JPH10275132A - Data processor and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability and operation efficiency of a data processor as a portable information terminal by generating a menu screen with menu information downloaded from a host device and providing the same operation environment with the host device, and automating the downloading of menu information and an application program from a store device. SOLUTION: A CPU 2 connects to the host PC 20 through a communication device 8 to send a request instruction for downloading all menu information, download all the information needed for menu display from the host PC 20, and download and store the application file corresponding to its application icons in a small-capacity storage device 6. Further, the CPU generates and displays a menu screen including the application icons, data file icons, etc., on a display device 5, and automatically perform a series of processes for actuating the application.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus for accessing a host device connected via a communication line to download various files and execute data processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers have become an indispensable tool for promoting computerization within a company, and one personal computer per employee is becoming popular. Further, in a company, information obtained from distributed work using personal computers of each employee is collected and shared, so that a LAN (Local Area Network) is used as a computer network for improving work efficiency.
rk) is also spreading rapidly.

[0003] However, with the computerization in the company, the difference in the adaptability of each employee handling the personal computer to the personal computer and the lack of utilization of the software introduced in the personal computer are not necessarily required. It is also true that it is difficult to obtain the target work environment and work efficiency. This is because, in a LAN constructed using a personal computer, the personal computer is not a terminal optimized for a corporate information system, so that each employee has some knowledge of the personal computer and a sense of operation for the software. This is because it is required, and these knowledges and operation senses are accompanied by individual differences.

Further, when a large number of personal computers are introduced and a LAN is constructed, the burden on the system administrator increases with the upgrade of the software.
There is a problem that an erroneous operation by an operator is likely to occur with the upgrade of software.

Therefore, recently, as a terminal for constructing an information network such as a LAN in a company, a network computer having a limited processing function for the purpose of reducing the processing load on the terminal and facilitating maintenance has been recently used. Hereinafter, NC) has been proposed. The information network (for example, in a LAN) using the NC has a communication function of accessing an in-company server via a dedicated line or accessing a server of a communication service company via a public line. It has a processing function of downloading various software programs stored in the server via each communication line to provide various processing environments, and storing and managing processing results processed by the NC on the server side.

As described above, in the NC, in addition to the function as a client in the conventional client-server type information processing system, it is relatively necessary to download and process various application programs collectively managed by the server as necessary. In order to provide a simple data processing function, the goal is to realize an NC hardware configuration at a lower cost than a conventional personal computer. Also, in the computerized network using the NC, the server side manages and manages the application programs collectively on the server side, and the NC side does not need to manage and maintain the application programs, thereby reducing the system cost of the computerized network. It is intended for planning.

[0007] Further, portable information terminals mainly for processing personal information, which have a communication function capable of accessing a corporate LAN and a public network service, have become widespread. (Personal Dig
There is something called ital Assistants). This P
In DA, personal activities are mainly performed by accessing a server in a company from a destination via a dedicated line, or accessing a server of a communication service company through a public line to exchange information with the server. The purpose is to perform data processing and data storage that assists the user.

[0008] However, recently, in PDA, communication functions and data processing functions have been enhanced, and it has become possible to cope with processing of application programs which can be conventionally handled only by personal computers. ing. For this reason, the PDA user can also realize a data processing function such as the NC described above in which a PDA is connected to a telephone line on the go to access a server, and an application program is downloaded from the server to perform data processing. Is coming.

[0009]

However, in such a conventional NC which is conceived as a dedicated terminal for an information network, an NC is accessed as needed, and an application program is downloaded from the server to simplify the operation. However, a series of communication operations when downloading an application program from this server is a burden on the user, and communication operations to the server must be performed when starting the application. Because of the intervention, the startup operation when using the application program is complicated,
There was a problem that the operability of the user could be impaired.

In the above-mentioned highly functional PDA, NC
The advantage is that the data processing function similar to that of the application program can be used on the go.However, a series of communication operations when downloading the application program is a burden on the user, which complicates the startup operation when using the application program. Operability is impaired.

