JP6260160B2 - Duplicate output control device, duplicate output control method, duplicate output control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a duplicate output control device, a duplicate output control method, a duplicate output control program, and a recording medium.

  In recent years, a very large number of documents are managed in computer terminals, and documents stored in computer terminals are easily buried in other documents. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to grasp what kind of document is stored in the computer terminal. For this reason, it is not easy for a user to search for a document including the content to be confirmed by himself / herself from a computer terminal.

  Therefore, a so-called keyword search technique is known in which a document including a specific keyword is extracted as a related document in order to search for a document including contents that the user wants to confirm from a computer terminal. The user can find a target document by confirming a related document including a specific keyword extracted by the keyword search. In recent years, a technique for collectively printing extracted related documents in order to efficiently check related documents extracted by keyword search is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-328401 A

  However, the related documents as described above may include many overlapping contents. For example, consider the case where the document is an email. In an electronic mail, when a reply is made to a certain mail, it is common to reply by adding new contents while leaving the original mail content as a quote. In this case, the contents of the original mail are included in the reply mail as well as the original mail, and duplicate contents are included in a plurality of electronic mails. Further, every time a reply is repeated, the number of e-mails containing duplicate contents increases.

  Here, when a user performs a keyword search based on a keyword included in the content of the original mail, the original mail and a reply mail that has been replied repeatedly are extracted as related documents. If all the extracted related documents are confirmed, the user will read the duplicate content many times, resulting in a high workload. In addition, when printing a plurality of e-mails together as in Patent Document 1 to confirm the contents of the extracted e-mails, useless printing that includes many duplicate contents occurs. , Leading to waste of resources.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a duplicate output control apparatus, a duplicate output control method, a duplicate output control program, and a recording medium that exclude documents whose contents are included in other documents from the output target. The purpose is to do.

  The above object is achieved by the following means.

( 1 ) For each of the plurality of documents acquired by the acquisition unit and the plurality of documents acquired by the acquisition unit, it is determined whether the contents are included in other documents in the plurality of documents. An extraction unit that extracts a document to be included, and an output unit that outputs a document remaining in the output candidate by removing the document extracted by the extraction unit from the output candidate, and the document is a computer A duplicate output control device that is an electronic message document exchanged over a network.

( 2 ) The duplicate output control apparatus according to ( 1 ), wherein a file can be associated with the electronic message document, and the output unit also outputs the file associated with the document to be output.

( 3 ) The duplicate output control apparatus according to ( 2 ), wherein the output unit also outputs the file associated with the document excluded from the output candidates.

( 4 ) When the file is associated with a document excluded from the output candidates, the output unit adds the name of the file to the contents of another document including the contents of the document excluded from the output candidates. The duplicate output control device according to ( 3 ), which additionally outputs and outputs.

( 5 ) When the plurality of files exist and the names of the plurality of files are the same, the output unit regards the plurality of files as the same file and outputs only one of the plurality of files. The overlapping output control device according to any one of ( 2 ) to ( 4 ).

( 6 ) Even if the names of the plurality of files are the same, if the capacity or update date / time of the plurality of files is different, the output unit regards the plurality of files as different files, The duplicate output control device according to ( 5 ), which outputs each of them.

(7 ) An acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of documents as output candidates, and for each of the plurality of documents acquired in the acquisition step, determining whether contents are included in other documents in the plurality of documents. An extraction step for extracting a document to be included; and an output step for removing a document extracted in the extraction step from the output candidates and outputting a document remaining in the output candidates, wherein the document is a computer A duplicate output control method which is an electronic message document exchanged over a network.
( 8 ) The duplicate output control method according to ( 7 ), wherein a file can be associated with the electronic message document, and the file associated with the document to be output is also output in the output step.
( 9 ) The duplicate output control method according to ( 8 ), wherein in the output step, the file associated with the document excluded from the output candidates is also output.
( 10 ) In the output step, if the file is associated with a document excluded from the output candidates, the contents of the file are included in the contents of other documents including the contents of the document excluded from the output candidates. The duplicate output control method according to ( 9 ), wherein a name is added and output.
( 11 ) In the output step, when there are a plurality of the files and the names of the plurality of files are the same, the plurality of files are regarded as the same file, and only one of the plurality of files is selected. The duplicate output control method according to any one of ( 8 ) to ( 10 ), wherein the output is the output.
( 12 ) In the output step, even if the names of the plurality of files are the same, if the capacity or update date / time of the plurality of files is different, the plurality of files are regarded as different files, and the different files The duplicate output control method according to ( 11 ), wherein each of the above is output.

