KR19980063477A - Storage medium for storing document processing method, processing apparatus, and processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention reduces the operator's restraint time by printing a plurality of documents on the Internet by a printing request at a moment without depending on the document link status, network speed, or the like.

According to the present invention, it is possible to have a browse function, which is a kind of Internet, to a printer body, a network card or a printer server. This printer body or the like acquires and processes a document on the Internet instead of a PC. As a result, the PC side is released from the formal print process only by specifying the URL and specifying how much to print the document connected thereto. By specifying the link level, the number of documents, the number of copies, and the like, it is possible to specify how much to print. Overlinked documents are excluded from the print target. It is also possible to print a document name or document number corresponding to the link map in the header of the print result of each document, such as printing a link map indicating how a plurality of documents are linked.

Description

A storage medium storing a document processing method, a processing apparatus, and a processing program

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of processing a hyper media document (hyper text), and more particularly, to a print system having a function of processing a hyper media document existing on a network.

Conventionally, in order to print the homepage of the Internet, a personal computer (PC) having a communication function, a network computer (NC), an Internet TV, a game machine or the like having a communication function (hereinafter referred to as a "communication terminal") is operated. It was necessary to access a page to be printed by software such as a browser, display its contents, and then print by clicking a print icon.

This job is troublesome when the printing target is a formal object, and there is a problem that the other job is disturbed because the resources of the communication terminal are used during the job. In addition, depending on the type of communication terminal, predetermined resources are occupied due to hardware or software limitations, and other processing using the communication terminal cannot be performed during its processing, and a long waiting time is imposed on the operator.

This problem becomes more serious when printing a plurality of linked documents. For example, in the Internet or an intranet, a configuration in which a hypermedia document is kept in various files such as a cover page, a table of contents, and a content, and these are linked to each other to form an integrated document is also common. In order to print all of these linked documents, it was necessary to repeat the operation of displaying and printing the linked documents. That is, the print requester is constrained to this monotonous work until the last linked document is displayed, and cannot perform other work using the communication terminal. In particular, when the transmission speed of a network, the processing speed of a communication terminal, etc. are slow, there exists a problem of being confined to this print job for a long time.

In addition, the printing results differ depending on the type of browser or printer introduced in the communication terminal, and there is also a problem that the page editing and layout also vary. This problem is, for example, when reviewing a plan, which is managed in an intranet, at a meeting, even if each attendee printed a plan in advance, the same print result could not be shared.

Moreover, Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 6-251081 and 8-76951 are mentioned as prior art concerning this invention. However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-251081 is a technique for hierarchically representing the relations between attributes of a node or a link, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-76951 obtains and displays a set of documents at a specified link level from a viewpoint node. The above problem cannot be solved because the printing system does not substitute for the terminal side processing.

One object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the communication terminal that requires printing by performing printing from the extraction of the hypermedia document, thereby opening up the resources necessary for processing, thereby reducing the operator from the tedious and monotonous printing process. To liberate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a modem for connecting to a public line or a leased line, a LAN connection function by a token ring or Ethernet, etc., and cannot directly connect to a network in which a hypermedia document exists. The present invention provides a system that enables printing of a document by giving a command to a print system through a parallel port, infrared communication, or the like from a terminal.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system for performing a print process at a high speed with less communication between the terminal and the print system.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system capable of obtaining the same printed matter even if different browsers are used in a plurality of communication terminals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for specifying a tracked link from a document to which printing is requested to another document.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system that enables a print requester to prevent undesired mass printing by specifying the level (depth) of the link to print or the maximum number of documents to print.

Have the printer body, network card, or printer server have Internet or some kind of intranet browser capability. This printer body or the like acquires, analyzes, and processes a document on the Internet instead of a PC. As a result, the PC side is released from the formal print process only by specifying the URL and specifying how much to print the document linked thereto. It is also possible to instruct to print a document on the Internet from a terminal not connected to the Internet or the like. In addition, by specifying the link level, the number of documents, the number of prints, etc., it is possible to designate how much to print, thereby avoiding unintended mass printing. Among the printing targets, documents linked in duplicate are excluded.

