JPH10134002A - Cooperative work supporting system, computer, display information preparing person communicating method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To get contact with the preparing person of plotting information in a file prepared by a cooperative work supporting system or an object preparing person in a general document while using any arbitrary communicating means. SOLUTION: Concerning the cooperative work supporting system, corresponding to the identification information of preparing person of the plotting information, information showing the destination to get contact with that preparing person through one kind of communication media at least is stored. The identification information of preparing person of the plotting information is displayed corresponding to that plotting information (306) and the instruction of communication with that preparing person corresponding to the plotting information is received from a user (302). The information showing the destination to get contact with that preparing person through communication media is acquired and according to the acquired information showing the destination to get contact, the computer of that user and the destination to get contact with that preparing person are connected through these communication media.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a plurality of computers having a multi-window system function connected by a network, and each computer performs a user access operation to a shared partial screen area accessible to all users in real time. And a collaborative work support system for storing the collaborative work result as a file.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional cooperative work support system, participants on a network share the same screen in real time, and perform cooperative work through mutual drawing operations on the screen. When a participant wrote the same display information having the same shape and color, the display information on the shared window was shared, and it was not possible to distinguish who created it. In order to solve this problem, in the invention described in JP-A-3-133244, in the telewriting device, when the display information and the terminal identification information of the creator of the drawing are stored, when performing drawing, The display information is displayed in different colors according to the terminal identification information, thereby clarifying who the creator is.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-133244, when a collaborative work result file created using a collaborative work support system is opened on a local computer, color Since only the separate display is used, it is necessary to find out who created the display information on the file from the terminal identification information for the color displayed on the display screen. Therefore, it takes time to find out who created the displayed information, and if you want to contact the creator, you have to look up the creator's contact information and contact him. There is a problem that such an operation must be performed.

[0004] In addition, the collaborative work support system also provides a partial screen area for displaying a general document that is not shared, in addition to the above-described shared partial screen area, and a creator of an object in the general document in the partial screen area. Contacting was also very troublesome.

An object of the present invention is to provide a collaborative work support system, a computer, and a display capable of contacting a creator of display information on a displayed collaborative work result file or a creator of an object in a general document. An information creator communication method and a storage medium are provided.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a plurality of computers connected to a network, and each of the plurality of computers is shared to create display information. In a collaborative work support system including a shared area, each of the plurality of computers corresponds to display means for displaying identification information of a creator of the display information in association with the display information, and correspondence to the identification information of the creator. Storage means for storing contact information of the creator in at least one type of communication medium; receiving means for receiving from the user an instruction to contact the creator corresponding to the display information; When the instruction is received by the means, refer to the storage means,
A connection unit for acquiring contact information of the creator in the communication medium and connecting the computer of the user and the contact information of the creator via the communication medium in accordance with the contact information;

[0007] Further, when there are a plurality of the communication media, there is further provided designation means for accepting designation of any one of the plurality of communication media, and the connection means comprises a communication medium received by the designation means. According to the designation, the connection can be made by the contact information corresponding to the communication medium.

[0008] Further, the present invention further comprises a first computer provided with contact storage means for storing contact information of the creator in at least one kind of communication medium in correspondence with the identification information of the creator, Each of the plurality of computers further includes means for acquiring the creator's contact information from the first computer when the creator's contact information is not stored in the storage means of the computer. You may.

[0009] The display means may further display contact information of the creator.

[0010] The display means may further display a list of identification information of creators in the shared area.

[0011] Further, the display means can perform a predetermined display so as to indicate when the connection means cannot obtain the contact information of the creator.

[0012] The display information may be one of display information (including drawing information) in the shared area and display information of an object in an area other than the shared area.

[0013] The information processing apparatus may further include holding means for holding, for each creator, history information indicating a history of connection of the creator to the contact, wherein the receiving means holds the display information. Receiving an instruction to display history information of connection to the contact of the creator corresponding to the information, wherein the display unit is held in the holding unit when the receiving unit receives the instruction; The display of the history information of the connection to the contact information of the creator corresponding to the display information can be further performed.

[0014] Further, the information processing apparatus may further include holding means for holding personal information predetermined by the creator for each creator, wherein the receiving means is held by the holding means.
An instruction for displaying the creator's personal information corresponding to the display information is further received, and the display unit is configured to store the personal information corresponding to the display information when the receiving unit receives the instruction. The personal information of the creator may be further displayed.

[0015] The receiving means further receives an instruction to display display information related to the display information. When the receiving means receives the instruction, the display means displays the display information related to the display information. The display may be further performed.

[0016] The receiving means may further receive a search word for searching the display information,
The display information related after the search accepted by the accepting unit and the creator of the display information can be further displayed.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which the creator of the drawing information in the collaboration file is contacted.

FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a collaborative work support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The collaborative work support system includes two or more computer systems 100.
(100a, 100b, and 100c), one or more address server computer systems 150, and the communication network 102 for connecting these computers.

The computer system 100 includes a computer as an information processing apparatus, and includes a keyboard 104 and a mouse 106 as input devices, and a keyboard controller 1 for controlling the keyboard 104 and the mouse 106.
08, a display 112 that is an output device, and a graphics board 110 that controls the display 112.
And a system bus 1 which is a path for data signals and control signals.
14, a memory 122 for storing programs and data for performing various data processing in the computer 110, and a memory 12
CPU 116 which takes out and executes the program of
And a communication interface 118 connected to the communication network 102 for transmitting and receiving communication data, a telephone 120 for transmitting and receiving voice, and a secondary for storing various files such as a collaborative work result file which is a collaborative work result. The storage device includes a storage device 126 and a disk controller 124 that controls the secondary storage device 126. In the above description, a keyboard and a mouse are taken as examples of the input device, but a pen input device or a touch panel device may be used.