( 13 ) A duplicate output control program for causing a computer to execute the duplicate output control method according to any one of ( 7 ) to ( 12 ) above.

( 14 ) A computer-readable recording medium on which the duplicate output control program according to ( 13 ) is recorded.

According to the present invention, when outputting a plurality of documents, out of the plurality of documents that are output candidates, the documents whose contents are included in other documents are excluded from the output candidates, and the documents remaining in the output candidates are output. . Accordingly, since the documents whose contents are included in other documents are not output redundantly, it is possible to reduce the workload for the user to check the overlapping contents and the waste of resources associated with the redundant output.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the client terminal shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the property information of document data. It is a figure which shows the basic functional structural example of a client terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the document file printing process performed by a client terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of a document file designation | designated screen. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the document file comparison process shown by step S103 of FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that a document file printing process is performed. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the email file printing process performed by a client terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of an email file search screen. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the mail comparison process shown by step S203 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an attachment file comparison process shown by FIG.10 S204. It is a figure which shows a mode that an email file printing process is performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In addition, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation, and may be different from the actual ratios.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system includes a printing apparatus 1 and a client terminal 2. The printing apparatus 1 and the client terminal 2 are connected via a network 3 so that they can communicate with each other.

  The printing apparatus 1 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image based on a print job transmitted from the client terminal 2. The printing apparatus 1 is, for example, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral Multifunctional Peripheral Device) having a copy function, a printer function, and a scan function. The detailed configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described later.

  The client terminal 2 is a client PC (Personal Computer) used by a user, or a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA. The client terminal 2 is configured by a computer device having a main body, a display, and an input device. The detailed configuration of the client terminal 2 will be described later.

  The network 3 is a LAN (Local Area Network) in which computers and network devices are connected according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), or a dedicated line between LANs. WAN (Wide Area Network) etc. connected by Note that the type and number of devices connected to the network 3 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

(Printer 1)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 10, a ROM 11, a RAM 12, a hard disk 13, a network interface 14, an operation panel unit 15, and a printing unit 16. Each component is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 17.

  The CPU 10 controls the above components and performs various arithmetic processes according to programs recorded in the ROM 11 and the hard disk 13. For example, the CPU 10 stores a print job received via the network 3 in the hard disk 13. Further, the CPU 10 reads the stored print job into the RAM 12 and prints it by the printing unit 16.

  The ROM 11 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 12 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area.

  The hard disk 13 stores various programs including an operating system (OS) and various data. An application for saving and printing the received print job is installed in the hard disk 13.

  The network interface 14 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the network 3, and standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi are used.

  The operation panel unit 15 includes a display, a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a start button, a stop button, and the like, and is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions.

  The printing unit 16 prints an image based on the image data on a recording medium such as paper using a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process.

(Client terminal 2)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the client terminal shown in FIG. In the configuration of the client terminal 2, the description of the portion having the same function as that of the printing apparatus 1 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the client terminal 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22, a hard disk 23, a network interface 24, an operation unit 25, and a display unit 26. These are connected to each other via a bus 27 for exchanging signals.

  The CPU 20 performs control of each unit and various arithmetic processes according to programs recorded in the ROM 21 and the hard disk 23. The CPU 20 functions as an acquisition unit, an extraction unit, and an output unit by executing a program.

  The hard disk 23 stores various programs including an operating system and various data. On the hard disk 23, an application for creating, viewing, editing, etc., document data is installed.

