JP3150254B2 - Document management device and data processing device with document management function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a document management device and a data processing device with a document management function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 20 shows the configuration of a conventional document management apparatus. In FIG. 20, reference numeral 2001 denotes a user terminal, which controls input and output between a user and the system. 2002
Denotes a display control unit, which controls data display on the user terminal 2001. Reference numeral 2003 denotes a document management function execution unit that creates, searches, deletes, moves, and saves data to be passed to the user terminal 2001 through the display control unit 2002. Reference numeral 2004 denotes a document data management unit that manages data stored in the document data storage unit 2005, creates a document management file, and stores it in the document management file storage unit 2006. The document data storage unit 2005 collectively stores data of different formats such as text files, image files, and audio files.

As described above, most of the conventionally provided document management systems adopt a method of storing and managing all files in one medium when a plurality of files are collectively handled as one document. In this case, for example, for a base text file, a file path of an image file or an audio file to be embedded or associated, and information on a position to be embedded and a related position are managed for a document. There is a way to have it as a file.

A method of storing a plurality of files on different media has also been provided.
As shown in the example of JP-A-110384, a multimedia database is used, and a database technology is used for management of a file access method and document search.

Further, in a conventionally provided system for linking a document management system with another application, when a document created in the document management system is used in another application, it is provided by, for example, OpenWindows shown in FIG. As described above, when data is imported from the document management system to another application by the data drag & drop function, or when the function to directly import the data is not provided, the user should be aware of the file system and import the document. Was needed.

[0006] Further, in the case of displaying text data with an icon in a document management system or another application, a keyword described in the content of the text data is used as shown in an example of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-259451. Change the design of the icon depending on the
In the case of a document generated by a specific tool, a plurality of files are grouped together by using information such as an extension given to a file, as in the case of word processing software Ichitaro of Just System Inc. Some ideas have been devised, such as displaying icons.

[0007]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional method, first, when a plurality of files are all stored in one medium, a large amount of data such as image data, video data, and audio data is stored. To manage a large number of documents that contain, a huge amount of media is required, so users must always care about the remaining capacity during operation, and prepare media that is not cost-effective. I was forced to do it.

Second, when a multimedia database is used, a user is forced to register a keyword for searching a document in the database.
When searching, the user must understand the keyword system, which imposes a burden on the user during operation.

Third, when a multimedia database is used, the storage medium is determined uniformly by setting the database, and there is no flexibility so that a user can specify the storage medium.

Fourth, when a document provided by the document management system is loaded into another application, it is necessary for the user to consciously load the files and management information constituting the document. And forced users to have specialized knowledge about file systems. Alternatively, even if a document can be imported without special knowledge only for a document generated by a special tool, in the case of a document generated by other tools, the user must be aware of the file system. In addition, there is a contradiction that a different operation is required for each document. Furthermore, when linking the document management system with other applications, or when using an input / output device such as a personal computer that has only a small screen with a small display area, the document management system and other applications can be displayed simultaneously. It was difficult and led to reduced usability.

Fifth, when a plurality of files are collectively converted into a document and displayed as an icon, not all the files constituting the document have text data, and the shape of the icon is changed according to the description contents of the file. It can be difficult. Furthermore, when files are stored in a plurality of media, if the media is not accessible from the document management system, it is necessary to display the contents of the document and then set the media, which is inconvenient for the user. I was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to integrate a document management device for managing documents composed of multimedia files with a document management device and other applications to provide a user interface based on the intuition of the user. And a data processing device with a document management function.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, a document management apparatus according to the present invention comprises a plurality of data files stored in a plurality of storage media having different capacities and different access speeds.
File (207) and the plurality of data files
Type, the order relationship among the plurality of data files, and
Document management file that describes the storage location of the data file
(206) and collectively as a document.
Personal environment file (20
1) a document management device having a document management file
Data file types described in
File (201)
Location specification method and search conditions described in text data
And the entire contents of the data file consisting of text based on
A full-text search means (104) for performing a sentence search;
Based on the search result of the column, the searched data file
Document search means for searching for documents containing
A data input / output device and a document management file for the document.
Multiple data files that make up the document based on the file
Describes the type of data and the order relation between the data files
Generates a configuration information file
And a file group consisting of the configuration information file
Document output means (111) for outputting a plurality of data
File and the types of the plurality of data files and the plurality of data files
Configuration information file that describes the
File and a group of files containing
Described in the configuration information file from a file group
The plurality of data file types and the plurality of data files;
And the personal environment file (20)
How to specify the file save destination for each individual described in 1)
Document input means (111) for generating a document by using a method
And with.

[0014]

A third configuration of the document management apparatus according to the present invention is that the document in the second configuration includes all data files that directly or indirectly constitute the document and all the data files directly or indirectly. A document output unit that indirectly converts the configuration information constituting the document into a single configuration information file and outputs the file as a group of files whose order is undefined, and a file group including the document configuration information file. Document input means for generating a document using the configuration information file and a correspondence table for each individual between the type of the data file described in the first configuration and the storage medium is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as a fourth configuration, a document management device according to the third configuration, a document group in which the order relation is not determined, all data files constituting the document group, and all the data files A plurality of document batch output means for converting the configuration information when forming a document group into one configuration information file describing the configuration information and outputting it as a file group whose order relation is not defined, and a configuration information file of the document group A data processing device with a document management function is constituted by a plurality of document batch input means for generating a plurality of document groups from a file group, and a data processing device for collectively processing the file group obtained by the plurality of document batch output means as data. is there.