An object of the present invention is to download a required file from a host device which is communicatively connected via a communication line, and to immediately perform processing on the downloaded file.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The predetermined host device is a data processing device that is communicatively connected via a communication line. The storage device stores various files, and a plurality of instruction information for individually specifying a plurality of files is displayed on a display screen. Display control means, a selection means for arbitrarily selecting desired instruction information from the plurality of pieces of instruction information displayed on the display screen, and a file corresponding to the selected instruction information stored in the storage means. Determining means for determining whether or not the file is stored; and when the corresponding file is determined not to be stored, the file is downloaded from the host device to the storage means via the communication line. Storage means for storing, and processing means for executing processing based on the downloaded file corresponding to the instruction information. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing device which is communicatively connected to a predetermined host device via a communication line, and transmits the information regarding various files stored in the host device. Information requesting means for requesting the host device communicatively connected via a line,
Information acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of file instruction information transmitted from the host device via the communication line in response to the information request, and display control of a plurality of instruction information acquired by the information acquisition means on a display screen Display control means, a selection means for arbitrarily selecting desired instruction information from among the plurality of instruction information, and a file corresponding to the instruction information selected by the selection means from the host device via the communication line. Storage control means for downloading and storing the data in a predetermined storage means.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a network-compatible terminal to which a data processing device and a storage medium of the present invention are applied.

First, the configuration will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information network system using a network-compatible terminal (hereinafter referred to as a PDA) 1 according to the present embodiment.

In the information network system shown in FIG. 1, an outgoing PDA 1 and a host PC installed at home
(Personal computer) 20 is connected via a communication line N. The PDA 1 accesses the host PC 20 via the communication line N, downloads an operation environment such as icon information of an application file set in the host PC 20, sets the same operation environment as the host PC 20 on the PDA 1, The application can be selected on the operating environment.

The host PC 20 stores operation environment information such as icon information of application files and various application files in the large-capacity storage device 26 in advance.
The operation environment information and the application file are transmitted to the PDA 1 in response to a request from the PDA 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part inside the PDA 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, PDA1 is a CPU.
2, an input device 3, a RAM 4, a display device 5, a small-capacity storage device 6, a storage medium 7, and a communication device 8. Each part except the storage medium 7 is connected to a bus 9.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2
Is an OS (Oper) stored in the small-capacity storage device 6 in advance.
After performing initial setting and basic environment setting in the PDA 1 by a program, a connection to the host PC 20 via the communication line N is performed and a PDA process described later is executed. By sending a download request command to download all the information necessary for menu display from the host PC 20, download an application file corresponding to the application icon and store it in the small-capacity storage device 6, and then store the application icon and data A menu screen including file icons and the like is created and displayed on the display device 5, and a series of processes for starting an application is automatically executed.

Further, the CPU 2 executes a normal process to be described later, and executes the host PC 2 by the communication device 8 in the PDA process.
A menu screen is displayed on the display device 5 based on all menu information downloaded from the storage device 6 and stored in the small-capacity storage device 6, and an application file or data file designated from the menu screen is transmitted to the communication device 8.
After downloading from the host PC 20 and storing it in the small-capacity storage device 6, the application file is started. The CPU 2 stores various instructions or data input from the input device 3 in the RAM 4 and performs various processes according to the application files or data files stored in the small-capacity storage device 6 according to the input instructions and input data. The processing is executed, and the processing result is displayed on the display device 5 and transferred to the host PC 20 via the communication line N for storage.

The input device 3 includes a cursor key, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and outputs a pressing signal of the pressed key to the CPU 2. RAM (Random Accesss Mem
ory) 4 forms a memory area for temporarily storing programs and data processed by the CPU 2. The display device 5 includes a liquid crystal display panel or the like,
Display data input from the
A menu screen or the like set at the time of the PDA processing executed by the PU 2 is displayed.

The small-capacity storage device 6 has, for example, a storage medium 7 having a storage capacity of about 300 MB (megabyte) as a usable area for application files and data files except for an area used by an OS program. Only the OS program is stored, and application files and data files downloaded from the host PC 20 by the PDA processing of the CPU 2 are stored. The storage medium 7 is formed of a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and is fixedly provided in the small-capacity storage device 6 or is detachably mounted.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 7 may be configured to be received from another device other than the host PC 20 connected via the communication line N by the communication device 8 and stored. Further, a storage device having the above storage medium is provided on the other device side connected via the communication line N, and the program stored in the storage medium 7
The data may be used via a communication line.

The communication device 8 is provided with a connector which can be detachably connected to the communication line N. The communication device 8 communicates with the host PC 20 in accordance with various communication commands instructed by the CPU 2 during the above-described normal processing or PDA processing. A communication process for downloading information, application files, data files, and the like is executed.

Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part configuration inside the host PC 20 of FIG. In FIG. 3, the host PC 20 includes a CPU 21, an input device 22,
An M23, a display device 24, a printing device 25, a large-capacity storage device 26, a storage medium 27, and a communication device 28 are provided, and each part except the storage medium 27 is connected to a bus 29.

The CPU 21 controls the PDA by the communication device 28.
In order to operate the host PC 20 as the host PC in response to the various requests received from the PDA1, the host PC 20 executes the host PC processing described later and waits for the reception of the processing request from the PDA1, and for example, receives the menu information download request from the PDA1 Then, all the menu information stored in the large-capacity storage device 26 is read and transmitted to the PDA 1, and when a request for downloading the application file is received, the application file stored in the large-capacity storage device 26 is read and the PDA 1 is read. When a file data download request is received, file data stored in the mass storage device 26 is read and transmitted to the PDA 1.

When operating the host PC 20 as a personal computer, the CPU 21 stores an OS program similar to that stored in the PDA 1 stored in the mass storage device 26 and various application files corresponding to the system. A designated application file is stored in a program storage area (not shown) in the RAM 23, various instructions or data input from the input device 22 is stored in the RAM 23, and a large-capacity storage is performed in accordance with the input instructions and the input data. Various processes are executed in accordance with the application files stored in the device 26, and the processing results are stored in the RAM 23 and displayed on the display device 24. Then, the processing result stored in the RAM 23 is stored in a storage destination in the large-capacity storage device 26 that is instructed to be input from the input device 22.

The input device 22 includes a cursor key, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and outputs a press signal of the pressed key to the CPU 21. The RAM 23 is a CPU 2
1 to form a memory area for temporarily storing programs and data to be processed. The display device 24 is a CRT
(Cathode Ray Tube) and the like, displaying display data inputted from the CPU 21 and displaying the CP
A menu screen processed in host PC processing executed by U21, processing contents by various application files, and the like are displayed. The printing device 25 includes a CPU 21
The print data input from is printed out on a predetermined print sheet.

The mass storage device 26 has, for example, a storage medium 27 having a storage capacity of about 3 GB (gigabytes) capable of storing all application files and data files set by the user except for the area used by the OS program. The storage medium 27 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. The storage medium 27 is fixedly provided on the mass storage device 26 or is detachably mounted. The storage medium 27 includes the system program, various application files corresponding to the system, and a communication processing program. , A communication state storage processing program, a timer processing program, and data processed by each processing program.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 27 may be configured to be received and stored from another device connected via a communication line or the like. A storage device provided with the above storage medium may be provided on the other connected device side, and the program and data stored in the storage medium 27 may be used via a communication line.

The communication device 28 is provided with a connector which can be detachably connected to the communication line N, and communicates menu information with the PDA 1 in response to various requests instructed by the PDA 1 in the above-described normal processing or host PC processing. And a communication process for downloading an application file, a data file, and the like.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, the PDA process and the normal process executed by the CPU 2 of the PDA 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

In the initial stage before the PDA 1 starts accessing the host PC 20, only the OS program is stored in the small-capacity storage device 6, and in this state, the PD shown in FIG.
When the process A is started, first, an initial setting process of each unit in the PDA 1 is performed based on the OS program (Step S).
1).

Next, the communication device 8 executes a predetermined communication protocol to connect the communication line N with the host PC 20 (step S2), and sends a menu download command to the host PC 20 (step S3). It is determined whether there is a response from the host PC 20 to this menu download command (step S4). That is, it is determined whether or not all the menu information for displaying the menu screen set on the host PC 20 on the PDA 1 has been received.

In response to the menu download command, the host PC 20 retrieves and extracts all application files stored in the host PC 20 and the file names of all data files linked to the respective applications. The names of all the extracted files, information on the hierarchical structure of each file (directory information), display screen settings (background, wallpaper, screen saver, etc.) and icon settings (displayed as icons in each application file) The setting information of the application icon displayed on the screen is transferred to the PDA 1 together with the answer.

