JPH11120053A - Method and system for allowing different applications to share document - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the system which enables different document management systems and different mail systems to share documents by accessing an entity document on a server that link information on a document called a document pointer indicates. SOLUTION: Link information on a document to be attached is put in a file called a document pointer to obtain a document pointer as link information that does not depend upon a protocol. Then, the entity document on the server that this document pointer indicates is accessed by a document pointer viewer independent of a client according to the access authority of the user and desired application is actuated according to the file extension of the entity document. Thus, the link information of the document is put in the file called the document pointer, so the absence of the link information due to a failure in its conversion to SMTP(simple mail transfer protocol) is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a
In a server system, the present invention relates to a document management system capable of realizing document sharing on a server by centrally managing documents on a server and attaching only link information of a document to be shared to a certain document between different applications. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, documents are centrally managed by a server,
It was possible to share the document inside the system by attaching only the link information of the document instead of sending and receiving the document itself between the clients. This eliminates the need for each individual to have the same document in duplicate, thereby reducing disk space. In addition, since only the link information of the document need be transmitted without transmitting the document itself, the network In addition, the load on the document can be reduced, and at the same time, since the entity document is centrally managed by the server, it is not necessary to resend the entity document every time the content of the entity document is changed. However, in the prior art, there is a limitation that sharing of documents by link information of such documents is limited to the same application. For example, link information is placed on a server of another product, or link information is stored in a word processing document. Could not be attached.

[0003] The following describes what caused such a limitation of the prior art. For example, Lotus Note
By using the function "document link" in s (trademark of Lotus Development), a document can be shared by link information of the document. However, Not
Since the link information of the document “es” is valid only for the document created in Notes, it can be processed only on the desktop of Notes, and even if Notes is running, an application other than Notes (Free)
The link cannot be maintained in a document created by Lance or MS-Word. Therefore, for example, when it is desired to attach a document created by Freelance to an e-mail of Notes, the document created by Freelance must be attached in the form of a copy of a substantial document called an attached file, and cannot be attached by link information.

[0004] Further, when an electronic mail of Notes is transmitted to a user who uses a mail system other than Notes through the Internet, as is well known, S
It is converted to the MTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) protocol for sending and receiving mail. That is, this SM
E-mail can be sent and received between two different mail systems by protocol conversion to TP. However, when converting the protocol to SMTP, Note
Since the link information of the "document link" in s is link information that is valid only on the protocol unique to Notes, the link information cannot be converted and is cut off. There is a problem that can not be done.

[0005] Another conventional technique is Windows.
There are 95 shortcuts. In this case as well, you can create a shortcut to a document in your personal computer, but it is not compatible with a network. Therefore, if you try to send a short cut by e-mail,
There is a problem that the document itself is sent instead of the cut.

[0006] With the recent spread of the Internet and intranets, naturally, the number of occasions of sending and receiving e-mails between different mail systems has increased, and document link information has also been provided between different document management systems and groupware. There is an increasing demand for sharing documents by transmitting and receiving documents. Further, even in the same department within a company, there are cases where a plurality of groupwares are introduced due to differences in user interface preferences, changes in product generations, and the like. Therefore, even if a document can be shared only within a specific document management system, it cannot be said that the document is truly shared, and the document can be shared between different applications by link information of the document. It is desired to realize a system capable of referring to or updating an entity document on a server according to a user's access authority.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system which can realize sharing of documents between different document management systems and between different mail systems by link information of the documents.

Another object of the present invention is to realize a document sharing system in which the confidential classification of entity documents on a server and the access authority of users are effective for users of other systems.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can access an actual document indicated by link information of a document from an external environment by attaching the link information of the document to a bulletin board or a homepage on the Internet. It is to realize.

