JP2007079985A - Document management device, document management method and document management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document management device, a document management method, and a document management program, which improve retrievability of a document set as an operation target by a user. <P>SOLUTION: This document management device managing the electronic document has: an electronic document management means managing information about the electronic document in each the electronic document; a list information generation means acquiring the information about the electronic document by the electronic document management means according to display requirement of list information about the electronic documents, and generating the list information on the basis of the acquired information; and a selected document management means managing selected document identification information for identifying at least one electronic document selected from the list information by the user for every user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a document management apparatus, a document management method, and a document management program, and more particularly to a document management apparatus, a document management method, and a document management program for managing an electronic document.

  Conventionally, there is a so-called document management system as a computer system for accumulating and managing attribute information of an electronic document together with the electronic document. In general, a document management system provides a document search function and various operation functions for a searched document.

  For example, when the user inputs a search condition for specifying a desired document, a list of documents that meet the search condition is displayed. The user selects one or a plurality of documents from the list, and performs operations such as locking the selected document, displaying the document, and printing the document.

  However, conventionally, document selection information, lock information, and the like have been implemented as part of attribute information for each document, such as status information for each document, or information accompanying each document. Therefore, in order to search for a document selected by a certain user, a locked document, or the like, there is a problem in that it is necessary to check the status information of all documents, which is very inefficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a document management apparatus, a document management method, and a document management program capable of improving the searchability of a document that has been operated by a user. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a document management apparatus for managing electronic documents, comprising: electronic document management means for managing information on the electronic document for each electronic document; and list information on the electronic document. In response to a display request, information on the electronic document is acquired from the electronic document management unit, and the list information generating unit generates the list information based on the acquired information. And a selected document managing means for managing selected document identification information for identifying one or more electronic documents selected from the inside.

  In such a document management apparatus, since selection information of an electronic document selected by the user is managed for each user, the searchability of a document that is an operation target by the user can be improved.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention may be a document management method in the document management apparatus or a document management program for causing the document management apparatus to execute the document management method.

  According to the present invention, since selection information of an electronic document selected by the user is managed for each user, it is possible to improve the searchability of a document that is set as an operation target by the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to various apparatuses.

  First, the concept of an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “multifunction machine”) 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a network diagram for explaining a network environment surrounding the MFP 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the MFP 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between software and hardware of the multifunction device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 is an explanation for explaining the transition of the software configuration installed in the multifunction device 1. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between software and hardware of a conventional multifunction machine.

  As shown in FIG. 1, with the recent progress of networking, devices such as personal computers (PCs) provided in offices are connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and can communicate with each other. it can. For example, as shown in the figure, a client PC, an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server, a server PC, etc. are connected to a network such as a LAN to send and receive e-mails and files. A distribution server that can transfer and that is connected to a modem can communicate with a fax machine outside the office.

  With the progress of such networking, the multifunction device 1 is also connected to the network and can communicate with devices such as a PC, and by incorporating a storage device such as a hard disk, a so-called network multifunction device can be obtained. It has evolved to meet various user needs.

  Specifically, in addition to the normal copy function, the multi function device 1 is connected to the server PC by a printer function for printing document data and the like by a print request from the client PC, and by a fax request from the client PC. It has a fax function that sends it to a fax machine in another office via a modem, and a storage function that stores received fax documents and copy documents on a hard disk with a built-in function. In order to realize such many functions, the software installed in the multifunction machine 1 has become larger and more complicated.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 1. As shown in the figure, the multifunction machine 1 has a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire MFP 1 and controls drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel. The engine unit 60 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. The MEM-P 12 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the multifunction machine 1 and includes a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 12b is a writable and readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, and the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 16 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 18 and MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. An FCU (Fax Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 50 are connected to the ASIC 16 via a PCI bus.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. It is.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphics processing. The AGP 15 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the hardware and software configurations of the multi-function device 1. Specifically, the integrated application 110 including the accumulated document management unit, which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment described later, and software 100 shows a hierarchical relationship between 100 and hardware 200. As shown in the figure, the hardware 200 includes a hardware resource 201. The hardware resource 201 includes a scanner 201a, a plotter 201b, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 201c, a network 201d, and other resources 201e. . The other resource 201e is a hardware resource 201 other than 201a to 201d, and indicates an input / output device such as an operation panel, for example.

