date and time when each tag annotation is attached, such as “2004/03/16 12:55” in the figure, corresponds to “generation time” in the tag annotation database DB2.

  In the example shown in the figure, a user name corresponding to a user ID for each user of the document processing system 90 is stored in advance in the secondary storage unit 25 as annotation information, thereby using a tag annotation attached. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a user ID itself may be added.

  The annotation merging unit 28 then creates text information (hereinafter referred to as “merge text information”) created as described above and information indicating the position to which the post-merge tag annotation is attached (hereinafter referred to as “merge annotation attachment position”). Information ") is output as the merge annotation information.

  Note that the annotation merging unit 28 according to the present embodiment applies information indicating the position serving as the center of gravity of a predetermined reference position of each tag annotation to be merged as the merge annotation attachment position information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, information indicating the position of the tag annotation positioned at the uppermost position in each tag annotation to be merged can be applied.

  On the other hand, the display control unit 57 according to the present embodiment controls the display unit 53 to display the merged tag annotation based on the merge annotation information output from the annotation merge unit 28.

  Here, in the display control unit 57 according to the present embodiment, all characters of the display name (merge text information) after merging are displayed in a predetermined font size with the predetermined outline size of the tag annotation before merging. When it is not possible, the size of the sticky note annotation is enlarged to the size that can display all characters, but this is not restrictive, and it is possible to merge without changing the size of the sticky note annotation after merging. The displayed name can be displayed by a scroll function or a page feed function.

  In the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, when the merge instruction signal is transmitted from the client device 50 to the annotation management server 20, the document ID assigned to the document displayed on the display unit 53 is also transmitted. .

  In response to this, the annotation management server 20 executes the annotation merging function only for the tag annotation attached to the document indicated by the received document ID.

  As described above, in the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, the annotation merge determination unit 27 and the annotation merge unit 28 are provided in the annotation management server 20, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and both of them or annotation Only the merge unit 28 may be provided in each client device 50.

  By the way, in the document processing system 90 according to the present embodiment, the annotation merging function is realized by executing software.

  Next, operations of the client device 50 and the annotation management server 20 when the annotation merge function is executed will be described in detail.

  First, with reference to FIG. 8, the operation of the client device 50 when the annotation merge function is executed will be described. 8 is executed by the control unit 51 of the client device 50 when the merge button 80 is designated by the user in a state where the document and the annotation are displayed on the display unit 53 of the client device 50. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of an annotation merge instruction processing program, and the program is stored in a predetermined area of the main storage unit 52 in advance.

  First, in step 100 of FIG. 10, a merge instruction signal is transmitted to the annotation management server 20 together with the document ID assigned to the document being displayed. In response to this, the annotation management server 20 transmits merge annotation information to the client device 50 as will be described later, and therefore, in the next step 102, reception of merge annotation information is waited.

  In the next step 104, data for drawing the tag annotation indicated by the received merge annotation information is created. In the next step 106, the merged tag annotation is added to the document display area 53C using the created data. After controlling the display unit 53 to be drawn, the annotation merge instruction processing program is terminated. In step 104, the data is generated so that the tag annotation is displayed at the position indicated by the merge annotation attachment position information included in the merge annotation information.

  FIG. 9A shows an example of the display state of the post-merge tag annotation 86X displayed on the display unit 53 of the client device 50 by executing the annotation merge instruction processing program. In the example shown in the figure, if the external size of the merged tag annotation 86X is the same as that of the merged tag annotation, all characters in the merged display name (merge text information) are set in a predetermined font size. Since it cannot be displayed, the external size is enlarged and displayed to the size that can be displayed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, the display name after merging is displayed by the scroll function without changing the external size of the sticky note annotation, or as shown in FIG. 9C. As described above, the display name after merging can be displayed by the page feed function without changing the external size of the annotation. In FIG. 9, the display name after merging is not shown.

  FIG. 10 shows a specific display state example when the merged display name is displayed by the scroll function without changing the external size of the tag annotation. In this case, the display name is scrolled by an instruction operation using the annotation device 56 for the scroll bar 85, the keyboard of the operation unit 54, a mouse, or the like, so that the restriction on the number of characters in the display name is greatly relaxed.

  Next, the operation of the annotation management server 20 when the annotation merge function is executed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the annotation merge processing program executed by the control unit 21 of the annotation management server 20 when a merge instruction signal is received from any client device 50. Is stored in advance in a predetermined area of the main storage unit 22.

  First, in step 200 in the figure, information (herein, user ID, position information, display name, information on all annotations corresponding to the document ID received together with the merge instruction signal (hereinafter referred to as “processing target annotation”), Each information of the link destination and generation time) is read out from the annotation database DB2 for tag. Note that in this step 200, only the tag annotation that is permitted to be published by the public attribute is applied as the processing target annotation.