According to a fifth configuration of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the second configuration, there is provided means for displaying a document to a user as a single document icon.

According to a sixth configuration of the present invention, in the data processing device with a document management function according to the fourth configuration, a file group including a configuration information file of a document group is displayed to a user as one file group icon. Means, a means for displaying a document as a single document icon to a user, an area for displaying a file group icon and an area for displaying a document icon are displayed side by side, and the file icon is displayed according to a user's instruction. Means for generating a document group from the file group corresponding to the displayed file group icon by moving to the area to be displayed, and displaying the document group as a document icon in the area where the document icon is displayed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing device having a document management function according to the sixth aspect, wherein a user checks the contents of the file group icon and two patterns of the file group icon are prepared. It has means for changing the shape of the file group icon before and after the user confirms the content.

According to an eighth configuration of the present invention, in the data processing device with a document management function according to the sixth configuration, means for a user to confirm the contents of the file group icon, and a document exists in the confirmed contents. In such a case, a means for further confirming the contents of the document is provided.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the data processing device with a document management function according to the sixth aspect, means for analyzing the contents of the configuration information file included in the file group is provided. There is provided a means for displaying an icon having a pattern corresponding to the number and type of the contained document group as a file group icon corresponding to the file group.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the document icon is used to change the number and type of the document group directly forming the document corresponding to the document icon or the type of the data file group. It is provided with means for generating according to the number, type and access state of the storage medium.

According to an eleventh configuration of the present invention, in the document management apparatus according to the second configuration, when displaying a list of documents to a user, the list of documents exceeding the display area of the list is displayed. Is provided with means for displaying only a part of the content to be displayed at the end of the display area to indicate that the content to be displayed exists in that direction.

According to a twelfth configuration of the present invention, in the document management device according to the fifth configuration, when displaying a list of document icons to a user, an amount of icons exceeding a display area of the document icons is displayed. Is provided with means for indicating that there are icons to be displayed in any of the upper, lower, left, and right directions of the display area by displaying only a part of the icons at the end of the document icon display area It is.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the data processing device with a document management function according to the sixth aspect, when a list of file group icons or document icons is displayed to a user, each list area exceeds a display area. When displaying the amount of icons, icons to be displayed in any direction, either up, down, left, or right, by displaying only a part of the icons at the end of each display area Is provided.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the document management device according to the second aspect, when performing a document search, a single-level document search, or a multi-level document search, each of the documents is searched for the document. A means for terminating the search of the document when the content of at least one of the data files consisting of necessary texts matches the text data for search.

[0027]

According to the above arrangement, the present invention firstly treats files stored in a plurality of media and defined in an order relationship as a document, so that the file is not merely a set of files but a meaning for a user. It is possible to manage a collection of files as a set, and to collectively manage the collection of files in a hierarchical manner to define more complicated relationships between files. In addition, it is possible to provide a document management apparatus for selecting a medium according to the characteristics of data.

Second, by using the full-text search means, it is possible to provide a search means that does not use a multimedia database and does not require a prior keyword setting and keyword system. Can be selected, and search efficiency can be further improved.

Thirdly, it is possible to provide a means by which a user can determine a storage medium.

Fourthly, it is possible to provide an input / output means for a document with another application and an input / output means for a document group, thereby providing an easy-to-use data processing device with a document management function.

Fifth, in the document management device or the data processing device with a document management function, icon operation and icon display can be performed based on the user's intuition and the status of the device.

[0032]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an embodiment of the present invention, a multimedia electronic mail system with a document management function will be described as an example. In this embodiment, a document having the structure shown in FIG. 2A is used as the document described in claim 2. That is, a document is composed of one or more files, and a document is composed of one or more documents, and one document memo file is attached. Also, as shown in FIG. 2B, a file for managing documents is a document management file, and a file for managing documents is a document management file. In this embodiment, a multimedia e-mail system is used as a data processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect.

Hereinafter, a multimedia e-mail system with a document management function will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multimedia electronic mail system with a document management function according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a user terminal, which controls input and output between a user and the system. A display control unit 102 transfers data between the mail function execution unit 112 and the document management function execution unit 103 and the user terminal 101, and controls data display on the user terminal 101, such as icon display and list display. 103, 10
4, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 11
Reference numerals 0 and 111 implement the document management function unit 120.

The document management function execution unit 103 operates on data managed by the document data management unit 105 in response to a user request passed through the display control unit 102. Operations performed include deleting, creating, moving,
The operations include saving, deleting, creating, moving, and saving a document, deleting, creating, moving, and saving a file under the document, classifying the document, and interacting with the mail function of each layer through the document input unit 111.

The search execution unit 104 corresponds to each of the search means according to claims 1 and 2, and the document management function execution unit 103
The document and the document are searched based on the search target group and the search condition passed from.

The document data management unit 105 generates a document management file and a document management file according to the structure of the document and the document, and manages the document and the document based on the generated management file.

The document / document management file storage unit 106
The document management file and the document management file generated by the document data management unit 105 are stored.

