JP2013232131A - Document generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem, in which when generating a document and operating a generated document without user's operation on a screen, predetermined operations cannot be performed depending on the authority of a user and when performing other operations, it is necessary to change the specification of document operation and then perform a document generation instruction again.SOLUTION: A document generation system performs the following: determining whether a print service is available for a user; if it is not available, checking whether a document can be attached to a cooperation service; and if it can be attached, sending to a Web browser a screen including a menu for selecting whether to download the document to the Web browser or to attach the document.

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for creating a document by form overlaying data stored on a cloud, and more particularly to a method for operating the created document.

  In recent years, cloud computing systems have begun to spread as a form of managing business data and various processes on the server computer side. The user accesses the Web page of the cloud server computer via the Internet from the browser of the client computer, and displays business data desired to be browsed on the Web page. When a document creation instruction is issued from the screen, the user is redirected to the document generation server, and the user selects a form to be used for the form overlay on the screen returned from the document generation server. Then, the document generation server acquires data on the cloud server to generate a document, and downloads / uploads the document or transmits the document to another linked service. Another service is, for example, a print service, which sends a document to the print service and requests printing of the document.

The operations that can be performed on a document depend on the user's authority. Only users who have subscribed to the print service can send and print documents to the print service.
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when displaying a menu page including items corresponding to each user, there is a method in which the authority of the user is determined and displayed using an authentication cookie (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-325224 A

  There are cases where the form used for the form overlay and how to operate the generated document are predetermined. In this case, after a document creation instruction is issued from the Web page screen of the cloud server computer, the user generates the document and operates the generated document without operating the screen. When a user who is not contracted with the print service selects “print” as the document operation and issues a document creation instruction, the document transmission to the print service fails after the document generation processing. Alternatively, when the print service manages the number of printable pages for each user or the like, if the generated document exceeds the number of printable pages, printing fails after the document generation processing. In order to perform another operation other than “printing” on the document, it is necessary to return to the Web page screen of the cloud server computer, change the specification of the document operation, and instruct the document creation again.

A document generation system in which a client terminal 101, a cloud platform service 102, a document generation server 103, and an authentication / authorization service 104 are connected via a network,
The control unit 502 determines whether the user can use the print service in step S1608, determines whether the attachment destination is specified in the parameter, and accesses the attachment destination when the attachment destination is specified in the parameter. Menu for selecting whether to download the document to the Web browser 301 or attach the document to the cloud platform service 102 when the user has the authority to check the authority (S1611, S1612) and the attachment destination. And a step S1614 of transmitting a screen including the message to the Web browser 301.

  According to the present invention, even when a document operation specified in advance cannot be performed, another operation can be executed without starting again from document generation.

It is a block diagram which shows a system configuration. It is a figure which shows a hardware configuration. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of a document production | generation system. It is a software module block diagram of a cloud platform service. It is a software module block diagram of a Web server. It is a software module block diagram of a document generation service. It is a software module block diagram of an authentication / authorization service. It is a software module block diagram of a print service. It is an example of a business screen of a cloud platform service. It is an example of the table structure of the business data of a cloud platform service. It is an example of the definition information of the custom button of a cloud platform service. It is a figure which shows the table structure of a form information table. It is a figure which shows the table structure of a user information table. It is the figure which showed the screen flow displayed with a web browser. It is a figure which shows the process sequence which the document production | generation system in Example 1 performs. 6 is a flowchart illustrating document generation processing of a Web server according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating document generation processing of a Web server according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is an example of the definition information of the custom button of a cloud platform service.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a client device 101 that issues a request to a cloud platform service 102 described later and a document generation server 103 described later. In the figure, reference numeral 102 denotes a cloud platform service 102 that displays and updates data held in response to requests from the client apparatus 101 and the document generation server 103. In the figure, reference numeral 103 denotes a document generation server 103 which receives a request from the client apparatus 101 and generates a document. In the figure, reference numeral 104 denotes an authentication / authorization service 104 which performs user authentication and authority confirmation in response to a request from the document generation server 103. In the figure, reference numeral 105 denotes a print service 105 that receives a request from the document generation server 103 and prints the document.

  In addition, each of the above-described components is connected to be communicable via a network 100. The network is, for example, a LAN such as the Internet, a WAN, a telephone line, a dedicated digital line, an ATM, a frame relay line, a cable TV line, a data broadcasting wireless line, or the like. Moreover, it is what is called a communication network implement | achieved by these combination.