  In the next step 202, the sticky note whose relationship between the attachment position and the processing target annotation matches a predetermined condition (here, a condition that the attachment position is attached to the same page and the distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance). It is determined whether or not an annotation exists. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 204.

  In this step 202, as the distance between the attached positions, the position indicated by the information indicating the position of the upper left corner point in the position information for each tag annotation read in step 200 is the reference position P (FIG. 12A). As the reference, the distance between the reference positions P is applied, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a position indicated by information indicating the position of the lower right corner point in the position information is applied as the reference position P. Alternatively, the center position between the position of the upper left corner point and the position of the lower right corner point may be applied. Further, in this step 202, the distance set in advance by the user according to the usage situation or the like is applied as the predetermined distance, but the present invention is not limited to this. The distance obtained statistically as being advantageous in terms of visibility may be fixedly applied.

  In step 204, the merged annotation information indicating the merged sticky note annotation is created by merging the sticky note annotation determined to meet the predetermined condition in step 202 in the same manner as the processing in the annotation merging unit 28 described above. In the next step 206, the created merge annotation information is transmitted to the client device 50 of the access source (the transmission source of the merge instruction signal), and then the annotation merge processing program is terminated.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 202, the annotation merge processing program is terminated without executing the processing in steps 204 to 206.

  As an example, as shown in FIG. 12A, the annotation merge processing program merges the tag annotation 86B and the tag annotation 86C in which the distance between the reference positions P is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and the merged tag annotation 86X is displayed at the position of the center of gravity of the reference position P of each of the tag annotation 86B and the tag annotation 86C.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 12 (B), it is attached to the same rectangular area that is attached to the same page and surrounds the characters described in the same page in units of one character. A state in which the matching tag annotations are merged is shown. In the example shown in the figure, since two sticky note annotations 86A and 86B are attached to a rectangular area 87 surrounding the character “A”, these sticky note annotations are merged and one sticky annotation It is displayed as 86X. In this case as well, the sticky note annotation 86A and the sticky note annotation 86B are displayed at the center of gravity of the reference position P.

  Further, FIG. 12C shows a state in the case of merging sticky note annotations that meet the condition that sentences described in the same page are attached to the same rectangular area surrounding each paragraph. ing. In the example shown in the figure, 'Oh ... Since three sticky note annotations 86A to 86C are attached to a rectangular area 87 surrounding the paragraph described as', these sticky note annotations are merged and displayed as one sticky note annotation 86X. . In this case as well, the sticky note annotations 86A to 86C are displayed at the center of gravity of the reference position P. In FIG. 12, the display name of each tag annotation is not shown.

  The processing of step 202 of the annotation merge processing program corresponds to the determination step of the present invention, and the processing of step 204 corresponds to the combining step of the present invention.

  As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of additional information (here, the tag annotation 86) is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. It is determined whether or not the additional information is present, and when it is determined that the additional information exists, the additional information whose distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance is merged. When a plurality of additional information are attached to the same page of the document, the visibility of the electronic document and the additional information can be improved.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, the same predetermined area (here, character, word, sentence, paragraph) in the page In the same rectangular area enclosing etc.), and if it is determined that there is additional information, the additional information attached in the same predetermined area is combined In such a case, additional information related to the area can be displayed together, so that the visibility of the electronic document and the additional information can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the center of gravity position of the attachment position of each additional information to be combined is set as the attachment position of the additional information after combining, the center of the position where the additional information to be combined is attached. Additional information after the combination can be displayed at the position, and the visibility can be further improved.

  In this embodiment, additional information to be combined is combined in order of attachment time, for each attached person, in order of the number of times of browsing, etc., so that it is easy to grasp the intention for the combined additional information. be able to.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since delimiter information (here, a separator) indicating delimiters is inserted at the boundary between the combined additional information, the information about the combined additional information is added for each additional information before combining. It can be grasped individually.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment without departing from the gist of the invention, and embodiments to which such changes or improvements are added are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Further, the above embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims (claims), and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent. The embodiments described above include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. Even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, as long as an effect is obtained, a configuration from which these some constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, a case has been described where individual annotations attached by a user are merged each time a merge instruction signal is received in the annotation management server 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, the merge annotation information corresponding to the merge instruction signal is transmitted to the client device 50, and the merge annotation information and information indicating the condition at the time of merging are stored in the secondary storage unit 25, and the next time When merge under the same condition is instructed, the merge annotation information stored in the secondary storage unit 25 may be applied. In this case, processing for performing the merging can be reduced, and an increase in the speed of the annotation merging function can be expected.