As an additional function of the present invention, it is also possible to print a link map showing how a plurality of documents are linked, or to print a document name or document number corresponding to the link map in a header of a print result of each document. In addition, the document name, document number, and the like corresponding to the link map thereof are printed in the header of the print result of each document. On this link map, the printed document name is identified and printed with other unprinted documents such as printing by changing the color enclosed by a rectangle or the like.

In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method comprising: receiving a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed; Interpreting the print request to specify reference document specific information; Interpreting the print request to specify link level information to be printed; Receiving a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specific information; Interpreting the received reference document to specify document identification information of the reference document; Interpreting the received reference document to specify link information to another document; Deriving link relationship information between the reference document and another document based on the link information to another document; Comparing the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document; Receiving another document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; Interpreting the received other document to specify document identification information of the other document; And creating link map data in which document identification information of the reference document and document identification information of another document are arranged in accordance with the link relationship information.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: receiving a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed; Interpreting the print request to specify reference document specific information; Interpreting the print request to specify link level information to be printed; Receiving a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specific information; Interpreting the received reference document to specify link information to another document; Comparing the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document; Receiving another document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And converting the received reference document and the received other document into print data.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method, comprising receiving a print request including document specific information sent from a terminal; Receiving a document existing on the network in response to the document specific information; And converting the received document into print data.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication / input / output device interface for receiving a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed; A print request analyzer for analyzing the print request to specify reference document specific information and link level information to be printed; Receiving a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specific information, specifying link information of another document included in the received reference document, and linking to another document corresponding to link information to the specified other document A document analysis unit for comparing the level with the link level of the document to be printed and receiving another document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And a print data conversion unit for converting the received reference document and other received documents into print data.

In still another aspect of the present invention, instructing the data processing system to receive a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed. Program code means for performing; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret the print request and specify the reference document specifying information; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret a print request and specify link level information to be printed; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to receive a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specifying information; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret the received reference document to specify link information to another document; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to compare the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document; Program code means for instructing the data processing system to receive another document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And program code means for instructing the data processing system to convert the received reference document and the received other document into print data, and storing the program for operating the data processing system and storing a program for making a request for processing of the document in the data processing system. A medium is provided. This "program code means" is a concept that includes not only object code that can be directly recognized by a computer, but also a group of instructions that can be recognized by a computer after adding any one of a source code and the like.

1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a hardware configuration of the print system of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a processing element.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a printing procedure of a hyper media document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a printing procedure of a hyper media document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a conceptual diagram of a linear list in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a conceptual diagram of a document stored in the document storage unit 109 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a document stored in the document storage unit 109 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a document stored in the document storage unit 109 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a conceptual diagram of a document stored in the document storage unit 109 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 shows the printing result in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 shows the printing results in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

12 shows printing results in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 shows the printing results in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a print result of a link map in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a print result of a link map in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating a link map of a hypermedia document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating a link map of a hypermedia document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

100: print system

101: communication / I / O device interface

103: print request / result analysis unit

105: hyper media document analysis unit

107: parameter storage unit

109: document storage unit

111: image storage unit

113: image processing unit

115: link map creation unit

117: print data conversion unit

119: print data storage unit

120: printing unit

121: setting unit

123: terminal

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to Fig. 1, an overview of the hardware configuration when the print system of the present invention is implemented as a printer server is shown. The print system 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1 and a memory 4. The CPU 1 and the memory 4 are connected to the hard disk device 13 as an auxiliary storage device via the bus 2. The floppy disk device (or a storage medium drive device such as MO or CD-ROM) 20 is connected to the bus 2 via the floppy disk controller 19.

A floppy disk (or a storage medium such as an MO or a CD-ROM) is inserted into the floppy disk device (or a storage medium driving device such as an MO or CD-ROM) 20, and the floppy disk or the like or the hard disk device 13 The ROM 14 can issue instructions to a CPU or the like in cooperation with an operating system, record the code of a computer program for implementing the present invention, and be executed by being loaded into the memory 4. The code of the computer program may be compressed or divided into a plurality of pieces to be recorded on a plurality of media.