  The network only needs to be able to transmit and receive data.

  Communication means from the client device 101 to the cloud platform service 102, document generation service 103, communication means to the authentication / authorization service 104, communication means to the print service 105, communication means from the document generation server 103 to the cloud platform service 102, The communication means to the authentication / authorization service 104, the communication means to the print service 105, and the communication means between the servers may be different.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the client apparatus 101, the cloud platform service 102, the document generation server 103, the authentication / authorization service 104, and the print service 105 of FIG. In the figure, 201 is a CPU that directly or indirectly controls each device (ROM, RAM, etc. described later) connected by an internal bus and executes a program for realizing the present invention. A ROM 202 stores the BIOS. A RAM (direct storage device) 203 is used as a work area of the CPU 201 or used as temporary storage for loading software modules for realizing the present invention. Reference numeral 204 denotes an indirect storage device such as an HDD (hard disk drive) or an SSD (solid state drive) in which an OS or software module as basic software is stored. Reference numeral 205 denotes an input device such as a keyboard or pointing device (not shown). Reference numeral 206 denotes an output device to which a display is connected. Reference numeral 207 denotes an I / F for connecting to the network 100.

  In these hardware, after starting, the BIOS is executed by the CPU 201 and the OS is loaded from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 so as to be executable. The CPU 201 loads various software modules (to be described later) from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 in an executable manner according to the operation of the OS. Various software modules are executed and operated by the CPU 201 in cooperation with the above devices. The I / F 207 is connected to the network 100 and is controlled by the CPU 201 in accordance with the operation of the OS to realize communication by the communication means described above.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the document generation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, the client apparatus 101 includes a Web browser 301 as a user interface application.

  The cloud platform service 102 manages settings for performing management of users who use the cloud platform service, business data, and redirection to the document generation server 103 described later.

  The cloud platform service 102 is assumed to be used by a plurality of companies / organizations (generally called multi-tenant), and the above-described user management, business data management, etc. are performed for each company / organization used. Is called.

  The document generation server 103 includes a Web server 303 and a document generation service 304.

The Web server 303 is configured to have a so-called Web application function, and the client 101 can access via the Web browser 301.
The Web server 303 returns user interface information in response to a request from the Web browser 301. The web browser 301 renders and displays user interface information obtained from the web server 303.

  The displayed user interface information includes, for example, a list of forms managed by the document generation server 103 described later, an interface for requesting document generation, and the like.

  When the Web server 303 receives a document generation request from the Web browser 301, the Web server 303 acquires business data from the cloud platform service 102 and transmits a document generation request to the document generation service 304 together with the business data.

  The document generation service 304 performs overlay processing using the received data and a form managed by itself, and generates document data.

  The authentication / authorization service 104 uses the received data and data managed by itself to authenticate the user accessing the Web server 103 and confirm the authority the user has.

  The print service 105 performs printing in accordance with an output method designated using the received document data.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of software modules that operate on the cloud platform service 102. Each software module is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 and executed by the CPU 201 as described above.

  The cloud platform service 102 includes the following.

  A transmission / reception unit 401 that processes communication with the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101 and the Web server 303 of the document generation server 103.

A control unit 402 that executes processing according to a request received by the transmission / reception unit 401.
A page generation unit 403 that generates a Web page for returning a response to the Web browser 301.

  An authentication unit 405 that authenticates a user who has requested login.

  A session management unit 404 that manages session information of a user successfully authenticated by the authentication unit 405.

  A data management unit 406 holds business data in the DB 408 and acquires business data from the DB 408 or updates business data in response to a request.

  A setting management unit 407 holds settings for performing redirection to the document generation server 103.

  The cloud platform service 102 executes processing to be described later in cooperation with these components.

  In the figure, reference numeral 408 denotes a DB 408 for storing management user data and business data, and is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG.

  Management user data and business data are managed for each company / organization (hereinafter referred to as an organization). An organization ID is automatically assigned to each organization, and each data is managed together with the organization ID. At the time of user authentication, the organization ID of the organization to which the user belongs is acquired and stored in the session management unit 404. Subsequent processing such as data acquisition is performed based on the organization ID, and it is possible to refer only to data that matches the organization ID.

  The DB 408 also stores settings for performing redirection to the document generation server 103. Settings for redirecting to the business data stored in the DB 408 and the document generation server 103 are updated by the user (administrator) at an arbitrary timing via the Web browser 301.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of software modules that operate on the Web server 303 of the document generation server 103.

