JP2017126230A - Method, device, and processing program for displaying and editing form document data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in which: in an application that enables a user to browse and edit form document data on a web page, a font file is embedded in form data to prevent the garbling of characters during browsing; in this case, in creating the form data via a plurality of servers, an actual substance of the font file is required for each of the servers.SOLUTION: The format of form data is specified from a creation request, and the format is a specific format, all font files required for creating form data of a first format to be created in a first server are embedded in the form data. This eliminates the necessity of an actual substance of a font file for a second server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention generates a form page generated by overlaying field data (text-format data flowed into a field in a form) on a form information file (information on a form as a form template). Regarding the method.

  In recent years, an increasing number of companies replace information on paper media with document data for the purpose of improving business efficiency and saving resources by making paperless. For example, business forms that are operated in-house are often the target, especially because the forms output by the core system output a large number of pages and the operation cost becomes enormous. Is being actively promoted.

  There were the following methods for creating a form page. That is, form information serving as a template of a form is created using a dedicated application for form editing. Next, form document data (for example, a file in PDF format) is created by overlaying field data with respect to the form information (flowing and applying the corresponding field data to each field in the form). Is the method.

  In addition, cloud computing systems have begun to spread as a form of managing business data and various processes on the server computer side. A user can access a cloud server computer from the browser of a client computer via the Internet, and browse an electronic form page on a Web page provided by the cloud server. In the future business flow, it is expected that the number of use cases in which a form page is viewed and edited from a terminal other than a PC (a portable terminal such as a tablet) will increase.

  When the form document data is viewed on a portable terminal such as a tablet, there are cases where font drawing becomes a problem. Normally, a server environment in which a driver module that generates form document data such as PDF operates and an OS (operating system) environment of a tablet that browses the document are different. If the OS is different, the font installed in the OS is different. Therefore, when form document data is created without particular consideration, the font is substituted on the tablet. The form information file is designed and created with a dedicated editor by a dedicated person in a PC environment equivalent to the server environment. For this reason, if the font is replaced, the appearance intended by the person in charge when designing the form cannot be reproduced on the tablet.

  In order to deal with this problem, in Patent Document 1, a list of font names to be embedded in form document data is held in the form information file. When generating the form document data, the fonts described in the embedded list are embedded in the form document data as a subset font. Thereby, the intended appearance can be reproduced even when browsing in a tablet environment other than the PC.

  The PDF format is a format suitable for browsing the form data. However, it is not optimal as a format for editing form data. The PDF format is basically a binary format, and the contents are a list of drawing commands. Since a displayed rectangle or the like is not defined as an object, a PDF editing tool kit or the like is usually used when editing from a program. The degree to which you can freely edit objects depends on the functionality provided by the toolkit. Functions such as page-by-page deletion and text addition are common, but toolkits that can perform detailed controls such as adding, deleting, changing, and moving all objects are not common.

  For this reason, recently, the SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format is used as the format of editable form data. There is a form system that realizes editing by converting a PDF form page into an SVG format and operating the SVG in a script language such as Javascript (registered trademark) on a browser.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-005150

  In the above-described form system, form data in the SVG format is browsed and edited on a tablet or the like. However, as in the case of the PDF, the font file must be embedded even in the SVG form. In order to reflect the intention of the form designer, it is necessary to embed fonts on the PC environment in the form data in the SVG format.

  When the form data is converted from the PDF format to the SVG format, in order to embed the font in the SVG, the font file specified by the PDF needs to exist in the SVG generation environment. However, if the font is embedded in the PDF, the embedded file may be stored in the SVG as it is, so the font file entity is not necessary.

  Here, as a configuration of a service that provides an SVG form data browsing / editing function, there are many cases where the PDF generation unit (ie, the form generation unit) and the SVG generation unit (ie, the data conversion unit) are different virtual OSs. . Moreover, since each production | generation part autoscales according to the load to a service, the number will increase / decrease.