  The software 100 installed in the hardware 200 is hierarchized, and a service layer 102 is constructed above the operating system 103, and an application layer 103 is constructed above the service layer 102. The service layer 102 corresponds to a driver that controls each hardware resource (201a to 201e). The scanner control unit 102a, plotter control unit 102b, storage control unit 102c, distribution / mail transmission / reception control unit 102d, FAX transmission / reception It has a control unit 102e, a network communication control unit 102f, and another control unit 102g.

  Here, how the software 100 shown in FIG. 3 has taken such a hierarchical structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the transition of the software configuration installed in the multifunction machine 1. As shown in the pre-service layer separation application 501 in FIG. 10, the software installed in the multifunctional multifunction device 1 is created as an independent application for each function such as a copy application, a FAX application, and a scanner application. It was operating on the operating system 103 shown.

  However, since these applications include a driver (service layer 102) that controls hardware resources, duplicate processing exists in each application. As a result, the scale of each application has become large.

  Therefore, as shown in an application 502 after service layer separation in FIG. 10, a portion corresponding to the service layer 102 of the application 501 before service layer separation is bundled into the service layer 102, and each application is an upper layer of the service layer 102. The application layer 101 is constructed. By adopting such a hierarchical structure, each application has been streamlined and development effort has been reduced.

  However, as the networking and multi-functionalization of the multifunction machine 1 further advance, it has become a problem that a common processing part exists in each application. Specifically, each application in the application layer 101, for example, a copy application or a scanner application, performs processing for communicating with a driver such as the scanner control unit 102a or the accumulation control unit 102c, or job management such as request reception or request execution. It had similar processing such as processing inside. As described above, when each application has the same processing, the development scale of each application is increased, and the improvement scale of each application with respect to the specification change of the service layer is increased.

  In order to solve this problem, as shown in the common routine separation application 503 in FIG. 10, it has been considered that such similar processing (common processing portion) is bundled as a common routine. However, since such a common routine is intended to share slightly different processing in each application, the processing inside the common routine becomes complicated. For example, when adding a new application such as a printer application, it is necessary to modify the common routine in order to adapt to the new application.

  However, since the internal processing of the common routine is complicated, it became difficult for repair personnel to grasp the processing, and there were concerns about the increase in the scale of repair and the impact on other applications due to repair mistakes.

  Therefore, as shown in the object-oriented application 504 in FIG. 10, such a plurality of applications are integrated into the integrated application 110 by an object-oriented design method (object modeling). Specifically, a common processing part of each application is extracted as an object model, and the integrated application 110 is configured from the collection of object models. The functions such as the conventional copy function and scanner function are realized by the cooperative relationship of the object model.

  By adopting such a configuration, for example, addition of a new function such as a printer function can be dealt with by subclassing a class belonging to the object model. For this reason, a repair part becomes clear and the influence on other functions by repair can be made small. In addition, the object modeling program is easier to grasp the process than the conventional procedural program, so it is easier for the repair staff to grasp the process, reducing the scale of the repair, and other applications due to mistakes in the repair. The influence on can be reduced.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a conventional application at the stage of the service layer separated application 502 shown in FIG. 10 and the relationship between the application and each driver of the service layer 102. As shown in the figure, the application layer 101 includes a copy application 120, a scanner application 130, a fax application 140, and a printer application 150.

  For example, the copy application 120 transmits / receives data to / from the scanner control unit 102a, the plotter control unit 102b, the accumulation control unit 102c, and the other control unit 102g in order to realize the copy function. In addition, the fax application 140 performs data transmission / reception with the plotter control unit 102b, the accumulation control unit 102c, the FAX transmission / reception control unit 102e, the network communication control unit 102f, and the other control unit 102g in order to realize the fax function. As described above, communication between each application in the application layer 101 and each driver in the service layer 102 is complicated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 3, a plurality of applications existing in the application layer 101 are integrated into the integrated application 110 by the object modeling described above. Then, the communication processing with each driver that has been duplicated by each application is configured to be performed by a predetermined object model that constitutes the integrated application 110, whereby the application of the application layer 101 and the service layer 102 are Communication between the drivers is simpler than that in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation panel of the multifunction machine. As shown in the figure, the operation panel 400 includes an initial setting key 401, a copy key 402, a copy server key 403, a printer key 404, a transmission key 405, a ten key 406, a clear / stop key 407, a start key 408, a preheat. A key 409, a reset key 410, and a liquid crystal touch panel 420 are provided.