When the PDA 1 confirms that all the menu information including the file names and the file hierarchical structure information and the display screen / icon setting contents transferred together with the answer from the host PC 20 has been received, the PDA 1 deletes all the menu information. While being stored in the capacity storage device 6 (step S
5) A display screen is created based on the display mask setting contents and the icon setting contents and displayed on the display device 5 (steps S6 and S7). With respect to the application displayed as an icon on the displayed display screen, a communication device 8 sends an instruction to download the application file corresponding to the icon to the host PC 20 to enable the application to be started immediately (step S8). ). In response to this application file download command, the download of the application file transferred from the host PC 20 is started (step S9), and when the end of the download of all the application files is confirmed (step S10), the downloaded application file is stored in a small capacity. After storing in the storage device 6, the communication line N connected to the host PC 20 is cut off by the communication device 8 (step S11).

After the above-described display screen setting processing and icon file application file download processing have been completed, the processing shifts to normal processing after step S12, and various instructions from the user can be input from the input device 3 of the PDA 1. State. At this time, if there is a menu (application menu or data file menu) display instruction (step S13), a menu screen is displayed according to the hierarchical structure of each corresponding file name (steps S14 and S15).

When a desired menu item in the displayed application menu screen is selected (step S16), if the corresponding application file is stored in the small-capacity storage device 6 (step S1).
7), the process proceeds to step S24 to read out the application, expand it in the RAM 4, immediately start up, and execute the application process (step S25).

If the corresponding application file is not stored in the small-capacity storage device 6, the communication line N is connected to the host PC 20 by the communication device 8 (step S18). Is downloaded (step S1).
9) Further, recently used data files (for example, about three files) among the data files corresponding to the application are also downloaded (step S20), and the downloaded application files and data files are stored in the small-capacity storage device 6. Thereafter, the communication line N connected to the host PC 20 is cut off by the communication device 8 (step S21).

By storing the application file corresponding to the icon in the small-capacity storage device 6, an icon for the application is created (step S2).
2) Then, the created icon is newly displayed in the menu screen (step S23). Then, the designated application is activated (step S24), and the process proceeds to application processing (step S25). The newly created or updated file data processed by the application processing is stored in a position of a desired hierarchical structure in the small-capacity storage device 6 (step S26).
The file data and the positional information of the hierarchical structure are transferred to the host PC 20, the contents stored on the host PC 20 are also updated (step S27), and the present process ends.

By transferring the file data processed by the application processing to the host PC 20 in this manner, the file environment between the PDA 1 and the host PC 20 can be made the same.

If the data file menu item is selected from the menu items in the menu screen in step S16, it is determined whether or not the corresponding data file is stored in the small-capacity storage device 6 (step S16). S28). If the corresponding data file is stored, it is determined whether or not the application file corresponding to the data file is stored in the small-capacity storage device 6 (step S30), and the corresponding application file is stored. Then, the corresponding application file is started (step S32), and the corresponding data file is opened (step S33).
Immediately enter application processing.

If the corresponding data file is not stored in step S28, the communication line N is connected to the host PC 20 by the communication device 8, and the corresponding data file is downloaded from the host PC 20 (step S29). . If the corresponding application file is not stored in step S30, the communication line N is connected to the host PC 20 by the communication device 8, and the corresponding application file is downloaded from the host PC 20 (step S3).
1). Then, after storing these downloaded data files and application files in the small-capacity storage device 6, the communication device 8 cuts off the communication line N connected to the host PC 20, and starts the downloaded application. (Step S32), the downloaded data file is opened (Step S33), and the file is immediately entered into the application process.

Next, the process proceeds to step S25, where the newly created or updated file data processed by the application process is stored in a desired hierarchical structure position in the small-capacity storage device 6 (step S2).
6) The file data and the position information of the hierarchical structure are transferred to the host PC 20, the contents stored in the host PC 20 are also updated (step S27), and the process ends.

Next, host PC processing executed by the CPU 21 of the host PC 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the CPU 21 is a host PC 2
0 starts processing as a host PC, the communication device 2
8, it is determined whether various requests have been received from the PDA 1 (step P1). If no requests have been received from the PDA 1, it is determined whether a PC operation has been performed from the input device 22 (step P2). If there is no PC operation, the process returns to step P1, and if there is a PC operation, the process proceeds to PC-compatible processing.

In step P1, a request command from the PDA 1 is received, and if the content of the request command is a "menu download request command", all the application files stored in the mass storage device 26 and each Search and extract the file names of all data files that are linked to the application (step P3), all the extracted file names, information on the hierarchical structure of each file (directory information), and display screen settings (Setting contents of background, wallpaper, screen saver, etc.) and icon setting contents (setting information of application icons displayed on the display screen as icons of each application file) are transmitted to PDA1 together with the answer (step P4). , P5), returning to the processing of step P1 .

