JP2020154611A - Electronic document management device and electronic document management program - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce the number of versions at the time of managing a plurality of electronic documents in a tree structure in which individual electronic documents are represented by individual nodes representing differences from a parent document with a document of an initial version being treated as a root node, as compared with a case where all the electronic documents having differences are managed as of different versions.SOLUTION: A comparison unit 24 compares an original document, which is an electronic document stored in a document DB 16, with an edited document obtained by editing the original document, and extracts a position and a content of a difference between the original document and the edited document. When the difference between the original document and the edited document, which is extracted by the comparison unit 24, is present only in a predetermined customization target portion 46, a document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document of the same version as that of the original document.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic document management device and an electronic document management program.

Conventionally, a device for managing a plurality of versions of an electronic document has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device for versioning and accumulating and managing transaction documents.

JP-A-2002-259676

By the way, another version of an electronic document in which a part of an initial version of an electronic document is edited may be created, and the initial version of the electronic document and another version of the electronic document may be associated and managed. In such a case, it is conceivable to manage these multiple versions of electronic documents using a tree structure. That is, the initial version is used as the root node, the child version of the electronic document obtained by editing the initial version is managed as the child node of the root node, and the grandchild version of the electronic document obtained by editing the child version is managed. It is like managing a document as a child node of a child node. Here, it is sufficient for the child node and below to retain only the difference from the parent document indicated by the parent node.

In such a tree structure, if electronic documents having even slight differences in content are managed as different versions, the number of managed versions may increase. As the number of versions to be managed increases, problems such as an increase in the cost of managing multiple versions of electronic documents may occur.

An object of the present invention is to manage a plurality of electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node representing a difference from the parent document, with the initial version document as the root node, and all the electronic documents having differences are managed. The purpose is to reduce the number of versions to be managed as compared with the case of managing as separate versions.

The invention according to claim 1 is an electronic document management device that manages a plurality of electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node representing a difference from the parent document, with the initial version document as a root node. , The difference between the original document, which is an electronic document included in the tree structure, and the edited document obtained by editing the original document is limited to a predetermined edit target portion common to a plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure. In some cases, the electronic document management device includes a document registration unit for registering the original document and the edited document as electronic documents of the same version.

The invention according to claim 2 is a subordinate document located below the original document in the tree structure when the difference between the original document and the edited document is other than the editing target portion. The subordinate document whose difference from the original document matches the difference between the original document and the edited document and the edited document are registered as electronic documents of the same version in the portion other than the editing target portion. The electronic document management device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic document management device is characterized by the above.

In the invention according to claim 3, the document registration unit is an electronic document other than the subordinate document included in the tree structure when there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document in the subordinate document. The difference between the initial version document and the initial version document is a cumulative difference obtained by accumulating the difference between the initial version document and the original document and the difference between the original document and the edited document in a portion other than the editing target portion. The electronic document management device according to claim 2, wherein the matching electronic document and the edited document are registered as the same version of the electronic document.

In the invention according to claim 4, when the document registration unit does not have an electronic document having the same version as the edited document among the plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure, the document registration unit converts the edited document into a new version of the electronic document. The electronic document management device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic document is registered as a document.

The invention according to claim 5 states that the document registration unit registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document when there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document in the lower document. The electronic document management device according to claim 2, which is characterized.

In the invention according to claim 6, when the subordinate document is a child document of the original document and the document registration unit does not have an electronic document having the same version as the edited document in the child document, the document registration unit said. The electronic document management device according to claim 5, wherein the edited document is registered as a new version of the electronic document.

In the invention according to claim 7, the document registration unit uses the initial version document and the electronic document among a plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure based on the importance set in advance according to the position of the difference. The electronic according to claim 4, wherein the edited document is registered as a child document of the electronic document in which the difference from the document and the cumulative difference are less important than each other. It is a document management device.

The invention according to claim 8 is the editing target in the tree structure based on the location where there are a plurality of differences between the initial version document and each electronic document located below the initial version document in the tree structure. The electronic document management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an edit target location setting unit for resetting a location.

The invention according to claim 9 uses the initial version document as a root node, and a computer that manages a plurality of electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node representing a difference from the parent document. When the difference between the original document, which is an electronic document included, and the edited document obtained by editing the original document is only in a predetermined editing target portion common to a plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure, the original document is described. It is an electronic document management program characterized in that it functions as a document registration unit that registers a document and the edited document as an electronic document of the same version.