  When the initial setting key 401 is touched, a menu for initial setting is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 420, and in this menu, a paper size to be stored can be set. Also, if you want to copy, copy key 402, if you want to store the copy result in the multifunction device 1, copy server key 403, if you want to perform operations related to the printer, press the printer key 404, fax or store. When the user wants to transmit an image or the like, touch the transmission key 405 to display a menu corresponding to the liquid crystal touch panel 420.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a menu displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 420 when the copy server key 403 shown in FIG. 4 is touched. As shown in FIG. 5, the liquid crystal touch panel 420 displays a document reading button 421, buttons such as a delete from list button 422, a print condition button 423, and a list of stored documents.

  Then, when it is desired to store the original, the original is set at a predetermined location and the original reading button 421 is touched. When it is desired to delete the stored document, for example, the stored document 425 with the user ID DEF is touched, the display of the stored document is inverted, and then the delete button 422 is touched from the list. If the user wants to change the print condition of the stored document, for example, touch the stored document 425 whose user ID is ABC, invert the display of the stored document, and touch the print condition button 423 to print the print condition menu. Is displayed.

  By changing the printing conditions in such a menu, the printing conditions of the selected accumulated document 425 can be changed. If the number of stored documents is large and the operation target document is not displayed in the display area, the operation target document can be displayed by touching the forward button and the backward button. .

  Next, the internal configuration of the integrated application 110 will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the positioning of the accumulated document management unit in the integrated application 110, which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, which will be described later, and the general configuration of the integrated application 110.

  As shown in the figure, the integrated application 110 has an operation system subsystem 111, a management system subsystem 112, and an execution system subsystem 113. The operation system subsystem 111 is a software group in charge of man-machine interface. Specifically, the operation subsystem 111 performs a service for accepting a user's request and considers the quality, cost, and delivery date of a product (for example, a copied recording sheet) corresponding to the request. Provide information service to users.

  The management subsystem 112 is a software group that manages the resources of the multifunction machine 1. Specifically, the management subsystem 112 performs a management service for the hardware resource 201 and the data state held by the hardware resource 201. The management subsystem 112 also has a stored document management unit 112a. The stored document management unit 112a is a software group that manages electronic files (electronic documents) such as image data stored in the multifunction device 1.

  The execution subsystem 113 is a software group in charge of executing a user request. More specifically, the execution subsystem 113 provides an execution service from a document operation request such as copying to output of a product. The operation subsystem 111, the management subsystem 112, and the execution subsystem 113 are required for the multifunction machine 1 as a whole of the integrated application 110 by requesting processing and receiving the results as necessary. Provide service.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram in which each subsystem shown in FIG. 6 is replaced with a UML (Unified Modeling Language) class diagram (UML class diagram). Here, UML is a system modeling language compiled by an organization called OMG (Object Management Group), and defines a notation for describing the results of system modeling. The UML is generally used in object-oriented software development.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the integrated application 110 includes a plurality of packages, and the integrated application 110 itself can be regarded as a package. Here, the package is a grouping of each component (symbol) of the UML model, and this package is expressed by a folder-type symbol with a tab on the upper left. Such a package can also be regarded as the object model described above or a collection of object models.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the integrated application 110 is a package having three packages of an operation subsystem 111, a management subsystem 112, and an execution subsystem 113 inside. Furthermore, the management subsystem 112 is a package having an accumulated document management unit 112a therein. A straight line connecting the operation subsystem 111, the management subsystem 112, and the execution subsystem 113 indicates that there is a relationship such as message transmission / reception between the packages. A symbol written at the right end of the tabs of the operation subsystem 111, the management subsystem 112, and the execution subsystem 113 is a UML symbol indicating that the package is a subsystem.

  Next, the accumulated document management unit 112a, which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, will be described in detail. FIG. 8 is a UML class diagram showing the class structure of the stored document management unit. First, how to read the class diagram of FIG. 8 will be described. In FIG. 8, each independent rectangle represents one class. A rectangle indicating a class has three sections, which are called a name section indicating a class name, an attribute section indicating data (attribute) included in the class, and an operation section indicating processing (operation) included in the class.

  Thus, each class has an attribute section for possessing data (attribute) and an operation section for possessing processing (operation) for writing and reading such an attribute. Since these classes are included as a part of the program (integrated application 110), when this program stored in the ROM 12a in advance is executed, each class is materialized in a predetermined area of the RAM 12b and included in the attribute section. Each data (attribute) is expanded on the RAM 12b. Therefore, the object in which the class is materialized can write and read each data (attribute) on the RAM 12b.