  Under such a premise, the font file entity must be arranged in both the PDF generation unit and the SVG generation unit, resulting in a problem that the license fee is doubled.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
An information processing apparatus for generating a form document,
A means for determining whether or not the received request is a request for generating form data in the second format (S802), a means for obtaining an embedded font designation in the form information file (S803), and a font used in the form information file Means for obtaining a list (S804), means for generating an embedded font designation from the list of used fonts (S805), and means for embedding fonts in the form data of the first format in accordance with the embedded font designation (S806). It is characterized by that.

  According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, in the case of the second form of form data generation request, the font is always added to the first form data regardless of the font embedding specification in the first form of form data. Embed. As a result, it is not necessary to place the font file entity on the data conversion service side that performs the data conversion processing to the second format, and the cost can be reduced.

The figure which shows the system configuration example of this embodiment The figure which shows the hardware structural example of this embodiment The figure which shows the structural example of the software module which operate | moves on the form production | generation server of this embodiment The figure which shows the form information of Example 1, and the result of overlay output processing The figure which shows the sequence of the process which produces | generates the editable form browsing screen of an Example. The figure which shows the login screen of execution example The figure which shows the form selection screen of an Example The figure which shows the overlay output processing flow of an Example The figure which shows the editable form browsing screen produced | generated of Example 1

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, general overlay output will be described.

  Overlay output refers to printing by superimposing form information for recording information such as frame lines in document paper format and text format data (field data). It is also possible to output the overlay output result as an electronic file instead of paper.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the outline of overlay output processing by the form generation server 101.

  Form information can be created using a dedicated form information design system. The form information is generally composed of a fixed figure (form figure) that does not depend on field data and a figure (field figure) that displays received field data in accordance with a specified output format. In order to create a field graphic, it is necessary to create an item (field) for receiving field data in advance. Fields can be created from a dedicated screen displayed in the form information design system. When a field graphic is created, it is internally associated with the field from which it was created.

  In the case of a tabular field graphic (table graphic) 402, it is necessary to create a record field 403 because it is necessary to receive field data in record units.

  A field of a format for generating field data from the operation result of data of other field figures is defined as a calculated column field. A field format for generating field data by counting with a specified counting method is defined as a total field. In the case of the field graphic 404, it is necessary to create a total field 405 to indicate which field and what total method are specified.

  The form generation server 101 reads a form information file 401 in which field graphics are defined and a corresponding field data file 406. Then, the form generation server 101 executes overlay output by superimposing the read form information file 401 and the field data file 406. 407 in FIG. 4 represents the overlay output result.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration example of the present embodiment.

  The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a form generation server 101, a client device 102, and a data conversion server 104. The form generation server 101 is an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and executes overlay output processing and generation processing of an electronic form browsing program. That is, the form generation server 101 generates a print page by superimposing a field data file that is text data and a form information file including predetermined form information, and instructs the virtual printer to output the generated print page as an electronic file. Generate as Then, a form browsing program capable of browsing and editing the form is generated using the generated electronic file form file.

  The form browsing program of this embodiment is a web application that runs on a web browser that can be distributed via a network. In many cases, these web applications are applications that operate using a mashup language (HTML) that represents a web page and a programming language (JavaScript) that runs on a web browser. Since the form browsing program is an application displayed on a web browser, it will also be referred to as a form browsing screen hereinafter. In addition to a web application that runs on a web browser, an application that runs on a computer system may be used.

  The form generation server 101 receives a request from the client apparatus 102 and performs the overlay output process and the form browsing program generation process.

  The data conversion server 104 receives a request from the form generation server 101 or the like, and performs a form data format conversion process.

  The printer 103 receives the request from the client apparatus 102 and performs processing for printing the form document data on paper.

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.

  The communication means from the client apparatus 102 to the form generation server 101 and the communication means from the client apparatus 102 to the printer 103 may be different.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the form generation server 101 and the client apparatus 102 in FIG.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes 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 illustrating a configuration example of a software module that operates on the form generation server 101. 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 access control unit 301 performs user authentication in response to a request from the client device 102.