  The document data is data indicating a document, and includes a document file created by a word processor, a table file created by a spreadsheet application, a drawing file created by a drawing creation application, and the like. The document data also includes electronic message document files exchanged through a computer network. The electronic message document file includes an electronic mail file created by an electronic mail application, a message file indicating information transmitted / received in SNS (Social Networking Service), and the like. For example, an e-mail file is data indicating the contents of each e-mail. The e-mail file includes, in addition to e-mail body data indicating the content of the e-mail body, an attached file attached to the e-mail. As the attached file, for example, document data such as a document file, a table file, and a drawing file is attached. Alternatively, another e-mail file may be attached as an attached file. The hard disk 23 stores various document data as described above.

  The hard disk 23 also stores property information of each document data. Details of the property information will be described later.

  A printer driver for converting document data into print data described in a page description language (PDL) that can be interpreted by the printing apparatus 1 is installed in the hard disk 23. The printer driver creates print data in a format that can be supported by the printing apparatus 1 and transmits the print data as a print job to the printing apparatus 1 via the network 3. The print job includes document data relating to a document such as a document, graphic, or image, and print settings that are settings for forming an image of the document data on a recording medium or the like.

  The operation unit 25 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used for performing various inputs.

  The display unit 26 is a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays various types of information.

  Note that the printing apparatus 1 and the client terminal 2 may each include a component other than the above-described components, or some of the above-described components may not be included.

(Property information)
The property information of the document data stored in the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of property information of document data.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the property information of the document data includes information indicating the file name, capacity, update date / time, and output exclusion flag of each document data.

  For example, when the document data is a document file, the file name indicates a file name set for the document file. The capacity indicates the data capacity of the document file. The update date / time indicates the date / time when the document file was updated. The output exclusion flag indicates whether or not the document file is excluded from the target to be printed. When the output exclusion flag is set to “ON”, the document file is excluded from the print target and is not printed. When the output exclusion flag is set to “OFF”, the document file is not excluded from the print target and is printed. The output exclusion flag of each document file is set to “OFF” in the initial state.

  On the other hand, when the document data is an electronic mail file, the file name indicates the file name set in the attached file attached to the electronic mail. The capacity indicates the data capacity of the attached file. The update date / time indicates the date / time when the attached file was updated. The output exclusion flag is information indicating whether or not each of the email body data and the attached file included in the email file is excluded from the print target.

(Example of functional configuration of client terminal 2)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a basic functional configuration example of the client terminal.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the client terminal 2 functions as a file management unit 201, UI control unit 202, acquisition unit 203, file content comparison unit 204, extraction unit 205, and output unit 206.

  The file management unit 201 reads document data from the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 or stores it in the hard disk 23. The file management unit 201 manages document data by appropriately changing the contents of document data and various setting values.

  The UI control unit 202 displays an operation screen for the user on the display unit 26. In addition, the UI control unit 202 accepts various input operations such as document data designation and search word designation from the user on the operation screen, and displays the designated document data and search processing results on the display unit 26.

  The acquisition unit 203 acquires a plurality of document data as print candidates based on the document data designation and document data search results received from the user in the UI control unit 202.

  The file content comparison unit 204 compares text data included in a plurality of document data acquired by the acquisition unit 203 and property information of the document data.

  Based on the comparison result in the file content comparison unit 204, the extraction unit 205 extracts document data whose content is included in other document data from among a plurality of document data.

  The output unit 206 excludes the document data extracted by the extraction unit 205 from the print candidates, and outputs the document data remaining in the print candidates. The output of the document data may be performed, for example, by creating print data from the document data, sending the print data to the printing apparatus 1 and printing it. Alternatively, the document data may be output by displaying an image indicating the document data on the display unit 26 or saving it as a new file on the hard disk 23. In the following, a case where document data is printed and output will be described as an example.