  In addition, if a "-" symbol is attached to the left side of a class element such as attribute or operation, this indicates that the element is private to external classes, and if a "+" symbol is attached, this element Indicates that it is open to external classes. In addition, for operations, “()” symbols are usually added as “Disclosure ()”, and arguments to be passed to such operations as “(Argument 1, Argument 2)” may be described. is there.

  Each class in FIG. 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the accumulated document management unit 112 a includes three classes: a catalog class 301, a rental form class 302, and an accumulated document class 303.

  The catalog class 301 is a class for generating and disclosing electronic file list information. One instance of the catalog class 301 (hereinafter referred to as “catalog object 301 a”) exists in the accumulated document management unit 112 a (that is, one in the memory of the multi-function peripheral 1), and is connected via the operation subsystem 111. In response to the disclosure request for the public information of the electronic file list from the user, the electronic file list information is generated and disclosed to the operation subsystem 111.

  The lending form class 302 is a class that manages, for each user, an electronic file that can be lent to a user or an electronic file that is currently lent (selected) to the user. That is, there is one instance of the lending form class 302 (hereinafter referred to as “lending form object 302 a”) for each user, and an electronic file to be operated through interaction with the user via the operation subsystem 111. (Target file) is determined and an operation request for the target file is accepted.

  The stored document class 303 is a class for managing information on electronic files stored in the multifunction device 1. One instance of the accumulated document class 303 (hereinafter referred to as “accumulated document object 303a”) exists for each electronic file, holds information on the electronic file, and receives a user request received by the lending slip class 302, that is, an electronic file. The process for realizing the operation request is executed.

  Next, main relationships (aggregation, association) between the classes shown in FIG. 8 will be described. As shown in the figure, the straight line connecting the rectangles indicating each class indicates that there is a relationship between the classes at both ends, and the characters near the ends of this line indicate the role of the class, and the numbers indicate the class. Each multiplicity is shown. Here, the role is the role and position of the other class as seen from one class at both ends of the line, and the multiplicity is the number of objects generated from the class at both ends of the line. It is a correspondence relationship.

  According to FIG. 8, the catalog object 301a is related to the stored document object 303a related to the electronic file that can be disclosed to the user (basically, all the electronic files stored in the multifunction device 1). Since the multi-function device 1 can store zero or more electronic files, zero or more stored document objects 303a are related to one catalog object 301a. In this connection, the catalog object 301a serves as a “summary sheet” for the stored document object 303a. This is based on the fact that the catalog object 301a discloses a summary of information on the stored document object 303a (electronic file) in the list information. The stored document object 303a has a role of “lineup” with respect to the catalog object 301a. This is based on the fact that each stored document object 303a can correspond to a lineup of list information disclosed by the catalog object 301a.

  The lending slip object 302a has an association with the catalog object 301a. Since zero or more users can request the disclosure of list information, zero or more lending form objects 301a are related to one catalog object 301a. In this connection, the catalog object 301a has a role as a “candidate list” (selection or operation candidate list), and the lending slip object 302a has a role as “needs” (selection or operation request from the user).

  The lending form object 302a and the accumulated document object 303a have two relations r1 and r2.

  The relationship r1 indicates the relationship between the loan slip object 302a and the accumulated document object 303a related to all electronic files that can be operated by the user related to the loan slip object 302a. Here, “operable” means that access is permitted when the operation of the electronic file is restricted by access control or the like. Since each user can be permitted to access zero or more electronic files, one rental slip object 302a has zero or more accumulated document objects 303a and an association r1. Further, since each electronic file can be permitted access to zero or more users, one stored document object 303a has zero or more lending form objects 302a and an association r1. In the related r1, the lending slip object 302a has a role of “lending right” for the accumulated document object 303a, and the accumulated document object 303a has a role of “lending candidate” for the lending slip object 302a.

  The relationship r2 indicates the relationship between the loan slip object 302a and the accumulated document object 303a related to the electronic file that is currently operated by the user related to the loan slip object 302a. Here, “to be operated” means, for example, a state in which the user has selected from the disclosed list information.

  Since each user can select zero or more electronic files as operation targets, one rental slip object 302a has zero or more accumulated document objects 303a and an association r2. Further, since each electronic file can be selected as an operation target by zero or more users, one stored document object 303a has zero or more lending form objects 302a and an association r2. In the related r2, the lending slip object 302a has a role of “lending certificate” for the accumulated document object 303a, and the accumulated document object 303a has a role of “lending item” for the lending slip object 302a. .

