Electronic filing system with scan-placeholders

• US 20040205622A1
• Filed: 07/25/2002
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Oʼbrien, Jon, Jones, Rachel, Bentley, Richard, Button, Graham, Palfreyman, Kevin, Pycock, James E., Maclean, Allan
• Granted Patent: US 8,245,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/523
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

In an electronic document filing system, placeholder objects are used to provide an explicit representation of document files which are not yet present but which are explicitly expected by the system. A placeholder object can be a real filing system object, which may be processed by the filing system in the same manner as any other filing system object, and can include filing system data such as file metadata. The metadata may be associated with an expected source for the document file (e.g., for automatic capture of a paper document from a scanner).

Claims

1. An electronic document processing system for processing electronic representations of documents, comprising:

an image acquisition device for acquiring a digital image of a material document in an image acquisition operation;

an electronic filing system for organizing electronic document files as file objects within a structure of filing system objects;

a placeholder object generator for generating a scan-placeholder class of filing system object;

each scan-placeholder object;

(a) being distinct from a document file object;

(b) representing a document file of the digital image of the material document which is not recognized as being present but which is explicitly expected to be acquired using the image acquisition device; and

(c) being associated with control information for controlling at least partly the image acquisition operation; and

a placeholder controller for initiating the image acquisition operation in accordance with the control information, in response to a user command to redeem the scan-placeholder object.

2. An electronic document processing system according to claim 1, wherein the placeholder controller is operative to replace the scan-placeholder object in the electronic filing system with the document file of the digital image of the material document acquired by the image acquisition system.

3. An electronic document processing system according to claim 2, wherein the placeholder controller is operative to replace the scan-placeholder object in the electronic filing system by deleting the scan-placeholder object and creating the document file of the digital image of the material document in the electronic filing system.

4. An electronic document processing system according to claim 2, wherein the control information includes at least one type of information selected from the types of:

scanning resolution information;

scanning color information;

optical character recognition information; and

compression information.

5. An electronic document processing system according to claim 2, wherein the control information includes information associated with a target location in the electronic filing system for storing the document file of the digital image of the material document when it is acquired by the image acquisition device.

6. An electronic document processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a graphical user interface for generating a visual display of objects within the electronic filing system;

the graphical user interface being operative to distinguish between document file objects and scan-placeholder objects.

7. An electronic document processing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a graphical user interface for generating a visual display of objects within the electronic filing system;

an input device for enabling a user to select an object having a menu of available commands associated with the selected object.

8. An electronic document processing system according to claim 7, wherein the menu of available commands associated with a scan-placeholder object includes at least one redeem command for initiating the image acquisition process to redeem the scan-placeholder object with the digital image of the material document acquired by the image acquisition device.

9. An electronic document processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a version-data generator for generating version-data associated with the scan-placeholder object for permitting a plurality of versions of the expected document file to be associated with the scan-placeholder object;

wherein the placeholder controller redeems the placeholder object with a version of the expected document file when the version of the expected document file is presented.

10. An electronic document processing system according to claim 9, wherein the placeholder controller is operative to delete the scan-placeholder object in the electronic filing system when a final version of the corresponding expected document file is created in the electronic filing system.

11. In an electronic document processing system including:

an image acquisition device for acquiring a digital image of a material document in an image acquisition operation; and

an electronic filing system for organizing electronic document files as file objects within a structure of filing system objects;

a method comprising;

generating a scan-placeholder class of filing system object in the electronic filing system, each scan-placeholder object being distinct from a document file object, and representing a document file which is not recognized as being present but which is explicitly expected to be acquired using the image acquisition device;

associating control information with each scan-placeholder object for controlling at least partly the image acquisition process; and

in response to a user command to redeem a scan-placeholder object, performing the image acquisition operation in accordance with the control information, to redeem the scan-placeholder object with a document file of the acquired digital image of the material document.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the scan-placeholder object is redeemed by replacing the placeholder object by a document file object, the document file object being the acquired digital image of the material document previously represented by the placeholder object.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the scan-placeholder object is redeemed by deleting the placeholder object and creating the document file of the digital image of the material document in the electronic filing system.

14. A method according to claim 11, wherein the control information includes at least one type of information selected from the types of:

scanning resolution information;

scanning color information;

optical character recognition information; and

compression information.

15. A method according to claim 11, wherein the control information includes information associated with a target location in the electronic filing system for storing the expected document file when it is presented.

16. An electronic document processing system including:

an image acquisition device for acquiring a digital image of a material document in an image acquisition operation; and

an electronic filing system for organizing electronic document files as file objects within a structure of filing system objects;

the electronic document processing system further comprising;

means for generating a scan-placeholder class of filing system object in the electronic filing system, each scan-placeholder object being distinct from a document file object, and representing a document file which is not recognized as being present but which is explicitly expected to be acquired using the image acquisition device;

means for associating control information with each scan-placeholder object for controlling at least partly the image acquisition process; and

means for performing the image acquisition operation in accordance with the control information in response to a user command to redeem a scan-placeholder object with a document file of the acquired digital image of a material document.

17. An electronic document processing system according to claim 16, wherein the scan-placeholder object is redeemed by replacing the placeholder object by a document file object, the document file object being the acquired digital image of a material document previously represented by the placeholder object.

18. An electronic document processing system according to claim 16, further comprising means for redeeming the scan-placeholder object in the electronic filing system by deleting the scan-placeholder object and storing the digital image of the material document in the electronic filing system.

19. An electronic document processing system according to claim 16, wherein the control information includes at least one type of information selected from the types of:

scanning resolution information;

scanning color information;

optical character recognition information; and

compression information.

20. An electronic document processing system according to claim 16, wherein the control information includes information associated with a target location in the electronic filing system for storing the document file of the digital image of the material document when it is acquired by the image acquisition device.