(Processing overview of client terminal 2)
First, the flow of processing in the client terminal 2 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  In the first embodiment, a case where the document data is a document file will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of document file printing processing executed by the client terminal, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a document file designation screen. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is stored as a program in the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 and is executed by the CPU 20.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the client terminal 2 receives, as an acquisition unit, designation of a plurality of document files and acquires a plurality of document files that are candidates for print processing (step S101). Here, the client terminal 2 displays a document file designation screen 300 as shown in FIG. The client terminal 2 can accept the designation of a plurality of document files that the user wants to confirm through the document file designation screen 300, and can acquire the plurality of document files as candidates for the printing process. Details of the document file designation screen 300 will be described later.

  The client terminal 2 receives a print instruction from the user when the print button 360 on the document file designation screen 300 is pressed (step S102).

  Subsequently, the client terminal 2 compares the contents of the plurality of document files acquired in step S101 with each other as an extraction unit, and extracts a document file whose contents are included in another document file (step S103). The client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flag of the document file extracted in step S103 to “ON”. Details of this processing will be described later.

  Subsequently, the client terminal 2 prints a document file whose output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” among the document files acquired in step S101 as an output unit (step S104). The document file with the output exclusion flag set to “ON” is not printed because the content is included in another document file.

  Next, the document file designation screen 300 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the document file designation screen 300 is provided by the function of the UI control unit 202, and includes a file selection button 310, a file display unit 320, an add button 330, an execution pane 340, a delete button 350, and a print button 360. Have.

  When the file selection button 310 is pressed on the document file designation screen 300, the client terminal 2 displays a file selection screen (not shown). As the file selection screen, for example, a file explorer used as a standard on a Windows (registered trademark) PC may be used. When a document file is selected on the file selection screen, the client terminal 2 displays the name of the selected document file on the file display unit 320. When the add button 330 is pressed in this state, the client terminal 2 displays the name of the selected document file on the execution pane 340 as a candidate for performing the printing process. When the document file selection and addition operations are performed a plurality of times, the names of the plurality of document files are displayed in the execution pane 340. When it is desired to exclude the document file displayed in the execution pane 340 from the print processing candidates, the name of the document file to be excluded in the execution pane 340 may be selected and the delete button 350 may be pressed. When the print button 360 is pressed, the client terminal 2 receives a print instruction.

(Step S103)
Next, the process of step S103 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the document file comparison process shown in step S103 of FIG. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is stored as a program in the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 and executed by the CPU 20.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the client terminal 2 compares the contents of each of the plurality of document files acquired in step S101 with the other document files in the plurality of document files (step S1031). The comparison target is text data included in the document file. In the comparison procedure, for example, one document file to be processed may be determined, and the document file and other document files may be sequentially compared one by one. By sequentially changing the document file to be processed, each of the plurality of document files can be compared with other document files. As a comparison method, text data included in two document files may be compared character by character. Alternatively, comparison may be made as a group of text data such as one sentence or one paragraph. When performing the comparison, predetermined text data such as a space symbol and a line feed symbol for expressing the layout of the document may be excluded from the comparison target.

  The client terminal 2 determines whether or not the content of the document file to be processed is included in another document file based on the result of the comparison process in step S1031 (step S1032). The client terminal 2 determines that all the contents of the document file to be processed are included when included in another document file. In addition, when comparing document files as text data groups, the contents of all text data groups included in the document file to be processed are included in other document files even if the order in which the text data groups are arranged is different. If so, it may be determined that it is included.

  When the content of the document file to be processed is included in another document file (step S1032: YES), the client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flag included in the property information of the document file to be processed to “ON”. (Step S1033). As a result, the document file to be processed is excluded from the target to be printed. The client terminal 2 proceeds to the process of step S1034.

  On the other hand, when the content of the document file to be processed is not included in another document file (step S1032: NO), the client terminal 2 proceeds to the process of step S1034.

  The client terminal 2 determines whether or not all of the plurality of document files acquired in step S101 have been compared with other document files (step S1034).

  If the comparison has not been completed (step S1034: NO), the client terminal 2 returns to step S1031, and compares the next document file with another document file.

  When the comparison is completed (step S1034: YES), the client terminal 2 ends the document file comparison process.

  Next, a specific example of the operation of the printing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating how the document file printing process is performed.

  First, in step S101, as shown on the left side of FIG. 9, a plurality of document files A, B, and C respectively representing documents A, B, and C are acquired. In FIG. 9, document B includes the contents of document A and document C.

  In step S102, a print instruction is issued for the plurality of document files.

  Subsequently, in step S103, the contents of the plurality of document files A, B, and C are compared with each other, and a document file included in another document file is extracted. In the example of FIG. 9, since the contents of the document files A and C are included in the document file B, the document files A and C are excluded from the objects to be printed. Accordingly, the output exclusion flag is set to “ON” for the document files A and C. In the document file B, the output exclusion flag remains set to the initial setting “OFF”.

  Subsequently, in step S104, the document with the output exclusion flag set to “OFF” is printed. In the example of FIG. 9, since the output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” only for the document file B, the document files A and C are not printed, and only the document file B is printed.

  As described above, according to the client terminal 2 of the first embodiment, among a plurality of documents that are output candidates, documents whose contents are included in other documents are excluded from the output candidates, and the documents that remain in the output candidates are Is output. Accordingly, when outputting a plurality of documents including overlapping contents, the overlapping contents are not output, and the workload for the user to check the overlapping contents can be reduced. Therefore, when a document is printed and confirmed, duplicate contents are not printed, so unnecessary printing can be reduced and wasteful use of resources can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the document data is a document file created by a word processor has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A table file, a graphic file, or the like may be used as the document data. In this case, it is possible to determine whether or not the contents are included in another file by extracting and comparing text data included in the table file or the graphic file.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the case where the document data is a document file has been described. In the second embodiment, a case where the document data is an e-mail file will be described.

  In the following, description of portions overlapping with those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and description will be made focusing on portions different from those of the first embodiment.

  The configuration of the client terminal 2 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  A flow of processing in the client terminal 2 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the email file printing process executed by the client terminal, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the email file search screen. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is stored as a program in the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 and is executed by the CPU 20.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the client terminal 2 acquires a plurality of e-mail files that are candidates for print processing as an acquisition unit (step S <b> 201). Here, the client terminal 2 displays an electronic mail file search screen 400 as shown in FIG. 11 on the display unit 26. The client terminal 2 receives a search keyword specification from the user through the e-mail file search screen 400, and can acquire a plurality of e-mail files related to the contents that the user wants to confirm by keyword search processing. Details of the e-mail file search screen 400 will be described later.

  The client terminal 2 receives a print instruction from the user when the print button 450 on the e-mail file search screen 400 is pressed (step S202).

  As an extraction unit, the client terminal 2 compares the contents of the e-mail body data in the plurality of e-mail files acquired in step S201 with each other, and extracts e-mail files whose contents are included in other e-mail files. (Step S203). The client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flag of the email body data included in the email file extracted in step S203 to “ON”. Details of this processing will be described later.

  When there are a plurality of attached files included in the plurality of e-mail files acquired in step S201, the client terminal 2 compares the attached files and extracts a duplicate attached file (step S204). Here, the client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flag of the attached files other than one to “ON” for the duplicate attached files extracted in step S204. Details of this processing will be described later.

  When the attached file is included in the e-mail file from which the e-mail body data is excluded from output, the client terminal 2 adds the name of the attached file to the e-mail body data from which output is not excluded (step S205). The position to be added may be the tail of the portion corresponding to the content of the e-mail to which the attached file is attached in the e-mail body data that is not excluded from output. Thereby, it is possible to easily determine to which e-mail the attached file is attached.

  The client terminal 2 prints e-mail body data in which the output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” among the e-mail body data of the e-mail file acquired in step S201 (step S206). Further, the client terminal 2 prints an attached file whose output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” among the attached files included in the e-mail file acquired in step S201.

  Next, the e-mail file search screen 400 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the e-mail file search screen 400 is provided by the function of the UI control unit 202, and includes a search key display unit 410, a search button 420, a search result display unit 430, a delete button 440, and a print button 450. . The email file search screen 400 may be provided as a part of an email browsing screen (not shown) displayed by the email application.

  In the electronic mail file search screen 400, when the search button 420 is pressed while a search keyword is input to the search key display unit 410, the client terminal 2 performs a search process using the search keyword. The client terminal 2 displays the name of the e-mail file extracted by the search process on the search result display unit 430 as a candidate for the print process. If the e-mail file displayed in the search result display unit 430 is to be excluded from print processing candidates, the name of the e-mail file to be excluded in the search result display unit 430 may be selected and the delete button 440 may be pressed. When the print button 450 is pressed, the client terminal 2 receives a print instruction.

(Step S203)
Next, the process of step S203 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the mail comparison process shown in step S203 of FIG. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is stored as a program in the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 and is executed by the CPU 20.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the client terminal 2 compares the content of the email body data with the other email files in the plurality of email files for each of the plurality of email files acquired in step S201. (Step S2031). The comparison target is text data in the email body data included in the email file. The comparison procedure and method are the same as those in step S1031 in the document file comparison process shown in FIG. When performing comparisons, certain text data such as space symbols and linefeed symbols for expressing the layout of emails, or quotation marks indicating that other email content has been quoted are excluded from the comparison. May be.

  Based on the result of the comparison process in step S2031, the client terminal 2 determines whether the content of the e-mail body data of the e-mail file to be processed is included in another e-mail file (step S2032). The method for determining whether or not the file is included is the same as the processing in step S1032 in the document file comparison processing shown in FIG.

  When the content of the e-mail text data is included in another e-mail file (step S2032: YES), the client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flag of the e-mail text data of the e-mail file to “ON”. (Step S2033). As a result, the e-mail body data of the e-mail file is excluded from the print target. The client terminal 2 proceeds to the process of step S2034.

  On the other hand, when the content of the e-mail body data is not included in another e-mail file (step S2032: NO), the client terminal 2 proceeds to the process of step S2034.

  The client terminal 2 determines whether or not the comparison of the contents of the e-mail body data with the other e-mail files has been completed for all of the plurality of e-mail files acquired in step S201 of FIG. 10 (step S2034). ).

  If the comparison has not been completed (step S2034: NO), the client terminal 2 returns to step S2031, and compares the next e-mail file with another e-mail file.

  When the comparison is completed (step S2034: YES), the client terminal 2 ends the mail comparison process.

(Step S204)
Next, the process of step S204 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the attached file comparison process shown in step S204 of FIG. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 is stored as a program in the ROM 21 or the hard disk 23 of the client terminal 2 and executed by the CPU 20.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the client terminal 2 acquires attachment files included in the plurality of e-mail files acquired in step S <b> 201 of FIG. 10, and determines whether there are a plurality of attachment files having the same name. (Step S2041). Specifically, the client terminal 2 acquires file name information of the attached file included in the property information of each electronic mail file. The client terminal 2 determines whether there are a plurality of attached files having the same name by comparing the acquired file name information with each other.

  If a plurality of attachment files with the same name do not exist (step S2041: NO), it is determined that there is no attachment file that can be excluded from output, and the client terminal 2 ends the attachment file comparison process.

  When there are a plurality of attached files with the same name (step S2041: YES), the client terminal 2 further compares the capacity and the update date / time with respect to the plurality of attached files with the same name (step S2042). Specifically, the client terminal 2 acquires the capacity information and update date information of the attached file included in the property information of each e-mail file, and compares the acquired capacity information and update date information with each other.

  Based on the result of the comparison process in step S2042, the client terminal 2 determines whether the capacity and the update date / time match for a plurality of attached files having the same name (step S2043).

  If the capacity and the update date / time do not match (step S2043: NO), the client terminal 2 determines that the plurality of attached files are different attached files and should not be excluded from output, and ends the attached file comparison process. .

  If the capacity and the update date / time match (step S2043: YES), the client terminal 2 determines that the plurality of attachment files having the same capacity and update date / time are duplicate attachment files, and proceeds to the process of step S2044. move on.

  The client terminal 2 sets the output exclusion flags of all other attachment files to “ON” for a plurality of attachment files determined to be duplicate attachment files, except for one attachment file (step S2044). The client terminal 2 ends the attached file comparison process.

  Next, a specific example of the operation of the printing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the e-mail file printing process is performed.

  First, in step S201, as shown on the left side of FIG. 14, a plurality of e-mail files A, B, and C indicating e-mails A, B, and C are acquired. In the example shown in FIG. 14, an attached file with the file name “XX” is attached to the mail A. The mail B is a mail that is replied while citing the contents of the mail A, and new contents are added. An attachment file with the file name “XX” is attached to the mail B. The mail C is replied while citing the contents of the mail B, and new contents are added.

  Subsequently, in step S202, a print instruction is issued for the plurality of electronic mail files A, B, and C described above.

  Subsequently, in step S203, the contents of the e-mail body data of the e-mail files A, B, and C are compared with each other, and e-mail files whose contents are included in other e-mail files are extracted. Is done. In the example of FIG. 14, the contents of the email body data of the email files A and B are included in the email file C, so the email body data of the email files A and B are excluded from the objects to be printed. Is done. Therefore, the output exclusion flag is set to “ON” for the email body data of the email files A and B. In the e-mail body data of the e-mail file C, the output exclusion flag remains set to “OFF” as an initial setting.

  In step S204, the contents of the attached files included in each of the electronic mail files A, B, and C are compared with each other, and duplicate attached files are extracted. In the example of FIG. 14, the attached file attached to the electronic mail file A and the attached file attached to the electronic mail file B have the same name, and the capacity and the update date / time are also the same. Therefore, two attachment files are determined to be the same attachment file that overlaps, and only one attachment file is printed. For this reason, the output exclusion flag remains set to “OFF” which is the initial setting for one attached file, and the output exclusion flag is set to “ON” for the remaining one attached file.

  Subsequently, in step S205, when an attached file is included in an e-mail file from which e-mail body data is excluded from output, the name of the attached file is added to e-mail body data that is not excluded from output. In the example of FIG. 14, since the attached files are included in the email files A and B from which the email body data is excluded from output, the file name “XX” of the attached file is the email file C that is not excluded from output. Added to the email body data. The position to be added is at the end of the part corresponding to the contents of the texts of the emails A and B in the email text data of the email file C.

  Subsequently, in step S206, the e-mail body data and the attached file whose output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” are printed. In the example of FIG. 14, the output exclusion flag is set to “OFF” for the email body data of the email file C and one attached file. Therefore, only the email body data and one attached file of the email file C are printed.

  As described above, according to the client terminal 2 of the second embodiment, even for an electronic message document such as an electronic mail, a document whose contents are included in another document is excluded from the output candidates, and the document remaining in the output candidate Is output. Thereby, even in an electronic message document such as an electronic mail including many duplicate contents by quoting the original contents at the time of reply or transfer, the duplicate contents can be excluded and output. As a result, it is possible to effectively reduce the workload for the user to confirm electronic message documents that can be sent and received in large quantities every day and the waste of resources during printing.

  In addition, when an electronic message document is output, if a file such as an attached file is associated, the file is also output. As a result, a file associated with the electronic message document is also output, so that the user can efficiently check the contents of the file.

  A file associated with the electronic message document excluded from the output candidates is also output together. Thereby, it is possible to prevent omission of confirmation of the contents of the file associated with the electronic message document excluded from the output candidates.

  When a file is associated with an electronic message document excluded from output candidates, the name of the file is added to the content of the electronic message document including the excluded electronic message and output. As a result, it is possible to grasp which electronic message the output file is associated with, and it is possible to more accurately grasp the contents of the document and the history of the exchange.