The storage medium control unit 107 includes document file storage units 108, 109, 110 (memory, magnetic disk,
And storing and retrieving document files on different media such as optical discs.

The document configuration information analysis / generation unit 111 corresponds to the document input / output unit according to the third aspect, and analyzes and generates a document managed by the document data management unit 105 or configuration information generated from the document by mail structure. Output to the unit 116, and conversely,
A document or document generated by analyzing the document or document configuration information input from the mail structure analysis / generation unit 116 is delivered to the document data management unit 105.

112, 113, 114, 115, 11
6 and 117 implement the mail function unit 121. The mail function execution unit 112 performs an operation on the data managed by the mail data management unit 113 in response to a user request passed through the display control unit 102. The operation to be performed is a function of requesting mail transmission / reception to the mail transmission / reception unit 117, or a file group having documents or document configuration information is taken in or deleted from the mail as data having a hierarchical structure to create a mail. And a function for saving and deleting mail.

The mail data management section 113 manages the hierarchical structure of the data in the mail based on the management data stored in the mail management file storage section 114.

The mail management file storage unit 114 stores a mail header file that describes the mail information such as the title, destination, and sender of the mail, and a mail structure management information file that describes the hierarchical structure of the data in the mail.

The mail data file storage unit 115 stores an actual mail data file. Hereinafter, the actual data file of the mail and the collection of meaningful data in the mail will be referred to as an enclosure.

The mail structure analyzing / generating unit 116 corresponds to the plural document batch input / output unit according to the fourth aspect, and converts the data file structure from the hierarchical structure of the data in the mail managed by the mail data managing unit 113. The extracted configuration information and data file are output to the document information analysis / generation unit 111, and are output to the document information analysis / generation unit 111.
The document information and document file data input from a plurality of documents or documents are input to the mail data management unit 113.

Mail transmission / reception section 117 transmits and receives mail.

FIG. 2A shows a configuration example of a document in the document data management unit 105. In FIG. 2A, a file is created for each type of data such as text data, audio data, moving image data, still image data, and word processing data. A document is composed of one or more files, and is a minimum unit recognized as one meaningful to a user. Documents can exist independently or in documents. A document is composed of one or more documents, and one document memo file is attached. The document memo file is composed of one file. Apart from the document and the contents of the document,
This data is added as a user memo.

FIG. 2B shows an example of mounting a document structure in the document data management unit 105. In the present embodiment, documents and documents are mounted in directories in the UNIX file system. FIG. 2B shows the document directory 202 as an example in which one document exists,
If there are multiple documents, there are as many document directories as documents. Under the document directory 202,
Document management file 203 that describes attribute information of the document
And a document memo file 204. The document memo file 204 is an auxiliary information file to be added to a document by a user having the document as necessary, and is implemented by a text file. The description format of the document management file 203 is shown in FIG. There are as many document directories as the number of documents belonging to the document. In FIG. 2B, there are three documents, each of which is a document directory 2
05-1, 205-2, and 205-3.
Similarly to the documents under the document directory, there are document management files that describe the attributes of the documents.
-2, 206-3. Document management file 206
Describes the information of the file belonging to the document. The description format of the document management file 206 is shown in FIG.
The personal environment file 201 is provided for each individual, and in addition to information such as a directory position for a personal document environment, an editor name and a printer name used for each individual, a document file storage destination specification for each individual shown in FIG. A method is described.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a mail configuration in the mail data management unit 113. Here, a tree structure composed of nodes and leaves is defined as a mail hierarchical structure. A node is created for convenience in the middle of a tree structure to represent a hierarchy. The leaf is created at the end of the tree structure. In FIG. 3, 301, 303, 3
04, 306, and 307 are nodes;
5, 308, 309, 310 are leaves. Also, a tree structure having each node located at the first layer in the mail layer structure as a vertex is defined as an inclusion layer structure. In FIG. 3, nodes 306, 30
7 and one of the leaves 308, 309, and 310 is a single inclusion hierarchical structure, and the node 301 is a node provided on the two inclusion hierarchical structures for convenience. In the present embodiment, the file 302 indicates an invoice for mail. The mail handled in the present embodiment also has an enclosure hierarchical structure. In this embodiment, a node has node information such as a node name and a node type, but does not have actual file data. The leaf has file information such as a file name, a file type, and link information to actual file data.

FIG. 4 shows a format and a description example of a file storage destination designation for each individual in the personal environment file 201. In the storage specification, an identifier 403 indicating the type of a storage medium and position information 404 within the medium are described for a set of a document type 401 and a file type 402. The application type can be described as the storage destination medium identifier 403. In this case, the position 404 in the medium is 403
Describe the unique position specification information in the application specified in. Document type 401 and file type 402
Can describe all document types and all file types. For example, if the document type A is designated as 401 and all file types are designated as 402,
Indicates that all files belonging to document type A are stored on the same medium.

FIG. 5 shows a description format of the document management file 203. Based on the attributes described here, the document data management unit 105 recognizes document information such as a document name, an option, and a document order for each document.

FIG. 6 shows a description format of the document management file 206. Based on the attributes described here, the document data management unit 105 recognizes document information such as a document name, an option, and a document order for each document. The document management file 206 includes file information 601 in addition to the document information.
Are described as many as the number of files. The file information 601 describes information such as a stored medium type, a position in the medium, a file type, a file name, and a file order. The timing at which the file information 601 is described or re-described is when a request to save a document, document, or file is made from the document management function execution unit 103.

