JPH04293157A - Document information transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the transfer efficiency of document information being a continuous operation of a groupware by sending only updating information under the distributed office environment of a network base. CONSTITUTION:In the groupware which is connected by a network, constituted of work stations A-F and a computer apparatus 9e, etc., and supports a joint work under the distributed office environment, a document is managed by putting an identification code (ID) thereto, and at the time of transferring its document, it is transferred by putting the ID thereto. In such a state, when an updated edition of the document transferred already, and the received document are sent back by correcting it or annotating it, the identification ID of the document concerned and correcting and updating information to the original document are transferred without sending the whole corrected and updated document. With respect to an increase of the data quantity caused by a multi- media conversion and a color conversion of the document, only small updating information of data is sent, therefore, an increase of the data traffic on the network can be suppressed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a document information transfer system, and more particularly to a document data management and transfer system in a network-based office system. for example,
It is applied to various network application systems.

0002

[Prior Art] Advances in network technology and workstation technology have made it possible to develop and use so-called groupware, which allows offices to collaborate on writing documents, transfer documents, and share information. Even when slight modifications or annotations are made to a document, the entire revised document is transferred. Regarding this point, for example, "Implementation and evaluation of an on-premises multimedia attended conference system" (Information Processing Society of Japan Journal vol. 31 N
o. 2 1990.2). As documents become multimedia, containing not only text but also graphics and images, and becoming more color-based, and as they become more frequently transferred over networks, the amount of data transferred becomes an issue (the processing performance of workstations increases year by year). ).

0003

[Purpose] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is a part of groupware that supports collaborative work in a distributed office environment consisting of workstations and personal computers connected via a network. The purpose of this invention is to provide a document information transfer method that improves the efficiency of document information transfer.

0004

[Structure] In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides (1)
In groupware that supports collaborative work such as transferring document information via a network, writing together, or adding annotations to documents, documents are managed by attaching identification codes (IDs) to them. When forwarding the document, it is sent with an identification code, and if an updated version of the already forwarded document or a received document is to be returned with corrections or annotations, it is not possible to send the entire corrected/updated document. (2) transfer document information over a network, collaborate on writing, or add comments or updates to the document; In groupware that supports collaborative work such as adding annotations, documents are managed by attaching identification codes (IDs), and when the documents are transferred, they are transferred with identification codes, and updated versions of documents that have already been transferred or , when returning a received document with corrections or annotations, the amount of data transferred for the entire fully revised/updated document is compared with the amount of data transferred for the corrections/updates to the original document, and the amount of data transferred is estimated. Furthermore, (3) In the document correction/update work in (1) or (2) above, correction/update information (for example, a command execution record in an editor) for the original document can be automatically transferred. (4) A combination of the document creator's user identification code and creation date and time as the document identification code in (1) or (2) above. Further, (5) a server is provided to manage the document identification code in (1) or (2) above, and the document identification code is obtained by querying the server at the time of document creation. be. Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a distributed office environment for explaining an embodiment of the document information transfer method according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a gateway (G/W), 2 is a workstation A, 3 is workstation B, 4 is workstation C, 5 is workstation D, 6
is a server machine G, 7 is a workstation E, 8 is a workstation F, and 9 is a computer device.

[0006] An inter-network coupling device that couples two networks, because when the networks are different, nodes in network A operate using one protocol system and nodes in network B operate using the other protocol system. , communication across networks is not possible. Gateways are used to connect these networks. The role of the gateway is to perform protocol conversion between network A and network B.

[0007] In a LAN, a gateway is provided as a type of server. A server is a "server system that services aggregated processing functions" with the advent of local area networks (LANs). Since a LAN (Local Area Network) merely sets up an environment for improving distributed productivity, a subsystem is required to service and reinforce the distributed processing function of a distributed system. The server is
When considering a conventional computer system, channels and buses become a LAN, and various I/O devices become servers. Its functions include a print function (printer server), a communication control function (communication server), and a data file management function (file server). These functions enhance the added value of LAN distributed processing. Furthermore, the input/output function (image server) for images and the like has been enhanced, making it possible to share resources and distribute processing loads for all users of the LAN. In recent years, with the enhancement of workstation functionality, multi-functional servers have also appeared. (This point is
(Described in "Quick understanding of S terminology" (Ohmsha 60.3.2)).

[0008] Workstations, personal computers, and network-compatible copier printers are connected to networks (for example,
It is connected via ethernet (Ethernet). Ethernet is the most standard baseband LAN that uses concentric cables as the physical communication medium. Base band
Band) LAN is a network transmission method that sends a single signal without modulation.

FIG. 2 shows a document data management storage format, FIG. 3 shows a transmission document data format, and FIG. 4 shows a document update information data transfer format. First, it is assumed that document data is held and managed on workstations and computer devices A to G shown in the configuration in a format with document IDs and management information as shown in FIG. The document ID may be added together with management information using a document editing editor, for example, based on the user ID and document creation time in UNIX (Claim 4),
A method may also be used in which a server (G in the configuration diagram) is installed to centrally manage document data, and the document ID is obtained by making an inquiry to the server at the time of document creation and editing (claim 5).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining document information transmission processing. Below, each step will be explained in order. Step 1: Read the specified transmission document data from a file device such as a disk. Step 2: Check whether there is update information for the read out transmission document data. Step 3: In step 2, if there is no update information, the updated document data is transmitted in a new document format. Step 4: If there is update information in step 2, the update information is read. The update information is generated by a method such as recording all editing commands as a script when document data is edited (Claim 3), and is associated with the document data (connected with link information, etc.) and retained. shall be. Steps 5 and 6: Compare the size of the transmitted document data and the update information, and send the data with the smaller size (in claim 1, the comparison process (the part surrounded by the broken line in the flowchart) is not performed and the update information is sent. Send). That is, if the update information is smaller, the update information is transmitted. Steps 7 and 8: After sending, the process waits for a reception process completion notification from the destination, and when the completion notification is received, the transferred mark, which is part of the document data management information, is turned on and the process ends.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining document information reception processing. Below, each step will be explained in order. Steps 1 and 2: Check whether the received document information is updated information or new document data. If it is a new document, save the received document data, and go to step 6, which will be described later, to return the received confirmation information and update the updated information. If so, perform the following processing. Step 3: In step 2, if the information is update information, read the document information using the original document ID. Step 4: Update processing of document information is performed based on the received update information. Step 5: Save the updated document data. Step 6: A notification that the processing related to the received document information has been completed is sent back to the sender, and the process ends.

0012

[Effects] As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. (1) Effects corresponding to claims 1 and 2: In a network-based distributed office environment, in response to an increase in the amount of data due to multimedia and colorization of documents, instead of constantly transmitting the entire document data to each other. , since only update information (generally update information is smaller in data) is sent,
It is possible to suppress the increase in data traffic on the network. (2) Effects corresponding to claim 3: By recording editing operations without requiring the user to perform particularly complicated operations, document update information for realizing claims 1 and 2 can be efficiently updated. Not only can documents be created, but document update records can also be easily managed. (3) Effects corresponding to claims 4 and 5: Generation and management of document IDs can be realized relatively easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a distributed office environment system for explaining an embodiment of a document information transfer method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a document data management storage format.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a transmission document data format.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the format of document update information data transfer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining document information transmission processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining document information reception processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Gateway (G/W), 2...Workstation A, 3...Workstation B, 4...Workstation C, 5...Workstation D, 6...Server machine G
, 7...Workstation E, 8...Workstation F, 9...Computer equipment.

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claim 1: In groupware that supports collaborative work such as transferring document information via a network, performing collaborative writing work, or adding annotations to documents, documents are managed by attaching identification codes. When forwarding the document, it is forwarded with an identification code, and when an updated version of a document that has already been forwarded or a received document is to be returned with corrections or annotations, the entire corrected or updated document is sent. rather than
A document information transfer method characterized by transferring a corresponding document identification code and correction/update information for the original document. Claim 2: In groupware that supports collaborative work such as transferring document information via a network, performing collaborative writing work, or adding comments and annotations to documents, an identification code is attached to the document. When forwarding the document, the document is forwarded with an identification code, and when an updated version of a document that has already been forwarded or a received document is returned with corrections or annotations, the document is completely revised and updated. A document information transfer method characterized by comparing the data transfer amount of the entire document with the data transfer amount of correction/update information for the original document, and transferring the one with the smaller transfer amount. [Claim 3] In the work of correcting and updating the document,
3. The document information transfer method according to claim 1, wherein correction/update information for an original document is automatically generated and used for managing and transferring the document. 4. The document information transfer method according to claim 1, wherein a combination of a user identification code of a document creator and a date and time of creation is used as the identification code of the document. 5. The document information transfer method according to claim 1, wherein a server is provided to manage the identification code of the document, and the document identification code is obtained by querying the server at the time of document creation.