The printing system 100 may also be a system equipped with user interface hardware. As the user interface hardware, for example, a pointing device (mouse, joystick, etc.) 7 or a keyboard 6 or visual data for inputting may be used. There is a display 12 for presenting to the user. In addition, it is possible to connect a printer via the parallel port 16 or to connect a modem via the serial port 15, and another computer via the serial port 15 and a modem or a token ring or communication adapter 18 or the like. It is also possible to communicate with the back.

The speaker 23 receives the audio signal converted into D / A (digital / analog conversion) by the audio controller 21 via the amplifier 22 and outputs it as voice. In addition, the audio controller 21 makes it possible to A / D (analog / digital) conversion of voice information received from the microphone 24 to bring voice information outside the system into the system.

As such, it will be readily understood that the present invention can be implemented by a conventional personal computer (PC), a workstation or a combination thereof. However, these components are illustrative, and not all of them become essential components of the present invention. In particular, since the hardware configuration described here is necessary for printing, the VGA 8, VRAM 9, DAC / LCDC 10, display device 11, and CRT 12 required for visual display to the user are required. Keyboard (6), mouse (7), keyboard / mouse controller (5) or audio controller (21), amplifier (22), speaker (23), microphone required for voice processing (24) is not an essential component.

When the functions of the present invention are incorporated in the printer main body or the network card, the procedure of the present invention is stored in a storage medium such as a ROM 14, a hard disk 13, or a floppy disk of the main printer or the network card. The hardware may use resources of a printer or a server on a network. As described above, various changes, such as what functions are allocated to these machines by combining a plurality of machines, can be easily estimated by those skilled in the art, and these changes are concepts included in the spirit of the present invention.

As the operating system, X on Windows NT (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), Windows 95 (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), Windows 3.x (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), OS / 2 (trademark of IBM Corporation), AIX (trademark of IBM Corporation) -Supports GUI multi-window environment in standards such as WINDOW system (trademark of MIT company), character-based environment such as PC-DOS (trademark of IBM company), MS-DOS (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), and OS / It can also be implemented in a real-time OS such as Open (trademark of IBM) VxWorks (trademark of Wind River Systems), and is not limited to a specific operating system environment.

B. System Configuration

Next, a system configuration according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2. The communication / input / output device interface 101 serves as an interface with communication and input / output devices when exchanging with the outside. The exchange of data with the terminal side is also performed via this communication / input / output device interface 101. The received data is stored in the parameter storage unit 107.

The print request / print result analysis section 103 analyzes the print request and sends the print result. The hypermedia document analysis unit 105 is a main module for analyzing hypermedia documents, and obtains a document via the communication / input / output device interface 101 based on the document name passed from the print request / result analysis unit 103. It stores in the storage unit 109. If there is a link to another document in the document, the hypermedia analyzing unit 105 repeats the same process for that document. In addition, the hypermedia document analysis unit 105 analyzes the content of the document and, if an image or the like is designated in the document, obtains the file via the communication / input / output device interface 101 and stores it in the image storage unit 111. . When the processing is necessary for the image data, the processing is passed to the image processing unit 113.

The image processing unit 113 converts the image data into a form required by the hypermedia document analysis unit 105. The print data conversion unit 117 acquires the result analyzed by the hypermedia document analysis unit 105, converts the result into data specific to the printing apparatus, and stores the result in the print data storage unit 119. This converted print data is sent to a printing apparatus and printed.

The hypermedia document analysis unit 105 sends information necessary for printing a map of the link of the document to the link map creation unit 115, and the link map creation unit 115 creates a map based on this. This map is also sent to the print data conversion unit 117, converted into data specific to the printing apparatus, and stored in the print data storage unit 119. If the upper limit of the number of prints described later is set by the print data conversion unit 117, the map may also add a function of recognizing that the conversion of the data corresponding to this has already been performed and stopping the conversion. The converted print data is sent to the printing apparatus and printed.

Finally, the print data conversion unit 117 sends the print request / result analysis unit 103 to the print request / result analysis unit 103 via the hypermedia document analysis unit 105 that the conversion to the print data is normally completed. The result analysis unit 103 forms a form suitable for the print requester (machine or program, etc.) and returns the result to the terminal via the communication / input / output interface unit.

The setting unit 121 sets a print system, such as setting an address of TCP / IP. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each storage unit of the parameter storage unit 107, the document storage unit 109, the image storage unit 111, and the print data storage unit 119 is temporarily created on the main memory 4. . However, it may be created on another storage medium such as a hard disk.

The functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 have been described above, but these functional blocks are logical functional blocks, and are not meant to be realized by one integrated hardware or software, but rather by complex or common hardware or software. Means possible. In addition, not all functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 are essential components in the present invention. For example, when the present invention is implemented as a print server, the printing unit 120 is unnecessary. If the image data is not processed, the image processing unit 113 and the image storage unit 111 are also unnecessary components. In addition, the setting unit 121 is not a particularly necessary component.

Next, a specific example will be described with reference to the printing order of the hypermedia document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 3 and 4 are flowcharts for explaining the printing procedure of the hypermedia document in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, a print request is sent from the terminal side to the communication / input / output device interface 101. The terminal and the print system 100 may be directly connected via a parallel port, or may be connected by LAN via Ethernet, token ring, or the like. In addition, the connection may be via a modem such as the Internet, a public telephone line, a dedicated line, or the like. In addition to the one-to-one connection, one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many connection is also possible.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the print request is made by sending the following data to the print system 100.

Such print request may be sent to the print system 100 after being encrypted or compressed, or may be sent in a plurality of divided forms. The term "terminal" used in the present invention may be implemented by various computers mounted on a mobile phone, a fax machine, a game machine, a passenger car, an aircraft, etc., in addition to a personal computer, as long as it has a function capable of transmitting the print request to the print system 100. In such a case, the information is preferably converted using techniques well known to those skilled in the art in filing for decryption, compression, speech recognition, character recognition and the like.

"HYPERPRINT" shown in Table 1 is a command for instructing the print system 100 to start the procedure of the present invention. The print request / result analysis section 103 starts the procedure of the present invention by detecting this command (block 501).

The linear list shown in FIG. 5 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 except for the information of the x coordinates 325, 345, 365 and 385 on the map and y coordinates 327, 347, 367 and 387 on the map which will be described later. Created by processing. Each structure 310, 330, 350, 370 has an address (311, 331, 351, 371) of the structure, a pointer to the next structure (313, 333, 353, 373), a pointer to the structure of the document of the link source ( 315, 335, 355, 375, document name (317, 337, 357, 377), title (318, 338, 358, 378), document number (identifier) (319, 339, 359, 379), link to the document Levels 321, 341, 361, 381, print flags 323, 343, 363, 383 with or without print processing, x coordinates on the map (325, 345, 365, 385), and y coordinates on the map (327, 347). 367 and 387 are managed.

The print request / result analysis unit 103 interprets "DOCNAME = http: //www.com.jp/hpspec.htm" along with detecting "HYPERPRINT" and "http:" followed by "DOCNAME =". Recognize that //www.com.jp/hpspec.htm is the name of a document (hereinafter referred to as a "reference document") that serves as a (multiple) document reference for which the operator desires output. Similarly, the print request / result analysis unit 103 interprets "LINKLEVEL = 02" and recognizes that "02" following "LINK LEVEL =" is the depth of the link for which the operator wants to print. In addition, it is possible to limit the number of printed documents or the number of prints, and to create a command by combining them in order of priority.

The print request / result analysis section 103 passes the information such as the document name, search (printing) condition, etc. analyzed to the hypermedia document analysis section 105. The hypermedia document analysis unit 105 creates a structure 310 corresponding to the reference document, and interprets a print request / result as "0" for the pointer 315 to the structure of the document of the link source and the document name 317. The document name passed from the section 103 is &quot; 1 &quot; for the document number (identification symbol) 319, &quot; 0 &quot; for the link level 321 of the document, and &quot; 1 &quot; I set (on). In addition, "0" (off) is set in the end flag (block 503).

This structure is created for each print processing document and is a linear list shown in FIG. Since the structure manages the information of the link status of each document and the information necessary for printing the headings of each document, various changes such as management by a table can be made.

Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the end flag is on (block 505). If the end flag is on, the print map (block 539) described later is performed (block 541). If the end flag is off, it is checked next whether the print flag is on (block 507), and if the print flag is off, the flow advances to block 533. As a result, once printed, it is not printed again, and no more printing is performed than the link level or the number of documents designated at the time of printing request.

If the print flag is on, the hypermedia document analysis unit 105 acquires the reference document via the communication / input / output device interface 101 based on the name of the document, and stores it in the document storage unit 109 (block 509). ).

6 is a conceptual diagram of the reference document stored in this document storage unit 109. The hypermedia document analysis unit 105 interprets the contents of this document, and if an image or the like is designated in the document, obtains the file via the communication / input / output device interface 101 and stores it in the image storage unit 111. do. When processing is required for the image data, it is sent to the image processing unit 113 and the hyper media document analysis unit 105 is converted into a processable form.

In addition, the hypermedia document analysis unit 105 sets a "specification document" to an item of the title 318 of the structure 310. As shown in FIG. 10, the title 431, the document number 433, and the document name 435 are printed in the header portion, and then the document data is arranged and sent to the print data conversion unit 117 so that the document is printed. . The print data conversion unit 117 converts the document data into print data and prints the print data.

In block 511, it is determined whether a link to another document exists in the document. Specifically, the hypermedia document analysis unit 105 analyzes a link to another document among the documents stored in the document storage unit 109. In the example of the reference document shown in Fig. 6, a link keyword 205 of " <a href = "hptable.htm &quot; &gt; &gt; &gt; present in the reference document is detected.

If it is determined in block 511 that there is a link to another document in the document under processing, a structure is created for the document to be linked (here, hptable.htm) (block 513). Here, the document currently being processed is called "document in process". The document linked to the document in this process is called "linked document". When the structure is created, the address 331 of the structure is assigned by the operating system. In the link level 341, the value +1 of the link level currently being processed is set.

In setting each member of the structure, whether or not the linked document is already in the linear list is checked by the "document name" (block 515). If it is already in the linear list, the document number of the already existing document is set (block 523), and the print flag is set off so that the document is not processed (block 525).

If the linked document is not in the linear list, a new number is set in the document number (block 517). Then, it is determined whether the link level of the document under processing is equal to or higher than the link level specified at the printing request, and whether the document number of the linked document exceeds the number of documents requested for printing (block 519). When the link level of the document under processing is equal to or greater than the designated number, or when the document number of the linked document exceeds the designated number, the print flag is set to off so as not to process printing (block 525). Otherwise, the "print flag" is set to on (block 527). As a result, if either condition is not satisfied, either the maximum number of documents or the link level, printing is not performed.

When creating a map, the parent-child relationship of the document is required, so a pointer to the structure of the document from which the link originates from the structure for the document that links the address of the document's structure that is currently being processed. Set to block 529. Then add a new structure at the end of the linear list (block 531). The addition of the structure is performed by setting the "structure address" of the structure of the document linked to the "pointer to the next structure" of the last structure in the linear list.

Then, at block 511, it is determined whether there is a link to another document in the document. Since the link keyword existing in the reference document is only "a <href =" hptable.htm ">", no link to another document exists. In this case, the process advances to block 533.

Next, it is determined whether or not a pointer to the next structure is set in the document currently being processed (block 533). Since the pointer 313 to the next structure of the structure 310 is already set in the block 531, the process proceeds to the block 535 and moves the processing object to the next structure pointed to (the block 535). That is, the document corresponding to this structure is made into a new "document in process". In this way, the processing of completing the processing of one document (the document under processing) to move the linear list one by one and performing the next document processing is performed sequentially up to the end of the linear list. Thereby, the print system 100 can acquire the file of FIGS. 6-9, and obtain the print result of FIG. 10-13.

In block 533, if it is determined that the pointer to the next structure is not set in the document currently being processed, the end flag is set on (block 537).

Fig. 14 shows a link map in the case where the depth of the link for printing the print of the document A is designated as 3 and done. The request for printing (reference document) is document A, but the link is found and finally documents A to document H are printed. The depth of the link to print sets document A as level 0, and specifies the level of the document linked from it as 1 (document B, document C), and next as 2 (document D, C, A, E). Since 3 is designated in the case of Fig. 14, even if documents F, G, and H link to other documents, they are not printed.