  Each software module is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 and executed by the CPU 201 as described above.

  The Web server 303 is configured as follows.

  Web browser 301 and cloud platform service 102 of the client apparatus 101. A transmission / reception unit 501 that processes communication with the document generation service 304. A control unit 502 that executes processing according to the received request. Further, the control unit 502 controls display items on the output method selection screen according to the result of inquiring the authority possessed by the user to the authentication / authorization service.

  A page generation unit 503 that generates a Web page for returning a response to the Web browser 301. A data access unit 504 that accesses the cloud platform service 102 and acquires business data. A form information management unit 505 that manages a later-described form information table.

  The session management unit 506 manages session information of the Web browser 301. The Web server 303 executes processing to be described later in cooperation with these components.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of software modules that operate on the document generation service 304 of the document generation server 103.

  Each software module is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 and executed by the CPU 201 as described above.

  The document generation service 304 includes the following.

  A request receiving unit 601 that receives a document generation request from the Web server 303. A control unit 602 that executes processing according to the received request. A form management unit 603 that manages form data. A document generation unit 604 that performs overlay processing using business data and a form transmitted from the Web server 303 and generates document data. The document transmission unit 605 is configured to transmit the generated document data to the Web server 303 or the client terminal 101.

  FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a software module that operates on the authentication / authorization service 104. Each software module is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 and executed by the CPU 201 as described above.

  The authentication / authorization service 104 includes the following.

  A transmission / reception unit 701 that accepts user authentication / user authority confirmation requests from the client terminal 101 and the Web server 303. A control unit 702 that executes processing according to the received request. A session management 703 that manages session information of the Web browser 301. An authentication unit 704 that performs user authentication using user information transmitted from the client terminal 101. The data management unit 705 manages user data.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of software modules that operate on the print service 105. Each software module is stored in the HDD 204 shown in FIG. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 and executed by the CPU 201 as described above.

  The print service 105 includes the following.

  A request receiving unit 801 that receives a request from the Web server 303. A control unit 802 that executes processing according to the received request. A printer management unit 803 that manages printer data. A PDL generation unit 804 that generates PDL using document data transmitted from the Web server 303. The page generation unit 805 generates a Web page for returning a response to the Web browser 301.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a business screen 901 when the business data is displayed by accessing the cloud platform service 102 from the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101. FIG. 9 shows a state where the user has logged in to the cloud platform service 102. The business screen 901 displays detailed information 902 and a product 903 of a record. In FIG. 9, the details of the business negotiation record on the business screen related to the business negotiation are displayed. Also, a custom button 904 that is set to redirect to the document generation server 103 is displayed. The custom button 904 can arbitrarily set an operation when the button is pressed, a screen to be displayed, and the like, and is arranged on the screen by a user (administrator).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table structure of data relating to negotiations among business data held by the data management unit 406 of the cloud platform service 102.

  The business data is managed in the data table 1000, and is composed of a negotiation table 1001 and a product table 1011.

  The negotiation table 1001 includes a record ID 1002 that is an identifier of the record, and a negotiation name 1003 in which an arbitrary name can be set so that the user can easily distinguish the record.

  The product table 1011 is composed of a negotiation record ID 1012, a record ID 1013 which is an identifier of the record of the product table, a product name 1014, a quantity 1015, and a price 1016. The negotiation record ID 1012 is related to the record ID 1002 of the negotiation table.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of custom button definition information held by the setting management unit 407 of the cloud platform service 102.

  In FIG. 11, custom buttons are defined on the “negotiation” screen and the “customer” screen, and the setting information of the custom button displayed on the “negotiation” screen is redirected to the button display name 1103 and the document generation server 103. The parameter information for performing is stored.

  The document generation server URI 1104 is a parameter that specifies the URI of the document generation server 103 in the form of “http: //”. The session ID 1105 is a setting for acquiring the session ID of the logged-in user and adding the character string “sid = <session ID>” to the URL parameter. The CPS URL 1106 is a setting for adding a URL for the document generation server 103 to access the cloud platform service 102 as a character string “srv_url = <cloud platform service URL>” to the URL parameter.

  The URL for accessing the cloud platform service 102 is unique to each organization, and at the time of user authentication, the control unit 502 acquires a URL corresponding to the organization to which the user belongs and stores it in the session management unit 404.