FIG. 7 shows the file structure of the mail shown in FIG. Reference numeral 701 denotes a mail header file having file information of destination information, title, sender, and mail contents;
Is a mail structure management information file in which node information, file information, and layer structure information are described as a mail layer structure, and 703, 704, 705, 706, and 707 are actual data files linked from the leaves of the mail layer structure. The mail header file 701 and the mail structure management information 702 exist for each mail.

FIG. 8 shows that the mail data management unit 113 converts the mail structure management information file 7 from the mail hierarchical structure as shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 shows an example of the flow of processing when generating the mail structure management information file 702 from the mail hierarchical structure shown in FIG. 3 using the flow of processing shown in FIG. 8 and 9, it is first checked whether or not there is a node or a file on the left side of the first hierarchy (step 801). If not, the process is terminated. In step 802, the information of the item to be processed is described in the mail structure management information file 702.
Next, it is checked whether there is a file or node below the process target (step 804). If there is, the lower file or node to be processed is set as the process target (step 805), and the process returns to step 803 to repeat the process.
If not, it is checked whether there is a node or file to the right of the processing target (step 806). If not, the process is terminated. If there is, the file or node to the right of the processing target is set as the processing target (step 807,
), And return to step 803. Thereafter, by repeating the same processing, the mail structure management information file 702 is generated in the order shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a mail structure management information file 70.
2 shows a description example. Based on the information written here,
The mail data management unit 113 recognizes information of each node such as a node name, a node type, and the like, and an inclusion hierarchical structure.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a description format of the mail structure management information file 702 shown in FIG. The mail structure management information file 702 is a file having information necessary to express a mail hierarchical structure. The relation between each node and file, and the name, format, hierarchy, and distinction between node and file for each node and file Node information and file information such as file information are described.

FIG. 12 shows the correspondence between the mail structure, the document, and the document structure. FIG. 12A shows a mail hierarchical structure held by the mail 1201. FIG. 12B shows the mail 1
2 shows a document and a structure of a document which are created when the document is stored under the document management function and extracted from the document 201. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the file 1202 is stored as a document memo file under the document 1211 and the document 1214.

FIG. 13 shows a display example when the contents of the received mail are stored by the document management function. FIG.
(A) shows a state immediately after receiving an e-mail, 1301 denotes a mail icon display area, and 1302 denotes an icon of the received mail. In the present embodiment, each mail is represented by one icon. 1303 indicates the title of the received mail. FIG. 13B is a display example immediately after the mail content is stored by the document management function. Reference numeral 1304 denotes a document to be operated by the document management function and a display area of the document. 1305 and 1306 are represented by icons 1302. An icon 1307 indicates a document and a document held as the contents of the e-mail.
308 is the document name.

FIG. 14 shows icons indicating the unread and read states of the mail. The mail icon in FIG. 14A is an unsealed envelope type, and indicates an unread state.
The mail icon in FIG. 14B is an envelope-shaped envelope, and indicates a state in which the mail has already been read.

FIG. 15 shows an example in which the hierarchical structure held by the mail is confirmed. The icon 1501 indicates a mail icon to be operated. FIG. 15A shows the icon 15.
This is an example in which a list of the hierarchical structure of the inclusions constituting the mail indicated by No. 01 is displayed in another area. The mail 1501 indicates that it is composed of a document 1502 and a document 1503. FIG. 15B is an example in which a lower node list of the document 1503 is displayed in another area. Document 1503 is document 15
04 and a document 1505.

FIG. 16 shows a display example of a mail icon having a hierarchical structure. FIG. 16A shows an example in which the number of documents held by the mail is indicated by an icon design. The number of books in the icon is the total number of documents and documents held by the mail. FIG. 16B shows an example in which the number of documents and the total number of documents held by the mail are indicated by numerals on icons.

FIG. 17 shows a display example of a document icon composed of one or more files stored in different media.
The design of the document icon differs for each medium in which a file belonging to a lower level of the document is stored. For example, FIG. 17A shows an optical file, FIG. 17B shows a magnetic disk, and FIG.
(C) represents a tape. The document has multiple files,
If each file is stored on a different medium, for example, if one document has two files stored on an optical disk, one file stored on a magnetic disk, and one file stored on a tape, FIG. )
Is displayed as follows.

FIG. 18 shows a display example of a list of icons and character strings when all mails, documents, and documents cannot be displayed in the mail, documents, and documents list display area. FIG. 18A is a list display example in the case where one mail is indicated by one icon. If the mail icon cannot be displayed in the list display area 1801, the user can operate the scroll bar 1805 to display a part that is not displayed. At this time, only half of the mail icon is displayed at the end of the display area in the direction in which there are icons that cannot be displayed. An icon 1802 indicates that there are still icons to be displayed below the list display area. When only half of the upper icons are displayed, it indicates that there are still icons to be displayed in the upward direction. The same applies to the left-right direction. FIG. 18B shows an example in which a list of documents or documents is displayed as a character string list.
04 indicates that there is a list item that cannot be displayed below the display area 1803.

FIG. 19 shows an example of processing when the display control unit 102 performs such control. Assuming that the size of the window to be displayed is X, Y and the size of the displayed icon is x, y, first, the relationship between the total number of objects to be displayed such as mails and the window size is checked (step 190).
1), “X ÷ x <total number of display targets” (step 1)
902), and when the first icon is displayed in the window (step 1903), the x of each icon is displayed such that only the displayed bottom icon is displayed in half.
Is expanded downward (step 1904). If the last icon is displayed in the window (Step 1
905), x of each icon is enlarged upward so that only the displayed top icon is displayed in half (step 1906). If neither the first icon nor the last icon is displayed in the window, the x of each icon is enlarged vertically so that only the displayed top and bottom icons are displayed in half respectively (step 190).
7). The same applies to the left-right direction. Instead of enlarging such an icon, a method of masking a window so that only half of the icon is displayed may be used. The display example of FIG. 18B can be similarly performed.

Next, the flow of the processing of this embodiment will be described. First, a process of searching for a document from a document group using the document management function unit 120 in FIG. 1 and sending the document of the search result by mail will be described.

As processing targets of the document management function unit 120,
The user terminal 101 displays a list of documents and documents having a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. At this time, the order of the documents in the same document is stored in the document management file shown in FIG. 6 so as to cope with the case where the documents are divided into documents for each chapter, for example, and displayed in this order. In order to cope with a case where page information is added between files in the same document, for example, file order information is held in the file information description area 601 in the document management file 206 in FIG. You. As a method of displaying the list, when displaying a document that is a directly higher-level node of a file that can specify a storage medium or an application, an icon display example shown in FIG. 17 can be used. If the target document or document cannot be displayed in the list display area, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to visually inform the user that there is still a document or document to be displayed in that direction by displaying only one row of icons or list items. FIG. 18 (b)
FIG. 18A shows a display example in which documents are displayed as a list in a character string list, and FIG. 18A shows a case where mail is displayed as an icon. However, document icons can be displayed in the same manner.

Next, the search processing will be described. First, the display control unit 102 shown in FIG.
03, a search target group (document group,
A search request is issued together with the document group) and the search condition.
The search execution unit 104 extracts the information of the included file group from the document data management unit 105 for each of the passed search targets, and determines a searchable file such as a file of a text type from a file type. Search execution unit 104
When the document data management unit 105 requests the data of the searchable file, the document data management unit 105
The data is extracted from each storage destination while referring to the file storage destination designation information for each individual, and the search execution unit 10
Pass to 4. For the acquired data, the search execution unit 104
Performs a full-text search. When the search processing is completed for all search targets, the search execution unit 104 passes the search result to the document management function execution unit 103.

In the search process, since the full-text search is directly performed on file data belonging to the lower order of the search target such as a document or a document, the user does not need to register a search keyword in advance. In addition, since a storage medium for file data can be specified in the personal environment file 201, a relatively high-speed medium such as a hard disk is specified as a storage destination for searchable file data such as text data. Can be raised. In addition, when a file that satisfies the search condition is first found, the document or document to which this file belongs is set as a search result, and the next search target is executed without performing a search on the document or other searchable files in the document. By shifting the processing to the document group or file group, labor saving of the search can be achieved. In this embodiment, the searchable file is directly determined based on the file type. However, a flag indicating whether or not search is possible is added to a document option column or the like in the document management file 206 shown in FIG. By omitting the acquisition of the file information belonging to the impossible document, it is possible to save labor and speed up the search.

Next, a process for sending a document group and a document group obtained as a search result as mail will be described. When the display control unit 102 issues a transmission request together with the transmission target (document group, document group), the document management function execution unit 103
It requests the document data management unit 105 to pass the document to be transmitted, the hierarchical structure information of each document, and the file data to the document configuration information analysis / generation unit 111.

The document data management unit 105 generates the document and the hierarchical structure information of the document from the document management data and the document management data stored in the document / document management file storage unit 106. The file data is obtained from the storage destination and passed to the document configuration information analysis / generation unit 111. The document composition information analysis / generation unit 111
Document and document structure information are collectively generated, and the mail structure analysis / generation unit 11 is generated together with the respective data files.
Pass to 6. The mail structure analysis / generation unit 116 converts the received information of a plurality of documents and documents into one mail hierarchical structure for convenience, and generates a mail hierarchical structure composed of one tree structure.

That is, in FIG. 12, FIG.
The configuration information of the document structure below the document 1211 in FIG. 12 is a hierarchical structure of inclusions having the node 1203 as a vertex in FIG. 12A, and the configuration information of the document structure below the document 1214 in FIG. Node 1 in a)
Each corresponds to a hierarchical structure of the inclusions having a peak at 204,
The upper node 1201 is added for convenience. The document memo file 12 shown in FIG.
Since the information 12 and 1215 are information used personally by the user, they are not converted into the mail hierarchical structure in this embodiment. Further, at the time of this conversion processing, information possessed by the node, for example, the node type is copied from the conversion source to the conversion destination, and the type “text” of the document 1211 is copied to the node type of the node 1203 of the mail structure. ing.

When the conversion process is completed, the mail structure analysis /
The generation unit 116 passes the generated mail hierarchy structure and the actual file data to the mail data management unit 113. The mail data management unit 113 determines, based on the passed mail hierarchical structure, FIG.
A mail structure management information file 702 is created according to the procedure shown in FIG.
The actual data files as shown in 4, 705, 706, and 707 are created by the number of files. Subsequently, destination information from the display control unit 102 through the mail function execution unit 112,
When the information necessary for the transmission of the title or the like is passed, the mail data management unit 113 creates a mail header file 701 and stores all the created files in the mail function execution unit 112.
Pass to. The mail function execution unit 112 receives the transferred files, that is, the mail header file 701, the mail structure management information file 702, and the actual data files 703 to 7.
07 to the mail transmission / reception unit 117 to complete the transmission process.

Next, the mail function unit 12 in this embodiment
The following describes a process of displaying a list of received e-mails using E.1, confirming the e-mail configuration, and then storing the contents of the e-mail as a document.

The mail transmission / reception unit 117 passes the received mail to the mail function execution unit 112. The mail function execution unit 112 sends the mail header file 701 and the mail structure management information file 7 via the mail data management unit 113.
02 is stored in the mail management file storage unit 114, and the actual data files 703 to 707 are stored in the mail data file storage unit 115.

When displaying a list of received mails, the mail function execution unit 112 determines the subject, sender, and the like from the mail header file 701 stored in the mail management file storage unit 114 for each mail. Is obtained via the mail data management unit 113,
It is passed to the display control unit 102 as mail list information.

At this time, the display control unit 102 uses an icon indicating the number of documents and the number of documents located at the top of the hierarchical structure of the enclosure, which is the contents of the mail, as shown in FIG. By embedding the attribute information possessed by the mail in the icon design, such as displaying the unread and read information of the mail separately so that the user can understand the meaning intuitively, more mails can be displayed in the mail list. Information can be given to the user.

When all the mails cannot be displayed on one screen, as shown in FIG. 18 (a), one of the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the mail list display area is located at the end of the direction in which there is a mail that cannot be displayed. It is also possible to visually inform the user that there is still mail to be displayed in that direction by displaying only one half of the row of icons.

Next, an example of a method for indicating the structure of the mail to the user will be described with reference to a mail having a hierarchical structure shown in FIG. When the mail function execution unit 112 receives an instruction to obtain a content list together with the target mail from the display control unit 102,
The mail function execution unit 112 includes a mail data management unit 113
Request the node information of the highest hierarchy of the inclusion hierarchy structure in the target mail. The mail data management unit 113 analyzes the inclusion structure in the mail, and returns information on the nodes 303 and 304 located next to the highest order. Reference numeral 302 denotes an invoice, which is not required for displaying a list, and therefore does not return node information in this embodiment. Mail function execution unit 112
Passes the acquired node information to the display control unit 102, and the display control unit 102 displays a list of the passed node information on the user terminal 101. Further, since the node 304 has a node of a lower hierarchy, the user can
A list of four lower layers can be requested. Upon receiving this request, the display control unit 102 similarly operates the node 3
06 and 307 are acquired and the user terminal 101
Display for Through the processing described above, information on the mail hierarchy can be given to the user.

An example of a user's operation method and a display related to this series of processing will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the user requests the mail icon 1501 to display a lower layer by a mouse operation or the like, the mail icon 1
The level 1 node information held by the mail indicated by 501 is displayed. At this time, the node 303, which is the top of the two-layer inclusion hierarchy, is interpreted as a document, and the node 304, which is the top of the three-layer inclusion hierarchy, is interpreted as a document. FIG. 15A shows a display example at this time. FIG.
As shown in (a), a document and a list of documents are displayed in another area. The document icon 1502 and the document icon 1503 indicate that the mail of the mail icon 1501 holds two inclusions of a document and a document. Also, in FIG. 15A, the user operates the document icon 1503 by operating the mouse on the document icon 1503 or the like.
When a list of lower layers is requested, a list of documents held by the document is similarly displayed in another area as shown in FIG.

Finally, a process for storing the contents of a mail under the document management function will be described with reference to FIG. When a display request is issued from the display control unit 102 together with a storage destination such as a storage target mail and a document folder, the mail function execution unit 112 sends the mail hierarchy structure and the actual file data to the mail data management unit 113 by analyzing the mail structure. Generator 11
Request to pass to 6. Mail structure analysis / generation unit 116
Generates configuration information from the inclusion hierarchical structure, and passes the generated configuration information to the document configuration information analysis / generation unit 111 together with the actual file data. That is, in FIG. 12, on the mail hierarchical structure in FIG. 12A, the configuration information is generated for the mail hierarchical structure having the highest-order node 1201 created for convenience, and the document configuration information analysis / generation unit 11
Passed to 1. The document configuration information analysis / generation unit 111 generates a document structure or a document structure from the passed configuration information except for information corresponding to a node for convenience, and transfers the generated document structure or document structure to the document management function execution unit 103 together with the actual file data. That is, in FIG. 12, since the inclusion hierarchical structure having the node 1203 as the vertex is composed of two layers, it corresponds to the document structure having the document 1211 as the vertex, and the inclusion hierarchical structure having the node 1204 as the vertex is composed of three layers. Because of the document 1214
This corresponds to the following document structure. The invoice file 1202 having no hierarchical structure in FIG. 12A can be copied as a document memo file under a document or document structure.

The document management function execution unit 103 requests the document data management unit 105 to save the received configuration information and actual file data. The document data management unit 105 creates a document directory structure as shown in FIG. 2B from the configuration information. Further, the actual data is transmitted to the actual data 108, 109, 11 in FIG. 1 through the storage medium control unit 107 based on the designation of the storage medium described in the personal environment file in FIG.
0 in different media. At this time,
Specify a relatively inexpensive storage medium that can store large amounts of data, such as an optical file, or store audio data on a CD-ROM as a storage destination for data that tends to increase in data amount, such as still image data and moving image data. The storage destination can be specified according to the user's convenience, such as specifying that the storage is performed via another application. At the same time, a document management file and a document management file are also generated and stored in the document / document management file storage unit 106.

FIG. 13 shows an operation method and a display process for executing a series of processes for storing the contents of a mail as documents and documents for each enclosure hierarchical structure as described above.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The user drags the mail icon 1302 by operating the mouse or the like, and drops the mail icon 1302 on the document display area 1304, thereby instructing to save the mail content in the document management. When the internal processing of document storage is completed, the display control unit 102
2 and the title 1303 are deleted, and a newly created document icon 1305 is displayed on the document display area 1304.
And the document icon 1306, and the document name 1307 and the document name 1308 are displayed. The document icon 1305 is
A document 1214 in FIG. 12B is shown, and a document icon 1306 represents the document 1211 in FIG. 12B. In this way, the user can save the contents of the mail as a document or a document without being aware of the difference between the structures.

Although the search execution unit 104 and the storage medium control unit 107 have been described as one unit in the document management apparatus in this embodiment, they can be realized as different apparatuses.

The transmission and reception of the hierarchical structure of documents and documents has been described as an example of using the hierarchical structure processing function of mail.
In general, it can be applied to anything having a hierarchical structure.

Further, as an implementation example of the structure of the document, in the present embodiment, a method of managing the hierarchical structure of the document, document, and file by applying it to the UNIX directory structure has been described. There is also a method of putting management files on one level without placing them under each directory and describing the management information of multiple documents in one file, or a method of representing documents and documents in files instead of directories and also serving as a management file. Conceivable.

In this embodiment, the display examples shown in FIGS. 14, 15, 16 and 18 have been described as functions of the electronic mail system. However, these can be applied to all other document management functions. Can be.

In this embodiment, a magnetic disk and an optical disk have been described as examples of the storage medium.
A magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, a system memory, and the like are conceivable.

In this embodiment, a mouse has been described as an example of a user input / output means.
Stylus pens, drag balls, touch panels and the like are conceivable.

Further, in this embodiment, the mail hierarchical structure has been described as an example of input / output data to the data conversion unit for converting a document into a document structure for the purpose of using the document management function. It may be data having a hierarchical structure handled by other document management systems or database systems that support. It is also possible to implement only data input / output by a user terminal without coordinating with other systems.

[0090]

According to the present invention, as is apparent from the above-described embodiment, first, a file defined in an order relation stored in a plurality of media is treated as a document. It is possible to manage a collection of files as a group that is meaningful to the user.Furthermore, by managing the collection of files themselves hierarchically, it is possible to define more complicated relationships between files. It is possible. In addition, since a document management device that can select a medium according to the characteristics of data can be provided, image data and related text data are made the same document, display is performed by image data or word processing data, and search is performed by text data. By using files and documents with different roles in a single file, such as by using memo data or memo data, it provides an operational feeling similar to the current state of the office, so that the transition from the paper document management method in the office can be smoothly performed I can do it. For example,
The facsimile data to be transmitted and received is registered as image data, and the text data coded by OCR can be combined into the same document, or the voice data and the text data describing its bibliographic items can be combined into a single document. it can.

Second, by using the full-text search means, it is possible to provide a search means which does not use a multimedia database and does not require a prior keyword setting / keyword system, so that image data, video data, audio data and the like can be provided. Large-capacity data is stored in a large-capacity storage system with slow access speed, and text data necessary for full-text search is stored in a fast-access workstation memory or attached magnetic disk. By storing and managing the data in different media, the efficiency with respect to price can be improved, and a document management apparatus having a cheaper configuration can be provided by not using a database. Further, it is not necessary to register keywords necessary for the search in advance, and it is not necessary to arrange the keyword system, and the convenience for the user can be improved. Furthermore, the search level can be determined according to the hierarchical structure of the document, and control can be performed so that all the files that make up the document need not be searched, so the search method can be changed according to the user's purpose. And efficiency can be improved.

Third, by providing a means for allowing the user to determine the storage medium, the overall configuration of the apparatus can be made flexible.

Fourth, by providing input / output means for a document or a group of documents with another application, a user can view a plurality of files as a meaningful unit without having to know the file system. A data processing device with a document management function for performing the processing can be provided, the necessary knowledge of the user can be reduced, and as a result, the user is not burdened and the convenience is improved.

Fifth, in these document management apparatuses or data processing apparatuses with a document management function, by providing a user interface based on the user's intuition and the state of operation, the operability of the user is improved. It is possible to measure. In particular, when displaying a document consisting of a plurality of files stored on a plurality of media with an icon, whether or not the medium is accessible is incorporated into the icon display, so that the content of the document is set after the medium is set in advance. It is possible to confirm the operability of a document including a plurality of media.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a document according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an implementation example of a document configuration example according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mail according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a format and an example of a document file storage destination specifying method in the document management function according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a description format of a document management file according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a description format of a document management file according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a file constituting mail according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure when a mail structure management information file is generated from a mail structure example in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a processing order when a mail structure management file is generated in a mail configuration example according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mail structure management information file according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a description format of a mail structure management information file according to the embodiment of the present invention.