The name of the document (the title of the document, the description of the document, etc.) is recorded on the map, and each document is labeled with a number, a symbol, a character, etc. to make the document easier to identify. These pieces of information that enable identification of the document are referred to as document identification information. Documents may link documents that have already been printed, such as Document A (410, 411), Document C (405, 409), etc., and documents that link to these documents to prevent multiple or infinite printing are reprinted. I never do that.

As described above, the specification of the amount of printed matter allows not only the depth of the link but also the maximum number of documents to be printed. Fig. 15 shows a link map when the printing of the reference document A is performed by designating the depth of the link to be printed at 3 and the maximum number of documents to be printed at 6. In this case, six documents from the document A to the document F are printed, and the document name and the document number are surrounded by a rectangle to represent them. Documents G and H are not printed because six documents are already printed, but are added to the map.

However, since the document name and the document number are not surrounded by a rectangle, they can be used to determine whether or not the print requester should print. The maximum number of documents is designated as 0, in which case only the link level is used, and the document name and document number on the map are all surrounded by a rectangle.

16 and 17 are flowcharts showing a procedure for creating a link map of a hypermedia document. This process shows the details of the subroutine (block 539) of the printing of the link map of FIG. The process is mainly performed by the link map preparation unit 115.

Processing begins at block 551. First, a process pointer is set in the first structure of the linear list (block 553). In addition, initial processing such as setting "0" to the end flag is performed.

Next, it is determined whether the end flag is on, and when the end flag is on, the link map creation unit 115 sends the data of the created link map to the print data conversion unit 117 to print the link map ( Block 587), the process ends (block 589).

When the end flag is off, it is determined whether or not the "position on the map" (x coordinate and y coordinate on the map) of the structure is set (block 557). The "position on the map" is information for writing "document number" and "document name" on a map and using each of them in a line. The position on the map manages the position of the start of the document identification information written on the map in the form of x coordinate value and y coordinate value. In addition to the start position, the end position may also be managed.

If the "position on the map" (x coordinate and y coordinate on the map) of the structure is not set, document identification information such as "document number", "document name", and "title" in the structure is written on the map. (Block 559). The determination of whether or not the "position on the map" of the structure is set is for writing the document identification information of one structure on the map only once. If already written, processing is performed starting from the position thereof, and if not already written, new writing is made on the map. When the "document number" and "document name" are set on the map, the columns are easier to see when the columns are aligned for each link level of the document.

The written position is then set to the x and y coordinates on the map of the structure (block 559). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, these x and y coordinates are managed in the form of a few dots from the upper left of the printable area, but a few millimeters away from the reference position, or in the case of the character base, the number of lines in the first row. It can also be managed in the form of characters.

If the maximum number of documents to be printed at the time of the print request is not specified or if the "document number" is less than or equal to the maximum number of documents specified at the print request, the "document number" and the "document name" are enclosed in a rectangle (blocks 561 and 563). This is to make it possible to distinguish printed documents and documents which are not printed but are linked to a certain depth. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this identification is carried out by enclosing the rectangle, but various identification such as changing the color to be printed, changing the font, using underline or mesh, adding characters or symbols, etc. It is possible to display.

Next, it is determined whether the print flag is on (block 565). This is because the processing is moved to the next structure when the "print flag" is off to speed up the processing. If the print flag is on, a structure is searched from the linear list having a "pointer to the structure of the document of the link source" of the same value as the address of the structure currently being processed (block 567).

When the structure is found, the "document number" and "document name" in the first found structure are written on the map, and the written position is set in the "map position" of the structure (blocks 569 and 571). The linked document corresponds to a structure having a "pointer to the structure of the document of the link source" having the same value as the address of the structure currently being processed. In the case of the reference document, the structure in which the pointer to the structure of the document of the link source is set to "0000010 0" is searched from the linear list. The written "document number" and "document name" are subjected to the same processing as described above (blocks 573 and 575), and are lined up with the "document number" and "document name" in the current processing (block 577).

When the processing of the linked documents is finished, the next linked document is searched from the linear list, and the processing of the documents is performed (blocks 567 to 577). If a structure having a "pointer to the structure of the link source document" value equal to the address of the structure currently being processed cannot be found from the linear list, it is determined whether or not the pointer to the next structure is set ( Block 579).

If a pointer to the next structure is set, the processing object is moved to the next structure (block 581), and the flow returns to block 555. If no pointer to the next structure is set, the end flag is set on, the print process of block 587 is performed, and the process ends (block 589).

As described above, according to the present invention, the printing system reduces the burden on the communication terminal that requires printing by performing the acquisition and printing of the hypermedia document, thereby releasing the resources required for processing at an early stage, resulting in tedious and monotonous printing of the operator. It can release from a process.

In addition, there is no LAN connection function by modem, token ring, and Ethernet for connecting to public line or dedicated line, and it cannot be connected to network where hyper media document exists. By giving a command to the document, the document can be printed.

In addition, a system can be provided in which the amount of communication between the terminal and the print system is small and print processing can be performed at high speed.

And even if different browsers are used for a some communication terminal, the system which can obtain the same printed matter can be provided.

It is also possible to find which link from the document requested for printing to specify which other document has been printed.

In addition, by specifying the level (depth) of the link to be printed or the maximum number of documents to be printed, it is possible for the print requester to prevent an undesirable amount of printing.

Claims (5)

(a) receiving a print request including reference document specific information of the reference document including link information to another document sent from the terminal and link level information of the document to be printed; (b) interpreting the print request to specify the reference document specifying information; (c) interpreting the print request to specify link level information to be printed; (d) receiving a reference document existing on a network corresponding to the reference document specifying information; (e) interpreting the received reference document to specify document identification information of the reference document; (f) interpreting the received reference document to specify link information to the other document; (g) deriving link relationship information between the reference document and the other document based on the link information to the other document; (h) comparing the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document; (i) receiving the other document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; (j) interpreting the received other document to specify document identification information of the other document; And (k) generating link map data in which document identification information of the reference document and document identification information of the other document are arranged according to the link relationship information; Document processing method comprising a. (a) receiving a print request including reference document specific information of the reference document including link information to another document sent from the terminal and link level information of the document to be printed; (b) interpreting the print request to specify the reference document specifying information; (c) interpreting the print request to specify link level information to be printed; (d) receiving a reference document existing on a network corresponding to the reference document specifying information; (e) interpreting the received reference document to specify link information to the other document; (f) comparing a link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document with a link level of the document to be printed; (g) receiving the other document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And (h) converting the received reference document and the received other document into print data; Document processing method comprising a. (a) receiving a print request including document specific information sent from a terminal; (b) receiving a document existing on a network in response to the document specific information; And (c) converting the received document into print data Document processing method comprising a. (a) a communication / input / output device interface for receiving a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed; (b) a print request analyzer for analyzing the print request to specify the reference document specifying information and the link level information to be printed; (c1) receiving a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specifying information, specifying link information of the other document included in the received reference document, (c2) comparing the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document, (c3) a document interpreter for receiving the other document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And (d) a print data conversion unit for converting the received reference document and the received other document into print data; Document processing apparatus comprising a. A storage medium operating in a data processing system and storing a program for making a request for processing a document in the data processing system, The program (a) program code means for instructing the data processing system to receive a print request including reference document specific information of a reference document including link information to another document sent from a terminal and link level information of a document to be printed. ; (b) program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret the print request to specify the reference document specifying information; (c) program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret the print request and specify the link level information to be printed; (d) program code means for instructing the data processing system to receive a reference document existing on the network corresponding to the reference document specifying information; (e) program code means for instructing the data processing system to interpret the received reference document to specify link information to the other document; (f) program code means for instructing the data processing system to compare the link level of the document to be printed with the link level of another document corresponding to the link information to the specified other document; (g) program code means for instructing the data processing system to receive the other document existing on the network based on the link information to the other document; And (h) program code means for instructing the data processing system to convert the received reference document and the received other document into print data. Storage medium comprising a.