  A form 1107 is a parameter form 1107 for specifying form data used for document creation. A unique ID 1203 is assigned to the form data, and ID 1203 is designated by formid 1107. The op 1108 is a parameter op 1108 for specifying a document operation. In FIG. 11, the created document is set to be transmitted to the print service and printed. The record ID 1109 is a setting for acquiring the record ID 1002 of the attachment destination negotiation record when attaching the created document and adding the character string “recid = <record ID>” to the URL parameter.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a table structure of a form information table held by the form information management unit 505 of the Web server 303.

  The form information record of the form information table 1201 is configured as follows.

  An ID 1203 for uniquely identifying the record. A display name 1204 which is a name displayed on the form selection screen. A form file name 1205 that is a file name of a form managed by the form management unit 603 of the document generation service 1204. A query command 1206 describing a query for acquiring data from the cloud platform service 102.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a table structure of a user information table held by the data management unit 705 of the authentication / authorization service 104.

The form information record of the user information table 1301 is configured as follows.
An organization ID 1303 for identifying the organization to which the user belongs. A user ID 1304 for identifying the user. Authority 1305 indicating the authority of the user.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow of a screen displayed on the Web browser 303 of the client apparatus 101 in the document generation system of FIG.

  In the following drawings, the cloud platform service is abbreviated as CPS. The business screen 1401 is a screen created by the cloud platform service 102 and returned to the client apparatus 101. For example, the business screen 901 in FIG. 9 is displayed.

  The document creation button 1402 is a button for issuing a document generation request to the cloud platform service 102, and has the settings shown in FIG.

  When the document creation button 1402 is pressed, the cloud platform service 102 returns a URL to be redirected to the document generation server 103.

  When receiving the URL to be redirected, the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101 redirects to the document generation server 103 according to the URL.

  The document generation server 103 that has received the request by redirection acquires the business data of the business screen 1401 from the cloud platform service 102. The data acquisition screen 1403 is displayed on the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101 while the document generation server 103 is acquiring business data from the cloud platform service 103. When the document generation server 103 completes the business data acquisition from the cloud platform service 103, the document generation server 103 uses the form specified by the document creation button 1402 and the business data acquired from the cloud platform service 103 to perform document generation processing. Do.

  When the document generation process of the document generation server 103 is completed, the document generation server 103 acquires the parameter op1108, and checks whether the operation “printing” specified by the parameter op1108 is possible. Asks if they have a print service contract. When the print service is contracted, the document generation server transmits the document to the print service 105, and the document generation server 103 returns a document transmission screen 1405 to the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101. When the transmission to the print service 105 is completed, the Web browser 301 of the client terminal 101 displays a completion screen 1406.

  FIG. 15 shows the flow of processing performed by the document generation system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Note that the user has logged in to the cloud platform service 102 on a login screen (not shown), the business screen 901 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the Web browser 301, and the custom button 904 is set in advance as shown in FIG. It shall be.

  First, when the user presses the custom button 904 on the business screen 901 displayed on the Web browser 301 of the client apparatus 101 (S1501), the cloud platform service 102 performs redirect URL creation processing in S1502.

  In step S1502, the control unit 402 acquires the document generation server URI 1104, the session ID 1105, the CPS URL 1106, the form 1107, and the op 1108 set to the custom button, and generates a redirect URL from these acquired parameters. Then, a response for redirecting is returned to the Web browser 301.

  In step S <b> 1503, when the web browser 301 receives the response returned from the cloud platform service 102, the web browser 301 transmits a session ID 1105, a CPS URL 1106, form 1107, and op 1108 to the document generation server 103.

  In step S1504, when the web server 303 receives a redirect from the web browser 301, the control unit 502 first stores the session ID 1105, the CPS URL 1106, the form 1107, the op 1108, and the record ID 1109 in the session management unit 506.

  Next, the control unit 502 acquires form data having an ID that matches the form 1107 from the form information record 1202 and stores the acquired form information record 1202 in the session management unit 506. Next, a data acquisition request is made to the cloud platform service 102 using the query command 1206 of the acquired form information record 1202. In step S <b> 1505, the document generation service 103 creates a data acquisition screen 1406 and sends it to the web browser 301.