[0010]

According to the present invention, link information of a document to be attached is converted into a file called a document pointer.
The document pointer is link information independent of the protocol. Then, by using a configuration of a document pointer viewer independent of the client, an entity document on the server indicated by the document pointer is accessed according to the access authority of the user, and a desired application is started based on the file extension of the entity document. I do. As described above, since the link information of the document is made into a file called a document pointer,
The link information is not converted and lost when converting to the SMTP protocol, and the document pointer viewer that analyzes the document pointer and accesses the actual document is made independent of the client. The entity document on the server indicated by the document pointer can be accessed between different applications.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a groupware product according to an embodiment of the present invention. This groupware implements mail, cabinet (document management function), address book, calendar, bulletin board using a three-layer model of RDB server, business server, and GUI client. In this configuration, one RDB server as a station, multiple business servers, and multiple GUI clients as PCs are connected via a local area network (LAN). Note that the RDB server and the business server can be configured with a common machine. In this groupware, a system with good performance and high reliability is realized by placing all data such as documents on the RDB and leaving backup and restoration to the RDB. In addition, this groupware allows servers to be placed at each location, connected to each other via a wide area network (WAN), to send and receive mail between each server, and to distribute address book data and bulletin board data. Has become. "Node" is the RDB server for each site
And give it a unique identifier. This identifier is called a node ID, and is used when sending mail to a user connected to another node.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a document management function for managing an entity document indicated by link information of a document called a document pointer in the present invention. The document management function manages documents in a three-layer directory structure. The top layer is called a “cabinet”, and the second layer is called a “folder”. One cabinet is provided for each user, in which multiple folders can be created as required by the user. Documents are stored in this folder. Then, "folder information" is provided as information for managing folders in the cabinet, and "document information" is provided as information for managing documents in the folder. Also,
Since there is one cabinet per user, there is no particular management information, and the cabinet specified by the user ID can be specified.

The contents of the folder information include a folder ID, a creation date and time, the number of documents, and a folder name as shown in FIG. Also, the contents of the document information are as shown in FIG.
D, collision key, affiliation folder ID, creation date, last modification date, time limit, document size, confidential classification, document format,
Includes document attributes, document names, comments, last modified person user ID, last modified person node ID, last modified person name, and file name. Here, information related to the present invention among the folder information and the document information will be described. First, "folder ID" in the folder information is a unique identifier of a folder in the cabinet. This is generated based on the date and time when the folder was created. “Document ID” in the document information is a unique identifier of the document in the folder. This is also generated based on the date and time when the document was created. "Confidential classification"
Has one of three values: general, confidential, and confidential. In the present application, it is possible to grant access to the cabinet to other users, and to give the authority of prohibition, reference, and update for each “secret category”.

The "document attribute" is also called an extension or a file type, and is used to specify a document editing application. For example, "DOC""TXT""MP
Contains character strings such as "G" and "JPG". In Windows 95, which is the operating system on which this groupware GUI client runs, file types are associated with applications at the OS level. The document management function of this groupware manages a document in such a manner as to be uniquely identified by three IDs of a user ID, a folder ID, and a document ID.

Next, a description will be given of an operation example for creating a document pointer, which is link information of a document, in the document management function of the present groupware, and its logic. Figure 5 is a GUI
This is a screen where the document management function of the client is activated. The user ID is connected to the server with "TESTUSER". In the cabinet list, only "user A", which is his / her own cabinet, is displayed. FIG. 6 shows a screen in which the cabinet of “user A” is opened. In FIG.
A list of folders in the cabinet of “User A” is displayed on the left side of the window. It can be seen that there are three folders, “folder X”, “folder Y”, and “folder Z”. A list of documents in “folder Y” is displayed on the right side of the window, and it can be seen that there are two documents “document 1” and “document 2”. Here, “Document 2” is selected. This is a freelance (Lotus trademark) document,
“PRE” is set in “Document attribute”. Next, when "Export" is selected on the toolbar, an "Export" dialog (FIG. 7) for designating a directory and a file name for storing this document is displayed. The export is a function of writing out a document or the like managed by this groupware as a PC file. "Document 2. PRE" is displayed as the default file name. If the "OK" button is pressed as it is, the contents of "Document 2" are stored as e: \ Document 2.PRE. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, when the "file type" is changed to "document pointer", the file name is automatically changed to "document 2.MZS". If the "OK" button is pressed here, the document pointer of document 2 is stored as e: \ document 2.MZS instead of the content of "document 2".