12A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a mail configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the document configuration example of FIG. 12B; FIG. 12B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a book corresponding to the email configuration example of FIG. 12A; FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a document configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is a screen diagram showing a display example of a mail list immediately after reception in this embodiment; FIG. 13B is a display example of a document list immediately after storing a received mail in the document management function in this embodiment; Screen shot showing

FIG. 14A is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example of an unread mail icon according to the embodiment; FIG. 14B is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example of a read mail icon according to the embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example of a hierarchical structure held by mail according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a display example when information on the number of lower layers of a mail having a hierarchical structure is added to an icon design in the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of icon display of a document including files stored in different media according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 18A is a screen view showing a display example in a case where the mail icon list display in this embodiment cannot be displayed in the list display area. FIG. 18B is displayed in the list display area in the document character string list display in this embodiment. Screen diagram showing a display example when it cannot be completed

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for implementing the display example of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional document management device.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram when data is taken into another application in a conventional document management apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 101 User terminal 102 Display control unit 103 Document management function execution unit (document input unit) 104 Search execution unit (search unit) 105 Document data management unit 106 Document / document management file storage unit 107 Storage medium control unit 108 Document file storage unit 109 Document file storage unit 110 Document file storage unit 111 Document composition information analysis / generation unit (document output unit) 112 Mail function execution unit (Multi-document batch input unit) 113 Mail data management unit 114 Mail management file storage unit 115 Mail data file storage Section 116 mail structure analysis / generation section (multiple document batch output means) 117 mail transmission / reception section 201 personal environment file 202 document directory 203 document management file 204 document memo file 205-1, 2, 3 document directory 206-1, 2, Document management file 701 mail header file 702 mail structure management information file 703,704,705,706,707 mail data file

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Sachiko Ota 1006 Odakadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-110384 (JP, A) JP-A-6-131145 (JP, A) JP-A-6-176065 (JP, A) JP-A-1-276347 ( JP, A) JP-A-1-200393 (JP, A) JP-A-2-151975 (JP, A) JP-A-64-21625 (JP, A) JP-A-3-62169 (JP, A) JP JP-A-5-225185 (JP, A) JP-A-6-60067 (JP, A) JP-A-6-149647 (JP, A) JP-A-1-259451 (JP, A) JP-A-1-261723 (JP) , A) Kenji Michimoto, "cc: Mail Windows compatible V1. J ", Nikkei byte No. 107 (December 1992), 1992 (Heisei 04-12-01), p. 172-178 Kawasaki et al., “Development of Structured Document (Logical Structure) Processing System”, IPSJ 38th (Early 1989) National Conference Proceedings (▲ II ▼) 1J-3, 1989 01-03-15), p. 611-612 (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G06F 12/00 G06F 3/14 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of data files (207) stored in a plurality of storage media having different capacities and access speeds, the types of the plurality of data files, and the plurality of data files.
Relationship between files and storage location of each data file
Document management file (206) that describes
A personal ring that describes the file storage destination specification method for each individual as a document
A document management device having an environment file (201), and the type of a data file described in the document management file.
And the individual described in the personal environment file (201)
File save destination specification method and text data
A data file consisting of text based on the search condition described
Full-text search means (104) for full-text search of file contents
Based on the search result by the full-text search means.
Document retrieval means for retrieving documents containing data files
And a data input / output device for the user, and the document based on the document management file of the document.
Types of a plurality of data files to configure and the plurality of data
A configuration information file describing the order relation between files
Generating the plurality of data files and the configuration information file.
Document output method to output as a file group consisting of files
A step (111), a plurality of data files, and
Describe the type and the order relation between the plurality of data files
And a group of files containing
From the received file group to the configuration information file
The types of the plurality of data files being described, and
The order relation between a plurality of data files and the personal environment file
File for each individual described in file (201)
A document input method that generates a document using the storage destination specification method
A document management device comprising: a step (111) ; 2. The document management device according to claim 1,
A data processing device with a document management function, comprising: a data processing device that collectively handles a file group obtained by the document output means as data. 3. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying a document as a single document icon to a user. 4. A claim comprising means for generating in response a document icon to the type of number and type and storage medium of Lud over datafile group be directly constituting the document corresponding to the document icon
3. The document management device according to 3 . 5. When displaying a list of documents to a user, when displaying a list of documents exceeding the display area of the list,
2. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying only a part of the content to be displayed at an end of the display area to indicate that the content to be displayed exists in the direction. 6. When displaying a list of document icons to a user, when displaying an icon in an amount exceeding the display area of the document icon, only a part of the icon is displayed at an end portion of the document icon display area. 4. The document management apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising means for indicating that an icon to be displayed exists in any one or all of the upper, lower, left, and right directions of the display area. 7. When performing a document search, a single-level document search, or a multi-level document search, the contents of at least one of the data files constituting the document are converted into text data for search. 2. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for terminating the search for the document when the document matches.