According to the invention of claim 1 or 9, in managing a plurality of electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node representing the difference from the parent document, with the initial version document as the root node. The number of versions to be managed can be reduced as compared with the case where all electronic documents are managed as separate versions.

According to the invention of claim 2, the subordinate document located below the original document and the edited document can be registered as electronic documents of the same version.

According to the invention of claim 3, an electronic document other than the subordinate document included in the tree structure and an edited document can be registered as the same version of the electronic document.

According to the invention of claim 4, the edited document can be registered as a new version of the electronic document.

According to the invention of claim 5, an electronic document having the same version as the edited document can be obtained as compared with the case of determining whether or not the same version as the edited document can be obtained for all the electronic documents constituting the tree structure. The processing amount of the specified process can be reduced.

According to the invention of claim 6, a process of specifying an electronic document having the same version as the edited document as compared with the case of determining whether or not the same version of the edited document can be obtained for all the subordinate documents. The amount can be reduced.

According to the invention of claim 7, the parent document of the edited document is based on the importance of the difference between the difference between the initial version document and the electronic document contained in the tree structure and the cumulative difference. Can be decided.

According to the invention of claim 8, the editing target portion can be reset.

It is a block diagram of the electronic document management apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the first figure which shows the example of a tree structure. It is a figure which shows the example of the initial version document. It is the first figure which shows the example of the child document of the initial version document. It is the 2nd figure which shows the example of the child document of the initial version document. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the contents of a document DB. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the contents of the distribution destination DB. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the contents of the difference DB. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of an edited document. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of an edited document. It is the 2nd figure which shows the example of a tree structure. It is a flowchart which shows the process flow of the electronic document management apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the electronic document management device 10 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the electronic document management device 10 is composed of a server computer, but the electronic document management device 10 may be any device as long as it exhibits the functions described below. Further, the electronic document management device 10 may be composed of a plurality of devices.

The electronic document management device 10 provides the user with a service for managing electronic documents input from the user (user). Specifically, the electronic document management device 10 stores an electronic document transmitted from a user terminal used by the user. In particular, the electronic document management device 10 manages an initial version document, which is an electronic document, and an electronic document obtained by editing a part of the initial version document, after attaching a version to the document. Hereinafter, the details of the electronic document management device 10 will be described.

The communication unit 12 includes, for example, a communication module and the like. The communication unit 12 is used to communicate with the user terminal via a communication line composed of the Internet, LAN, or the like. The communication unit 12 transmits an electronic document managed by the electronic document management device 10 to the user terminal in response to a request from the user terminal. Further, the communication unit 12 receives an electronic document from the user terminal.

The storage unit 14 includes, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, or the like. The storage unit 14 stores an electronic document management program for operating each unit of the electronic document management device 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 14 stores the document DB (database) 16, the distribution destination DB 18, and the difference DB 20.

The document DB 16 stores information about electronic documents managed by the electronic document management device 10. In the document DB 16, the initial version document and the electronic document obtained by editing a part of the initial version document are stored in association with each other. In particular, in the document DB 16, a plurality of versions of electronic documents are associated by a tree structure.

FIG. 2 shows a tree structure 40 showing the relationship between a plurality of versions of electronic documents. Among the plurality of versions of the electronic document indicated by the tree structure 40, the initial version document first stored in the document DB 16 is designated as the root node 40a of the tree structure 40. In FIG. 2, the version name of the corresponding electronic document is described in each node, and the version name of the initial version document is “ID1”. FIG. 3 shows an example of the initial version document ID1. By the way, in the present embodiment, the initial version document ID1 is a guide document for the seminar.

The child nodes 40b and 40c of the root node 40a correspond to an electronic document having a version different from that of the initial version document ID1. FIG. 4 shows an example of an electronic document ID 11 having a version name of "ID 11" corresponding to the child node 40b, and FIG. 5 shows an example of an electronic document having a version name of "ID 12" corresponding to the child node 40b. An example of ID 12 is shown.

As can be seen by comparing FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the electronic document ID 11 is an electronic document in which a part of the initial version document ID 1 is edited. In the example of FIG. 4, the electronic document ID 11 has the date and time of the seminar (April 19, 2019) and the application deadline (February 15, 2019) edited based on the initial version document ID 1. That is, the difference 42 between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document ID 11 is the date and time and the application deadline. Similarly, as can be seen by comparing FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the electronic document ID 12 is a document in which a part of the initial version document ID 1 is edited. In the example of FIG. 5, the application method (... please give it to the person in charge of our company) is edited for the electronic document ID 12 based on the initial version document ID 1. That is, the difference 44 between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document ID 12 is an application method.