  Since the user can set only the operable electronic file as an operation target, the relation r2 is included in the relation r1.

  Further, attributes and operations (methods) defined in each class shown in FIG. 8 will be described. However, since the contents of the method will be described in a sequence diagram to be described later, description thereof is omitted here.

  The catalog class 301 defines a disclosure method and the like.

  In the lending form class 302, a creation method, a filling method, a usage method, and the like are defined.

  In the accumulated document class 303, file information is defined as an attribute. The file information is an attribute for holding information related to the electronic file managed by the stored document object 303a, and the contents thereof can be changed. In the accumulated document class 303, an acquisition method, a lending method, and a summarization method are defined.

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure executed by the stored document management unit 112a will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a UML sequence diagram showing the behavior of objects in the stored document management unit in time series. The rectangles arranged in the upper part of the figure indicate each object, and the broken line extending downward from each object is a line (lifeline) indicating that each object is alive, and faces downward in the figure. And time shall flow. The rectangle extending in the vertical direction on the broken line indicates a period (active section) in which each object is actually active.

  First, a process for disclosing electronic file list information stored in the multifunction device 1 will be described.

  When the user inputs an arbitrary character string (a1) as an electronic file search condition via the operation panel 400, the operation subsystem 111 that has detected the input uses the search condition (a1) as an argument for the catalog object 301a. A disclosure method is called (S101).

  In response to the call of the disclosure method, the catalog object 301a calls the summarization method for all the stored document objects 303a associated as a lineup, thereby summarizing information of each electronic file managed by each stored document object 303a. Is acquired (S102). When the storage document object 303a receives the summary information acquisition request (summary method call) from the catalog object 301a, the stored document object 303a reads data from the file information written in a predetermined storage area and summarizes only necessary information. To the catalog object 301a. The reading performed here is performed on a data possessing unit constructed using a part of the storage area such as the RAM 12b. The file information held in the data holding unit is written by reading the property information from the electronic file data previously written in the nonvolatile storage area such as the HDD 18.

  Subsequently, the catalog object 301a extracts the summary information that matches the search condition (a1) by collating each summary information acquired from each stored document object 303a with the search condition (a1). The stored document object 303a related to the summary information is extracted (S103).

  The catalog object 301a requests to store the accumulated document object 303a as a lending candidate by calling the creation method of the lending form object 302a related to the user using the extracted accumulated document object 303a as an argument (S104). . In response to the call of the creation method, an association r1 is established between the lending form object 302a and the stored document object 303a. The extracted summary information list is returned to the operation subsystem 111 as a return value of the disclosure method. As a result, the list information of the electronic files matching the search condition (a1) is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 420.

  Next, processing when an operation target electronic file is selected from the list information will be described.

  When the user selects an electronic file (target file) to be operated from the list information displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 420, the operation subsystem 111 that has detected the selection uses the identifier of the target file as an argument for the user. The entry method of the lending form object 302a related to the above is called (S105).

  The lending slip object 302a identifies the stored document object 303a related to the target file (hereinafter referred to as “target stored document object”) based on the identifier specified as the argument in response to the entry method call, and identifies the target file. For this purpose, the target accumulated document object is added to the rented item (S106). Specifically, the pointer of the target accumulated document object is added to the member variable of the lending form object 302a. As a result of this processing, the relationship r2 is established between the lending slip object 302a and the target accumulated document object. Subsequently, the lending slip object 302a calls the acquisition method for the target accumulated document object (S107). The target accumulated document object opens the electronic file managed by itself in response to the call of the acquisition method.

  Note that the processing from step S105 to S107 is repeated each time selection by the user is performed. Therefore, a state in which not only one but a plurality of electronic files are selected may occur.

  Next, processing when the operation of the target electronic file is requested will be described.

  When the user inputs an operation request for the target file via the operation panel 400 (such as pressing a button), the operation subsystem 111 that has detected the input receives information (operation type information) that identifies the type of the requested operation. ) As an argument, a usage method of the lending form object 302a related to the user is called (S108). The operation here is not limited to a predetermined one. For example, editing, browsing, deleting, and the like correspond.