Further, the computer system 100 provides a shared partial screen area shared with other participants, such as a shared window, and accepts drawing information by a user's drawing operation.
The drawing information is displayed in a shared window that is a shared partial screen area. Further, in the present embodiment, the computer system 100 accepts a user's operation,
Provides communication services using multiple types of communication media such as e-mail and electronic dialogue.

The address server computer system 15
0 manages address information such as telephone, facsimile, e-mail, and electronic dialog for each user, and the computer system 1
The address information is provided in response to request 00.

FIG. 2 shows a software configuration for realizing an operation of notifying the creator of the drawing information in the displayed collaborative work result file in the present embodiment. These pieces of software are stored in the memory 122 of the computer system 100 and processed by the CPU 116. These software programs may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and supplied as a program. In this case, in the computer system 100, these pieces of software are read from a storage medium and installed in the memory 122 for use. The address file 210 (210a and 210b) is stored in the memory 1
22, but not in the secondary storage device 126.

In FIG. 2, a display processing section 200 receives a display request from a processing management section 202, which will be described later, and displays graphics on a display 112. The user input processing unit 204 processes an input operation from the user via the keyboard 104 or the mouse 106, and
The request corresponding to the input operation is issued to 2. Media control unit 2
06 controls a plurality of types of media, receives a request corresponding to transmission / reception from a network processing unit 212 described later, issues a request to the process management unit 202, or
Upon receiving a request from the processing management unit 202, the request is issued to the network processing unit. The network processing unit 212 performs transmission / reception processing of communication data such as data and voice with the communication network 102, and performs transmission and reception of requests and data from the media control unit 206. Object management unit 208
Receives a request from the process management unit 202 and receives a telephone number corresponding to the creator of the drawing information in the collaborative work result file;
A number or address (hereinafter, referred to as a media address) as identification information in each communication medium such as an AX number, an e-mail address, and an electronic conference address is specified.
The address file 210 (210a and 210b) stores a file specifying a media address corresponding to the identification information (ID) of the creator. Work data storage 214
Is a memory area used by the object management unit 208 during processing work. The processing management unit 202 includes the display processing unit 2
00, user input processing unit 204, media control unit 206
And exchanges processing data and request data with each of the object management units 208.

The address server computer system 15
0 indicates an address file 210b and an address server unit 2 that responds to a request from a certain computer system 100 to acquire a media address of drawing information in a collaborative work result file.
16.

FIG. 3 shows a format example of the address file 210. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 402 denotes a name ID, which is identification information of a creator (user); 404, the name of the creator;
Is the affiliation indicating the creator's department name, etc., 408 is the telephone number
410 is a fax number, 412 is an e-mail address, 4
Reference numeral 14 denotes an electronic conference address, and reference numeral 416 denotes a comment or comment for the creator. In the address file 210, a media address is registered in advance corresponding to the identification information (ID) of the creator. The creator's identification information (ID) and the corresponding media address are stored in the keyboard 104
And is processed by the user input processing unit 204, the processing management unit 202, and the object management unit 208, and is registered in the address file 210a.

For example, in FIG. 3, if the name 404 is “Ichiro Tanaka”, the name ID 402 is “t”
"anaka", the affiliation 406 of this person is "planning department", the telephone number 408 is "12345", and the facsimile number 410 is "1".
2333 "and the e-mail address 412 is" tanaka @ k
ikaku ”and the electronic conference address 414 are“ kikaku1 ”.

Next, referring to the screen examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 15 and the drawing information data structure shown in FIG. 16, the processing procedure in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. .

FIG. 17 shows a processing flowchart when drawing information is created by the collaborative work support system. When the user creates drawing information in the computer system 100, the computer system 100 first receives and acquires the creator's name ID (step 1602). At this time, the creator's name ID represents the current system user managed by the computer system 100. Next, the computer system 100 executes the address file 210 shown in FIG.
And acquires the media address corresponding to the acquired name ID as the creator information (step 1604).
Further, when drawing information is received, a data structure as shown in FIG. 16 is created (step 1606), and drawing information 304a to 304f as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display screen (step 1608).

FIG. 16 shows an example of a data structure including the drawing information 304 in the joint work file created by the joint work support system. In FIG. 16, 150
0 indicates the type of drawing information (object type), and the shape on display (free curve, rectangle, ellipse, etc.)
Represents the distinction. Reference numeral 1502 denotes data of drawing information. For example, when an ellipse is drawing information, data of a position and a size on a display is stored. Reference numeral 1504 denotes the name ID of the creator of the drawing information. Reference numeral 1506 denotes personal information of the creator, and stores, for example, affiliation information and a media address such as a telephone call or an electronic mail. Reference numeral 1508 denotes a creation date of drawing information, and 1510 denotes comment data such as an annotation. In the above description, the received drawing information, the creator's name ID, the media address, and the like are stored in a data structure as shown in FIG. 16, and are stored as a joint work result file.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen showing drawing information.

Here, the local computer system 100
There are two situations in which this file is displayed above, and when this file is shared and displayed on two computer systems 100 working together. It shall apply to both situations.

Referring to FIG. 4, a display screen 1000 is a shared window which is a shared partial screen area.
04a, 304b, 304c, 304d, 304e, and 304f) represent the drawing information added during the collaborative work. In this example, it is displayed as drawing data such as a straight line, an ellipse, a free curve, and text. Also,
The creator display instruction icon 310 is an icon for receiving a display instruction of the creator who created the drawing information,
The creator contact instruction icon 320 is an icon for receiving a contact instruction to the creator who created the drawing information.