  In step S1506, the Web browser 301 periodically transmits a data acquisition completion confirmation request to the document generation service 103. The Web server 303 of the document generation service 103 sends a data acquisition screen 1406 similar to S1505 to the Web browser 301 until a data acquisition response is returned from the cloud platform service 02. Next, when a data acquisition response is returned from the cloud platform service 102 to the document generation service 103, the control unit 502 of the Web server 303 stores the acquired data in the session management unit 506. Thereafter, when a data acquisition completion confirmation request is sent from the Web browser 301, the Web server 303 performs document generation and document operation processing described later.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing document generation processing of the Web server 303 in steps S1508 to S1524 in FIG.

  In this specification, the control unit 502 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an HDD, and the like. The procedure shown in the flowchart is stored in one of the storage units of the control unit 502 such as the RAM, the ROM, and the HDD, and is executed by the CPU 201. .

  Upon receiving a document generation request from the Web browser 301 (S1601), the control unit 502 determines whether the session is valid via the session management unit 506 in S1602.

  If it is determined that the session is valid, the control unit 502 acquires the acquired data and the form information records 1202 and op 1108 from the session management unit 506 in S1604, and acquires the form file name 1205 from the acquired form information record 1202. Next, in step S1605, the control unit 502 makes a document creation request to the document generation service 304 together with the acquired data and the form file name 1205 (S1509 in FIG. 15).

  Next, in step S1606, the control unit 502 determines whether document creation has succeeded. When it is determined that the document creation is successful, the control unit 502 inquires of the authentication / authorization service 104 whether or not the printing service is contracted (S1607).

  In step S1608, if the print service is contracted (YES in step S1608), the control unit 502 transmits the created document to the print service (S1609). Next, the control unit 502 determines whether the transmission to the print service has been successful (S1615). If it is determined that the transmission to the print service has been successful, the control unit 502 ends the document generation process.

  If the print service is not contracted in S1608 (NO in S1608), or if transmission to the print service fails in S1615, the control unit 502 acquires the record ID 1109 from the session management unit 506, and the attachment destination is It is confirmed whether it is designated (S1610).

  In S1610, when the attachment destination is not specified, the control unit 502 transmits the created document to the Web browser 301 and ends the document generation process (S1613). If the attachment destination is specified in S1610, the control unit 502 acquires the attachment authority for the cloud platform service 102 and checks whether the attachment authority is granted to the user (S1612).

  In step S <b> 1612, when it is determined that the attachment authority is granted to the user, the control unit 502 transmits a document operation screen to the web browser 301. The document operation screen includes a menu capable of selecting whether to transmit (download) the document to the Web browser 301 or attach the document to the cloud platform service 102 as an operation.

  If it is determined in S1602 that the session is not valid (NO in S1602), or if it is determined in S1606 that document creation has failed (NO in S1606), the control unit 502 generates a page so as to generate an error screen. Request to the unit 503. The page generation unit 503 generates an error screen, and the control unit 502 transmits the error screen to the web browser 301. Through the above processing, the Web server 303 executes document generation processing.

  Since the document generation process (overlay process using a form) in the document generation service 304 of the document generation server 103 is known, the description thereof is omitted in this embodiment.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating another example of the definition information of the custom button 904 held by the setting management unit 407 of the cloud platform service 102. In FIG. 11, the created document is set to be transmitted to the print service and printed. However, in FIG. 18, op 1808 is set to attach the created document to the cloud platform service 102.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing document generation processing of the Web server 303 when the custom button 904 in FIG. 18 is pressed in steps S1508 to S1524 in FIG.

  If it is determined in S1706 that the document creation is successful, the control unit 502 acquires the record ID 1109 from the session management unit 506, and confirms whether the attachment destination is specified (S1707). Since the other processes are the same as those in FIG.

101 Client Device 102 Cloud Platform Service 103 Document Generation Server 301 Web Browser 303 Web Server 304 Document Generation Service 502 Control Unit 503 Page Generation Unit

Claims (2)

A document generation system in which a client terminal 101, a cloud platform service 102, a document generation server 103, and an authentication / authorization service 104 are connected via a network,
The control unit 502 determines whether the user can use the print service in step S1608, determines whether the attachment destination is specified in the parameter, and accesses the attachment destination when the attachment destination is specified in the parameter. Menu for selecting whether to download the document to the Web browser 301 or attach the document to the cloud platform service 102 when the user has the authority to check the authority (S1611, S1612) and the attachment destination. And a step S1614 of transmitting a screen including the message to the Web browser 301. The document generation system according to claim 1, wherein when the attachment destination is not specified in the parameter, or when there is no access authority to the attachment destination, the document is automatically downloaded to the Web browser 301; The document generation system according to claim 1, further comprising: