JPH08297554A - Group work support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To display marks indicating the object positions of comments added to materials used for group work so that the attributes of the comments such as importance are visually shown. CONSTITUTION: Plural personal computers 10 which are connected through a network 50 display windows 100 for collaboration where the same contents are displayed, and the group work is performed through the windows. In each of the windows, a user optionally specifies a display position for a comment mark 130 by using a mouse 30 and can writes an optional comment in a comment window 140 displayed corresponding to the mark. The user can set attribute information on the input operator, importance, etc., of the comment and according to the information, the display of the comment mark 130 is given visual features such as characters and colors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of computers having a multi-window function, which are connected via a communication network, and an input operation performed by one computer is reflected on the display of another computer. The present invention relates to a collaborative work support system in which a collaborative work such as a meeting is performed by using such a shared window.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A collaborative work support system uses a terminal such as a personal computer or a workstation that is communicatively connected to each other via a network to allow a plurality of people at remote places to display the same content on a screen. It allows people to work in a coordinated manner while watching. In such a system, a terminal capable of displaying a plurality of windows at the same time is used, and each terminal is made to display a window for collaborative work in which the same contents are displayed, and an additional comment such as a comment is added to the display of the window. Some can write information. For example, in the system described on pages 27 to 38 of CSCW90 Proceedings, users can write additional information in a collaborative window by overwriting. In the system described on pages 120 to 122 of the May 9, 1994 issue of the Nikkei PC, a personal area is provided at the bottom of the window for collaborative work, and the user writes information in the area. You can do it.

In the system described on pages 88 to 89 of the January 9, 1995 issue of Nikkei Computer, a user marks a desired position on a window for collaborative work and connects to the mark. You can write additional information such as comments in a separate window
The display / non-display of the window can be arbitrarily selected.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above CSCW90P
In the system described in roceedings, when additional information is written, the display overlaps with the one written below, making the display difficult to see. Also,
Therefore, much additional information cannot be written in this system. In the case of writing information in a limited display area like the system described in the above Nikkei PC, the user can immediately know which position of the display in the window the written information corresponds to. I can't.

In the system described in the Nikkei computer, the corresponding position of the additional information is indicated by a mark, and the display / non-display of the additional information is arbitrarily selected. Does not occur. However, in this system, when the additional information is not displayed, only the mark having no characteristic is displayed. Therefore, the user is wondering what the additional information is. That is, it is not possible to immediately know the attributes such as who has input and how important it is.
Further, in this system, when it becomes necessary to search for specific information included in the additional information, the user himself / herself puts the additional information (window) in a display state and investigates the content thereof. Was needed. Therefore, in this system, if the number of additional information written increases, the workability deteriorates.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a collaborative work support system capable of knowing a rough attribute of additional information from the display of a mark corresponding to the additional information without displaying the additional information. And Another object of the present invention is to provide a collaborative work support system capable of easily knowing the location of additional information including search target data without displaying the additional information.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a collaborative work support system having a plurality of computers each having a display device, which are mutually connected via a communication network. A means for displaying a window for collaborative work on each of the display devices of the respective computers, and a window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of the computer, which is performed on any of the computers. Display control means for reflecting the update of the display content on the display content of each collaborative work window, and displaying a mark newly displayed in the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of any computer The means for accepting the designation of the position from the user of the computer and the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of any computer A means for associating the data designated by the computer user with the data associated with the mark displayed in the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer, and the user of the computer. Means for associating the attribute of the data specified by the above, and the window for presenting the data associated with the mark displayed in the window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer, A display switching means for switching between display and non-display on the display device of the computer according to the operation of the user of the arbitrary computer,
The display control means, in the window for each collaborative work displayed on each display device of the computer, at the display position of the mark received from the user of the arbitrary computer, to the data associated with the mark. It is characterized by displaying a mark having a visual feature according to the associated attribute.

Further, the present invention is a collaborative work support system having a plurality of computers each provided with a display device, which are mutually connected via a communication network, and the collaborative work is performed on each of the display devices of the respective computers. Means for displaying a window for the collaborative work, and updating the display contents of the window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of the computer performed on any of the computers And a display control means for reflecting the display content of the window,
The means for accepting the designation of the display position of the mark newly displayed in the window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer from the user of the computer and the display device of the arbitrary computer A means for associating the data displayed by the computer user with the mark displayed in the collaborative work window and the mark displayed in the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of any computer. A window for presenting the data associated with the mark, the display switching means for switching the display and non-display on the display device of the arbitrary computer according to the operation of the user of the arbitrary computer, and Use of the arbitrary computer among the data associated with the marks displayed in the collaborative work window displayed on the display device And a search result window display means for displaying the window displaying the searched data and the window displaying the data not including the specified data so as to be distinguishable from each other. It is characterized by having.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the display control means, at the display position of the mark received from the user of the arbitrary computer in the window for each collaborative work displayed on each display device of the computer, A mark having a visual feature according to the attribute associated with the data associated with the mark is displayed. That is, since the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work is displayed in a state that symbolizes the attribute of the data associated with the mark, the creator of the corresponding additional information can be created only from the mark display. It is possible to recognize attributes such as importance, display count, and the like.

Further, the searching means searches the data including the data designated by the user of the arbitrary computer among the data associated with the marks displayed in the window for collaborative work, The search result window display means displays the window displaying the retrieved data in a distinguishable manner from the window displaying the data not including the designated data. Therefore, it is possible to easily find the location of the data whose location is unknown.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the collaborative work support system according to the present embodiment. The subscripts "-A" and "-B" attached to the reference numerals in FIG. 1 indicate points, but when the distinctions are not made, the subscripts are omitted in the description.

In FIG. 1, the personal computer 10 has a data communication function and a multi-window system function for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows. Also, PC 1
A keyboard 20, a mouse 30, and a display 40 are connected to 0, and another personal computer is physically connected via a network 50. As this network, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) can be considered. Also,
A telephone 60 is installed near the personal computer 10,
This telephone 60 is connected to a telephone line network 70.

The telephone 60 may be connected to the personal computer 10 so that the personal computer 10 can perform various operations such as dialing. Although a personal computer is used as the terminal here, another computer having a multi-window function such as a workstation may be used.

A block diagram of the hardware of the personal computer 10 is shown in FIG. In this figure, the CPU 210 executes a program stored in the main memory 200,
Operation of keyboard 20 and mouse 30, network 5
Various processes are performed according to data sent from another terminal via 0. Here, after the input from the keyboard 20 is analyzed by the keyboard driver 150 and the input from the mouse 30 is analyzed by the mouse driver 160,
It is sent to the CPU 210. The data from the network 50 is sent to the CPU 210 after being subjected to predetermined conversion in the communication interface 220. Also, CPU
210 is a disk controller 190 if necessary.
The data stored in the disk 230 is read or written via the. Further, the CPU 210 writes the processing result indicating the display content in the frame memory 170,
The display controller 180 causes the display 40 to display this display content.

Next, an outline of a procedure and an operation of using the above-mentioned collaborative work support system will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, it is assumed that the two terminals PCs 10-A and 10-B shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure for using the above system. In this figure, it is assumed that the personal computers 10-A and 10-B have already been activated and the multi-window system is operating in those personal computers. That is, at the start of use,
Windows 80-A and 80-B are displayed on the displays of the personal computers 10-A and 10-B shown in FIG.

In this state, first, the user calls the other party to carry out the joint work to notify the start of the joint work (step 250 in FIG. 3). Next, in order to display the material used for the collaborative work, the user activates the application program that created the material (hereinafter referred to as the material creation AP) (step 260). In FIG. 1, a spreadsheet window 90 corresponds to the execution result of this step. This material creation AP may be started at any time before using the material, but in the present embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation, an application program used for joint work (hereinafter, joint work AP) is used. Before starting, the material creation AP will be started.

Then, the user activates the AP for collaborative work (step 270). As a result, the collaborative work windows 100-A and 100-B shown in FIG. 1 are displayed on the respective displays, and the collaborative AP processing (step 28) is performed.
0) is started. As will be described later in detail, the contents displayed on the collaborative work window 100 are mutually reflected between the personal computers 10-A and 10-B by the processing of this collaborative work AP. That is, the personal computer 10-
The image selected for collaborative work in A is sent to the other personal computer 10-B and displayed in the collaborative work window 100 of each display.

The display on the display 40 shown in FIG.
The collaborative window 100 references the images 110 of the window 90 to each other, and the user
Shows the display when collaborating while pointing at. Here, the telepointer 120 is an arrow that can indicate the same position of the two collaborative work windows 100-A and 100-B.

After the end of the joint work, the user finishes the processing of the joint work AP (step 290), and creates the material creation A.
The process of P is ended (step 300) and the call is hung up (step 310). These three procedures may be performed in any order, and in particular, the material display AP may be terminated at any time after referring to the material.

In the following, the process (step 280) of the AP for collaborative work will be described more specifically.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the joint work AP, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the menu of the joint work window 100.

When the processing of the AP for collaborative work shown in FIG. 4 is started, first, the CPU 210 of each personal computer can secure the memory used for the work, initialize various variables, and receive connections from other personal computers. First, initialization processing such as setting a connection waiting state is performed (step 350). Then, the collaborative work window is displayed (step 360), and connection processing for communicating with the other party's personal computer is performed (step 37).
0). When the connection is completed, it enters an input waiting state (step 380). Here, when the user selects the "comment" command (see FIG. 5) with the mouse 30 or the like (step 390, Yes), the commenting process (step 400) is performed. The display on the display 40-A shown in FIG. 1 shows the display state at this time, in which the comment mark 130 as a mark indicating the corresponding position of the comment and the comment window 140 in which the comment is written are displayed. It is displayed.

If the "comment search" command is selected (step 410, Yes), the comment search processing (step 420) is performed, and if the "mark setting" command is selected (step 410). 430, Ye
s), mark setting processing (step 440) is performed. When the end command is selected (step 450, Yes), the process at the end (step 46)
0) is performed, and the processing of the joint work AP ends. Thus, if a command other than the end command is selected,
After the corresponding process is performed, the process returns to the input receiving process (step 380).

The above command is selected from the pull-down menu 530 in the menu 510 of the collaborative work window shown in FIG. 5, and only the end command is selected from the "file" pull-down menu. Also,
Processing of the commands "window copy", "area copy", and "telepointer" in the pull-down menu 520 of FIG. 5 is the other processing of FIG. 4 (step 470).
The detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 shows the connection process of FIG. 4 (step 37).
It is a flowchart which shows 0). In the process shown in this figure, pull-down menu 520 (FIG. 5) “Connect”
When is selected, a window (not shown) for designating the personal computer to be connected is displayed (step 550), and the user inputs the name of the personal computer to be connected thereto (step 560). This name may be the name of the personal computer to be connected, or may be the name of the other person as long as each personal computer has the function of recognizing the correspondence between the personal computer and its user.

When the name is input, a connection request is issued to the personal computer to be connected via the network 50 (step 570). At this time, if the personal computer to be connected is in a waiting state for connection, a response indicating permission of connection is returned from the personal computer. Then, when the response is confirmed (step 580), a display for notifying the user of the connection is made (step 590). In the present embodiment, since the telephone can be used to contact the other party of the collaborative work, at the time of connection, the other person may be instructed by the telephone to put the personal computer in a waiting state for connection.

FIG. 7 shows the processing at the end of FIG. 4 (step 4
It is a flow chart showing (60). In FIG. 7, when the user issues an end request, first, the contents displayed in the collaborative work window 100 are erased (step 61).
0), close the window (step 620). Then, the connection with the partner is disconnected (step 630), and the processing of the joint work AP is completed.

FIG. 8 shows the commenting process 400 of FIG.
9 is a display example of the display 40 when the processing is performed. In addition, FIG.
The figure which shows the structure of the mark data which put together the information regarding comment mark, the figure 11 which shows the structure of comment data which put together the information regarding comment, the figure 12 shows the constitution of the mark table which shows the correspondence of mark data and comment data It is a figure.

The commenting process shown in FIG. 8 is executed by pulling down the pull-down menu 5 of the collaborative work window 100 shown in FIG.
It is performed when "comment" is selected from 30. When "Comment" is selected with a mouse, etc.,
The display of the mouse cursor is changed to a mark (step 650). Here, the mark indicates the position of a comment addition target, and the flag-shaped comment mark 130 in FIG. 9 corresponds to this. The user
Move the mouse cursor displayed as a mark to the place where you want to add a comment, and click the mouse there. As a result, the display position of the mark is fixed, and the position to be commented is designated (step 66).
0). At this time, the position (coordinate) of the commenting target is set in the coordinate information 1603 in the mark data 1600 shown in FIG. The mark data 1600 is generated corresponding to the comment mark and stored in the work area of the main memory 200.

When the display position of the mark is specified, the comment window 140 connected to the mark by a straight line is displayed.
(FIG. 9) is displayed on the display 40 (step 67).
0), the user inputs a comment in the window (step 680). Then, when "Close" is selected from "File" in the menu of the comment window 140 (step 750), the comment window 140 is closed and information regarding the comment is displayed in FIG.
Saved in the comment data 1610 shown in (Step 75
After 5), the commenting process ends.

On the other hand, when the user selects "comment information" from the pull-down menu 760 (FIG. 9) of "option" of the menu (step 690, Yes).
s), the comment information window 770 is displayed (step 700). In the comment information window 770, the update date, updater, importance, deadline,
"Information" such as the number of times is displayed, and next to it, "mark feature" indicating whether or not to characterize the mark is displayed. These pieces of information are comment data 1610 (see FIG. 11) stored in the work area of the main memory 200.
The information included in the above, of which "update date", "updater", and "number of times" are automatically set / updated by the processing of the personal computer (CPU 210). That is, "update date"
Is set from the date and time information of the timer possessed by the personal computer, and the "updater" is set from the personal computer user information registered in advance in the collaboration work AP, and the "number of times" is set.
Is set from the stored value of the register that is incremented by 1 each time a comment is displayed. The value of this register may be returned to "0" when the joint work is completed, or may be updated without returning it. By displaying this number of times inside or near the mark, for example, the user can easily know whether the comment corresponding to the mark is a comment that has already been seen or a comment that has not been seen yet. Also, "importance" and "deadline"
Can be arbitrarily set by the comment creator or the person who displays the comment. These settings will be described in detail later.

After the display of the comment information window 770, when the "mark feature" displayed there is changed from "No" to "Yes" by the user by clicking the mouse or the like (step 710, Yes), "mark" is displayed. "Setting" is referred to (step 720), and the feature set therein is reflected in the display of the comment mark 130 (step 730). Here, "mark setting" refers to setting of the color, shape, attached characters, etc. of the displayed comment mark, and specifically, mark data (Fig. 10).
Points to the setting of each information. Here, the mark data 1600
And comment data 1610 are generated one for each comment mark, and their correspondence is set in the mark table shown in FIG. This table is stored in the work area of the main memory 200 together with the above two data.

On the contrary, when the “mark feature” is changed from “Yes” to “No”, the information feature of the item is taken from the comment mark 130. That is, the characterization corresponding to the information in which "Yes" is set in the mark data is performed on the displayed comment mark. The mark setting will be described more specifically later.

When the "OK" button is selected (step 740, Yes), the comment information window 770 is closed (step 746). If the "Cancel" button is selected instead of "OK" (step 742), the comment data and the mark data are returned to the state before the change, that is, the state before the processing of step 720 (step 744), and then the comment is returned. Information window 7
70 is closed (step 746).

In this embodiment, the display data of the material (the window image 110 in FIG. 1) which is the source of the collaborative work, the comment data and the mark data generated by the above processing are transmitted via the network 50. It is sent to another personal computer, and a similar display is made on the joint work window 100 there. However,
You can choose not to send the corresponding comment data for comments that you do not want to publish.

To redisplay a comment that has already been input, the user may move the mouse cursor over the comment mark 130 and click the mouse button there. This allows comment window 1
40 is displayed again.

Further, a feature similar to the feature attached to the comment mark may be attached to the comment window. For example, when the comment mark is displayed in red, the comment window is also displayed in red as a whole. This will make it easier to visually understand the correspondence between the comment mark and the comment window.

Further, in this embodiment, by selecting "Save" from "File" in the menu of the collaborative work window 100 and further specifying the file name, all the information in the collaborative work window 100 is displayed. It can be stored on the disk 230 as a file. This file is displayed at the start of the collaborative work, for example, display data of spreadsheet software, mark data 1600,
It is composed of data stored in the work area of the main memory 200 such as the comment data 1610 and the comment table 1620.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for explaining the processing at the time of displaying the material (the above file). FIG.
In the process of displaying the window for collaborative work (step 360), the same process as the process described here is performed.

In FIG. 13, first, the user activates the AP for collaborative work and asks the user to input the material name (file name) (step 782). Specifically, “Open” is selected from “File” in the menu 510 of the joint work window 100 described with reference to FIG. 5, and the file name is input. This file was used in the previous collaborative work, with the comments etc. on the disk 230
Is stored in.

When the file name is input by the user,
The frequency information of the comment data included in the file is reset to "0" (step 784). Next, the time limit information in the comment data is checked to see if there is a comment with a time limit set (step 78).
6). If there is a corresponding comment (step 786, Yes), the update date of the comment is substituted into the register value T, the current date is substituted into the register value t,
(T-T) is substituted into the register value L (step 78).
8). Here, if T and t are respectively set so as to indicate the number of days from the New Year's day of the update date, L represents the number of days from the update date to the present.

When L is larger than the time limit information set in the comment data, that is, when the time limit has expired (step 790, Yes), the corresponding comment mark is displayed in blue (step 792). If there is less than two days before the deadline (step 794, Ye
s), the comment mark is displayed in red (step 796). By characterizing the display of the mark by the color as described above, the user can easily know that the comment corresponding to the mark has expired or is about to expire.

After the above processing is performed for all the marks for which the display time limit is set, other processing (step 798) such as display of other marks is performed, and finally, it becomes a source of the joint work. Materials are displayed (step 79).
9).

By thus characterizing the display of the comment mark corresponding to the information related to the comment, it becomes a clue to know the content of the comment even if it is not displayed. That is, by performing characterization on the mark corresponding to the update date, it is possible to distinguish between the comment added in this joint work and the comment added in the previous time. By performing the characterization corresponding to the updater, it is possible to know who made the comment. By characterizing according to importance, users can be careful not to miss important comments, especially when they are collaborating and then viewing the files written by the collaboration. Don't miss a comment. By characterizing against the deadline, when the deadline is approached, it can be determined whether the comment is related to some deadline.
This is also effective when referring to the file after collaborating. Also, by characterizing according to the number of times, after collaborating, when you refer to the file, you can see whether each comment is already seen and you do not miss the comment.

FIG. 14 shows the mark setting process 440 of FIG.
15 and 16 are display examples of the mark setting window displayed in this process. In FIG. 14, when “mark setting” is selected from the pull-down menu 530 of the collaborative work window 100 (FIG. 5), the mark setting window 900 (see FIG. 15) is displayed (step 80).
0). The following items are displayed in the mark setting window 900.

The creator 910 has a collaborative work window 10
The names of the creators of the comments included in the display of 0 are displayed side by side. The importance 920 includes the most important, important, and normal.
The deadline 930 includes a period of 1 week, 1 day, etc.
At 0, 0 times and 1 or more times are displayed respectively. Also,
Next to them, setting contents 990 indicating the features of the marks corresponding to them are displayed, and the selected feature among them is displayed in a double frame. In the display example 950, a comment mark that reflects the characteristics of the setting content 990 is displayed. In this example, since the creator is set to "Taro" and the importance is set to "most important", the mark is attached with the letter "T" and displayed in red. Such information is displayed by referring to the mark data and comment data stored in the work area of the main memory 200.

Here, in order to change the setting, the user selects the setting contents with the mouse. For example, when “importance” is selected, a setting item menu 1010 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and when the user selects “color” from among them, a color selection menu 1020 is further displayed. When a color other than red is selected from this color selection menu, the setting content of "most important" is changed to the selected color (step 810, Yes). Then, the mark data data 160
The color information 1604 of 0 is changed, and the display example 950 (FIG. 15) is redisplayed in the color reflecting the change (step 820).

Next, when the registration button 980 of the mark setting window 900 is selected with the mouse (step 83)
0, Yes), and the mark registration process (step 840) described later is performed. Then, when the OK button 960 is selected (step 850, Yes), the mark setting process is terminated with the setting as it is. Cancel button 970
If is pressed, the changed setting is restored (step 870), and then the process ends. That is, the setting content of the mark data 1600 when the mark setting window 900 is first displayed is copied to another area where the stored value is not updated, and the cancel button 97 is displayed.
When 0 is selected, the data in that area is transferred to the mark data 1600.

FIG. 17 shows the above-mentioned mark registration processing 840.
18 is a display example of the mark registration window displayed in the processing. When the registration button 980 in FIG. 15 is pressed, a mark registration window 1200 as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed (FIG. 14, step 1050). As shown in the figure, the mark registration window 1200 includes “shape”, “color”, “pattern”, and “motion”.
Buttons 1210 to 1240, an edit area 1270, an OK button 1250, and a cancel button 12
60 is displayed.

Here, when the shape button 1210 or the pattern button 1230 is selected (step 1060, Yes).
s), the shape of the mark and the grid are displayed in the editing area 1270 based on the mark data (step 107).
0). Then, the user edits the mark shape (step 1080). When the color button 1220 is selected (step 1090, Yes), the display of the edit area is changed to the edit area 1280 in which the color palette is displayed (step 1100), and the user is asked to select a color from among them ( Step 1110).

When the motion button 1240 is selected,
First, the user is asked to input the number of marks to be edited (step 1130). This is to create two or more pictures in order to make the comment mark appear to move. For example, the edit area 1270 and the edit area 12 in FIG.
By alternately displaying 90 pictures, it is possible to make the flag appear to be moving. In addition, when the comment mark is made to blink, it is sufficient to register the picture in which the mark is written and the picture in which nothing is written.

Next, the editing area 1290 is made into a grid pattern (step 1140) and the mark shape is edited by the user (step 1150). This edit is step 11
Repeat for the number of sheets input in 30 (step 1
160). When the OK button 1250 is pressed (step 1170), the edited shape and the selected color are registered in the mark data 1600 (step 11).
80), the process ends. When the cancel button 1260 is selected, the editing result is not registered and the process ends. The feature registered here is the setting item menu 101 in FIG.
It is also displayed in the selection menu 1020 displayed when 0 is selected. For example, after registering purple in the mark registration process, the mark setting window 9 shown in FIG.
When the color selection menu 1020 is displayed with 00,
The item "purple" is newly displayed.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart for explaining the comment search processing 420 shown in FIG. 4, and FIG.
It is a display example of a comment search window displayed in the processing.

When the "comment search" item is selected from the pull-down menu 530 shown in FIG. 5, a comment search window 1450 shown in FIG. 20 is displayed (FIG. 1).
9, step 1350). Then, the user is asked to enter the character to be searched (hereinafter, the search character) (step 1
360). The input search character is searched for from the comment in the currently displayed collaborative work window 100 (step 1370). That is, the character data that matches the search character is searched for from all the comment data 1610 stored in the work area of the main memory 200.

When a search character is found (step 138)
0, Yes), and the comment window 1460 (FIG. 20) including the searched character is displayed (step 141).
0), the search character is shaded (step 1)
420). This shading is done to emphasize the characters. On the other hand, when the search character is not found, the search result window 1510 as shown in FIG. 21 in which "Search character is not found" is displayed (step 139).
0). Here, when the user selects the re-search button 1530 marked "Search again" (step 1400, Yes), the process returns to step 1350 and the above-described search process is repeated. If the OK button 1520 has been pressed, the processing ends.

By this comment search processing 450, the comment including the search character is automatically displayed, and the search character is highlighted and displayed. Therefore, when the user forgets where the previously written comment is written, it is not necessary to display the comment one by one and search for it. In addition, after performing the collaborative work as described above, the contents of the file created by the collaborative work may be changed or edited, but even in such a case, the user forgets that some time has passed. You can easily search for apt comments.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mark set during the collaborative work is characterized and displayed according to the attribute of the data input corresponding to the mark. The user can know the rough attribute of the data from the display of the mark without displaying the data.

Since all the data associated with the mark are automatically searched for the data to be searched, the user can display the data to be searched without displaying the data associated with the mark. You can easily find out where.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a collaborative work support system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a personal computer 10.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of collaborative work.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of the joint work AP in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining selection of a menu in a collaborative work window.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a connection process of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing at the end of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a commenting process of FIG.

9 is a display example of a comment window and a comment information window displayed in the processing of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data structure of mark data.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a data structure of comment data.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a data structure of a comment table.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process when displaying a material.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a mark setting process of FIG.

15 is a display example 1 of a mark setting window displayed in the process of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a second display example of a mark setting window.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the mark registration process of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a display example of a mark registration window displayed in the processing of FIG.

19 is a flowchart showing the comment search process of FIG.

FIG. 20 is a display example of a comment search window and a comment window displayed in the process of FIG.

21 is a display example of a search result window displayed in the process of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... PC, 20 ... Keyboard, 30 ... Mouse, 4
0 ... display, 50 ... communication network, 60 ... telephone, 70 ... telephone line, collaborative work window ... 100,
Comment mark ... 130, comment window ... 14
0, comment information window ... 770, mark setting window ... 900, mark registration window ... 1200, comment search window ... 1450, search result window 1510, mark data ... 1600, comment data ...
1610, mark table ... 1620.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinobu Tanikawa 1099, Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Minoru Koizumi 1099, Ozen-ji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Masami Kameda 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Software Development Division

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A collaborative work support system having a plurality of computers each provided with a display device, which are mutually connected via a communication network, wherein a window for collaborative work is provided on each of the display devices of the respective computers. Display means, and update of the display contents of the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of the computer performed on any of the computers, the display contents of each collaborative work window A display control means for reflecting in, the designation of the display position of the mark newly displayed in the window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of any computer, means for receiving from the user of the computer, Correlate the data specified by the user of the computer with the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of any computer. Means for associating the attribute of the data specified by the user of the computer with the data associated with the mark displayed in the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer. And displaying and hiding the window showing the data associated with the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer on the display device of the arbitrary computer. A display switching unit that switches in accordance with a user's operation of the arbitrary computer, wherein the display control unit is the arbitrary computer in each window for collaborative work displayed on each display device of the computer. At the display position of the mark received from the user of the mark, a mark having visual characteristics according to the attribute associated with the data associated with the mark is displayed. A collaborative work support system characterized by showing. 2. The mark having a visual feature according to the attribute, the mark displayed in a form corresponding to the attribute,
A mark displayed with a character corresponding to the attribute added, a mark displayed with a color corresponding to the attribute, a mark displayed with a brightness corresponding to the attribute, and a pattern added with the attribute displayed The collaborative work support system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a mark that is displayed and a mark that is sequentially displayed at the same position and that is formed by a plurality of images corresponding to the attribute. . 3. The display control means comprises: means for setting or changing a visual feature according to the attribute; and means for storing the set or changed visual feature according to the attribute. The collaborative work support system according to claim 2, wherein the mark is displayed according to an attribute associated with the data associated with the mark or a visual feature according to the stored attribute. 4. The attribute includes the input person of data associated with the mark, the number of times the data associated with the mark is displayed, the degree of importance of the data associated with the mark, and the mark. The collaborative work support system according to claim 3, wherein at least one of a display deadline of the associated data is displayed. 5. A means for displaying a window for presenting data associated with the mark according to a visual feature according to an attribute associated with the data associated with the mark. The collaborative work support system according to claim 4. 6. A collaborative work support system having a plurality of computers each provided with a display device, which are mutually connected via a communication network, wherein a window for collaborative work is provided on each of the display devices of the respective computers. Display means, and update of the display contents of the collaborative work window displayed on the display device of the computer performed on any of the computers, the display contents of each collaborative work window A display control means for reflecting in, the designation of the display position of the mark newly displayed in the window for the collaborative work displayed on the display device of any computer, means for receiving from the user of the computer, Correlate the data specified by the user of the computer with the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of any computer. Means for displaying data associated with the mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer, and displaying or not displaying on the display device of the arbitrary computer. Display switching means for switching the display according to the operation of the user of the arbitrary computer, and each associated with each mark displayed in the window for collaborative work displayed on the display device of the arbitrary computer A search means for searching data that includes data specified by the user of the arbitrary computer and a window for displaying the searched data are distinguished from a window for displaying data that does not include the specified data. A collaborative work support system comprising: a search result window display means for displaying the search result window. 7. The search result window display means is included in a window for displaying the searched data,
7. The collaborative work support system according to claim 6, wherein the data designated by the user of the arbitrary computer is emphasized and displayed.