When the user wants to know the creator of the drawing information on the display screen of the drawing information as shown in FIG. 4, when the creator display instruction icon 310 receives an instruction, the processing shifts to the processing as shown in FIG. I do.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of a process performed by the object management unit 214 (see FIG. 2) when the creator of the drawing information 304 is displayed when the collaborative work result file is opened.

In FIG. 18, the object management unit 21
4 receives the instruction on the creator display instruction icon 310 (step 1701), and determines whether or not to display the creator in a list (step 1702). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the creator display instruction icon 310 is received after designating the drawing information 304c (object), the creator corresponding to the designated drawing information 304c is displayed, and the designation of the object is performed. If not, a list can be displayed. Next,
The name ID of the creator corresponding to the designated drawing information 304 or the creator corresponding to all drawing information is acquired (step 1705). Next, the object management unit 21
4 checks whether the creator information is stored in the drawing information data structure shown in FIG. 16 (step 170).
6). If the creator information is stored, step 171
The process proceeds to step S6, where the name ID of the creator of the drawing information is displayed in the drawing information creator window 306 as shown in FIG. Also, instead of being displayed in the drawing information creator window 306, as shown in FIG.
The name ID of the creator of the drawing information 304c may be indicated. In this case, since the creator's name is displayed below the collaborative work result display area 300, a part of the display of the collaborative work result is not covered, so that there is no obstruction. Further, in the case of displaying a list, FIG.
As shown in (1), the name ID of the creator is displayed for each piece of drawing information. FIG. 12 shows an example of a screen when the creator of all the drawing information 304 in the collaborative work result file is displayed. In this example, the drawing information 304 (304a, 304b, 304c, 304d,
304e and 304f), and an area 1100 (1100) indicating the creator near each drawing information.
a, 1100b, 1100c, 1100d, 1100
e, and 1100f) are displayed.

At step 1706, creator information 150
If 6 is not stored, the address file 210 in the secondary storage device 126 in the computer system 100 is searched. If there is creator information in the address file 210,
The creator information is acquired, and the process proceeds to step 1716 to display the drawing information creator window 306.

At step 1708, if the creator information 1506 is not stored, the object manager 214 inquires the address management server 216 on the communication network 102 to search for the creator information (step 1710). If there is creator information in the address management server 216, the creator information is obtained, and step 1716
Then, the drawing information creator window 306 is displayed. If there is no creator information in the address management server 216, the creator information is not stored.
Window 1300 with shadow area as shown in FIG.
Is displayed (step 1714). FIG. 14 shows a telephone related to “Tanaka Planning” which is the creator of the drawing information 304c.
13 shows an example of a screen when a media address of a facsimile, an e-mail, and an electronic conference cannot be specified. An area 1300 indicates a creator of the drawing information 304c. The display of the creator's text part, "Tanaka @ Plan", is shaded, indicating that the media used as the communication means cannot be selected.

By performing the processing as described above, the creator of the drawing information can be presented in a clear form. The creator display instruction icon 31 of the drawing information
When the cursor 302 is moved on the display screen of the drawing information without accepting 0, and a predetermined instruction method is accepted, for example, when the mouse is right-clicked (indicating that the right mouse button is pressed) Alternatively, the creator may be displayed. In this case, the user can display the worker only by specifying the drawing information of the displayed collaborative work result file with the mouse. Also, by displaying the creators of the drawing information 304 in the collaborative work result file collectively, it is possible to easily know all the persons who have written the drawing information in the collaborative work result file.

Next, processing for contacting the creator will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of a process performed by the object management unit 214 when contacting the creator of the drawing information 304.

When an instruction is received at the creator contact instruction icon 320 shown in FIG. 4 or 5, a media selection area 600 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed, the selection of the medium is accepted, and the processing as shown in FIG. Do.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an operation screen when an electronic mail is transmitted to the creator of the drawing information 304c in the collaborative work result file. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 600 denotes a media selection area for “Tanaka” who is the creator of the drawing information 304c. In this example, "Tanaka"
Contact can be made by telephone, fax, e-mail, or electronic conference. To display the area 600, the creator contact instruction icon 3 shown in FIG. 4 or FIG.
After accepting an instruction at 20 or displaying the area of the drawing information creator window 306, the mouse cursor 30 is pressed while the left button of the mouse 106 is pressed.
2 may be shifted to the right from the "Tanaka @ plan" part in the area of 600. Also, to select email, 600
Is displayed, "Mail ..." may be selected with the mouse cursor 302. When a certain medium is selected, the color of the character string area of the corresponding medium in 600 may be changed. Of course, the operation method may be configured in another form. In addition, when a list is displayed as shown in FIG. 12 and the creator is contacted, a display as shown in FIG. 13 can be performed. FIG.
After displaying the creators of the drawing information 304 in
An example of an operation screen for contacting the creator of certain drawing information is shown. Here, an example will be given in which an e-mail is sent to “Tanaka Planning” who is the creator of the drawing information 304c.
By moving the mouse cursor 302 to an area 1100c for displaying the drawing information creator and performing a click operation,
A media selection area 600 is displayed. In order to select an e-mail as the communication means, the text display portion of “email...