  The page generation unit 302 generates a Web page for returning a response to the client device 102. Files such as HTML and JavaScript required for the web application that is the form browsing program are also generated by the page generation unit 302 and returned to the client apparatus 102.

  The data access unit 303 performs access processing to the databases 305, 306, 307, 308, and 309.

  The form generation unit 304 generates print data by superimposing the form information indicated by the form information file 406 read via the data access unit 303 and the field data indicated by the field data file 407. Then, the form page generation unit 304 generates a form page as an electronic file from the generated print data using software such as a virtual printer.

  The form printing unit 310 receives a print file generation request from the client apparatus 102 and converts it into a printable format.

  The database 305 is a database that stores form data. The form data is data representing information such as form name and owner, and possesses information representing from which form information file and field data file the form is generated. The form data has information indicating which form page is the overlay result of the form.

  The database 306 is a database that stores form information files.

  The database 307 is a database that stores field data files.

  The database 308 is a database that stores form pages generated by the form generation unit 304.

  The database 309 is a database that stores an overlay information file generated during the following form overlay processing.

  Next, a specific operation of the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a sequence of processing for generating an editable form browsing screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

  In step S <b> 501, the user transmits a login request to the form generation server 101 on the login screen 601 displayed on the web browser of the client apparatus 102. The user inputs a user name and a password in a user name input text box 602 and a password input text box 603 on the login screen 601, and transmits a login request to the form generation server 101 by pressing a login button 604.

  In step S <b> 502, the access control unit 301 of the form generation server 101 performs login processing according to the content of the login request received from the client device 101. The access control unit 301 performs basic authentication, and when it is determined that the user name and password are valid, the access control unit 301 performs S503. Since Basic authentication is a general authentication process, its description is omitted.

  In step S <b> 503, the page generation unit 302 of the form generation server 101 generates a form selection screen 701 according to the logged-in user information. Reference numeral 702 denotes an area for displaying the user name of the currently logged-in user. A drop-down list 703 displays a list of forms owned by the currently logged-in user. The content displayed in the drop-down list 703 is a form name of the form owned by the logged-in user extracted by the page generation unit 302 from the form data database 305 via the data access unit 303. Buttons 704, 705, and 706 are form operation buttons, and are buttons for executing preview, editable preview, or print operation for the form corresponding to the form name selected in the drop-down list 703. Processing after the editable preview button 705 is pressed will be described later, but processing after the preview button 704 and the print button 706 are pressed is omitted.

  Returning to the description of FIG.

  In step S <b> 504, the access control unit 301 of the form generation server 101 returns the form selection screen 701 generated in step S <b> 503 to the client apparatus 102 via the network 100.

  In step S <b> 505, the client apparatus 102 receives a response from the form generation server 101 and displays it on the web browser.

  In step S <b> 506, the user selects the form name of the form to be operated from the drop-down list 703 in the form selection screen 701.

  In step S <b> 507, the user presses the editable preview button 705 in the form selection screen 701 to transmit a request to generate an editable form browsing screen to the form generation server 101. The information for identifying the browsing target form is included in the generation request for the editable form browsing screen.

  In S516, the access control unit 301 of the form generation server 101 determines the type of the received generation request. The type of request can be determined from the URL character string of the generation request. For example, in the case of a generation request for a form browsing screen, “SVG” is included in the URL. On the other hand, “PDF” is included in the generation request for the storage form. The access control unit 301 writes the determination result in the RAM 203.

  In step S <b> 508, the form generation unit 304 of the form generation server 101 acquires a form information file and a field data file related to the browsing target form via the data access unit 303.

  In step S509, the form generation unit 304 of the form generation server 101 performs overlay output processing using the form information file and field data file acquired in step S508.

  The following describes the overlay process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of designating a form information file and a field data file and outputting an overlay in the form generation server 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In step S801, the form generation unit 304 reads the form information file acquired in step S508.