In step P1, a request command is received from the PDA 1, and if the content of the request command is an "application download request command", the designated application file is searched and extracted (step P6). Then, the extracted application file is transmitted to the PDA 1 (Step P7), and Step P1
Return to the processing of.

In step P1, a request command is received from the PDA 1, and if the content of the request command is a "data file download request command", the designated data file is searched and extracted (step P1).
8) The extracted data file is transmitted to PDA1 (Step P9), and the process returns to Step P1.

In step P1, if a request command is received from the PDA 1 and the content of the request command is a "file storage request command", the position information of the hierarchical structure for storing the data file together with the data file is transmitted from the PDA 1. Upon receiving (step P10), the contents of the data file stored in the corresponding hierarchical structure position in the mass storage device 26 are updated according to the position information (step P1).
1), the process returns to Step P1.

As described above, in the PDA 1 of the present embodiment, after performing the initial setting and the basic environment setting in the PDA 1 by the OS program, the PDA 1 is connected to the host PC 20 via the communication line N to perform the PDA processing. Execute and host PC2
0, a download request command for all menu information is sent to download all the information necessary for menu display from the host PC 20, and an application file corresponding to the application icon is downloaded and stored in the small capacity storage device 6. After that, a menu screen including the application icon, the data file icon, and the like is set and displayed on the display device 5, and a series of processes for enabling the activation of the application are automatically executed. Stores application files and data files on the host PC
The communication operation for downloading from the server 20 can be omitted.

FIG. 7 shows a display screen of the host PC 20, and FIG. 7A shows a state where four icons arbitrarily set by the operator are displayed on the display screen. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a state in which a menu (application menu or data file menu) of a plurality of files is displayed on the display screen of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 shows a display screen of the PDA 1. FIG. 8A shows a display state when various information for reproducing the state of the host PC 20 is received by starting the PDA processing. 8 (B) is the same as FIG. 8 (A).
Showing a display state after receiving various kinds of information in FIG. 8, FIG.
FIG. 8C shows a state in which a menu (application menu or data file menu) of a plurality of files is displayed on the display screen of FIG. 8B, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which an icon is newly generated and displayed after a file to be selected is selected.

As described above, in the PDA 1, the host PC
By creating a menu screen using the menu information downloaded from the PC 20, the same work environment as that of the host PC 20 can be reproduced on the PDA 1, and the user can operate application files and data files in the same work environment as at home even when away from home. Work can be performed, and work efficiency on the go can be improved.

Also, since the icon of the file menu is displayed on the menu screen created by the PDA 1 with the same file name as that set on the menu screen of the host PC 20, the same operation as that of the host PC 20 is performed on the PDA 1. You can perform file operations in the environment. Further, the menu screen created on the PDA 1 includes the host P
Since the same screen setting contents or icon setting contents as those set on the menu screen of C20 are displayed,
In DA1, the icon operation can be performed in the same operation environment as the host PC 20.

In the PDA 1, if the application selected on the menu screen is stored in its own small-capacity storage device 6, the process of downloading the application file is omitted and the process immediately shifts to the application activation process. In addition, unnecessary download processing can be avoided, and the processing efficiency of the PDA 1 can be improved.

Further, in the PDA 1, if the application file corresponding to the application icon selected on the menu screen is not stored in its own small-capacity storage device 6, the host PC 20 is automatically accessed to access the corresponding application file. Since the download process is performed and the process shifts to the application start process, the user can also omit the operation of downloading the unregistered application file from the host PC 20 in the start process when the icon-compatible application is selected. .

Further, in the process of downloading the application file corresponding to the icon, the data file corresponding to the application is also downloaded, and after the application is started, the process of opening the data file is immediately performed.
The user can immediately process the data file immediately after the application corresponding to the downloaded icon is started, and the data processing efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, since the application corresponding to the icon downloaded from the host PC 20 is iconified and displayed in the menu screen, the user can easily identify the application downloaded from the host PC 20.

In the PDA 1, when the data file menu is selected on the displayed menu screen, the host PC accesses the host PC to download the corresponding data file, and also downloads the application file linked to the data file. Since the processing is automatically performed, the download operation of the data file not stored in the PDA 1 and the download operation of the corresponding application can be omitted, and the operability for the data file processing can be improved.

Further, after the data file and the application file are downloaded, the application is started and the data file is opened immediately, so that the operability until the application processing for the downloaded data file is started can be improved. it can.

Further, if the data file selected on the menu screen and the application file to be linked are stored in its own small-capacity storage device 6,
Since the download processing is omitted, unnecessary download processing can be avoided and the processing efficiency of the PDA 1 can be improved.

The contents of the data file newly created or updated by the application processing performed on the PDA 1 are transmitted to the host PC 20 together with the hierarchical structure position information of the storage destination on the small-capacity storage device 6 in the PDA 1. Since the process of updating the storage content at the same hierarchical structure position in the mass storage device 26 in the host PC 20 is automatically performed, the user transmits an updated data file to the host PC 20 and performs an operation for updating. Can be omitted, and work efficiency in application processing can be improved.

[0067]

According to the first or twelfth aspect of the present invention, when desired instruction information is selected from a plurality of instruction information displayed on the display screen, a file corresponding to the instruction information is selected. If the file is not stored in the main unit in advance, the file corresponding to the instruction information is automatically downloaded from the host device connected for communication via the communication line. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the downloaded application file is immediately activated by the selection of the instruction information, the processing for the file can be performed immediately.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the application file is downloaded, the predetermined data file corresponding to the application file is automatically downloaded, so that the continuation of the data file processing based on the application is performed. Can be done immediately.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the downloaded data file is immediately opened by the selection of the instruction information, so that the processing for the file can be performed immediately.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when an application corresponding to the data file does not exist when the data file is downloaded, the application file of the application is automatically downloaded. Data processing based on a file can be performed immediately.

According to the present invention, when there is a file downloaded from the host device, the existence of the file can be confirmed at a glance.

According to the seventh or thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of pieces of instruction information relating to various files stored in the host device are received from the host device via the communication line and displayed. The file that can be downloaded from the host device can be confirmed by the instruction information displayed on the display screen, and the file corresponding to the desired instruction information can be immediately downloaded.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a specific file is automatically downloaded at the time of obtaining the instruction information without the instruction of the operator, so that the processing for the downloaded file is performed immediately. Can be.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the display state almost the same as the display state in the host device is automatically reproduced and displayed, so that the user can work without feeling uncomfortable with the working environment in the host device. be able to.

According to the tenth or fourteenth aspect, when a file to be downloaded is specified and downloaded from the host device, if there is a related file, the related file is automatically downloaded. Thus, not only the target file but also the related file can be automatically obtained.

According to the eleventh aspect, the related file is downloaded only when it is not stored in advance, so that useless file download processing can be omitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an information network using a network-compatible PDA 1 to which a data processing device and a storage medium of the present invention are applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration inside the PDA 1 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration inside a host PC 20 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of PDA processing and normal processing executed by the PDA 1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of normal processing following FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of host PC processing executed by the host PC 20 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a display screen showing a display state of the host PC 20 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a display screen showing a display state on the PDA 1 of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 PDA 2,21 CPU 3,22 Input device 4,23 RAM 5,24 Display device 6 Small-capacity storage device 7,27 Storage medium 8,28 Communication device 9,29 Bus 20 Host PC 25 Printing device 26 Large-capacity storage device N communication line

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A data processing device connected to a predetermined host device via a communication line, the storage device storing various files, and displaying a plurality of instruction information for individually specifying a plurality of files. Display control means for controlling display on a screen, selecting means for arbitrarily selecting desired instruction information from the plurality of instruction information displayed on the display screen, and a file corresponding to the selected instruction information Determining means for determining whether or not the corresponding file is stored in the storage means; and when determining that the corresponding file is not stored, the file is stored in the storage device via the communication line from the host device. Storage control means for downloading and storing in the means, and processing means for executing processing based on the downloaded file corresponding to the instruction information. A data processing device characterized by the following. 2. If the file downloaded by the storage control means by the selection of the instruction information is an application file, the program further comprises starting means for starting an application based on the newly downloaded application file. The data processing device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The host control device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction menu specified by the selection means is instruction information corresponding to the application file, and the predetermined data file corresponding to the application file is stored in the host device together with the application file. 3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the data is downloaded to the storage means via the communication line. 4. A file open for opening the data file based on an application corresponding to the newly downloaded data file if the file downloaded by the storage control means by the selection of the instruction information is a data file. 2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. When the instruction information specified by the selection means is instruction information corresponding to a data file, it is determined whether an application file corresponding to the data file is stored in the storage means. A second determination unit that, when it is determined that the application corresponding to the data file is not stored in the determination, the application file is downloaded from the host device via the communication line. The data processing device according to claim 4, wherein 6. When the instruction information designated by the selection means is instruction information corresponding to a data file, it is determined whether an application file corresponding to the data file is stored in the storage means. A second determination unit that, when it is determined that the application corresponding to the data file is not stored in the determination, the application file is downloaded from the host device via the communication line. The data processing device according to claim 4, wherein 7. A data processing device which is communicatively connected to a predetermined host device via a communication line, and transmits information relating to various files stored in the host device via the communication line. Information requesting means for requesting the host device to be performed, information obtaining means for obtaining a plurality of file instruction information transmitted from the host device via the communication line by the information request, and the information obtaining means Display control means for controlling the display of the plurality of pieces of instruction information obtained on the display screen, selecting means for arbitrarily selecting desired instruction information from among the plurality of pieces of instruction information, and the instruction selected by the selection means Storage control means for downloading and storing a file corresponding to the information from the host device to a predetermined storage means via the communication line. Data processing apparatus according to. 8. When the information acquisition means acquires the instruction information, for the specific file among the various files stored in the host device, the specific file is transferred from the host device via the communication line. 8. The data processing device according to claim 7, wherein the data is downloaded and stored in the storage unit. 9. The information acquisition means includes means for receiving and acquiring display screen setting information or icon setting information in the host device from the host device via the communication line, and the display control means includes: 8. The data processing according to claim 7, further comprising: means for reproducing and displaying a display state substantially the same as the display state on the host device based on the display screen setting information or the icon setting information obtained from the host device. apparatus. 10. A predetermined host device is a data processing device communicatively connected via a communication line, comprising: storage means for storing various files; file specifying means for specifying a file to be downloaded; A first storage control unit that downloads the file specified by the file specifying unit from the host device to the storage unit via the communication line and stores the file, and extracts a related file related to the file to be downloaded A second storage control unit that downloads the related file from the host device to the storage unit via the communication line and stores the file; and executes a process based on the downloaded file corresponding to the instruction information. A data processing device, comprising: 11. A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not a file related to the file to be downloaded is stored in the storage means, wherein the second storage control means is configured to perform the discrimination. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the related file is not stored in the means, the related file is downloaded.
0. The data processing device according to 0 12. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program, comprising: a computer-executable program code for controlling display of a plurality of instruction information items for individually specifying a plurality of files on a display screen; A computer-executable program code for enabling the user to arbitrarily select desired instruction information from the plurality of instruction information displayed on the display screen, and a file corresponding to the selected instruction information. A computer-executable program code for determining whether or not the file is stored in the file storage means. When the corresponding file is determined not to be stored, the file is transmitted from a predetermined host device. Computer-executable program code for downloading over a line, and Storage medium characterized by the computer for executing processing based on the downloaded the selected command information corresponding files and program code executable, storing a program including. 13. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program, wherein the transmission of information on various files stored in a predetermined host device is performed to the host device communicatively connected via a communication line. A computer-executable program code for causing the computer to execute a request to obtain a plurality of pieces of file instruction information transmitted from the host device via the communication line in response to the information request. A program code executable by a computer for controlling the display of the plurality of pieces of acquired instruction information on a display screen; and a program executed by a computer for arbitrarily selecting desired instruction information from the plurality of pieces of instruction information. Corresponding to the possible program code and the instruction information selected by the selection means. Storage medium, wherein a Airu storing a program containing a program code executable computer for downloading and storing in a predetermined storage means via said communication line from the host device. 14. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program, the computer-executable program code for specifying a file to be downloaded, and the specified file via a communication line. A computer-executable program code for downloading and storing in a predetermined storage means from a communication-connected host device and a related file relating to the file to be downloaded are extracted, and the related file is also extracted as described above. A computer-executable program code for downloading and storing the data from the host device to the storage means via the communication line, and processing means for executing a process based on the downloaded file corresponding to the instruction information; Program that contains Storage medium characterized.