  Further, when there are a plurality of files having the same name among the files to be printed, the plurality of files are regarded as the same file, and only one of the plurality of files is output. Thereby, it is possible to prevent duplicate files from being output.

  Even if the names of a plurality of files are the same, if the file capacities or update dates / times differ, the plurality of files are regarded as different files, and each of the plurality of files is output. Thereby, it is possible to prevent files having the same name but different contents from being regarded as the same file and being excluded from printing.

  In the above embodiment, the program for executing the processing in the client terminal 2 has been described as being provided as a separate program from the printer driver. However, the program may be provided as included in the printer driver program. Good.

  In the above embodiment, the processing described as being executed by the client terminal 2 may be executed by the printing apparatus 1 or may be executed by a device such as a server provided on the network 3. Good.

  The duplicate output control process by the client terminal 2 according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing each of the above procedures, or by a CPU executing a program describing each of the above procedures. it can. When the present invention is realized by the latter, the program for operating the client terminal 2 may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM, or a network such as the Internet. May be provided online. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred and stored in a ROM, a hard disk or the like. Further, this program may be provided as, for example, a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the apparatus as one function of the client terminal 2.

1 printing device,
11 ROM,
12 RAM,
13 Hard disk,
14 Network interface,
15 Operation panel section,
16 Printing department,
17 Bus,
2 client terminals,
20 CPU,
21 ROM,
22 RAM,
23 Hard disk,
24 network interface,
25 Operation part,
26 display section,
27 Bus,
3 Network.

Claims (14)

An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of documents as output candidates;
For each of the plurality of documents acquired by the acquisition unit, an extraction unit that determines whether the content is included in another document in the plurality of documents and extracts the included document;
An output unit that removes the document extracted by the extraction unit from the output candidates and outputs a document remaining in the output candidates; and
Have
The duplicate output control apparatus, wherein the document is an electronic message document exchanged through a computer network. A file can be associated with the electronic message document;
The duplicate output control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit also outputs the file associated with the document to be output. The duplicate output control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the output unit also outputs the file associated with the document excluded from the output candidates. When the file is associated with a document excluded from the output candidates, the output unit adds the name of the file to the contents of another document including the contents of the document excluded from the output candidates. The duplication output control device according to claim 3 , wherein The output unit regards the plurality of files as the same file when a plurality of the files exist and the names of the plurality of files are the same, and outputs only one of the plurality of files. duplicate output control apparatus according to any one of 2-4. The output unit regards the plurality of files as different files and outputs each of the different files, even if the names of the plurality of files are the same, if the capacity or update date / time of the plurality of files is different. The duplication output control device according to claim 5 . An acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of documents as output candidates;
For each of the plurality of documents acquired in the acquisition step, an extraction step of determining whether the content is included in another document in the plurality of documents and extracting the included document;
An output step of removing a document extracted in the extraction step from the output candidates and outputting a document remaining in the output candidates;
Have
The duplicate output control method, wherein the document is an electronic message document exchanged through a computer network. A file can be associated with the electronic message document;
The duplicate output control method according to claim 7 , wherein in the output step, the file associated with the document to be output is also output. The duplicate output control method according to claim 8 , wherein in the output step, the file associated with the document excluded from the output candidates is also output together. In the output step, when the file is associated with a document excluded from the output candidates, the name of the file is added to the contents of other documents including the contents of the document excluded from the output candidates. The duplicate output control method according to claim 9 , wherein the duplicate output is output. In the output step, when there are a plurality of the files and the names of the plurality of files are the same, the plurality of files are regarded as the same file, and only one of the plurality of files is output. Item 11. The overlapping output control method according to any one of Items 8 to 10 . In the output step, even if the names of the plurality of files are the same, if the capacity or update date / time of the plurality of files is different, the plurality of files are regarded as different files, and each of the different files is considered. The duplication output control method according to claim 11 which outputs. Duplicate output control program for executing a duplicated output control method according to the computer in any one of claims 7 to 12. A computer-readable recording medium on which the duplicate output control program according to claim 13 is recorded.

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