In FIG. 19, the object management unit 21
4 determines whether the media selection is a telephone selection (step 1802). If the telephone is selected, a telephone call screen 800 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and telephone connection processing such as making a call to the telephone number of the worker is performed (step 1804). FIG. 9 shows a screen example when "telephone ..." is selected in the media selection area 600 in FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 800 denotes a telephone calling screen, and the user contacts “Tanaka @ Planning”, the creator of the drawing information 304 c, through an operation on this screen. Reference numeral 802 denotes an area for displaying a telephone number of a contact, and reference numeral 804 denotes an area for displaying a telephone number as a candidate when "Tanaka @ Plan" has a plurality of contacts. 8
When an appropriate number in the area 04 is selected, the number is displayed in the area 802 as a contact. 806 is 8
This area provides a calling function for the telephone number 02. The user may, for example, place the mouse cursor 30
By clicking on 2, it becomes possible to make a call. Reference numeral 808 denotes an area for providing a function of hiding the telephone calling screen 300. If the user wants to hide the outgoing call screen, the mouse cursor 30
Just click on 2.

In step 1804, if the call is not a telephone call, the object management section 214 determines whether or not a facsimile is selected (step 1806). If FAX
If selected, accept the information you want to send and
Make a call to the AX number and fax the information you want to send
FAX processing such as transmission is performed (step 180
8). If FAX is not selected, it is determined whether or not E-mail is selected (step 1810). If an e-mail is selected, e-mail processing such as displaying an e-mail creation window 700 as shown in FIG. 8 is performed (step 1812). FIG. 8 shows an example of a screen displayed after performing the operation for transmitting the e-mail described in FIG. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 700 denotes an electronic mail creation window. Reference numeral 702 denotes an area for displaying the e-mail address of the creator of the drawing information 304c in the collaborative work result file. In this example, "tanaka @ kikaku" is displayed. 704 represents an electronic mail transmission source;
This area displays the e-mail address of the user on the computer that has opened the collaborative work result file. Here, "suzuki @ daiichika" is displayed. 706
Is an area for entering the title of the e-mail text, and 708 is
Indicates the area where the body of the e-mail is described. 710 is
This area provides an e-mail transmission function. The user can send an e-mail by, for example, clicking this area with the mouse cursor 302. An area 712 provides a function of hiding the electronic mail creation window 700. If the user wants to cancel the creation of the e-mail, the user can click this area with the mouse cursor 302 to hide the e-mail creation window 700.

If the electronic mail has not been selected, the object management section 214 determines whether or not the electronic conference has been selected (step 1814). If you choose electronic conferencing,
Screen 9 showing that the electronic conference is being called, as shown in FIG.
00 is displayed and an electronic conference connection process shown in FIG. 20 is performed to connect to the electronic conference (step 1816). FIG. 10 is an example of a screen displayed when an electronic conference is selected in the media selection area 600 in FIG. 90
0 represents a window indicating that the connection of the electronic conference is being executed. In the window, a text “Electronic Conference: Tanaka: Calling for Planning ... is displayed,” indicating that a call for an electronic conference to Tanaka, Planning, the creator of the drawing information 304c, is being executed. An area 902 provides a function of canceling a connection process. For example, if the user clicks this area with the mouse cursor 302, the connection processing of the electronic conference can be stopped. FIG. 11 is a continuation of FIG. 10 and shows an example of a screen when the electronic conference connection operation for the creator of the drawing information 304c, “Tanaka @ Plan”, is completed. 1000 is an electronic conference screen,
Reference numeral 1002 denotes a text that specifies that the collaborative work result file display 300 is shared with “Tanaka @ Plan”. In this example, “Dialogue: Tanaka @ Plan” is displayed. Thereby, it is possible to contact the creator of the drawing information in the collaborative work result file by an electronic conference via a simple operation on the drawing information.

With reference to FIG. 20, a connection process in the case of contacting by electronic conference will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a connection process when the creator of the drawing information is contacted by an electronic conference. When the user selects an electronic conference in the display of the media selection area 600, the drawing information 3
The object management unit 214 sends a connection request signal to the computer system 100 of the creator 04 via the media control unit 206 and the network processing unit 212 (step 1902). Then, as shown in FIG. 10, a window 900 indicating that the calling is being performed is displayed (step 1904). Further, a timer is set to determine whether there is a response within a predetermined time (step 1906). It is determined whether the timer has exceeded a certain value (hereinafter, referred to as timeout) (step 1908). If it is time-out, a window indicating that fact is displayed (step 191).
0). Then, the calling window 900 is closed (step 1911). If it has not timed out,
It is determined whether a request signal arrival notification sent from the conversation partner has been received (step 1912). If received, the timer is reset (step 191).
4). Next, the data of the joint work result file is transmitted (step 1916). Further, the calling window 900 is closed (step 1918). And FIG.
As shown in (1), the electronic conference screen 1000 is displayed (Step 1920). In step 1912, if the notification has not been received, it is determined whether the cancel area 902 in the calling window 900 has been pressed (step 1922). If the cancel area 902 is pressed,
The timer is reset (step 1924), and a disconnection request signal is transmitted to the conversation partner (step 1926). Finally, the calling window 900 is closed (step 1927). If cancel is not pressed in step 1922, the process returns to step 1908. The connection processing by the electronic conference can be performed by the processing described above.