  Further, for example, in the present embodiment, a case has been described in which handwriting input by the annotation device 56 is realized by a touch panel method, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, by an electromagnetic induction type detection mechanism. It can also be realized. Also in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the handwritten input is realized using the pen-type annotation device 56 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, an input / instruction such as a keyboard or a mouse. It can also be realized by using a device. In this case, since it is not necessary to use a tablet PC as the client device 50, the document processing system 90 can be constructed at a low cost.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a client / server system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a form applied to a P2P (Peer to Peer) system. Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to a single information processing apparatus. Here, when the present invention is applied to the P2P system, each processing of the annotation merge determination unit 27 and the annotation merge unit 28 described in the present embodiment can be executed in each client device. Further, even when the present invention is applied to a single information processing apparatus, each processing of the annotation merge determination unit 27 and the annotation merge unit 28 described in the present embodiment can be executed in the information processing apparatus. In this case, there is no need for processing and configuration for transmitting and receiving information between the devices. In these cases, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the document management server 10 and the annotation management server 20 are configured separately has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a single unit such as a PC or a workstation. A (stand-alone) information processing apparatus may be configured to realize the functions of both servers. Also in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the annotation merge function is realized by software has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the processing can be realized by hardware. . As an example of the form in this case, the form which provides the annotation management server 20 with the functional device which acts similarly to the annotation merge determination part 27 and the annotation merge part 28 shown in FIG. 6 as an example can be illustrated. In this case, it can be expected that the annotation merging function is accelerated as compared with the present embodiment.

  The data structure of each database shown in this embodiment (see FIGS. 3 to 5) is also an example, and items to be stored may be added or unnecessary items may be deleted as necessary. Of course, it goes without saying that the contents stored in each item can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the tag annotation database DB2 shown in FIG. 4, “link destination information” and “status” are not necessarily required and can be deleted.

  Further, how to allocate each functional element to the server system 92 and the client system 94 in constructing the system is not limited to the one described in the present embodiment, and convenient distribution in constructing the system is possible. Needless to say, you can do it.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a document processing system according to an embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the display screen by the display part of the client apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data structure of the document database which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data structure of the annotation database for sticky notes which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data structure of the annotation database for pen input which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the annotation management server and client apparatus for performing the annotation merge function which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the text information after the merge produced by the annotation merge part which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the annotation merge instruction | indication processing program which concerns on embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of a display state of the tag annotation after the merge displayed on the display part of the client apparatus by execution of the annotation merge instruction | indication processing program which concerns on embodiment. It is another schematic diagram which shows the example of a display state of the tag annotation after the merge displayed on the display unit of the client device by executing the annotation merge instruction processing program according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the annotation merge process program which concerns on embodiment. It is the schematic where it uses for description of the merge processing of the tag annotation performed by the annotation merge processing program which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Document management server 20 Annotation management server 21 Control unit (determination means, combining means)
27 Annotation merge determination unit (determination means)
28 Annotation merge part (joining means)
50 Client Device 60 Network 90 Document Processing System 92 Server System 94 Client System

Claims (10)

A document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document,
Determining means for determining whether or not there is additional information in which the distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document;
A combining unit that combines the additional information in which the distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance when it is determined by the determining unit to exist;
A document processing apparatus. The determination means determines whether there is additional information attached in the same predetermined area on the page when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document. ,
The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combining unit combines the additional information attached in the predetermined same area when it is determined by the determining unit that it exists. The predetermined same area is a rectangular area surrounding characters described in the same page of the electronic document in units of one character, a rectangular area surrounding characters described in the same page in units of words, The document processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of a rectangular area surrounding characters described in the same page in a sentence unit and a rectangular area surrounding a sentence described in the same page in a paragraph unit. . The document processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the combining unit sets a gravity center position of an attachment position of each additional information to be combined as an attachment position of the additional information after combining. The document processing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the combining unit combines the additional information to be combined under at least one condition of order of attachment time, each attached person, and order of browsing count. apparatus. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combining unit inserts delimiter information indicating a delimiter at a boundary portion between the combined additional information. A document processing method in a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document,
When a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, it is determined whether there is additional information whose distance between the attachment positions is equal to or less than a predetermined distance,
A document processing method for combining additional information in which the distance between attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance when it is determined that the information exists. When a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, it is determined whether there is additional information attached in the same predetermined area in the page,
The document processing method according to claim 7, wherein additional information attached in the same predetermined area is combined when it is determined that the information exists. A document processing program executed in a document processing apparatus having a function of attaching additional information to an electronic document,
A determination step of determining whether or not there is additional information in which the distance between the attachment positions is a predetermined distance or less when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document;
A combination step of combining additional information in which the distance between the attached positions is equal to or less than the predetermined distance when it is determined that the determination step exists;
A document processing program that causes a computer to execute. In the determination step, when a plurality of additional information is attached to the same page of the electronic document, it is determined whether there is additional information attached in the same predetermined area on the page. ,
The document processing program according to claim 9, wherein the combining step combines additional information attached in the same predetermined area when it is determined that the determination step is present.

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