  The lending slip object 302a calls the lending method for each of the one or more accumulated document objects 303a (that is, the target accumulated document objects) held as lending items in the related r2 in response to the usage method call (S109). ). The operation type is specified in the argument of the lending method.

  Each target stored document object executes processing corresponding to the operation type for the electronic file managed by the target stored document object in response to the call of the lending method (S110). At that time, the target stored document object also appropriately changes the content of the file information as an attribute.

  As described above, according to the MFP 1 in the present embodiment, the accumulated document object 303a that manages the electronic file selected by the user related to the lending slip object 302a is held as a lending item by the lending slip object 302a. The selected electronic file can be specified starting from the user. Therefore, it is not necessary to confirm the presence / absence of selection of all electronic files, and it is possible to efficiently search for electronic files that are targeted for operation by the user.

  In addition, since the user is the starting point, it is possible to provide an intuitive and easy-to-understand interface for the user.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the specific embodiment which concerns, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation * It can be changed.

1 is a network diagram showing a network environment surrounding a multifunction peripheral. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining hardware of a multifunction peripheral. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a hierarchical structure of hardware and software in a multifunction peripheral. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation panel of the multifunction machine. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a menu displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the structure of an integrated application. It is a UML class diagram showing the configuration of an integrated application. It is a UML class diagram showing a class configuration of an accumulated document management unit. It is the UML sequence diagram which showed the behavior of the object of the accumulation | storage document management part in time series. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a transition of a software configuration installed in a multifunction peripheral. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the hierarchical structure of the hardware and software in the conventional multifunction machine.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming device (multifunction machine)
10 Controller 11 CPU
12 MEM-P
12a ROM
12b RAM
13 NB
14 SB
15 AGP
16 ASIC
17 MEM-C
18 HDD
20 Keyboard (Operation panel)
30 FCU
40 USB
50 IEEE1394
60 Engine
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Software 101 Application layer 102 Service layer 102a Scanner control part 102b Plotter control part 102c Accumulation control part 102d Delivery / mail transmission / reception control part 102e FAX transmission / reception control part 102f Network communication control part 102g Other control part 103 Operating system 110 Integrated application 111 Operation System Subsystem 112 Management System Subsystem 112a Accumulated Document Management Unit 113 Execution System Subsystem 120 Copy Application 130 Scanner Application 140 Fax Application 150 Printer Application 200 Hardware 201 Hardware Resource 201a Scanner 201b Plotter 201c HDD
201d Network 201e Other resources 301 Catalog class 302 Lending form class 303 Accumulated document class 400 Operation panel 401 Initial setting key 402 Copy key 403 Copy server key 404 Printer key 405 Send key 406 Numeric keypad 407 Clear / stop key 408 Start key 409 Preheat key 410 Reset key 420 Touch panel 421 Document reading button 422 Delete from list button 423 Print condition button 424 Document list example 1
425 Document List Example 2

Claims (8)

A document management apparatus for managing electronic documents,
Electronic document management means for managing information of the electronic document for each electronic document;
A list information generating means for acquiring information of the electronic document from the electronic document management means in response to a display request for the list information of the electronic document, and generating the list information based on the acquired information;
A document management apparatus, comprising: for each user, selected document management means for managing selected document identification information for identifying one or more electronic documents selected from the list information by the user. The selected document management means responds to an operation request for the selected one or more electronic documents based on the selected document identification information managed by the selected document management means. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document is specified. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selected document management unit exists for each user. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic document management unit exists for each electronic document. 5. The document according to claim 4, wherein the selected document management means manages association information for the electronic document management means corresponding to each of the selected one or more electronic documents as the selected document identification information. Management device. 6. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document management apparatus is an image forming apparatus. A document management method in a document management apparatus for managing electronic documents,
An electronic document management procedure for managing information of the electronic document for each electronic document;
A list information generation procedure for acquiring information of the electronic document managed in the electronic document management procedure in response to a display request for the list information of the electronic document, and generating the list information based on the acquired information;
A document management method comprising: for each user, a selected document management procedure for managing selected document identification information for identifying one or more electronic documents selected from the list information by the user. On the computer,
An electronic document management procedure for managing information of the electronic document for each electronic document;
A list information generation procedure for acquiring information of the electronic document managed in the electronic document management procedure in response to a display request for the list information of the electronic document, and generating the list information based on the acquired information;
A document management program for executing, for each user, a selected document management procedure for managing selected document identification information for identifying one or more electronic documents selected from the list information by the user.

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