The electronic documents ID 11 and ID 12 are edited by the user based on the initial version document ID 1. For example, the electronic document management device 10 transmits the initial version document ID 1 stored in the document DB 16 in advance to the user terminal in response to a request from the user terminal. When the user edits the initial version document ID1 on the user terminal to create the electronic document ID 11 and transmits the electronic document ID 11 to the electronic document management device 10, the electronic document management device 10 acquires the electronic document ID 11. The same applies to the electronic document ID 12.

The child node (that is, the grandchild node of the root node 40a) 40d of the node 40b is a node corresponding to the electronic document ID 111 in which a part of the electronic document ID 11 is edited. The electronic document ID 111 is edited by the user based on the electronic document ID 11.

Each node other than the root node 40a included in the tree structure 40 represents a difference from the parent node. For example, the node 40b corresponding to the electronic document ID 11 includes information indicating the position and contents of the changes from the initial version document ID 1. In other words, each node other than the root node 40a does not have all the information of the corresponding electronic document. As a result, the data capacity of the tree structure 40 is reduced.

In this specification, a node located below the node of interest is referred to as a "lower node". The subordinate node also includes a child node that is one node below the node of interest. In addition, the document corresponding to the lower node is called a lower document with respect to the electronic document of interest corresponding to the node of interest. Similarly, with respect to the attention electronic document corresponding to the attention node, the document corresponding to the parent node of the attention node is called a parent document, and the document corresponding to the child node of the attention node is called a child document.

The document DB 16 stores a table showing the tree structure 40 as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows the contents of the document DB 16. FIG. 6 is a table showing the tree structure 40 shown in FIG. In addition, the initial version document ID1 is stored in the document DB 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the document DB 16, the document ID, the parent document ID, the child document ID, the difference from the parent document, and the customization target portion as the editing target portion are associated with each other.

The document ID uniquely identifies the electronic document stored in the document DB 16. In the present embodiment, since the document ID is assigned to each different version, the document ID can be said to indicate the version of the electronic document. The parent document ID indicates the ID of the parent document of the target document in the tree structure 40, and the child document ID indicates the ID of the child document of the target document in the tree structure 40. The tree structure 40 shown in FIG. 2 is indicated by the document ID, the parent document ID, and the child document ID.

The difference from the parent document indicates the position and content of the difference from the parent document of the electronic document indicated by the document ID. The contents of the electronic document ID 11, which is a child document of the initial version document ID 1, can be restored based on the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the parent document of the electronic document ID 11 (that is, the initial version document ID 1). Further, the electronic document ID 111, which is a child document of the electronic document ID 11, restores its contents based on the initial version document ID 1, the difference from the parent document of the electronic document ID 11, and the difference from the parent document of the electronic document ID 111. can do.

As described above, the document DB 16 does not store the electronic document itself except for the initial version document ID 1, but in the present specification, for convenience, an electronic document that can be restored by the information stored in the document DB 16 is stored in the document DB 16. Expressed as an electronic document.

The customization target part is a certain area in the electronic document, which is a part scheduled to be edited or a part having a high possibility of being edited. With reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, in the present embodiment, the destination of the electronic document described in the upper left of the electronic document is the customization target portion 46. As will be described in detail later, in the electronic document management device 10, a plurality of electronic documents in which only the customization target portion 46 is different from each other are managed as electronic documents of the same version.

The customization target portion 46 is defined in common by a plurality of electronic documents constituting one tree structure, and is set by the user when the initial version document is stored in the document DB 16. For example, when the initial version document is stored in the document DB 16, the customization target portion 46 is set by the user who created the initial version document. It is also possible to reset the customization target location 46 by the processing of the customization target location setting unit 30 described later.

Although the table corresponding to one tree structure 40 is shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of tables corresponding to a plurality of tree structures may be stored in the document DB 16.

The distribution destination DB 18 stores information about the distribution destination (for example, an individual or a company) to which the electronic document stored in the document DB 16 is distributed. The electronic document management device 10 according to the present embodiment manages electronic documents transmitted from a user terminal and distributed to distribution destinations. When the user distributes each electronic document to the distribution destination, the user transmits the electronic document to be distributed and the distribution destination ID that uniquely identifies the distribution destination to the electronic document management device 10. The electronic document management device 10 distributes the received electronic document to the distribution destination, and stores the information received from the user terminal in the distribution destination DB 18.