Here, the document pointer of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 shows the internal format of the document pointer, which is directly exported as a PC file, created in a folder of the document management function, or sent to another user by e-mail. The document pointer is treated as a document in the folder. The "document information" is also attached to the document pointer itself, and the same document name, comment, and the like as the actual document are attached. “MZS” is always set as the “document attribute” of the document pointer. On the GUI client side, this “document attribute” distinguishes it from other documents.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the unloading process.
Information such as the node ID, user ID, folder ID, and document ID is obtained from the server by the GUI client when the document list is displayed by the document management function. When you create a document pointer, you simply store this information in a PC file or document.

In this groupware, as means for creating a document pointer, in addition to the "unload" command of the document management function, a "creation of document pointer" command for creating a document pointer in another folder by the document management function, It can also be created by generating a document pointer when sending an e-mail and enclosing it, or generating a document pointer on a bulletin board and registering it as posted news.

When an e-mail enclosing the document pointer is sent to the user of the groupware, the contents can be displayed if the user has authority to read the actual document.
If you have the update authority, you can change the contents. Also,
This groupware can send e-mails outside the system. In this case, the e-mail is sent using SMTP (MIME compatible). For example, Netscape Communicator or Lotus Notes
When the mail is sent to the user, the mail is sent in this format. The user who sent the e-mail receives the document pointer,
If a viewer is installed, the user is registered in this groupware, and the user has the authority to read the actual document, the content of the document can be displayed. If you have update authority, you can also edit and update entity documents.

Next, an operation example of the document pointer viewer and its logic will be described. Earlier, the document pointer
e: \ Document 2. Stored as MZS. This is Windows 95
Open from Explorer. FIG. 11 shows a screen in which the explorer is started and the contents of the e: drive are displayed in the right window. The document pointer /
The process of registering the file type in Windows 95 so that the viewer is started is automatically performed when this groupware is installed. When "Document 2" is selected and double-clicked, a document pointer viewer is started. Since the entity document of the document pointer is always on the server of this groupware, a "sign on" dialog for connecting to the server is first displayed (FIG. 12). However, once any function of this groupware including the document pointer viewer is activated and connected to the server, this dialog is not displayed because the function for controlling communication (called control) is resident. In other words, if you started the document management function and performed the operation earlier, but even after terminating the document management function, if you open the document pointer from Explorer without terminating this "control", the connection with the server will be lost. This dialog is not displayed because it is valid.
Enter your password in this "Sign on" dialog,
When "OK", the document pointer viewer connects to the server. Next, the contents of the document pointer are analyzed, the entity document is downloaded from the server, and the application is started according to the “document attributes” of the entity document. For this document,
Since the “document attribute” of the entity document is “PRE”, freelance is started (FIG. 13). Here, when the document is edited and the freelance is completed, the document pointer viewer automatically updates the entity document to the server and ends.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are flowcharts of the document pointer viewer. The document pointer viewer is
Windows 95 and other operating systems are started by passing the start mode and file name to the command line parameters.
The startup mode is "No" for "Open" and "-p" for "Print". As the file name, the file name of the file selected in Explorer or the attached file such as Lotus Notes is passed. Of course, this file is a document pointer file. Document pointer
The viewer first parses the command line parameters and retrieves the startup mode and file name. Then create an invisible (invisible) window and enter the message loop. The reason for making the window invisible is to make the user not distinguish between the document pointer and the actual document, and to make the document pointer viewer completely unaware, and to share the document without being aware that the entity is on the server. In order to In other words, when a document pointer (which looks like a document to the user) is selected and double-clicked, an application for editing the document is activated, and the document can be edited naturally.