If it is determined in step 1814 that the electronic conference is not to be selected, the object management unit 214 determines whether to select the display of the personal information of the creator of the drawing information (step 1818). If the creator selects personal information display, information display processing such as displaying a window 1400 representing personal information as shown in FIG. 15 is performed (step 1820). FIG. 15 shows a screen example when “information...” Is selected in the media selection area 600 in FIG. In FIG. 15, 1400
Is a window area in which information of "Ichiro Tanaka" who is the creator of the drawing information 304c is displayed. 1402 is a region where the name of the creator is displayed, 1404 is a region where the affiliation is displayed, 1406 is a region where the telephone number is displayed,
Reference numeral 1408 denotes an area where a fax number is displayed.
Is the area where the email address is displayed, 1412
Is the area where the electronic conference address is displayed, and 1414 is
This is an area where comments such as annotations are described. As an information display process, a display as shown in FIG. 15 is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to contact the creator of the drawing information in the collaborative work result file by a simple operation. Further, a communication medium for performing communication can be selected from a plurality of types of communication media. Further, it becomes possible to know various contact information such as a telephone number and an e-mail address of a creator of arbitrary drawing information of the collaborative work result file.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, a case where a creator of an object in a general document is contacted will be described. The hardware configuration and the software configuration in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, but the configuration and processing of the data structure are partially different.

The structure of the data structure of the object used in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 shows an example of a data structure of an object embedded in a general document. In FIG. 21, a data structure 2000 represents a data structure of an object. The object header area 2002 is an area for storing general information about the object structure such as information indicating the type of the object and the size of the data structure. The object data area 2004
Stores the created object data itself. Specifically, if the object is a character string, character string data is stored in this area, and if the object is an image, image data is stored. The object attribute area 2006 is an area for storing object data attributes. Specifically, if the object is a character string, the attributes of the object creator, the thickness of the character string, the color of the character string, the date and time of creation of the object, and the like are stored as attributes. The procedure section area 2008 is an area for storing functions for operating data in the object header area 2002, the object data area 2004, and the object attribute area 2006.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an object screen.
2 and FIG. 23. FIG. 22 shows an example of a screen displayed when a user specifies an object in a general document. In FIG. 22, a window 2500 is shown.
Is a window displayed by an application such as a word processor. This window displays a general document. The object 2502 represents a text object in the document. In this case, “Ichiro Tanaka” is stored in the object data area 2004 shown in FIG. In FIG. 22, with the mouse cursor 302,
When the designation of the text object 2502 is received,
An object creator window 2504 is displayed.

FIG. 23 shows another example of a screen displayed when a user designates an object in a general document. In FIG. 23, a window 2600 is a window displayed by an application such as a word processor. This window displays a general document. Object 2602 represents an image object in the document. Object data area 2004
Is pixel image data, but the object attribute area 2006 shown in FIG. 21 contains name ID information or name information of the creator of the object.
In FIG. 23, when the user designates an image object 2602 with the mouse cursor 302, an object creator window 2604 is displayed.

Next, the operation up to contacting the creator of the object in the general document will be described with reference to the processing flowchart shown in FIG.

In FIG. 24, the object management unit 208 shown in FIG. 2 performs an object storing process for storing an object designated by the user in the work data storage unit 214 (step 2102). A detailed processing flowchart of step 2102 is shown in FIG. 25 and will be described later.

Next, the object management unit 208
An address information specifying process for obtaining the contact address of the creator of the obtained object is performed (step 210).
4). A detailed processing flowchart of step 2104 is shown in FIG. 26 and will be described later.

Next, the display processing section 200 displays the object creator window (step 2106).
The detailed processing flowchart of step 2106 is shown in FIG.
7 and will be described later.

Next, the media control unit 206 receives a user operation notified from the user input processing unit 204, and performs a connection process using a medium required by the user of the object creator (step 2108). Step 21
The media connection process 08 is performed in the same manner as the process shown in FIG. 19 described in the first embodiment.

Next, the object storing process will be described.
FIG. 25 shows an object storage processing flowchart from when the object management unit 208 receives a user's object designation operation to when object data is stored in the work data storage unit 214. In FIG. 25, the object management unit 208 erases the object data stored before to initialize. Also, an object acquisition flag for setting 1 when an object is newly acquired and an object is acquired is set to zero for initialization (step 220).
2). The object management unit 208 starts monitoring the object designation operation (step 2204). The object management unit 208 determines whether an object has been designated, and if not designated, returns to step 2204 (step 2206). If specified, the application program that created the object is specified (step 2208), and it is determined whether or not the application program was specified (step 2210). If the application program cannot be specified, it is determined that an error has occurred, and the process is terminated (step 2228).

If the application program can be specified, the connection request data is transmitted to the specified object creation application (step 2212). Thereafter, response data to the transmitted connection request data is received (step 2214), and it is determined whether communication connection is possible (step 2216). If the communication connection cannot be established, a message indicating that a communication error has occurred is displayed and the process is terminated (step 2228).

If the communication connection is possible, the object management unit 208 transmits request data for requesting the object data 2000 (see FIG. 21) (step 2).
218), and receive response data to the request (step 2220). It is determined whether the received response data is the object data 2000. Object data 2
If it is not 000, the process ends (step 2228).

In the case of the object data 2000, it is determined that the object has been acquired, the object acquisition flag is set to 1 (step 2224), the name ID information 402 of the creator of the object is added to the object data 2000, and the work data is stored. The object data 2000 is stored in the section 214 (step 2226).

Next, the address information specifying process will be described. FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the object management unit 208 acquires the address information of an object. In FIG. 26, as initialization processing, the address information stored in the work data storage unit 208 is deleted (step 2302). Next, an object acquisition flag is referred to (step 2304). It is determined whether the object acquisition flag is 1 (step 230)
6). If the object acquisition flag is not 1, it is determined that an error has occurred and the process is terminated (step 2).
326). If the object acquisition flag is 1, the object data 2 stored in the work data storage unit 208
000 (step 2308). It is determined whether there is media address information (408, 410, 412 or 414 as shown in FIG. 4) in the object data 2000. If there is no media address, it is determined whether or not the name ID information 402 exists in the object data 2000 (step 2312). If there is no name ID information 402, it is determined whether or not there is name information 404 in the object data 2000. If there is no media address (408, 410, 412 or 414), name ID information 402, or name information 404, the process ends (step 2326).