  In step S <b> 802, the form generation unit 304 determines the request type based on the determination result written in the RAM 203 by the access control unit 301 in step S <b> 516. In the case of a request for a form browsing screen, the process proceeds to S804. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S803.

  In step S803, the form generation unit 304 acquires a font embedding instruction list from the form information file. The font embedding instruction list is written by the form information design system when the form information file is created. In the font embedding instruction list, font names of fonts that are to be embedded when generating normal saved form data (PDF format) are listed. For example, barcode fonts that normally exist only in a specific environment are listed.

  In step S804, the form generation unit 304 creates a list of fonts to be used based on information in the form information file. A font name is specified as an attribute of each field graphic defined in the form information file. In this step, the form generation unit 304 collects the font names designated for all the field figures and forms a list. Duplicate font names are omitted when listing.

  In step S805, the form creation unit 304 creates a font embedding instruction list based on the used font list created in step S804. Simply list the fonts listed in the used font list in the embedding instruction list. At this time, fonts whose embedding is prohibited by the license are not listed in the font embedding instruction list.

  In step S806, the form generation unit 304 uses the PDL information (page description language for instructing the printer to draw) as a result of the drawing process to generate a PDF form page via the virtual printer. . At this time, according to the font embedding instruction list, a subset of the font file existing in the environment is embedded in the form page of the PDF format.

  Returning to the description of FIG.

  In step S510, the form generation unit 304 receives a form page in the SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format. Specifically, the form generation unit 304 first requests the data conversion server 104 to convert the form page in the PDF format generated in S807. Upon receiving the request, the data conversion server 104 converts the PDF form page into the SVG format and returns it to the form generation unit 304. Since a PDF form page cannot be directly edited on a web browser, the form page is changed to an editable format (in the case of this embodiment, the SVG format). Subsequently, the form generation unit 304 stores the acquired SVG format form page in the form page database 308 via the data access unit 303. Then, information that can identify the obtained SVG form page is added to the corresponding form record in the form data database 305.

  In step S <b> 511, the form generation server 101 returns the URL of the editable form browsing screen of the target form requested in step S <b> 507 to the client apparatus 102. The URL to be returned includes information that can specify the SVG form page generated in S510. In this embodiment, the form name of the form data related to the form page is included in the URL to be returned.

  In step S <b> 512, the client apparatus 102 transmits a request to redirect to the editable form browsing screen using the URL returned in step S <b> 511 to the form generation server 101.

  In step S513, the page generation unit 302 of the form generation server 101 generates a form browsing screen that can be edited according to the content of the redirect request in step S512. The generated editable form browsing screen includes a form page of the request target form and a Javascript program for controlling the browsing, editing, and printing operations of the form page. The page generation unit 302 uses the form name information in the direct request in S512 to acquire the form page and overlay information file related to the request target form from the databases 308 and 309 via the data access unit 303.

  In step S <b> 514, the form generation server 101 returns the editable form browsing screen generated in step S <b> 513 to the client apparatus 102.

  In step S515, the client apparatus 102 displays the editable form browsing screen returned in step S514 on the web browser. The displayed editable form browsing screen is as shown in FIG.

  The above is the description of the sequence of the process for generating the editable form browsing screen using FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a view showing an editable form browsing screen 1001 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  Reference numeral 1002 denotes an area for displaying an SVG form page. When a horizontal flick operation is performed in the area 1002, switching to the previous or next form page can be performed.

  Fields 1003 and 1004 are field graphic drawing results of the record field “product name”. When the user performs a click operation in the area 1002, the editing program in the editable document browsing screen operates and editing processing can be performed.

101 form generation server, 102 client device, 104 data conversion server

Claims (1)

An information processing apparatus for generating a form document,
Means (S802) for determining whether the received request is a form data generation request of the second format;
Means for obtaining an embedded font designation in the form information file (S803);
Means for obtaining a list of fonts used in the form information file (S804);
Means for generating an embedded font designation from a list of used fonts (S805);
Means for embedding a font in the form data of the first format according to the embedding font designation (S806);
An information processing apparatus comprising: