NZ706598B2 - Document Processing and Notating Method and System - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of notating a resource document electronically by a user while reading the resource document. The method comprises the steps of selecting a portion of text or characters of the resource document in a document display window displayed on an electronic display means; and automatically displaying one or more characteristics (530, 532, 534, 536) relating to the selected text or characters for editing by the user in a notes window. The one of the characteristics comprises a quote (532) of the selected portion of text or characters. cally displaying one or more characteristics (530, 532, 534, 536) relating to the selected text or characters for editing by the user in a notes window. The one of the characteristics comprises a quote (532) of the selected portion of text or characters.

Description

DOCUMENT PROCESSING AND NOTATING METHOD AND SYSTEM Field of the Invention This invention s to a word processing document system and method for creating a structured word processing document. In particular this invention relates to a system and method for electronically creating, writing and editing text and image compositions. The invention also relates to a system and a method for notating documents and media. In particular this invention relates to a system and method for electronically creating, writing and editing notations whilst reading an electronic document.

Background ofthe ion Writing is an activity that is aken by mo st human beings, whether it be for work, education or their own pleasure. There are a d number of tools that are available to assist with the writing process. For convenience, in terms of storage, editing, displaying and formatting documents, electronic word processing software is predominantly used in order to write structured documents, for example, reports, academic essays.

A particular problem with t word processors is that they are substantially equivalent to one r, providing little differentiation by offering all applications to all people but not providing a specifically targeted set of applications to a particular user group, such as academics or business people. One ofthe early introduced word processing packages was Microsoft Word® originally developed in the 19903. However the same principles that applied in the early 1990s generally apply with this e today and provides an ed set of ideas. For academics and other users, the inability ofword processors to te writing from formatting causes a writer to constantly attend to formatting and g their nts as they write. This distracts them from the important task ofjust g. Furthermore, most current word processors do not approach writing as a project and do not provide t management tools.

There are numerous problems with current word processors and briefly each has at least two major faults. Firstly, they are generic, offering a large array of tools (for example mail merge, writing newsletters, invitations and other creative documents) to all kinds of users, for examples, children, mums and dads, consultants, academics and business people. Secondly, formatting occurs within the document as the user types rather than being applied to the document alter the user has finished writing. As mentioned previously this distracts the writer from the foremost task of g and the writer has to constantly reformat the document during the writing process.

Furthermore, within the word sing software, various soft copy templates are ble. However, these templates are for style and design and are not content based.

Templates in word format are very usefiil, however they are cumbersome to manage. For example, (a) moving from section to section can be difficult, especially ifthe document is long, (b) g and pasting sections can disrupt the style and formatting ofthe document, (0) ing back and forth between sections is s, and (d) accidentally deleting a section that is needed is another example which is cumbersome and unwanted.

There is also the issue of finding an appropriate template in the first place. Even when a template is found, the writer generally needs to amend the template to suit their own purposes. Such amendments are often stored by the user to be used as a future template for their specific work tasks. However, moving t from one nt to another requires the user to become a “cut-and-paste” expert rather than focussing on the writing task at hand.

New and ng technologies, such as mobile based applications, web based applications and drop-and-drag techniques provide a way ofstructuring writing for various type purposes to assist s to write to academic rds. An academic standard do es not prevent creativity in g but can provide a structured way for a writer to prepare and present their ts. For example, most structured writing needs an introduction, a main body (usually in different sections), a conclusion and a reference list.

Academics produce research publications on a r basis. Research articles must be formatted according to the style guide ofthe target academic journal. When the target journal changes, the style guide also changes which creates additional work for the academic.

The activity of conducting research work involves publishing the outcome of the research. Academic publications are required to be styled in the preference ofthe target academic joumal. There are currently at least 20,700 academic journals across 19 disciplines worldwide which are peer-reviewed academic journals in the fields of arts and humanities, life sciences and medicine, social sciences and management and engineering and technology. There are around 3.7 million academics worldwide writing for academic journals and 40 million students writing academic papers at universities. Every academic discipline and journal has a different style guide to assist prospective authors. No matter how a research article has been n, an academic must format their end product, being the article, into the desired format of the target journal prior to submission. When an e is ed by a journal editor, the author finds a different journal to Submit their article and must reformat their article to the new style guide ofthe different .

Changing the format of an article in current word processing systems is a manual process which is time consuming and cumbersome. Currently there exists no tool to support the academic writing process (with the ion ofgeneric word sors) and manually reformatting text to different style guides. A range of tools exists to support bibliographic reference management (e.g. EndNote and RetWorks) and most reference so ftware interfaces with the main word processors. However these tools are generally cumbersome to use. rmore, research workers often use special terms such as abbreviations, acronyms, glossary terms and symbols in their writing related to their field of endeavour.

Current word processors have no means for capturing, storing, retrieving or automatically g these special terms in certain documents, such as a tation, manuscript or research report.

Furthermore, research workers have no means for tracking a range ofwork tasks associated with their writing, be it the l composition or individual parts of the composition. For example, who is writing which component ofthe composition and what is the status of each ent, for example is it at a “draft” stage, a “to review” stage, or has it been “completed”? Other work tasks include what items ofwork still need to be done, that is, for example, “find a citation” or “add a table”; writing notes about the ition (e.g. memory joggers about what to include); tracking follow up reminders (e.g. check with colleagues on a date) and keeping a track of emails sent about the composition, for example to a gue or a journal editor. All ofthese particular features are not possible with current word processing packages.

Formatting or styling a document is a ent task from writing a document. The t word processors require the user to focus on both tasks simultaneously, often the styling or formatting can overshadow the writing. As an example, if a user changes a particular style for a paragraph, then they must select all paragraphs before making the style change so that they are all consistent. r, if another style has the initial paragraph styling embedded in it, then the task becomes messy and difficult. If a user adds figures, lists or tables or other objects to their document, the formatting (e.g. number outline) can get confilsed and the writer then spends more time and energy trying to get their document to look consistent compared to actually writing the document.

There is simply no existing process that allows an entire document to be formatted (or reformatted) to a specific style. Also, the inability to move text around a document with ease requires the user to cut-and-paste. While drop-and-drag is useful, if a user fails to highlight text correctly then the task must be undone and attempted again. Also, current word processors do not have the ability to assign sections of a composition or article to different writers, link discrete sections to specific tasks nor allow viewing a composition based on who is writing a particular section of that composition.

Reading is a task undertaken by most able human beings. Today, reading has moved from being associated with hardcopy paper-like documents (e. g., books, newspapers, journals, etc.) to online reading objects such as eBooks, le document files (pdi), web-based pages, and other forms ofmedia.

A particular problem exits for readers of electronic reading al. When in hardcopy form, a reader, in particular a student or researcher, can ght text or add notes easily with a ghter pen and/0r pencil. Current electronic reading tools allow for this kind of simple note—taking (highlighting text, writing notes or making graphic objects such as a circle). For example, Adobe® provides the following annotation tools: pencil, highlight marker, straight lines, underline, strike out, gles, ellipse, r (add a check mark, arrow, star or cross) and text box (to add notes). Other software providers have included freehand lines and writing. However, a student or researcher typically creates specialised notes as they read, such as: identifying text to use as a quote, preparing paraphrases, cross—referencing other reading material, making ry s, and the like, by preparing manual notes, often in a note—book or using scraps ofpaper or sticky notes.

Furthermore, the term ‘annotate’ generally refers to a reader being able to fy the usefuhiess of what they are reading for developing an argument of their own.

Typically, annotation in re provides graphic mark-up capability (drawing lines, etc.) rather than the ability to notate the ness ofwhat e is reading.

Furthermore, manual note—taking is often organised along the lines of a particular research project, and sorting such notes can be a time-consuming, clumsy and a difficult task. Thus, the research process is delayed by ineffective and inefficient aking options.

Furthermore, students are taught the art ofwriting and researching when they attend university, college or some other educational institution. A key aspect of learning the research process is the y to digest reading material and create specialised notes such as quotations and paraphrases that meet academic standards by not infringing copyright laws. Plagiarism is a particularly prevalent issue for non-English speaking students in English-speaking universities and colleges as they have often been taught to respect the words oftheir sors and the like by repeating what they say rather than paraphrasing. Thus, plagiarism software (e.g., TurnitIn®) has become the tool of choice for academic institutions wishing to police poor writing practices; rather than provide reading tools that assist a student with the task of researching while they read.

The present ion seeks to overcome one or more ofthe above problems by providing an improved nt sing system and providing an improved g notation system for electronic documents and media. .

Summary ofthe Invention According to the first aspect of the invention, there is ed a method of ng a structured word processing document that is arranged in a specific format, the method comprising the steps of: opening the document to be processed in one of a ity ofView types; creating one or more composition flames (C-fiames), each C—frame containing data inserted by a user and selected by the user based on the use of the C-fi‘ame within the structured document; displaying the one or more C—frames on a screen to enable editing or ordering of each C-frame to compose the structured document; and formatting the structured document to a predefined format after completion of the C-frames.

The method may further comprise naming each C—frame and displaying the name of each e on a portion ofthe screen to enable the user to select and display a desired C—fi‘ame. The one or more C—frames may be selected from a range of types; for example, basic writing flames, helper flames, saved flames, automatic frames, multi flames and miscellaneous flames, said types of flames being selectable through a respective button, tab or module displayed on a screen.

The method may further comprise displaying the status ofone or more C—flames and coding each ofthe C-flames to indicate said status. The method may further comprise assigning one or more writers and/or one or more reviewers to a C—flame, such that said one or more writers and/or one or more reviewers are responsible for the content and completion ofthe C-frame. A user can elect one ofthe view types of a C—flame assigned to a specific writer, a specific reviewer, a number ofwriters or a number of reviewers.

The plurality ofView types may include an Outline View in which the name of each C~frame is yed in a first window and a Stack View in which the content of selected C—flames is concurrently displayed in a second window. The plurality ofView types may include a Writing Plan View in which C—flames are displayed horizontally across the screen to enable a user to plan the structure ofthe nt including editing and moving the C—frames. ing to a second aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a computer- readable medium sing computer-executable ctions that, when executed on a processor, in a method of ng a structured word processing document that is arranged in a specific format, directs a device to: open the document to be processed in one of a plurality ofview types; create one or more composition flames (C—frames), each C-frame containing data inserted by a user and selected by the user based on the use of the C—flame within the structured nt; display the one or more s on a screen to enable editing or ng of each C—flame within the ured document; and format the structured document to a ned format after completion ofthe C- frames.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for creating a structured word processing document that is arranged in a specific format, said system comprising: a server having a processor and memory for storing computer-executable instructions; one or more computing devices linked to said server through a communications network; wherein a user or users ofsaid one or more computing devices are able to access said server to create said dOCument by: creating one or more composition fi'ames (C—fitames), each C—frame containing data inserted by a user and selected by the user based on the use of the C-frame within the structured document; displaying the one or more C-fi‘ames on a screen to enable editing or ordering of each C—frame within the structured document; and formatting the structured document to a predefined format after completion of the C-frames.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of notating a document electronically by a user while reading the document, comprising the steps of: accessing and displaying in a first window the nt for notation on an electronic display means; selecting a portion of the document; ing in a second window associated with the selected document portion, one or more links to characteristics ofthe selected document portion; and displaying each teristic for viewing, editing or notating by the user.

According to a fifth aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a method of notating a resource nt electronically by a user while reading the resource nt, comprising the steps of: Selecting a portion of text or characters ofthe resource document in a document display window displayed on an electronic display means; and automatically displaying one or more characteristics relating to the selected text or characters for viewing, editing or ng by the user in a notes window, n one ofthe characteristics comprises a quote of the ed portion of text or characters.

According to a sixth aspect of the ion, there is provided a computer— readable medium sing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a processor, s a device to perform any one or more ofthe steps of the fourth or fifth aspects.

BriefDescription ofthe Drawings A preferred embodiment ofthe invention will hereinafter be described, by way of example only, with reference to the gs in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communications system that enables the creation of a structured word processing document; Figure 2 is a block diagram ofhardware associated with computing devices or the server depicted in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the various modules of the software that s the creation of the document; Figure 4A is a screen m of a document to be created shown in an e View; Figure 4B is a screen m showing a document being created with ition frames and frame headings on the screen in an Outline and Stack View; Figure 4C is a flow diagram showing the creation of a document from start to finish including applying or modifying style guides to a document after is has been Figure 4D is a flow diagram g the steps ed in the selection of a resource document and annotating a portion ofthe selected document; Figure 4B is a screen showing various sections of a resources screen used to select the resource document and annotate or notate the document; Figure 4F is a screen showing a portion of a nt with reference data ofthe document shown in a Notebook section ofthe screen; Figure 4G is a screen showing a portion of the document shown in Figure 4F with text highlighted and a box with links to characteristics ofthe selected text, the characteristics being shown in the Notebook section ofthe screen together with a rank and use; Figure 4H is an enlarged screen showing the box in Figure 4G with links to the characteristics; Figure 41 is a screen similar to Figure 4G showing a number of selected resources and associated annotations contained therein; Figure 4K is a screen showing a portion ofthe document shown in Figure 4F with information on tags used in relation to the document and shown in the Notebook section; Figure 5A is a menu providing access to different views ble for a document; Figure 5B is a menu showing access to parts of a tools database; Figure 5C is a menu g parts of a resources database that can be accessed; Figure 5D is a menu ofwriting fi'ames; Figure SE is a menu for multi-frarnes; Figure 5F is a menu for helper frames; Figure 5G is a menu for saved ; Figure 5H is a menu for automatic flames; Figure SJ is a menu for miscellaneous frames; Figure 5K is a window for entering or amending metadata for a document; Figure SL is a window providing access to a user to insert various data in the document; Figure SM is a screen showing access to a header and footer for a nt section; Figure 6 is a screen diagram showing a document in a Writing Plan View; Figure 7 is a screen m showing the document in a Preview View; Figure 8 is a flow diagram showing Tasks that can be added or modified to a document, such as status ofthe document, the writer, a to—do reminder, placeholder reminders, notes and emails; Figure 9 is a menu showing the status of a composition frame within a document and the ment of writer/s and reviewer/s; Figure 10A is a menu showing the ing ofwriters assigned to parts of a document, for example particular composition flames; Figure 10B is a window displaying all ofthe assigned writers or people associated with a particular C—frame; Figure 11 is a window for adding or ing a to-do reminder; Figure 12 is a window showing a placeholder that can be created or modified; Figure 13 is a window for adding or modifying a note about a ition frame within a document to remind the writer; Figure 14 is a window providing email messaging between writers on a composition frame or document or people that need to review the document; Figure 15A is a menu that provides access to a terms database to assist in constructing or amending a document; Figure 15B is a window displaying the long and short versions of an acronym; Figure 15C is a menu of an index ofvarious topics, places, names and organisations; Figure 15D is a menu associated with a recurring field in the document; Figure 16 is a flow diagram showing the process for producing an automatic listing of a term; Figure 17 is a box displaying the automated output for a list of acronyms; Figure 18 is a flow diagram showing the process of selecting and applying a style guide to a completed document; Figure 19 is a menu providing access to various ned document and bibliographic style guides or the ability to create a new style guide; Figure 20 is a screen diagram of composition style guide ements; Figure 21 is a screen diagram showing bibliographic reference style guide requirements; Figure 22 is a block diagram and flow diagram showing the activities associated with composing, g and editing a document; and Figure 23 is a screen diagram of files that can be accessed h a file manager ated with the system.

Detailed Description ofthe Preferred Embodiment Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a block diagram of a communications system (100) that is used to create and amend a composition ent) electronically. The computer program used to construct a composition is stored in memory of server (102) or alternatively in a library or se (118). Separate computing s (110, 112) are linked to the server (102) over a communications network (104) that may be a WAN or LAN. Mobile computing devices (1 14, 116) are linked by ar network (106) through a gateway (108) to the network (104) in order to gain access to the server (102).

Shown in Figure 2 is a block diagram of hardware lly associated with any of the computing devices (110, 114) or the server (102). The hardware (200) includes a memory (202) which includes ROM/RAM as well as stored data (204), programs and applications (206) and an operating system (208). The memory is linked to a central processor (210), a display unit (212) and an input device (214), such as a keyboard, touch pad or mouse. A power supply (216) provides power to these units. A communications connection (218) also serves as a port to other devices and/or networks.

Each ofthe screens, menus or windows shown in any one ofthe Figures, including access to modules, buttons, tabs, links are provided by the computer program or software stored in memory (202) of server (102) and any ofthe devices (110), (112), (114) or (116) and ed, run or processed by central processor (210) or equivalent processor on each ofthe devices (1 10), (1 12), (1 14) or (1 16), in accordance with the instructions provided by the computer program.

Referring to Figure 3 there is shown a block diagram ofthe various modules or ents that the ition software provides. These modules can equally be described as fiinctions or applications. The diagram (300) provides entry to six major functions through an entry module system (302). The six major fimctions or modules are a tools menu (304), a View menu (306), a tasks function (308), a resources database (310), a terms database (312) and a document style guide fiinction Mate) (314).

Each ofthe various sub menus or sub modules will be described at various parts of the description hereinafter.

All ofthe modules are accessible by computer programs stored in either the memory of server (102) or a respective computing device (1 10), (1 12), (1 14), (1 16). All ofthe module ons to be hereinafter described can be executed by the computer programs (computer—executable instructions), when executed on a processor in the server (102) or in respective computing devices (110), (112), (114), (116).

The View module (306) enables various ways ofviewing a composition and allows the user to access composition frames (hereinafter referred to as C-fi'ames) through each ofthe outline view (330), the stack (document) View (332), the preview View (334) and the writing plan View (336). A composition flame (C—frame) is a discrete object that holds captured text and/0r s that is used to e part of a document. A series ofuser—selected C—frames are added to the ition in order to compose the required document. Examples of composition frames are shown in Figure 4B at (402), (404) and (406). Figure 4B shows the outline view and stack View as is Figure 4A which does not have any C-frames added. C-frames can be added, moved, saved and deleted and each C—fiame Task can be edited in each of the g Plan, Stack and Outline Views. C— frames can be edited in the Stack View and the Preview View (that shows the C-frame content automatically formatted based on the style guide). In the Stack View (410) the user is able to view all C-frames in a sequential order, add C—frames (414) to (426), edit C-frames and change the order of C-firames. The Stack View (410) is the primary working area in the system for adding C—frames and content to a composition.

Composition frames (for e, (402), (404), (406)) contain discrete elements such as a heading, a list, a paragraph, a statement, a n, a title or a table. Each C- frame is ordered to compose a specific type of composition, for example, a journal article, report or business plan and can be reordered, by drop-and—drag technique, within the current composition. The C-frames come in various types including 1, 2 or 3 part, lined, layered or data and have options that indicate their characteristics and behaviour based on their use within a composition. Each C—frarne is named based on their use within a composition, for e: heading + paragraph, list, hypothesis, formulae, indented quote, figure, table, caption, data, etc. They can also be named by the user to suit the user’s composition preferences, for example, company history, a person’s phy, copyright notices. es are reusabie in other compositions, with or t content, and can be saved and retrieved with reusable content. Each C-frame can be altered to become a different composition frame and they can have numerous format styles associated with each according to different style guides. The C—frames are each compiled to form an output file (document), in various forms that can be saved, d and emailed.

A series of ition frames can be saved, as a composition, to represent a template for future use, such as a business proposal template, an essay template, a letter or email. C-frames can be linked together to form multiple composition fi'ames to aid with the writing task. As an example, the following have C-frames that are linked together: cover page, copyright page, document history page, structured abstract, introduction helper, paragraph helper, sion , list, , , complex headers, complex footers.

Some features for altering text can be made within each C-frame such as copy, cut, paste, highlight text as bold, italics or underline (446), highlighting in colour, inserting symbols and inserting subscripts, superscripts and strikethroughs (448).

C—frames enable the addition of notations (436) into each frame, the addition of 3O stored data, such as in a terms database (312), and have tasks (308) associated with each frame, such as status, writer/reviewer name, placeholders, to-do items, notes/annotate, history or audit trail. Composition tags or C-tags (424) can be positioned between frames to enable, for example, a forced page break, adding a blank page, and changing page orientation. Each C-flame allows a user to document ated tasks (308) such (l) The status (342) ofthe C~flame, which can be colour coded to indicate that the flame has not been started, is in a draft mode, has been finished or is yet to be reviewed.

The C—flames sh0wn on the screen (400) and in some ofthe other views, such as the Writing Plan View, shows the particular status by the colour of the flame. (2) Who is sible for writing or reviewing (344) each . A user can click to edit the writer name or to link to a contacts file. (3) A list ofPlaceholders (348) included in the C—flame, which are automatically generated and outstanding placeholders are highlighted by a symbol (450) (4) The ability to add a “to do” item (346) linked to a calendar entry in order to remind the writer about a ular task. (5) The ability to record a note or annotation (350) about a particular flame which can be edited. (6) The history (444) to show what changes have been made to the flame which includes the date it was created, edited and any changes made and by whom. A window can be accessed flom within the document that depicts a history slider or bar. It provides a timeline ofrevisions or amendments made to the document that can accessed and viewed by clicking on a link to revert to that particular document version. It indicates who made the revision or changes, when it was made and the size ofthe document.

Other characteristics of the document can be included.

There are various kinds of composition flames including basic writing flames, mutti frames, helper flames, auto flames, saved flames and laneous flames and C—Tags for including, for example, a forced page break. Other kinds of C—flames may yet be determined.

As mentioned previously Figure 4A is a screen diagram ofthe outline View that is used to compose, amend and rearrange C—flames. The screen (400) es an outline View window (408) which is used to display headings ofthe document and a stack View window (410) which is used to y the C-flames. In window (410) frames can also be added and the e t within each frame edited. Window (408) essentially displays the names of each flame and allows access to each flame by clicking on the heading which is then displayed in box (410). A three strike button (object or icon) (412) at the bottom left hand corner of screen (400) enables the user to hide the outline View.

Also located at the bottom ofthe screen (400) are s that s a user to add and work on different types of flames, in this instance a basic writing frame (414). Button (416) provides access to helper flames while button (418) provides access to saved fl'ames. Button (420) provides access to automatic flames and button (422) provides access to multi . Button (424) provides access to miscellaneous tags and button (426) enables the deletion of a flame.

Referring to Figure 4B, touching and dragging any one ofthe headers in window (408) will enable a USer to move that header around the screen (400). It will also select the outline and jump to that position in the document. Thus by a user touching or ng on the “complication” heading, for example, will enable any t that is under that heading to be displayed in window (410). Clicking on button (428) enables editing tasks to be performed on any one or more ofthe C—frames. The top part ofthe outline area in the screen (400) is also selectable and tasks can be managed by clicking on this section for the whole document.

A custom keyboard, that can appear on the screen (400), can be used by the user and will be able to have access to customised characters and s. Frames can be inserted either at the bottom or between frames, nested within the current frame. Words with incorrect spelling or sentences with incorrect grammar will have red and green lines thereunder. Touching a word or a sentence will bring up a menu with suggestions.

Diamonds, or any other suitably shaped indicia, (450) that are indicated at the left side of any one ofthe headings in window (408) indicate that there are still “to-dos” or Placeholders active. The colour of any one ofthe headings indicates the status ofthat fiame.

Referring to Figure 4C, there is shown a flow m (401) of the overall process that the system undertakes, under instruction firom the er program. It shows that the writing or compose process is distinctly different from the formatting (style guides) process. At step (403) the user enters the system and at step (405) opens the required document. This nt can be obtained from the folders database (407). At (409), the outline view is obtained or alternatively the writing plan View is obtained at (411). The document is then composed at step (413) and at step (415) style guides are d or modified. At step (417) a preview ofthe document output is compiled by applying a style guide (415) to a document composition (413) and then at step (419) a document output is produced which can be printed, emailed or saved in a folder (407). The system is then exited at step (421).

With reference to Figure 4D there is shown a flow diagram that enables access to electronic reading material and note-taking options in relation to an electronic resource.

The flow diagram (425) starts by the user entering or accessing the system at step (427).

At step (429) the user es a resource type fi'om the resources module (310). The user can select a ce from “My Library” at step (431), a resource fiom r/Search My Library” at step (433) or select a resource from “Find New Resource” at step (435). Once a selection has been made the process moves to step (437) where the selected resource or resources is/are displayed, for example, in window (469) ofFigure 4E on screen (456). The resources listed are retrieved from the database (118) in Figure 1. The user then selects a resource item at step (441) and has the Option to print or email the selected resource item displayed at step (443).

Using the screen (456) or (480), the user can View any nce data at step (445), view any notes at step (447) or view tags at step (449) relating to the selected resource. When viewing notes, the user can open the resource item at step (450) and then add or amend reference data at step (451), add or amend the notes at step (452) or add or amend tags at step (453). Ifviewing the tags at step (449) the user has the option to add or amend the tags at step (45 3). ing the reference data at step (445) the user has the option to amend or add reference data at step (451).

After the reference data, notes or tags have been amended or added, the process moves to step (454) where the user has the option to select another resource item back at step (441) and undertake the same process of steps (445) to (453). ise the user can exit the system at step (455).

Referring to Figure 4B, there is shown a screen (456) which s the resources page. The page is split up into various sections being “My Library” (466), h My Library” (467), “Find New Resources” (468), window (469) for displaying the selected resources and window (470) displaying notebook features. The user can select one of the criteria in “My Library” (466) to retrieve all resources, those that are unread or have a reference incomplete, one ofthe ites or one with no tags or one from an inbox.

Each ofthe resources retrieved under each category are listed in box 466. The user can also select “Search My Library” (467) to access publication type, authors, publications, keywords, favourites, recently retrieved ces, topics, projects, My Publications and Saved Searches. The search is performed by clicking on Search button (542). Each of the resources retrieved under each category are listed in box 467. Save button (540) is used to save any data searched. In the “Find New Resources” section (468) the user can search databases through tab (548), the web through tab (546), or a scholar reference through tab (544) based on any one ofthe headings: ation type, Authors, Publications, Keywords, Topics, Saved Searches and Recently Accessed Resources. The buttons Save (550) and Search (552) are used. Each ofthe resources retrieved under each category are listed in box 468.

Any ed resources are then displayed in window (469) where each resource will have listed the author in field (473), title ofthe resources in field (474), the publication details in field (475) and the year it was published in field (476). Each of boxes (471), (501), (503) and (472) are check boxes used to indicate tively whether or not the reference/resource has been read, ifthe nce data is complete, if it has been added to “favourites”, and ifthe reference has any tags.

On the right hand side of the screen in window (470) is listed the notebook module where one can access the resource nce data through tab (477), Notes through tab (478) or Tags h tab (479) pertaining to the selected resource. A Note List tab (568) provides access to and displays the notebook view/window shown in Figure 4.]. At the top of the screen the user can access various tabs to all resources by 2O clicking on tab (457), documents at tab (45 8), various spreadsheets at tab (459), presentations at tab (460), gs at tab (463), pictures at tab (554), music at tab (556), videos at tab (462), web pages at tab (558) and other information or resources at tab (560). Icon (465) takes the user to the Settings Module.

With reference to Figure 4F, a resource has been accessed which is shown in window (487), being a journal article. The user has opted to View the reference data by clicking on tab (477) which displays information in boxes (488) to (499) pertaining specifically to the displayed resource in window 469. Thus in box (491) there is displayed the nce type being a journal, in box (492) the authors and in box (493) the title. In box (494) there is displayed the her details, in box (495) the year the reference was published, in box (496) the volume number, and in box (497) the issue number. The page s are listed in box (498) while in box (499) there is displayed an abstract ofthe journal. Keywords are also listed in box (488) while a DOI number is listed in box (489). The user may edit any one ofthese boxes or amend the data.

Referring to Figure 4G there is shown a highlighted portion oftext (Figure 4H) in the window (487) that displays the journal. When highlighted, a box (601) appears above the highlighted portion with options for the user to access including colour, edit, delete, term (623), definition (625), rank (611), use for (609), highlight (607), quote (613), rase (617) and comment (621). The user can select any one ofthese functions for the ghted text which will automatically appear in the window (470).

Clicking on the notes tab (478) produces each of the fields shown on the right hand side in window (470). Thus in column (524) there is a highlights section (530) which lists any text which has been highlighted from the journal in window (487), any quotes in quotes section (532), any paraphrases entered by the user in paraphrases section (534) and any comments made and entered by the user in comments section (536). Each ofthese fields are editable. Alongside each ofthe sections (530), (532), (534) and (536) in column (526) there is provided a rank figure of the importance of each of the highlight, quote, paraphrase, or comment for a particular writing project. The user enters indicia, such as the stars shown in the Figure, to indicate the relative importance. The more stars added, the higher the ranking is. Any other suitable ranking system can be used. In the last column (528) a “use for” n is provided to note potential uses of each of the highlights, quotes, paraphrases or comments and this is entered by the user.

A particular paraphrase or quote or ght can be compared with one another to derive a similarity tage based on a number ofwords or type of descriptors in each ofthe text or captured es as shown in section (5 34). Options are ed at the top ofthe screen (480) to print a nt through tab (481), to email the document to another person through tab (482), to rotate the View h tab (483), to access or send a message at tab (569), to zoom in and out through tab (484), to provide a full screen for the journal article using tab (485), to undertake a search at tab (570) or to take notes using tab (486).

Referring to Figure 4J there is shown a further resource page (45 6) where a number ofresources have been selected in window (469). On the right hand side in the note book window (470) accessing “Notes List” tab (568) produces the option to list highlights, quotes, paraphrases and comments for all selected resources as in Figure 4G.

Finally in Figure 4K there is shown screen (480) where the user clicks on the tag button (479) in the notebook window (470). It lists projects in box (562), topics in box (564) and any annotations or summary of articles in box (566). All ofthese fields, (562, 564 and 566) are editable.

Returning to Figures 4A and 48, button (430) which displays a person, is used to change the View to a c writer or reviewer. The wheel button (432) is used for editing the document ta. Button (434) is used to access various style guides to be d to C~frames in the document. The down arrow box or button (43 6) is used for inserting items into frames, such as media, Placeholders, citations and resources. Button (438), which depicts an open book, es access through module (3 06) to various views and documents, such as Outline, Stack, Preview, Writing Plan, My Documents and Templates as seen in the menu (500) ofFigure 5A. Button (440), which depicts a spanner and screwdriver, is a Tools program, accessed through module (304), which is shown more clearly in menu (502) re 5B. This enables a user to Find and Replace Text (module (316)), Print (module , access Settings (module (324)) and Help (module (328)). The “Save As” te option (module (322)) will bring up a field above the keyboard or screen, like Find and Replace. Share (module (320)) provides s of emailing a C-frame, a selection of C-frames, an entire document or providing access to the document by another person. The Help option (module (328)) is contextual to the current screen or frame selection. From the Help window it is le to see a general overview. Other g functions include “Hypothesis”, “Proposition”, “New Caption Label” and “Remove Caption Number”.

Button (442) is a Resources button accessed through module (310), which upon clicking provides the menu (504) shown in Figure 5C. Resources allow the user access to all kinds ate documents that are stored and synchronized on line and on a portable onic computing device such as an iPad®. Online references will be saved to the user’s account. Most recent documents are shown at the top of the Resources list and previous documents are sorted into project folders. Documents (module (354)), Spreadsheets (module (356)), web pages (module (358)) and references (module (360)) can all be stored, accessed and searched.

The Resources (504) can also be ed (box (353) at the top of the Resources menu) and the contents of each resource will be indexed. The results of the search will also have an option to search on various search engines, such as Google®. The search can be cancelled or changed using button (355). Once a resource is selected, it will open up the resource for review. It is then possible to edit the metadata as well as insert a citation into the composition. The “Add Web Page” button (363) allows a user to add more documents by a search, or browsing and ading. A bibliographic reference can be added through button (365). A new screen appears in which information about the reference can be added such as the resource category (e.g. academic) and type (c.g. article), format (e.g. journal), the title ing a short title, the name of the author and/or editor. Publication details can also be added such as article title short title, series volume series issue, page range, ISSN, the date and year ofpublication. The source of the reference may also be inserted with details such as the name (e.g. organisation), the place of publication, database, provider, URL, DOI, the date accessed, notes and keywords. Once the information is entered, it can be added to a project name and then an “Add Resource” button is pressed. Access to a file manager, called FileMate, is provided through module or button (364). FileMate will be described in fiirther detail in relation to Figure 23.

Button (444) in Figure 4A provides access to the current document’s y. There are also standard buttons in a block (446) to hold, italicise and underline text in a C- frame and in button block (448) to provide subscripts, superscripts and strikethroughs to any portion ofthe text in a displayed frame.

Writing C-frames (506) are created using basic C—frames to aid with common writing tasks such as adding an abstract, a title and an introduction. Clicking on button (414) produces the menu (506) shown in Figure 5D. Essentially writing frames include, for e, a main title, sub-title, minor title, headings in three ent positions, paragraphs in three different positions, list item in three different positions, a statement, quote, equation, formulae and data.

Multi es are accessed by clicking on button (422) which produces a menu (508) shown in Figure 5E. Multi composition frames have been designed by adding Writing C—fiames together. These multi frames aid with the writing task and can be user defined. A range ofmulti C—frames will be fied for specific writing es, such as report, project plan, case study, academic essay and academic article. Multi frames can be any one of t, list, table, figure, chart, source, esis, proposition, paragraph (which can be linked to list item ), heading (which can also be linked to different paragraphs), label, title, header, footer and author. The author can have several columns and data double columns in which to enter the author contact details. The multi C-frames include two or more consecutive C-irarnes linked together and are used for complex writing tasks, such as lists, tables, headers and footers.

Helper composition frames are accessed through button (416) shown in Figure 4A.

It es the menu (510) shown in Figure SF. The Helper C-fiames are a collection of Writing C-frames with instructions to aid in g. They are used to provide, for example, an introduction, a structured abstract and a conclusion. The Introduction Helper C-frame provides linked C—frames including a heading, followed by four aphs frames for a situation, complication, question and answer, and composition outline. The Paragraph Helper C-frame includes four statement es being point, , example and another point flame. The Conclusion Helper C-frame includes a heading, ed by the four Paragraph frames called Aims, gs, Conclusions and Limitations. Finally a structured Abstract frame which is formed by 12 single column frames includes a first heading, a second heading, followed by two paragraphs repeated another five times. This is also used for a structured executive summary. Helper C— frames include ghosted writing to explain to a writer what is required. Gho sted writing disappears once a writer adds content to the frame. Another type of frame called a Saved frame is accessed by ng on button (418), an example menu (512) is shown in Figure 5G. It includes C-frames that contain saved content such as author name, contact details, person biography, or company overview.

Automatic or Auto frames (514) are compiled on data used in a composition as ed fiom the Resources Database or the Terms Database. A user inserts the Auto C- frame in the location where the list should appear. For example, a list of abbreviations often appears in the fiont matter for a doctoral tation, s a glossary appears in the back matter. If an Auto C-frame is not inserted into the composition, then an Auto list will not be generated. However, the user can still utilise data from the Terms Database within their composition to aid with writing. Auto C-frames are used to provide lists, such as, symbols, references, glossary, abbreviations, acronyms, indices, table of contents, list of tables, a list of figures, a table of authorities, endnotes, footnotes and chapter notes. Automated lists are drawn hour the data in the Terms database (312) as used in the composition. Auto C—frames are accessed by clicking on button (420) in Figure 4A and an example ofthe screen that is subsequently shown is displayed on menu (514) in Figure 51-1. The various lists that can be tically ted are table of contents, table of , table of tables, table of exhibits, table of authorities, list of iations, list of ms, list of s, a glossary, a full index or a separate index for places, names (people), captions, endnotes, organisations and topics, 21 reference list and a bibliography list may also be ed.

Miscellaneous C—frames are shown in the menu (516) of Figure 5] which is accessed by ng on button (424). This menu includes a range of miscellaneous frame tags that allows the user to indicate certain fixed actions for example, g a page break, changing the document orientation or including a blank page.

As mentioned previously, clicking on button (444) es a history about a document. It also allows a user to go back in time to different states and edits in the displayed document. The user can either copy text fi‘om the past or start editing, which will then put the new timeline at the end ofthe current timeline.

Clicking on button (432), the user is directed to a screen shown in the menu (518) of Figure 5K. It enables the document metadata to be updated, including a full title, a short title, the client name, the t name and other metadata such as key words used in the document. This enables more efficient searching for documents.

Accessing button (434) leads the user to the StyleMate Menu shown in Figure 19 (to be described hereinafter). There are two types of style guides, being a composition (document) style guide and a reference style guide.

Clicking on button (436) directs the user to a screen shown in the menu (520) of Figure 5L where the user can insert into the document text, bibliographic citations, cross references to other C-frames, resources, images, symbols, terms, names, Placeholders, media as well as a URL and a footnote. With regard to the citation, it shows the list of resources in the project, as well as those contained in the resources database. Upon selecting a resource, the citation is immediately inserted t having to open up the resource. A cross-reference can be inserted to other C—frames, like figures, tables and headings. With regard to a Placeholder, this is a textual Placeholder that automatically creates a “to do” older item and will remind the user in the outline view (via a diamond-shaped icon) that this needs to be attended to before the document is completed.

With regard to footnotes, content can be added to be included in a footnote or endnote.

As mentioned previously, clicking on button (438) leads the user to the screen shown in Figure 5A. It enables a series s to be accessed, such as Outline View (modules (330), , Preview View (module (334)), Writing Plan View (module (336)), My Documents (module (338)) and Templates (module (340)). Templates are shown in the order ofwhen they were created, the newest being first. There are also pre—defined templates dependent on the field of study or work ofthe user, for example, an academic or business user and also what type of account the user has. It is possible to import documents using te which can create style guides flom an existing document.

Figure 6 shows a screen (600) accessed through the Views button (43 8) and depicts the Writing Plan view. The Writing Plan screen (600) enables the user to plan his or her ition by adding, modifying, moving or ng C—flames according to the standards of their discipline. Most document correspondence includes preliminaries (or front matter) which are d into windows (604). These can include a cover page, table of contents, abstract or a list of authors. The body of the document is identified through window (606) which in this case is split into three separate windows (614), (616), (618). It positions C—frames in a structured manner, for example, “Introduction” is made up of a number of flames in window (614) and Key Points are shown in a fiirther series ofwindows in each ofthe windows (616), (618). It can be seen compared to Figure 4B that some ofthe flames in window (408) are transposed into Window (606) of the Writing Plan screen to provide an alternative layout for the author or user to see and modify. Finally an Addenda (or back ) is provided in window (608) that provides supplements or end matters such as nces and appendices.

The Writing Plan is comprised of meta-flames and provides a background planning template on which to organise C-flames to ensure the l composition meets the user’s aims. The Writing Plan gives a two dimensional overview ofthe document.

Frames can be easily added and titles edited. Frames can also be nested within other frames, and the order changed by dragging, by first selecting the flame (which highlights the flame) and then adding a frame flom the top left buttons (414) to (426). Heading sizes can automatically be determined and relationships can be established.

All flames have a ghost title based on the type of C—flame it is and content and titles can be altered in the Outline view. The colour of the flames are set by their current status as is set in the Task button (428). It is possible to touch scroll to the right of the screen to see more key points if necessary.

Saved flames ((512) in Figure 5G), are accessed through clicking button (418), are flames that the user has used in previous documents like , contact details and personal biography. Users can create their own Saved flames from standard flames that have a . tic or Auto flames, accessed through button (420) derive their contents from C-fi'ames and terms in the document itself and can include index, table of contents, list of acronyms and bibliographic references for example.

Tasks are accessible tln'ough (418) while s or reviewers are assigned to particular fi'ames can be viewed through button (430). The assignees can choose to filter their frames or see what has been ed to other people through this button. Once the user depresses the Done button (612), the frames are updated for the document.

Button (610) tes or enables access to the Header and Footer C-frame module which is shown in window (522) ofFigure 5M. These are pre—filled, based on a previous t or can be created as new. It is possible to add extra parts to the Header and Footer, and depending on the Style Guide chosen for the document, it might be organised into equidistant columns concatenated together.

As mentioned previously, clicking on button (43 2) s editing of the document metadata. On the first time showing of a new document, the document information is open, as seen in Figure 5K. The user can then put in the document title as well as other metadata such as client and project. This data is then used to organise virtual folders in FileMate. The client is selected from clients who have y been added in the address book, or clients that are completely new. The project is selected from projects that have already been added or by adding a new one. The “See More” tab includes statistical ation ofthe document including: version number, number ofwords, authors (which originally come from signing up ation); styles in which it has been formatted and any other document level data that has been .

Shown in Figure 7 is a screen (700) that represents a Preview view of the document shown in either Figure 4B or Figure 6. In window (702) there is shown the headings of each ofthe frames ofthe document and in window (704) there is a Preview view (706) of the actual document that can be scrolled up and down. The document can be edited in this view, however frames can only be edited in the Outline view (400) or the Writing Plan view (600). The Preview (704) shows the formatted output after the Style Guide has been applied to the complete nt.

The miscellaneous C—frames (434) are ise known as C-tags whereby between composition frames a user requires the ability to add the next composition frame and indicate certain fixed actions, for example force a page break, or change the page orientation. This is undertaken through the use of special composition tags or C—tags located after each C—frame. The various instructions that the C-tag can perform include adding a new C-frame, adding a page break, adding a blank page, providing start columns, changing orientation ofthe page, adding a blank line, adding a line separator.

Referring to Figure 8 there is a flow m (800) ofAdd/Modify Tasks (308) that can be associated with a C—frame or with an entire document. The status of a e can be modified at step (802), the writer or reviewer can be added or modified at step (806), a To Do task can be added or modified at step (812), a older reminder can be added or modified at step (818), a note or annotation can be added or modified at step (822) and an email can be added at step (826). Each ofthese steps accesses the database or library (118) to respectively retrieve information on status list/history at step (804), Writer list/history at (810), “to do” list/history at (816), older list/history at (820), note list/history at (824) and email list/history at (828). At step (806) the Add/Modify Writer step can be retrieve a contact fi'om a list of contacts in database (808) and the step Add/Modify To Do (812) can have access to a calendar database (814). At step (826) after adding an email, an email can be sent at (830). The message is sent via the user’s default email service. After a To Do reminder is added, the system updates the user’s calendar (814).

Shown in Figure 9 is a window (900) ofthe Tasks ated with a C-frame. The status box (902) (module (342)) has buttons for Begin, Draft, Review and Complete that can be colour coded. The C-fiame will be highlighted in this colour in the Outline and Writing Plan views. User—defined status labels can be also be added. A box (904) designates who the assigned writer/s is for the particular e and box (914) indicates the assigned reviewer/s. At the top ofthe screen there are buttons (906) to go to the To Do reminders, and button (908) to access Placeholders, and button (910) to access Notes and button (912) to send an Email, The Tasks for a C—frame is accessed through button (428) shown in Figure 4A.

Shown in Figure 10A is window (1000) (module (344)) ed by clicking on the right hand arrow on tab (904) in window (900). One or more writers can be assigned to the particular C—frame and s can be drawn from a predefined contacts database (808) that is shown in window (1000). A user can elect to see (and edit) the various views (Outline, Stack, Writing Plan, Preview) for a specific /reviewer or all writers/reviewers. Thus the writers Jane, John, Jack and the options All, Group 1 and Group 2 show various writers names in the database (808). In Figure 10B, window (1010) is accessed through button (430) in Figure 4A and allows the user to View all the assigned people for that particular C-frame.

Shown in Figure 11 is a window (1100) accessed through button (428) (module (346)) and showing the To Do reminder. In particular, in window (1102) a To Do reminder can be inserted as well as d in a defined calendar in the user’s calendar system (814) or inserted within a document, for example, associated with a portion of text or an image. le To Do’s can be ated with a particular e and/or a document. Once the To Do reminder has been entered in window (1102) and the start and end times and dates are inserted in window (1104), the user clicks on the Done button (1 106) to go back to the previous menu. atively, a due date for the required to—do can be entered as well as the name of a person the task is assigned to. Comments or notes can also be entered in the same window or a different window. A listing of all C—fiame To-Dos can be viewed and edited for the overall composition.

Shown in Figure 12 is a window (1200) showing the Task Placeholder (module (348)) and in particular shows the creation of a Placeholder. Placeholders are inserted into C—frarnes as a way ofreminding a writer what they need to do associated with that particular C-frame. A range ofsystem-generated Placeholders are available, for example “add a reference”, “add a figure”, “add a table”, “check with colleagues”. Users can define their own Placeholders, for e “ask Jenny”. When Placeholder notes are inserted into a C-frame, such as in window (1200) at tabs (1202), (1204), (1206), the list of Placeholders is tically updated in the task list. The task of writing is to remove all Placeholders. A diamond (450) appears on the C-fi'ame as well as the C-frame heading in the Outline view and the Writing Plan view when a Placeholder remains incomplete. Touching a placeholder will direct the user to the Placeholder in the current document View. Touching the Placeholder on the right side ofthe respective Placeholder tabs, it will allow the user to edit the assignment ofthat Placeholder. A due date, the name ofthe person to whom the Placeholder is assigned as well as any notes/comments can be inserted.

Shown in Figure 13 is a window (1300) associated with a Task to Add/Modify Note (module (350)). It shows the range ofnotes or tions that can be associated with a C-frame or a document. The user enters notes or annotations on r choosing as shown in window (1302). It provides the user with a means for adding a comment ing the current composition. A comment might include s of an abstract that is related to the current work, some notes that remind the user on what to write or other personal notes. Annotations can be added in a similar way by a reviewer for the writer to attend to. A user can add, modify, delete a C—frame or composition Note or Annotation or mark it as complete. A listing of all C—frame notes and annotations, or selected by writer/reviewer, can be viewed and edited for the overall composition.

With reference to Figure 14 there is shown the Task to Add/Modify Email whereby window (1400) is accessed through button (428) e (352)). It shows a range of emails that can be associated with a C-i‘rame or an entire document. It is possible to keep records of emails or other automated messages d to the e or the document.

Emails can be sent from this screen. The reply-to s will go to a parser unit first so that it can be added to this list and then forwarded onto the recipient’s email address.

Thus a question “Can you do this section?” is present in tab (1402) which can be sent to one of a number of email destinations. A finther tab (1404) has inserted “What resources will I need?” which can be an inbound or ed email asked ofthe person or user viewing the window (1400). Thus, the user is provided with a means for linking an email or other automated e to the current composition. The email might be to a collaborator, a reviewer or a journal editor. One can add, delete or modify an email, list emails (even by specific person) and add emails to a folder in the user’s email account.

Referring to Figures 15A to 15D there is shown a series of s or menu lists that are accessible when editing or composing a particular C-fiame. These menus provide a way ofdefining Terms (312) and for accessing Terms within the database. When a particular word is underlined with either a green or a red line or is otherwise ghted as indicating to the user that it needs replacing or amending, the user can place the cursor over that word which will trigger a drop down box or a box having various Options to choose fi‘om. This is shown at box (1500) whereby the options are to copy, cut, paste, define a term or access a thesaurus. Other terms can be placed in box (1500) to access various databases. As an e, a word es a further definition in which case the Terms database (312) is accessed by clicking on the Define Term menu option which produces the menu (1502). Various types ofterms are accessible from the Terms database such as shortened forms, for example, abbreviation (module (366)), acronym (module (368)) and symbols (module (374)), a glossary (module (370)), or an index (module (372)), uts (module (376)) and recurring fields. Shortened forms and long terms that get abbreviated are available to ease the reading process. For example, the term “Frequently Asked ons” is shortened to “FAQ” in window (1503). When a long term is first used in a document, the fiill description is typed and the modified term, that is the acronym, is placed in brackets immediately ing the full description.

Thereafter the short form of the term can be used. This is the opposite process to shortcuts. A shortcut is a shortened way oftyping a term to speed the writing process.

For example, typing “(0)” is replaced with “©” or “USA” gets replaced with “United States ofAmerica”. A user can also define New Terms (in box ), for example, a listing of Legal Terms and Conditions.

An Index contains a listing of fiequently used words for example, topics, names, places and organisations. Typically, an index gets created when a document has been d, for example a book. However, the user is able to maintain their own index of frequently used topic terms that can be accessed independently when creating or writing various documents. This will assist with the speed of typing and spell ng.

A Recurring Field is when c data is required, for example the date, and may be inserted many times into a document. When the field is edited in the document frame, it tically changes all fields of the same name to the same text.

In Figure 15B, when defining an acronym (window (1503)), abbreviation, symbol and glossary term, their long term meanings are also defined in addition. Re—defining can be done by reselecting the same word and bringing up the same contextual option.

Automated listings of acronyms, abbreviations, symbols and glossary terms (514) draw on both the short and long form of a Term as shown in Figure 17.

When text is being added to C—fiames, the Terms database (312) provides a look up for words as the user types, thereby speeding the typing process and ensuring spelling is t. The user-defined list ofTerms can be created. Official lists of special terms will be provided, for example stock exchange list of organisations, or a list of fundamental chemical elements. In Figure 15C, the Define Index window is shown at (1504) and in Figure 15D the ing Field screen is shown at (1506). An example of an Acronym screen is shown at window (1503) by clicking on the menu item Acronym in menu (l 502). The Done button is pressed when the user has finished modifying or g or ing a particular Term.

With regard to Terms generally, when words are selected, not only can they be copied and pasted, but they can also be included in one ofthe user’s indices as shown in Figure 15C. This is shown in screen (1504). A user can also define a New Index category (screen (1504)).

These indices are specified in the Terms se (1602) and are carried from document to document, stored in the user’s account. Even though words are carried from nt to document, ifthey do not appear in the current document then they do not appear in any automated C—frame listings. It will also be possible to add predefined industry or discipline specific indices.

The Terms database (1602) provides the user with the ability to add, modify or delete pre-defined t to use in a C—frame. Each composition Term ry is a database ofTerms and descriptions. Auto Lists can be generated within a composition for most kinds of composition terms (except shortcuts). When the composition gets compiled, the auto list forms part ofthe output file where a composition flame marker (Auto List C—fiame) has been located in the composition outline.

The Terms se (1602) provides the ability for a user to maintain, or acquire, lists ofwords and terms frequently used in typing. The term (not a description) is drawn upon when entering text within a C—frame, except for uts, where the term is typed and is replaced by the description. It provides the user with access to a -wide data set of various terms, abbreviations and acronyms. With regard to iations, an entry can be for a salutation, a business term or a medical term for example. The dataset has a number of columns being category, abbreviation and description. The composition text draws on the abbreviation, but does not replace it with the full description.

With regard to acronym as with abbreviation they can be added, edited or deleted.

Acronym s are categorised by a user-defined label and the dataset has a range of columns being category, acronym, and description. The composition text draws on the acronym, but does not replace it with the full description.

Names can be added to the Terms database (1602), such as names ofpeople, places and organisations. To add a , the name type person is selected from a drop—down box, then the first, middle and surname are entered. A reference can also be added and then an “Add” button depressed. To add a place, the name type place is selected from a drop-down box, then the place name is entered. A reference can also be added and then an “Add” button depressed. To add an organisation, the name type organisation is selected fi‘om a drop—down box, then the organisation name is entered. A URL and a reference can also be added and then an “Add” button depressed.

With regard to glossary this can be added, edited and deleted from or to the composition. Glossary entires are categorised by a user-defined label and the dataset has a number of columns being category, term, definition and bibliographic reference (which is optional). The text draws on the ry term but does not replace it with the full description.

With regard to index, again this can be added, edited and deleted to or from the ition. Index s are categorised as names, places, organisations and topics as well as sub-topics. Users can source text from this list to ensure t spelling, or avoid typing frequently used text, without having to add an Index List to their composition. Adding an Index List requires adding an Index Auto C—fi'ame to the outline. The dataset has a number of columns being category, term and sub-term.

With regard to symbols, again these can be added, edited and deleted and symbol entries are categorised by a user—defined label. The dataset has a range of columns being category, term and definition and the composition text draws on the symbol but does not replace it with the full description.

With regard to data fields, the date and time (with different formats), number (with different formats), nt information (for example page count, ter count, author and filename) can be amended or included. s can be inserted into C- fiames to use for page numbers and caption numbers nce is retained based on the C-frame (for example table, figure, page number, hypothesis, proposition)). There are a number of columns being category, field and description.

Finally shortcuts can be edited, added and deleted to or from the composition. The shortcuts allow the user to create a quick way of typing something in order to save time.

Other shortcuts include symbols and text substitutions. The user types the ut but the full phrase replaces what they typed as they type. Shortcut entries are categorised by a user—defined label and the dataset has a number of columns being shortcut, term and phrase (or category, shortcut and Replace With). The user could also use Index to include frequently typed terms.

With reference to Figure 16 there is shown a flow diagram (1600) ofthe process for producing an automatic listing of a Term. The Terms database (1602) is accessed after a user adds an auto frame to the document at step (1604). The user adds text to the frame at , calling on the Terms se (1602). At (1608) a document output is generated and at (1610) a document contains an auto frame and terms. At step (1612) an automated listing ofterms is produced and at step (1614) the document output is produced.

Shown in the box (1700) ofFigure 17 is an e of an tic list of an Output view of acronyms and their description. The list is automatically generated based on the fact that the Acronym e is present, the “term” is found in the document and it corresponds with a term in the Terms database. This output is typical for providing a list of abbreviations, acronyms, symbols and a glossary required in a range of academic and business documents.

Referring to Figure 18, there is shown a process (1800) in which a user can select a particular Style Guide in order to provide a composition in the style of, for example, a target academic journal. It describes the process for creating both a composition (document) Style Guide and ographic) Reference Style Guide. At step (1802) the Style Guide is selected from a list of pre-existing Style Guides in Library (1804) or a new style guide. At (1806) the list ofdocument es is provided from the current document while at (1808) a list ofreference types and fields is provided. The user at (1810) modifies the various styles having regard to various formatting techniques such as fonts at , spacing at (1814), layouts at (1816) and marks at (1818). The output is then previewed at step (1820) and the Style Guide is saved at (1822). The saved Style Guide is then returned to the Style Guide Library (1804) for storage.

A style can be d, shared among other users, imported from another source or document, exported to another source or document, or deleted using tabs/buttons on a selected screen. Existing styles that have been created may be displayed in order ofmost recent use or date of creation, to be used in the current document or frame.

A style can be selected from a tab on the screen and d to certain parts ofthe document, such as a cover page, a header or footer, the body of the document, to nces or to “smart lists”. Each style can include the type of font, character size, line spacing, bolded text, underline, s, text alignment. Smart lists can include a table of contents, a list of captions, a glossary, an index, abbreviations, names (person, place, organisation), footnotes and footnotes as endnotes. A format for the table of contents can be created including the numbering style and the number of levels to be shown, selectable fiom drop—down boxes. Indentations can be selected from a drop—down box and ed at for example, the first line of each paragraph. Footnotes can also have particular characteristics such as including brackets and footnote markers.

Once the style has been completed, the document (or project) can be exported as a Word document or a PDF document. It can be exported in a particular style, where no style has been created for that document.

Figure 19 shows a menu (1900) which is ed by clicking on button (434). It s to the StyleMate screen (module (314)) h there are two types of Style Guides, Composition (or document) style guides (module (378)) and nces style guides (module (3 80)). The screen (1900) can also be used to add a new Style Guide or add a Style Guide from a document. Style Guides can be stored according to various disciplines or categories, such as legal studies, arts and education and medical sciences.

The ate selector, as depicted in Figure 19, shows a history of Style Guides that have already been used in the current open document (378), (380). Furthermore the user can browse folders or search for Style Guides from a predefined library for different academic disciplines, for example medical sciences. Selecting a Style Guide will automatically put the document into a preview mode so that the user can view the style.

Selecting Style Guide from a document will bring up the FileMate menu so that one can select a resource of type document with an attempt to derive a Style Guide from the document.

With reference to the Composition Style Guide, this provides the user with a means for maintaining the format of their ition ndent ofthe g. Essentially each C—fiame, as captured content, offers the ability to format the content as a discrete activity. Advantages include that each kind of C-frame will have consistent formatting and reduce the need for spending large amounts oftime reformatting when, for e, an academic journal article is sent to a different journal. The StyleMate icon provides information about the current Style Guides in use (Composition Style and Reference Style), the ability to select a different Style Guide and a link to go to the StyleMate to make changes ifrequired. A default Style Guide is available and can be updated by the user ifrequired.

With regard to Composition Style Guide, when a particular Style Guide is selected at step (1802), the system tes the Composition Style based on the composition frames used. Many Style Guides can be deployed for a single composition, at ent times, and can be invoked by the user by selecting the Style Guide they wish to use for a particular output file. Each C—frame within the composition will have a default Style Guide to ensure that a style is available for every composition frame used. A user can format all of the selected C~frame types, for example Heading 1, Paragraph 1, to create the default for that C—fiame type or select a c instance of a C-frame to create a unique style for the selected C—frame. The Viewer can be opened to view the ition as formatting decisions are made. The user can identify their preferred default format for each category.

Shown in Figure 20 is a screen diagram of an outline ofthe Composition Style Guide requirements. The screen (2000) provides access to four different nus being Fonts (2010), g (2020), Layout (2030) and Marks (2040). Each ofthe C- frames in the current document are shown on the left hand side of the screen (2000) via each g. By clicking on each ofthe buttons, the text within that heading can be seen. Previews can also be . Thus the user will select the C-fiame type or a specific instance and have access to the buttons , (2020), (2030), (2040). By clicking on button (2020), which brings up font options, the user can select from, for example, the range of font type, font size, font typeface or style such as regular, bold, italicised. The user can also select whether or not certain parts of the text are to be in l letters and select the colour applied to any or all parts of the text from a colour pallet. The selection is done in a spreadsheet style, whereby selection of a cell displays (at the bottom of the screen) the possible options, for example, what style font. The frames are listed in the first column, and selection of an entire column fiom the first row will enable the editing of everything in that column. As a row is selected, a Preview View is shown directly beneath it. All C-frames can be edited from this style guide (including Auto C—frames).

Clicking on button (2020) enables access to the Spacing sub—menu whereby line spacing, ent, space before and space after can be ed fiom. Accessing button (2030) provides Layout options (such as paragraph, indent all, indent first, no indents), how far the indent is to be , providing an end (such as full stop, colon, semi- colon, blank space, then the word, and none). A following option is also provided, that is “continue on the same line” or the “next line” and access to separators is also provided.

Clicking on the button Marks (2040) enables the user to provide specific characters for marking footnotes, endnotes, paragraphs and lists, all sourced from a symbol data set. It also provides access to different types of numbers, shapes and size for identifying lists, the user can select which number to be used for each level. The user can also access Line Style including different line thicknesses and line position, for use in headers and footers and tables.

StyleMate also enables the editing of all the different types of bibliographic references (for example, journals, book, r) that could be used in a document, which can be directly edited via their attributes in a spreadsheet style. Shown in Figure 21 is a screen diagram (2100) ofthe references style guide requirements. The reference style guide holds the format for all academic journals, as provided by journal editors. There are various reference s such as book, book chapter, journal article, article in magazine, conference proceedings, report, website, case, legislation, statutes. Each source requires different fields to be collected. Each data field for each source will be a discrete C-frame, and provided in a list that the user can drag into a different order. The user can then utilise the StyleMate menus (2010), (2020), (2030), (2040) to format each field as they require, for example to comply with a specific journal requirement. The screen (2100) is r in view to screen (2000) in that it has access to utes such as fonts, spacing, layout and marks. However on the left side ofscreen (2100) there are various headings for C-frames entitled author, year, title, her, place and other fields for the user to complete or modify. Reference fields are enated horizontally in the Preview view. A w View is shown directly h it. When the type of reference, for example a book, is selected at e> in screen (2100), the fields associated with that reference type are ed in the column below. All reference source types can be edited fiom this style guide.

Referring to Figure 22 there is shown a flow chart (2200) ofthe activities associated with composing or writing and g a document. An editable flame is added to the composition at (2202) or alternatively an auto—firame is added at (2204), each from the frame library (118). Next at step (2206), the document text is added, which may draw upon a limited range of in—text styling (2207) and at (2208) a term or terms can be defined and selected from Terms database (312). At step (2210) a Resource can be added or selected and at step (2212) a Task is added or modified using a Tasks se (308). At step (2214) the C—frame is saved and saved back to the frame library (118) and the document is saved at (2216). Furthermore when an auto-frame is added at (2204) this is directly saved into the document at (2216).

With reference to Figure 23 there is shown a screen (2300) which is accessed through the FileMate icon or tab. FileMate is the name given to a file manager which manages files in a users account and on the users computing device, such as an iPad®.

The file r is used to manage nts, resources, importing styles for the style guide module (314) (StyleMate), inserting media and spreadsheets. Document thumbnails are created from the most unique page of the document which would typically have an image, graph or table. It is possible to import other documents from a network drive. Upon importing, the system extracts out a style guide as well as breaks the t into C-frames. Furthermore it is possible for folders to have sub—folders and the ure of each is shown below, unless it is a single level sub—folder: Client > s of Clients > Folders of Projects Recent Projects > Folders ofRecent Projects Type > Folders of File Types Source > Folders ofthe source ofthe resource Keywords > Folders of each Keyword taken from words that are used in the documents index.

As the user creates new documents and fills in the metadata, the system automatically creates sub-folders in each of the above mentioned sections related to that metadata. For example, ifthe user inserts the client and a name for the project, a sub— folder of this client would appear in the Clients folder. Within this sub-folder would be the project lder.

Icons on the top right hand side of screen (2300) include button (2302) which enables the creation of a new nt, which then jumps to the templates screen.

Button (2304) enables a search to be done for an existing document.

The file manager FileMate will be a simple file uploader which will come as an application installer. Files can simply be dragged into the drive, or even d to a system s and these files can be accessed by the FileMate screen. Once they are added to the project, they are automatically organised into that project folder. The File manager will also include a real time export of project documents in various formats. It is possible to have bibliographic references imported fiom other ations and those references will appear in the FileMate menu as References.

A Dashboard can be accessed through the program that provides a screen to the user with an update on the status of a particular project. Archived projects can also be searched. Each project displayed shows the due date, latest version , when it was last edited and by whom, percentage of completion and word count. Also shown on the Dashboard screen is a list of projects that are due to be ted within a particular timefiaine, for example, within 30 days. All recent activities carried out on current projects are listed in an Activity .

A new project can be created from this Dashboard page, by clicking on “New Project” tab. At the top ofthe screen the user can access Resources, Project Templates and Styles. When starting a new project, the user is directed to a screen to input information including Title, Category, Type and Format (under reference data), the Project Template, Style, Target Word Count and due date. Once this ation has been entered, the user clicks on the “Start Project”tab.

Claims (17)

CLAIMS :

1. A method ofnotating a resource document electronically by a user while reading the resource document, comprising the steps of: selecting a portion of text or characters ofthe resource document in a document display window yed on an electronic y means; and automatically displaying one or more characteristics relating to the selected text or characters for editing by the user in a notes window, wherein one of the characteristics comprises a quote ofthe selected portion of text or characters.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: accessing the resource document from a resources database, the resources database comprising a database ofresource documents, the database being accessed using a resources window; and 15 selecting the resource document to enable display of the resource document in the document display window.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, filrther comprising: storing the displayed characteristic in a notebook database, the notebook database 20 further g characteristics of other d resource documents ned in a resources database; ing multiple notated resource documents from a listing ofresource documents contained in the ce database, the multiple notated resource documents having characteristics stored in the notebook database; and 25 displaying teristics of all the selected notated resource documents for viewing, editing or notating in a note list .

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, fiirther comprising: ing in a function window associated with the selected nt portion of 30 text or characters, s for selecting which of the one or more characteristics are to be automatically displayed in the notes window.

5. The method according to any one ofthe preceding claims wherein the characteristics are any one of ghted portions of the nt, quotes from the document, rases by the user, or comments by the user.

6. The method according to claim 5 n one ofthe characteristics is rank, said rank being associated with any one or more ofhighlighted ns of the document, quotes fiom the document, paraphrases by the user, or comments by the user.

7. The method according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein one ofthe characteristics is 10 use associated with any one or more ofhighlighted portions ofthe nt, quotes from the document, paraphrases by the user, or comments by the user, said use being input by the user.

8. The method according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the resources database 15 includes a personal database ofresources ofthe user residing in one or more categories.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the personal database is searchable within said one or more categories and based on other characteristics of the resources. 20

10. The method according to claim 8 or claim 9, including searching for new resources using links to the internet, other databases, or a scholar database.

11. The method according to claim 1 further including displaying on the display means a Notebook section used to y information about the selected document under 25 one or more tabs including a reference tab, a notes tab and a tags tab.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the nce tab displays information about the document including bibliographic information, said information being editable by the user.

13. The method according to claim 11 wherein the notes tab displays, in on to a selected portion of the document, highlighted portions of the document, quotes from the document, paraphrases by the user or comments by the user, rank and a use of each of said highlighted portions ofthe document, quotes in the document, paraphrases or ts, each ofthese characteristics being editable by the user.

14. The method according to claim 11 n the tags tab enables display and editing of any one of projects, topics and annotation ofthe document by the user.

15. The method according to any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein the one or more characteristics relating to the selected text or characters is automatically displayed for notating by the user in the notes window.

16. The method ing to any one ofthe ing claims, wherein multiple different portions of text or characters of the resource document are selected in the document display ; and quotes of each ofthe multiple different portions oftext or characters are displayed in the notes window for editing by the user.

17. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a processor, directs a device to perform the steps of any one ofthe preceding claims.