FIG. 7 shows the contents of the distribution destination DB18. As shown in FIG. 7, in the distribution destination DB 18, the distribution destination ID, the document ID indicating the electronic document distributed to the distribution destination, and the customized contents are shown. As described above, in the electronic document management device 10, a plurality of electronic documents having different customization target portions 46 are managed as electronic documents of the same version. Therefore, the customized content indicates the position and content of the difference between the electronic document content indicated by the document ID and the electronic document actually distributed to the distribution destination.

For example, referring to FIG. 4, the description of the destination which is the customization target portion 46 of the electronic document ID 11 is "[customer ID_contact person name]", but the distribution destination actually indicated by the distribution destination ID "U001". If the destination of the electronic document distributed to is "◎◎ company ◎◎", the customization content associated with the distribution destination ID "U001" and the document ID "ID11" is "address: ◎◎ company ◎◎". Become. By storing the customized contents in the distribution destination DB 18, the contents of the electronic document distributed to each distribution destination can be specified based on the contents of the document ID 16 and the distribution destination DB 18.

The difference DB 20 stores a score corresponding to the position of the difference between the two electronic documents. FIG. 8 shows the contents of the difference DB 20. The score is a numerical value that means the importance of the position of the difference. In the present embodiment, the score is set for each difference position in the difference DB 20, but the score may be set for each difference position and content. For example, regarding the position "venue" of the difference, the score may be determined according to the content (that is, the position of the venue) according to the positional relationship with the venue in the initial version document. The difference DB 20 is created by an administrator of the electronic document management device 10 or the like, and is stored in the storage unit 14 in advance. The usage of the difference DB 20 will be described later.

The control unit 22 includes, for example, a CPU or a microcontroller. The control unit 22 controls each unit of the electronic document management device 10 according to the electronic document management program stored in the storage unit 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 22 also functions as a document management unit 28 including a comparison unit 24 and a document registration unit 26, and a customization target location setting unit 30.

The document management unit 28 performs a process of managing an electronic document transmitted from a user terminal. In the present embodiment, the document management unit 28 holds the electronic document by storing it in the document DB 16, and performs processing such as transmitting the electronic document to the user or editing it in response to a request from the user. In particular, the document management unit 28 sends the original document, which is an electronic document stored in the document DB 16 (that is, the electronic document included in the tree structure 40), to the user terminal, and the user terminal edits the edited document in which the user edits the original document. The edited document is managed by receiving from.

When the document management unit 28 receives the edited document and the distribution destination ID from the user terminal, the document management unit 28 searches the electronic documents stored in the document DB 16 for an electronic document whose difference from the edited document is only in the customization target portion 46. If there is such an electronic document, the edited document is registered as an electronic document of the same version as the electronic document. Further, when there is no electronic document in the document DB 16 whose difference from the edited document is only in the customization target portion 46, the edited document is managed as a new version of the electronic document. Hereinafter, the details of the processing of the document management unit 28 will be described by explaining the processing of the comparison unit 24 and the document registration unit 26.

The comparison unit 24 first compares the original document and the edited document, and extracts the position and content of the difference between the two electronic documents. As a method for extracting the difference, a conventional method such as a method of comparing the pixel values of the corresponding pixels of both electronic documents can be adopted.

When the extracted difference is only in the customization target portion 46, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document having the same version as the original document. Specifically, the document registration unit 26 does not store a new document ID in the document DB 16, but in the distribution destination DB 18, the received distribution destination ID, the document ID of the original document, and the comparison unit as customized contents. The position and content of the difference extracted by 24 are stored in association with each other.

For example, assume that the original document is the electronic document ID 11 shown in FIG. 4 and the edited document is the edited document 11N-1 shown in FIG. Comparing FIGS. 4 and 9, the difference 48 between the electronic document ID 11 and the edited document 11N-1 is only the destination, that is, only the customization target portion 46. Therefore, in this case, the document registration unit 26 does not store a new document ID in the document DB 16, but stores the distribution destination ID indicating the distribution destination of the edited document 11N-1 and the document ID of the electronic document ID 11 in the distribution destination DB 18. And the destination of the edited document 11N-1 as the customized content are stored in association with each other.

When the difference between the original document and the edited document is other than the customization target portion 46, the comparison unit 24 selects one of the child documents of the original document in the tree structure 40 and identifies the difference between the original document and the child document. To do. The difference between the original document and the child document can be specified in the document DB 16 based on the difference between the parent document associated with the document ID of the child document. For example, when the original document is the electronic document ID 11 and the child document is the electronic document ID 111, the difference between the original document and the child document may be a greeting text with reference to the document DB 16 (FIG. 6). Can be identified.

Then, the comparison unit 24 compares the difference between the original document and the child document and the difference between the original document and the edited document. That is, the differences are compared. Specifically, the comparison unit 24 compares the two differences and determines whether or not the two differences match in a portion other than the customization target portion 46. When both differences match in the part other than the customization target part 46, the contents of the part other than the customization target part 46 match between the child document and the edited document (that is, there is no difference other than the customization target part 46). Therefore, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document having the same version as the child document. Specifically, the document registration unit 26 does not store a new document ID in the document DB 16, but compares the received distribution destination ID, the document ID of the child document, and the customized contents in the distribution destination DB 18. The position and contents of the difference extracted by the unit 24 are stored in association with each other.

As a result of comparing the difference between the original document and the child document and the difference between the original document and the edited document, if the differences do not match in the parts other than the customization target portion 46, the comparison unit 24 sets the difference with the original document. The same difference comparison process is performed between the difference with other child documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document. Then, if the difference between the original document and any of the child documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document match in a portion other than the customization target portion 46, the document registration unit 26 sets the edited document as the child. Register as an electronic document of the same version as the document.

If there is no electronic document in the child document of the original document that can be the same version as the edited document, the comparison unit 24 further determines the difference between the original document and the child document of the child document (that is, the descendant document of the original document). Compare the difference between the original document and the edited document. The difference between the original document and the grandchild document is the difference between the parent document associated with the document ID of the grandchild document and the difference with the parent document associated with the document ID of the parent document of the grandchild document in the document DB16. It can be identified by adding them together.

In this way, the comparison unit 24 sequentially compares the difference between the original document and each subordinate document and the difference between the original document and the edited document while deepening the generation from the child document. Then, if the difference between the original document and any of the subordinate documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46, the edited document is regarded as an electronic document of the same version as the subordinate document. sign up.

If there is no electronic document that can be the same version as the edited document among the subordinate documents of the original document, the electronic document other than the subordinate document in the tree structure, that is, the electronic document that is not subordinate to the original document (hereinafter referred to as "other branch document") Search for electronic documents that can be managed as the same version as the edited document in (to be described). For example, in the tree structure 40 of FIG. 2, when the original document is the electronic document ID 11 corresponding to the node 40b, the other branch document is the electronic document ID 12 corresponding to the node 40c, and the electronic documents ID 121 and ID 122 below it. , And ID1211.

Since the other branch document is not an edited version of the original document, if only the difference between the original document and the edited document is used, the contents of the other branch document other than the customized part 46 will be the edited document. Unable to identify matching electronic documents. Therefore, the comparison unit 24 first identifies the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the edited document. Specifically, the comparison unit 24 sets the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the original document and the cumulative difference obtained by accumulating the difference between the original document and the edited document as the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the edited document. To do. Here, too, the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the original document can be specified based on the document DB 16.

For example, assume that the original document is the electronic document ID 11 shown in FIG. 4 and the edited document is the edited document 11N-2 shown in FIG. Since the parent document of the electronic document ID 11 which is the original document is the initial version document ID 1 with reference to the document DB 16 (FIG. 6), the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the original document is the “parent” associated with the document ID 11. It can be specified as the value of the "Difference from document" item (that is, date and time and application method). If the original document is not a child document of the initial version document ID1, the parent document is sequentially tracked from the original document up to the initial version document ID1 based on the document ID 16, and is associated with the document IDs of a plurality of parent documents. By adding the values of a plurality of "differences from the parent document", the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the original document can be specified.

Then, the comparison unit 24 specifies the cumulative difference by adding the difference between the original document and the edited document extracted in the previous comparison process to the difference between the specified initial version document ID1 and the original document. In FIG. 10, the difference 42 (date and time and application deadline) between the initial version document ID 1 and the original document and the difference 50 (destination and application method) between the original document and the edited document are shown. The sum of the difference 42 and the difference 50 is the cumulative difference.

Next, the comparison unit 24 compares the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and one of the other branch documents and the cumulative difference (difference between the initial version document ID and the edited document). Specifically, the comparison unit 24 compares the two differences and determines whether or not the two differences match in a portion other than the customization target portion 46. Here, too, the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the other branch document can be specified based on the document DB 16. When there are a plurality of other branch documents, any other branch document may be selected first, but in the present embodiment, the other branch document is selected in order from the electronic document corresponding to the node close to the root node 40a in the tree structure 40. I will do it. That is, in the example of FIG. 2, first, the electronic document ID 12 corresponding to the node 40c is set as the other branch document.

If the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the other branch document and the cumulative difference match in the parts other than the customization target location 46, the customization target portion 46 is used between the other branch document and the edited document. Since it can be said that the contents of the parts other than the above are the same (that is, there is no difference other than the customization target portion 46), the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document of the same version as the other branch document.

When the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the other branch document and the cumulative difference do not match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46, the comparison unit 24 determines the initial version document ID1 and other documents. The same difference comparison process is sequentially performed between the difference from the other branch document and the cumulative difference. Then, if the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and any other branch document and the cumulative difference match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46, the document registration unit 26 transfers the edited document to the other. Register as an electronic document of the same version as the branch document.

As a result of editing the original document, it is conceivable that the contents of the edited document and the initial version document ID1 match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46. In this case, the position of the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the original document and the position of the difference between the original document and the edited document are the same, and the content opposite to the content of the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the original document is It is the content of the difference between the original document and the edited document. In that case, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document having the same version as the initial version document ID1.

As a result of the above processing, when an electronic document having the same version as the edited document is not stored in the document DB 16, in other words, the same version as the edited document is included in the plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure 40. If there is no available electronic document, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document. The document registration unit 26 may register the edited document as it is as a new version of the electronic document, but in the present embodiment, the content of the customization target portion 46 of the edited document is changed to the content of the initial version document ID1. And register. When registering the edited document 11N-2 shown in FIG. 10 as a new version, the document registration unit 26 sets the content of the customization target portion 46 as the content of the initial version document ID 1 "[Customer ID_contact person name]". After changing to (see FIG. 3), the edited document 11N-2 after the change is registered.

In the present embodiment, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as a child document of the original document in the tree structure 40. Specifically, the document registration unit 26 stores a new document ID corresponding to the edited document in the document DB 16, associates the document ID with the document ID of the original document as the parent document ID, and differs from the parent document. The difference between the original document extracted earlier and the edited document is stored in association with each other. Further, the document registration unit 26 stores the received distribution destination ID, the document ID indicating the edited document, and the customized content "destination: ◎◎ company ◎◎" in association with the distribution destination DB 18.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the document registration unit 26 determines that there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document among all the electronic documents constituting the tree structure 40, the edited document. Was registered as a new version of the electronic document, but when the document registration unit 26 determines that there is no electronic document that can be the same version as the edited document in the subordinate documents of the original document, it is included in the other branch document. The edited document may be registered as a new version of the electronic document without determining whether or not there is an electronic document having the same version as the edited document.

For example, when the number of nodes in the tree structure 40 is large and the number of other branch documents is enormous, it is determined whether or not all the electronic documents constituting the tree structure 40 can have the same version as the edited document. The processing amount of processing becomes enormous. Here, since the edited document is an edited version of the original document, the difference between the original document and one of the lower documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document can match in a portion other than the customization target portion 46. The sex (that is, the possibility that the edited document and one of the lower documents can be the same version) is that the difference between the original document and one of the other branch documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document are the parts to be customized 46. It can be said that it is more likely to match in other parts. Therefore, if there is no electronic document that can be the same version as the edited document in the lower documents that are more likely to be the same version as the edited document, the edited document is updated to the new version without further difference comparison processing. It may be registered as an electronic document of.

From the same viewpoint, when the document registration unit 26 determines that there is no electronic document that can be the same version as the edited document in the child documents of the original document, the same version as the edited document is included in the lower-level documents. The edited document may be registered as a new version of the electronic document without determining whether or not there is an electronic document that can be used. Since the edited document is an edited version of the original document, there is a possibility that the difference between the original document and one of the child documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document match in a part other than the customization target portion 46 (that is, the edited document). And one of the child documents can be the same version), there is a possibility that the difference between the original document and one of the lower documents and the difference between the original document and the edited document match in the part other than the customization target part 46. It can be said that it is even higher than. Therefore, if there is no electronic document in the child document that can be the same version as the edited document, which is more likely to be the same version as the edited document, the edited document is updated to the new version without further difference comparison processing. It may be registered as an electronic document of.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the edited document is registered as a new version of the electronic document, the edited document is registered as a child document of the original document, but the document registration unit 26 stores each difference stored in the difference DB 20. The parent document of the edited document in the tree structure 40 may be determined based on the score (ie, importance) of.

Specifically, the document registration unit 26 includes the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document and the cumulative difference (that is, the initial version document ID 1 and the edited document) among the plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure 40. The edited document may be registered as a child document of an electronic document having a different score of the difference between the document and the document.

A specific example will be described with reference to the tree structure 60 shown in FIG. 11 (a). In the tree structure 60, the initial version document ID1 and the four electronic documents ID11, ID12, ID121, and ID122 located below the initial version document ID1 are shown. For each node, the difference from the parent document of the electronic document corresponding to the node is shown. Consider a case where the edited document shown in FIG. 11B is registered for such a tree structure 60. The edited document is an electronic document edited with the electronic document ID 11 as the original document, and FIG. 11B shows a difference between the edited document and the original document (electronic document ID 11).

Since the edited document shown in FIG. 11B cannot be managed as the same version as any of the electronic documents included in the tree structure 60, it is registered as a new version. First, the comparison unit 24 identifies the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document and the cumulative difference in the electronic document. When the target electronic document is the initial version document ID 1, the comparison unit 24 identifies the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the initial version document ID, that is, the difference between "no difference" and the cumulative difference. Then, with reference to the difference DB 20, the score based on the specified difference is calculated for each electronic document. If there are multiple identified differences, the scores corresponding to the multiple differences are summed.

First, the cumulative difference is the sum of the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document ID 11 which is the original document, and the difference between the original document and the edited document. Here, the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the electronic document ID11 is the date and time, and the difference between the original document and the edited document also includes the date and time, and the date and time in the edited document is the same as the date and time of the initial version document ID1. Therefore, in the cumulative difference, the difference regarding the date and time is "none". Therefore, the cumulative difference for the edited document is the application method and the application deadline.

The root route of the tree structure 60 will be examined in order. First, when the target electronic document is the initial version document ID 1, the comparison unit 24 compares "no difference" with the cumulative difference. The difference between the two is the application method and application deadline. Therefore, referring to the difference DB 20, the score for the initial version document ID 1 is 2 (application method) + 4 (application deadline) = 6.

Next, when the target electronic document is the electronic document ID 11, the comparison unit 24 compares the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the electronic document ID 11 with the cumulative difference. The differences between the two are the application method, application deadline, and date and time. Therefore, referring to the difference DB 20, the score for the electronic document ID 11 is 2 (application method) + 4 (application deadline) + 100 (date and time) = 106.

When the scores for other electronic documents are calculated in the same manner, the score for the electronic document ID 12 is 2 (application method) + 4 (application deadline) = 6, and the score for the electronic document ID 121 is 2 (application method) + 4 (application method) + 4 ( The application deadline) + 50 (opening) = 56, and the score for the electronic document ID 122 is 2 (application method).

Therefore, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as a child document of the electronic document ID 122 having the lowest score among the plurality of electronic documents.

Returning to FIG. 1, the customization target location setting unit 30 is based on the location where there are a plurality of differences between the initial version document ID 1 and each electronic document located below the initial version document ID 1 in the tree structure 40. The customization target portion 46 in the structure 40 is reset. When a part other than the customization target part 46 is extracted as a large number of differences between the initial version document ID 1 and each electronic document, it can be said that the part is often edited. If such a portion is set as the customization target portion 46, even if the portion is edited, there is a high possibility that the edited document can be managed as the same version as any electronic document included in the tree structure 40.

Therefore, the customization target location setting unit 30 extracts the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and each electronic document based on the document DB 16, and resets the extracted difference portion as the customization target location 46. Here, the many extracted difference points may be, for example, a part extracted as a difference of a threshold value or more determined according to the number of electronic documents included in the tree structure 40. When the customization target portion 46 is reset, the tree structure 40 is changed. Therefore, the document management unit 28 updates the contents of the tree structure 40 (that is, the document DB 16) based on the new customization target portion 46. By resetting the customization target portion 46, the number of versions of the electronic document managed by the document management unit 28 can be reduced.

The outline of the electronic document management device 10 according to the present embodiment is as described above. Hereinafter, the processing flow of the electronic document management device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S10, in response to the request from the user terminal, the control unit 22 restores the original document designated by the user and transmits it to the user terminal based on the information stored in the document DB 16. The user edits the original document to create an edited document.

In step S12, the electronic document management device 10 receives the edited document and the distribution destination ID indicating the distribution destination of the edited document from the user terminal.

In step S14, the comparison unit 24 compares the original document and the edited document, and extracts the position and content of the difference between the two electronic documents.

In step S16, the comparison unit 24 determines whether or not the difference extracted in step S14 is only in the customization target portion 46.

If the difference is only in the customization target portion 46, the process proceeds to step S18, and in step S18, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document of the same version as the original document and ends the process.

If the difference is other than the customization target portion 46, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, the comparison unit 24 selects one of the sub-documents of the original document and identifies the difference between the original document and the child document. Further, the comparison unit 24 compares the difference between the original document and the child document and the difference between the original document and the edited document extracted in step S14.

In step S22, the comparison unit 24 determines whether or not the difference between the original document and the child document and the difference between the original document and the edited document match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46.

If the two differences match, the process proceeds to step S24, and in step S24, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document of the same version as the lower document and ends the process.

If the two differences do not match, the process proceeds to step S26, and in step S26, the comparison unit 24 determines whether or not the processing of steps S20 to 24 has been completed for all the lower-level documents. If an unprocessed subordinate document remains, the process returns to step S20, and the comparison unit 24 repeats the processing of step S20 or less for the other subordinate documents. When the processing for all the subordinate documents is completed, that is, when there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document in the subordinate documents, the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S28, the comparison unit 24 identifies the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the original document, and specifies the cumulative difference obtained by accumulating the differences between the original document and the edited document extracted in step S14. The cumulative difference is the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the edited document.

In step S30, the comparison unit 24 selects one of the other branch documents and identifies the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the other branch document. Further, the comparison unit 24 compares the difference between the initial version document ID1 and the other branch document with the cumulative difference specified in step S30.

In step S32, the comparison unit 24 determines whether or not the difference between the initial version document ID 1 and the other branch document and the cumulative difference match in the portion other than the customization target portion 46.

When the two differences match, the process proceeds to step S34, and in step S34, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as an electronic document of the same version as the other branch document and ends the process.

If the two differences do not match, the process proceeds to step S36, and in step S36, the comparison unit 24 determines whether or not the processing of steps S30 to 34 has been completed for all the other branch documents. If the unprocessed other-branch document remains, the process returns to step S30, and the comparison unit 24 repeats the processing of step S30 or less for the other other-branch document. When the processing of all the other branch documents is completed, that is, when there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document among the electronic documents constituting the tree structure 40, the process proceeds to step S38.

In step S38, the document registration unit 26 registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document and ends the process.

Although the embodiments according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10 Electronic document management device, 12 Communication unit, 14 Storage unit, 16 Document DB, 18 Distribution destination DB, 20 Difference DB, 22 Control unit, 24 Comparison unit, 26 Document registration unit, 28 Document management unit, 30 Customization target location setting Department.

Claims (9)

An electronic document management device that manages multiple electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node that represents the difference from the parent document, with the initial version document as the root node.
The difference between the original document, which is an electronic document included in the tree structure, and the edited document obtained by editing the original document is only in a predetermined editing target portion common to a plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure. In the case, a document registration unit that registers the original document and the edited document as electronic documents of the same version,
An electronic document management device characterized by comprising. When the difference between the original document and the edited document is other than the edited part, the document registration unit is a lower document located below the original document in the tree structure and is other than the edited part. In the portion, the subordinate document whose difference from the original document matches the difference between the original document and the edited document and the edited document are registered as the same version of the electronic document.
The electronic document management device according to claim 1. When there is no electronic document that can be the same version as the edited document in the lower document, the document registration unit is an electronic document other than the lower document included in the tree structure and is other than the edit target portion. An electronic document in which the difference from the initial version document matches the cumulative difference obtained by accumulating the difference between the initial version document and the original document and the difference between the original document and the edited document, and the editing. Register the document as an electronic document of the same version,
2. The electronic document management device according to claim 2. When there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document among the plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure, the document registration unit registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document.
The electronic document management device according to claim 3. The document registration unit registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document when there is no electronic document having the same version as the edited document in the lower document.
2. The electronic document management device according to claim 2. The sub-document is a child document of the original document and
When the child document does not have an electronic document having the same version as the edited document, the document registration unit registers the edited document as a new version of the electronic document.
The electronic document management device according to claim 5. The document registration unit determines the difference between the initial version document and the electronic document among the plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure, and the cumulative total, based on the importance set in advance according to the position of the difference. The edited document is registered as a child document of the electronic document in which the importance of the difference different from each other is smaller than that of the difference.
The electronic document management device according to claim 4. An edit target location that resets the edit target location in the tree structure based on a location where there are a plurality of differences between the initial version document and each electronic document located below the initial version document in the tree structure. Setting part and
The electronic document management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising. A computer that manages multiple electronic documents in a tree structure in which each electronic document is represented by each node that represents the difference from the parent document, with the initial version document as the root node.
The difference between the original document, which is an electronic document included in the tree structure, and the edited document obtained by editing the original document is only in a predetermined editing target portion common to a plurality of electronic documents constituting the tree structure. In the case, a document registration unit that registers the original document and the edited document as electronic documents of the same version,
An electronic document management program characterized by functioning as.

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