In Windows, when a window is created, a WM_CREATE message is first generated. As a processing of this message, it checks whether it is connected to the server, activates the control if it is not connected, displays the sign-on dialog, enters the password, and presses the "OK" button to connect to the server. The processing of connection is performed (block 103 in FIG. 14). Next, an "application launch message" is posted to the invisible window (block 104). The process of the "application startup message" is as follows: First, read the contents of the document pointer file with the file name passed in the command line parameter at the time of startup into the memory, and read the node ID and user ID (user ID of the cabinet owner) , A folder ID and a document ID are obtained (block 106). If this node ID is different from the node ID of the currently connected server, an error message is displayed and the document pointer viewer ends. This is because the present embodiment is an example in the case of a single node, and since the node ID is uniquely determined, it is known to those skilled in the art that even in the case of a plurality of nodes, desired document information can be searched by a known technique. Is self-evident.

Next, if the node ID is the same as the node of the connected server, the user ID, folder ID and document ID are passed to the business server to request document information and contents of the document (block 110). The business server checks whether the requesting user has read authority to the document, and if so, acquires the document from the DB server and passes it to the document pointer viewer. If you do not have read permission, an error message is displayed and the document pointer
Exit the viewer.

The document pointer viewer stores the contents of the document passed from the business server in a temporary file. At this time, the file name of the temporary file is generated based on the “document name” and “document attribute” in the document information, so that the file can be identified. For example, if the document name of the document on the server is "plan" and the document attribute is "XLS", it is "plan.XLS". Since the file is a temporary file, there is a logic that the file name is not duplicated. However, the description is omitted because it is not the gist of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 15, next, the path of the application associated with the extension of the temporary file is obtained from the OS, and it is determined whether the application is a 16-bit application or a 32-bit application. I do. In this determination method, determination is made by reading the EXE header of the application. (The GUI client of this groupware is Windows 3.1, Window
s95, 16-bit Windows running on Windows NT
Application. However, a document management function, an e-mail, a bulletin board, and a document pointer viewer start an external application for editing a document managed on the server, but this also works with a 32-bit application. 2.) When launching the application, launch in the same mode as the launch mode passed to the document pointer viewer. That is, if the document pointer viewer is started in Open mode, the application starts in Open mode, and if the document pointer viewer is started in Print mode, the application starts in Print mode. By selecting the document pointer in the Explorer and selecting the "Open" command or double-clicking, the application will display a screen for editing the document, and selecting the "Print" command will cause the application to print the document and print. The application closes as soon as it finishes. If the application to be started is 32-bit, a small program called a dedicated dispatcher is used. This dispatcher is a 32-bit application, and the processing content is a simple process of receiving the path of the application to be started from the document pointer viewer, starting the application, and waiting until it ends. Window
In s, the task of "launching an application and waiting for it to finish" became possible only in 32-bit. When the application terminates, post an "application exit message" in the invisible window. If the application to be started is 16-bit, the "end notification function" is notified to the OS, and the "end notification function" is called every time the application ends. In the "end notification function", check whether it is an application that you have started, and if it is an application that you have started, put it in an invisible window,
Post an "app end message".

The processing of the "application end message" is performed by checking the update date and time of the temporary file, and if it is different from the date and time when the temporary file was created, the content of the temporary file is matched with the document on the DB. Make an update request to the business server. The business server checks whether this user has update authority to this document, and returns an error if the user does not have update authority. The document pointer viewer will display an error message if the request returns with an error, telling the user that they do not have update privileges. If the user has update authority, the document is updated. Next, the document pointer viewer deletes this temporary file and posts a WM_CLOSE message to the invisible window.

The "sign-off message" is transmitted before the user terminates the control or selects "sign-off" (to terminate the connection with the server) from the menu of the control and actually terminates the connection. This is a message sent from. The control first displays a warning message. This means that if you terminate the connection with the server while the application is running,
This is because even if the temporary file is changed by the application, it is not written back to the document on the server. If the user terminates the connection to the server, the control sends a "sign-off message" to each function on the client. When the document pointer viewer receives this message, it simply posts an "application end message". That is, only the document pointer viewer ends while leaving the application. Processing of the WM_CLOSE message
Discard the invisible window and exit the document pointer viewer. The above is the description of the flowchart of the document pointer viewer.

Next, a description will be given of an operation example of sending a mail with a document pointer enclosed thereto to a user of another system by using the mail function of the present groupware. Here Lotus
An example of sending to a Notes user will be described. FIG. 16 shows a screen on which the mail function (called a mailbox) of the GUI client is activated. To send a new email, select "Create" on the toolbar. When "Create" is selected, an editor of this groupware called a memo editor is started. Here, the body of the mail is input (FIG. 17). After inputting, select "Send" on the toolbar to send this email. When "Send" is selected, a send dialog of FIG. 18 is displayed. In this dialog, first enter a "subject". In this case, enter "test document pointer". Next, "destination" is specified. For "Send to", specify the user ID and node ID when sending to the user of this groupware, and specify the SMTP address to send to another mail system. If there is a document to be attached, “enclosed document” is designated. Here, enter the SMTP address of the destination Notes user. Finally, specify "enclosed document". The enclosed document is a document attached to the body of the mail and sent. Select the "cabinet" button to specify "enclosed document". When the "cabinet" button is selected, a dialog box for enclosing a cabinet document is displayed (FIG. 19). Here, "document 2" of "folder Y" of the own cabinet is selected. When the "OK" button is selected, the display returns to the sending dialog, and "Document 2" is added to the enclosed list (FIG. 20).

If the "Send" button is selected as it is,
The entity document of "Document 2" is sent, but "Option"
When the button is selected and "Create document pointer and enclose" is checked in the sending option setting dialog (FIG. 21), the document pointer of the document is automatically generated, and the link information of the document is generated instead of the actual document. Can be set to be sent. Select the "OK" button in the send option setting dialog, return to the send dialog and select the "send" button to send the mail. Note that the default setting can be changed by checking “Save Sending Option” for the sending option. Therefore, if the document pointer is always enclosed, the “Sending Option” need not be changed. On the receiving side of the mail, Lotu
s Start Notes, open the inbox of your mail (Fig. 22), and open the received mail "Test Document Pointer". In the mail, there is a file that is a document pointer called "Document 2.MZS" Attached (FIG. 23). When this is double-clicked, a property dialog is displayed as shown in FIG. If the "start" button is selected here, sign-on to the groupware has been completed, and if the document pointer has access to the entity document, the extension (PRE) of the entity document
Is activated, and the entity document screen shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. Actually, the document pointer viewer is activated and the document is downloaded from the server, but the user cannot see this process. As shown in FIG. 25, the access authority in the present application can set an access authority for each user for each of the general, confidential, and confidential classifications of the document. This is also effective when the document pointer is accessed from another application.

Finally, an operation example of generating a document pointer on a bulletin board and registering it as posted news will be described. FIG. 26 shows a screen on which the bulletin board is activated. The bulletin board of this groupware is managed by classifying the posted news into topics for each category. On the screen, there are seven types of topics. When a topic "test topic" is selected and double-clicked, a list of posted news belonging to the "test topic" is displayed (FIG. 27). Subscribe to new news on this topic. Here, the document pointer of the cabinet document is registered. First, "document registration" on the toolbar is selected in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG.
The cabinet document selection dialog is displayed. Here, "document 2" of "folder Y" of "user A" is selected, and the "OK" button is pressed. Next, a news registration dialog of FIG. 29 is displayed. The news name is set to "Document 2" as a default value. Here, "Create and register document pointer" is checked. If not checked, the cabinet document itself is registered as news, and if "Generate document pointer and register" is checked, the document pointer of the cabinet document is registered as news.
When the "OK" button is selected, the document pointer is registered on the bulletin board as news and the screen shown in FIG. 30 is displayed.

Before adding this function to a bulletin board, a document was created in a cabinet and registered as news. In this case, two identical documents exist in the RDB, which is inefficient. In addition, the access authority of the bulletin board of this groupware can be specified only for each topic, and cannot be specified for each news. By using the document pointer and the access right on the cabinet side, access permission can be specified for each news (strictly, for each confidential division of the actual document). In the past, when changing the content of news, it was necessary to delete the news once, change the content of the news, and then re-register. However, according to the present invention, since there is only one entity document on the server and the document pointer is registered on the bulletin board, even if the content of the news is changed, only the entity document on the server is changed and the bulletin board is updated. Does not need to be changed. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a system capable of referring to or updating an actual document from an external environment by attaching a document pointer to a bulletin board or a homepage on the Internet.

In addition to the above, according to the present invention, another document can be attached to a word processing document by a document pointer. That is, a document pointer of a document to be attached is set to a word processing document (a document of any word processing software to which a file can be attached, such as WordPad, MS-Word, Ichitaro).
Can be accessed even when this word processing document is opened in another environment by accessing the entity document indicated by the document pointer.

Further, according to the present invention, an executable program can be attached by a document pointer. That is, the executable program can be stored in the cabinet, and the link information for the executable program can be attached by the document pointer, and the receiving side can execute the executable program by activating the link information. At that time, after downloading the entity document (in this case, the program), if the extension of the document is EXE (executable program), the downloaded entity document is executed without starting the editing program.

[0034]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize the sharing of a document that is centrally managed by a server using document link information even between different applications. Therefore, even when a document of a different application is attached to a certain document, the document can be attached using the document link information called a document pointer. Further, when another document is attached to the e-mail by a document pointer and the e-mail is sent to another mail system via the Internet,
The document pointer is not lost even when converted to the MTP protocol, and the user of the other mail system on the receiving side can refer to the entity document on the server indicated by the document pointer according to the access authority, And can be updated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an entity document.

FIG. 3 shows folder information of a document.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing document information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen on which a document management function is activated in a client.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen when a user cabinet is opened.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen when a carry-out function is selected.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen when a document pointer is created.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a document pointer.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an unloading process.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen when a document pointer is opened from Explorer.

FIG. 12 illustrates a sign-on dialog.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a screen when a freelance is activated by a document pointer.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a document pointer viewer.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a document pointer viewer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a screen when a mail function is activated in a client.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a screen for inputting the text of an e-mail.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a send dialog screen.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a screen for specifying an enclosed document.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a send dialog screen to which an enclosed document has been added.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a transmission option setting dialog screen.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a screen when an e-mail reception box is opened.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a screen when a mail to which a document pointer is attached is opened.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a document pointer property dialog screen.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an access right of a user according to a confidential division of a document.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a screen when the bulletin board function is activated in the client.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a list display of posted news.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a screen for selecting a document to be added to a bulletin board.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a screen when a document pointer is created and posted news is registered.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a screen when a document pointer is registered as posted news.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A method for realizing sharing of a document which is centrally managed by a server between different applications running on a client / server system by using link information of the document, wherein the document of the document desired to be shared is provided. Creating a document pointer which is a file of document link information including identification information; and accessing a document indicated by the document pointer and starting a desired application. Method. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the document pointer. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising attaching the document pointer to another document. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the document is responsive to a user's access rights. 5. A system which realizes sharing of a document centrally managed by a server between different applications running on a client-server system by link information of the document, wherein the document of the document desired to be shared is provided. Document sharing between different applications including means for creating a document pointer which is a file of document link information including identification information, and means for accessing the document indicated by the document pointer and starting a desired application system. 6. The system according to claim 5, further comprising means for transmitting said document pointer. 7. The system according to claim 5, further comprising means for attaching said document pointer to another document. 8. The system according to claim 5, wherein the means for accessing the document is responsive to a user's access authority.