Media address information, name ID information 40
2. If any of the name information 404 exists, the local address file 2 is set using any of the existing information as a key.
10 is searched (step 2316). The media address information corresponding to the key is stored in the local address file 21.
0 is stored (step 21).
38). If it is stored, all media address information corresponding to the key is obtained and stored in the work data storage unit 214 shown in FIG. 2 in association with the object data 2000 (step 2324).

If there is no media address information, the address file 210 on the network server 150 is searched (step 2320), and it is determined whether the media address information corresponding to the key is stored (step 2322). If the media address information is stored, the media address information corresponding to the key is obtained and stored in the work data storage unit 214 shown in FIG. 2 in association with the object data 2000 (step 23).
24). If the media address information has not been stored, the process ends (step 2326).

Next, the object creator window display processing will be described. FIG. 27 shows a display processing unit 200.
Shows a processing flowchart showing the operation of displaying the object creator window. In FIG. 27, the work data storage unit 20 corresponding to the designated object
8 to determine whether there is media address information,
If the media address information is stored, step 2
At 406, an object creator window is displayed (step 2406). If the media address information is not stored, a message to that effect is displayed and the processing is terminated (step 2408).

The display method can be displayed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the media connection processing can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the creator of the object in the general document on the displayed collaborative work result file can be displayed. It is possible to communicate with any media through a simple operation such as pressing.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the object in the general document described in the second embodiment is further accepted by a user operation,
The contact history indicating the history of communication with the creator of the object, personal information including the work history and career of the creator of the object, and the object related to the object are displayed. Also, a search operation is accepted, and a window showing the creator of the object is displayed near the object that matches the attribute of the specified object. FIGS. 28 to 33 show screen examples, and FIGS. 34 and 35 show data formats of files storing contact history and personal information. In addition, FIGS.
3 shows a processing flowchart in the embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of the operation process according to the third embodiment. When an operation instruction 2510 relating to the creator is received for the graphic object 2704 as shown in FIG. 28, the object management unit 208 shifts to the processing shown in FIG. 36 and displays a screen as shown in FIG. Is monitored (step 3402). FIG. 29 shows an example of an operation screen for a graphic object 2704 included in a general document. In the present embodiment, as operations related to the creator, as shown in FIG. 29, “contact history” indicating a history of communication with the creator of the object, and “history of the creator of the object” are displayed. There are "biography", "related object" for displaying an object related to the object, and "search" for searching for an object matching a search key. For example, the object management unit 208 stores the user's mouse 10
When a designation operation by a pointing device such as 6 is received, a window 3000 displaying the name of the object creator is displayed near the object 2704. In this example, the creator of the object 2704 is
"Tanaka Project". The object management unit 208
When the user's designation operation on window 3000 is continuously received, window 3002 for presenting an operation menu for object 2704 is displayed. In this example, a "contact history ..." menu that provides a function of displaying a history of electronic communication (e-mail, fax, electronic conference, etc.) with the object creator, a function of displaying the history of the object creator And a "Related Objects ..." menu that provides the ability to display objects related to object 2704 included in this document. Object management unit 2
08 receives the user's designation operation for the menu, and provides the above-described function according to the menu.

In FIG. 36, the object management unit 20
8 judges whether the user's designation operation is "contact history" (step 3404). "Contact History"
If so, a contact history acquisition process shown in FIG. 37, which will be described later, is performed (step 3412).

The contact history acquisition processing in step 3412 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
5 shows a detailed processing flowchart of a contact history acquisition processing 3412 in FIG. The contact history is managed for each predetermined task.
The contact history data corresponding to the object creator is stored as shown in (1), and the communication time, the communication medium, and the comment are stored as the contact history data every time communication is performed. FIG. 34 shows a storage format of the contact history data 3200 stored in the secondary storage device 216. The time data area 3002 stores the time data at which the contact was made. The means data area 3204 is
Data indicating the communication medium of the communication means at the time of contact is stored. Comment data area 320
Reference numeral 6 stores memorandum data at the time of contact.

In FIG. 37, the object management unit 20
8 inquires of the tasks as to whether or not to hold contact history data corresponding to the object creator in all tasks (step 3502). As a result of the inquiry, it is determined whether the task name holding the contact history data corresponding to the object creator has been obtained (step 3504). If acquired, the task is inquired of the contact history (step 3506). If the task name cannot be obtained, the process ends (step 351).
2). After inquiring about the contact history, it is determined whether the contact history data has been obtained (step 3508). If the contact history data cannot be obtained, the process ends (step 3512). If the contact history data has been obtained, a contact history window as shown in FIG. 30 is displayed (step 351).
2). FIG. 30 illustrates an example of a screen on which the object management unit 208 that has received a “contact history...” Menu designation operation from the user for the graphic object 2704 displays the execution result. In FIG. 30, a window 3100 is a window that displays a contact history with Tanaka No. Planning, the creator of the graphic object 2704. The display area 3104 is an area for displaying a list of contact histories. In this example, each line of the list has fields of time, means, and comment, and displays the time of contact, the communication means, and the memorandum of the user at the time of contact, respectively. Button 3102 is displayed in window 31
A function to hide 00 is provided.

On the other hand, in FIG. 36, if the operation specified by the user is not “contact history”, it is determined whether the operation is a “history” acquisition operation of the object creator (step 3).
406). If it is a "history" acquisition command, "history" acquisition processing is performed (step 3414). FIG. 35 shows the history data 3 of the object creator stored in the secondary storage device 216.
FIG. The history data 3300 is registered in advance for each creator. In FIG. 35, a period data area 3302 stores period data during which the object creator has been engaged in a certain job. The job data area 3304 stores data representing the job in which the object creator was engaged. The comment data area 3306 stores memorandum data at the time of contact.
In the “history” acquisition process, history data 3300 corresponding to the object creator as shown in FIG. 35 is acquired and displayed.

On the other hand, in FIG. 36, if the command is not a “history” acquisition command, it is determined whether the command is an instruction to acquire an object related to the graphic object 2704 (step 3408). If the command is a "related object" acquisition command, a process of acquiring a related object included in the general document is performed (step 3416). In this case, as the related object, an object created by the same creator as the creator of the designated object is acquired as a related object, and is displayed as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a related object may be registered in advance for each object data, and an object related to the specified object may be acquired and displayed. Alternatively, an object having matching data for each object data may be searched and set as a related object. As described above, it is sufficient to define the related object in advance.

On the other hand, in FIG. 36, if the user's designation operation is not a “related object” acquisition instruction,
It is determined whether the command is an instruction (step 3402).
If it is a "search" command, a search process is performed. "Search"
If not, the process ends (step 3420). The search processing in step 3410 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 38 shows a detailed processing flowchart of the search processing. If the command is a "search" command, the object management unit 208 displays a search term input window as shown in a window 2710 shown in FIG. 32 (step 360).
2). FIG. 32 shows an example of a screen displayed by the system when the user searches for an object included in a general document. In FIG. 32, a window 2710 is a window for the user to input a search word. The text input field 2712 is an area for receiving a search term input from the user and displaying the search term. Button 27
Reference numeral 14 denotes an area for providing a function of executing a search based on a search word obtained from a user. Upon receiving a designation operation using a pointing device such as the mouse 106, the object management unit 208 executes a search. Button 2
An area 716 provides a function of hiding the window 2710.

In FIG. 38, next, a search word from the user is obtained (step 3604), and it is determined whether or not the search is to be executed (step 3606). Figure 3
A window indicating the state of the search, such as the window 2800 of No. 3, is displayed (step 3608). FIG.
Is an example of a screen displayed by the system when the object management unit 208 is searching for an object in a general document having an attribute that matches the search term obtained from the user.
Window 2800 is a window indicating that a search is being performed. The text 2802 indicates the operation state of the object management unit 208. A button 2804 is an area that provides a function of canceling a search that is being performed. Mouse 10
Upon receiving a designation operation using a pointing device such as No. 6, the object management unit 208 stops the search.

If it is determined in step 3606 that the search is not to be executed (in the case of cancellation), the process ends (step 3614). It is determined whether a related object including object data matching the search term has been acquired (step 3610). When the related object is obtained, it indicates that the object is the related object. For example, as shown in FIG. 31, when the creator's name “Tanaka” is specified as a search term, the creator of the related object may be displayed near the related object (step). 3612). FIG.
1 shows an example of a screen on which the object management unit 208 displays a result of searching for an object in a general document having an attribute matching the search word acquired from the user. The object management unit 208 stores a text object 2702 and a graphic object 2704 that match the search.
, Windows 2900 and 2902 describing the name of the object creator are displayed. On the other hand, if the related object cannot be obtained, the process ends (step 3).
614).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the creator of arbitrary drawing information on the displayed collaborative work result file or the creator of an object in a general document can be depressed by pressing a button or the like. It is possible to communicate with any media through simple operations. Further, by accepting a user operation on an object in a general document, a contact history with the creator of the object,
It is possible to display biographies and related objects. In addition, a search operation is accepted, and a window showing the creator of the object can be displayed near the object that matches the attribute of the specified object.

[0078]

According to the present invention, the creator of the drawing information in the displayed collaborative work result file and the creator of the object in the general document can be displayed.
It is possible to make contact using any means of communication media such as AX, electronic mail, and electronic conference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a collaborative work support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of software operating on the computer system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a format of an address file used to specify a contact such as a telephone or an e-mail of a creator of drawing information in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen showing a creator display instruction button and a creator contact instruction button in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when a drawing information creator is displayed when certain drawing information is selected on a collaborative work result file including drawing information in the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is another example of a screen when an area indicating a creator of drawing information is displayed when certain drawing information is selected on the collaborative work result file including the drawing information in the first embodiment; FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of selecting a certain piece of drawing information on a collaborative work result file including drawing information in the first embodiment;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen showing that an electronic mail is selected as a communication means when a drawing information creator is displayed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displaying an e-mail creation window in a case where a creator of drawing information is contacted by e-mail in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a telephone call window in a case where a creator of drawing information is contacted by telephone in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displaying an electronic conference connection call window when a creator of drawing information is contacted by an electronic conference in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen showing that a conference has been established with a partner after attempting to contact a creator of drawing information by electronic conference in the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when a list of creators of all drawing information in a collaborative work result file is displayed in the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen when a creator of a certain drawing information is contacted by e-mail in a state where a list of all the creators of the drawing information in the collaborative work result file is displayed in the first embodiment FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen in the case where certain drawing information in the collaborative work result file is selected and various media contacts of the creator cannot be specified in the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when a window representing various information such as the name, affiliation, and telephone number of a creator of drawing information is displayed in the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure in drawing information in the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a process performed when adding drawing information using the collaborative work support system in the first embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a process performed when certain drawing information in a collaborative work result file is selected in the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of processing when contacting a creator of drawing information in the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart in the case where a creator of drawing information is connected by an electronic conference in the first embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure of an object included in a general document in the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when a user specifies a text object in a general document in the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when a user specifies an image object in a general document in the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a process performed when an object in a general document is specified in the second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing an operation of storing object data in a general document in the second embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of acquiring address information of a creator of an object in a general document according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a process for displaying a creator window of an object in a general document according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen of operation buttons related to a creator for a text object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when the user specifies an operation related to a creator for a text object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a contact history with a creator of an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen when displaying a related object related to an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a window display for searching for an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen indicating that an object in a general document is being searched in the third embodiment.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing a storage format of contact history data with a creator of an object in a general document according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a storage format of history data of a creator of an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a processing flowchart in the case where a user specifies an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a processing flowchart in a case where a contact history with a creator of an object in a general document is acquired in the third embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a processing flowchart for searching for an object in a general document in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: Computer system, 102: Communication network,
104: keyboard, 106: mouse, 108: keyboard controller, 110: graphics board, 1
12 ... display, 114 ... system bus, 116 ...
CPU, 118 communication interface, 120 telephone, 122 memory, 124 disk controller,
126: secondary storage device, 150: address server computer, 200: display processing unit, 202: processing management unit, 204
... user input processing unit, 206 ... media control unit, 208
... Object management unit, 210 ... Address file, 2
12 Network processing unit, 214 Work data storage unit, 216 Address server unit, 300 Joint work result display window, 306 Drawing information creator display area, 4
00: address file, 600: media selection area.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tohru Hoshi 1099 Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside System Development Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Sadao Oki 5030 Totsukacho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Software Development Division

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A collaborative work support system comprising a plurality of computers connected to a network, each of the plurality of computers sharing a shared area for creating display information, wherein each of the plurality of computers Display means for displaying the identification information of the creator of the display information in association with the display information; and contact information of the creator in at least one type of communication medium in association with the identification information of the creator. Storage means for storing information; receiving means for receiving, from a user, an instruction for contacting the creator corresponding to the display information; when the instruction is received by the receiving means,
With reference to the storage unit, contact information of the creator in the communication medium is acquired, and the computer of the user and the contact information of the creator are connected via the communication medium according to the contact information. A collaborative work support system comprising connection means. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a designation unit that receives designation of any one of the plurality of communication media when there are a plurality of the communication media. A collaborative work support system, wherein the connection is made with contact information corresponding to the communication medium in accordance with the specification of the received communication medium. 3. The first computer according to claim 1, further comprising contact storage means for storing contact information of the creator in at least one type of communication medium in correspondence with the identification information of the creator. Further comprising: a means for acquiring the creator's contact information from the first computer when the creator's contact information is not stored in the storage means of the computer. A collaborative work support system further comprising: 4. The collaborative work support system according to claim 1, wherein said display means further displays contact information of said creator. 5. The collaborative work support system according to claim 1, wherein said display means further displays a list of creator identification information in said shared area. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means performs a predetermined display so as to indicate the failure when the connection means cannot obtain the contact information of the creator. And a collaborative work support system. 7. The collaborative work support system according to claim 1, wherein the display information is one of display information in the shared area and an object in an area other than the shared area. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: holding means for holding, for each creator, history information indicating a history of connection of the creator to the contact, and wherein the receiving means holds the history information in the holding means. Receiving an instruction to display history information of the connection to the contact information of the creator corresponding to the display information, the display unit, when the instruction is received by the receiving unit, A collaborative work support system, further comprising: displaying history information of the connection to the contact information of the creator corresponding to the display information. 9. The display information according to claim 1, further comprising: holding means for holding, for each creator, personal information predetermined by the creator, wherein the receiving means is held by the holding means. Further receiving an instruction to display the creator's personal information corresponding to the creator, wherein the display means, when the receiving means receives the instruction, holding the instruction corresponding to the display information, A collaborative work support system, further comprising displaying personal information of a person. 10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein said receiving means further receives an instruction to display display information related to said display information, and said display means displays said instruction when said receiving means receives said instruction. A collaborative work support system characterized by further displaying display information related to the information. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said receiving means further receives a search word for searching for said display information, said display means comprising: A collaborative work support system characterized by further displaying a creator of display information. 12. A computer according to claim 1, wherein: 13. A computer having a plurality of computers connected to a network, wherein each of the plurality of computers has a shared area for creating display information, and a shared area corresponding to identification information of a creator of the display information. A storage means for storing contact information of the creator in at least one type of communication medium, a display information creator contact method for causing a collaborative work support system to execute the following steps, Displaying the identification information of the creator of the display information in association with the display information; receiving an instruction from the user to contact the creator corresponding to the display information; and the creator in the communication medium. Acquiring the contact information of the user, and according to the acquired contact information, the computer of the user and the creation of the computer via the communication medium. Connecting a contact of a display information creator. 14. A storage medium for storing a program for implementing the steps of claim 13 by a computer. 15. A collaborative work support system comprising a plurality of computers connected to a network, each of said plurality of computers sharing a shared area for creating display information, wherein each of said plurality of computers Display means for displaying the identification information of the creator of the display information in association with the display information, and history information indicating the history of connection of the creator to the contact information,
Holding means for holding for each creator, and accepting means for further accepting an instruction to display history information of connection to a contact of the creator corresponding to the display information, which is held in the holding means. The display unit displays, when the receiving unit receives the instruction, history information of the connection to the contact information of the creator corresponding to the display information, the history information being held in the holding unit. Features a collaborative work support system.