Updating organizational information by parsing text files

• US 20060143157A1
• Filed: 03/11/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: America Online Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: America Online Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Landsman, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/078,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143157A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods for updating a user'"'"'s organizational information. A text application is provided including a parser module for analyzing text documents accessed by a user and creating or updating the user'"'"'s organizational information depending on whether organizational information exists in the text document. The parser module may further identify the type of organizational information and communicate with an organizational information application to find the correct template for the organizational information. The organizational information is inserted into the selected templates and saved with the user'"'"'s organizational information.

Claims

1. A system for updating organizational information, the system comprising:

a user interface configured to allow a user to access a text document;

a parser module configured to initiate parsing of the text document when the user accesses the text document, wherein the parser module identifies organizational information in the text document; and

an organizational information module communicating with an organizational information application, the user interface and the parser module communicating with the organizational information module to update the organization information application with the organizational information identified in the text document.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an organizational information dictionary in communication with the parser module, the organizational information dictionary configured to assist the parser module in identifying and classifying organizational information located in the text document.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises an organizational information screen including information for one or more types of organizational information.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more delivery mechanism modules configured to perform one or more actions on the text document.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein the actions include one or more of:

send the text document as an email;

send the text document as an instant message;

send the text document as a text message; and

store the text document as a draft document.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface confirms the organizational information identified in the text document.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface automatically enters the organizational information in the organizational information application.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface prompts the user for additional information not included in the identified organizational information.

9. A method for updating organizational information when accessing a text document, the method comprising:

accessing a text document using a user interface;

parsing the text document to identify organizational information in the text document using an organizational information dictionary;

classifying the identified organizational information into one or more types of organizational information;

determining whether the identified organizational information is new; and

updating a user'"'"'s organizational information with the identified organizational information for each of the one or more types or organizational information included in the text document.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein accessing a text document further comprises at least one of:

identifying the text document drafted by the user;

creating the text document;

drafting the text document;

opening the text document;

receiving the text document from another user;

retrieving one or more messages from an inbox of the user; and

opening a text document that was downloaded to a device of the user.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein parsing the text document to identify organizational information and classifying the organizational information further comprises communicating with the organizational information dictionary.

12. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein determining whether the organizational information is new further comprises at least one of:

accessing an organizational information application which maintains the user'"'"'s organizational information and comparing the identified organization information from the text document with existing organizational information stored in the user'"'"'s organizational information;

retrieving an organizational information entry which contains at least some of the same organizational information identified by the parser module; and

retrieving a blank organizational information template in at least one of the types of organizational information identified by the parser module.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein updating a user'"'"'s organizational information with the identified organizational information further comprises at least one of:

inserting new organizational information into an organizational information entry;

inserting the identified organizational information into the organizational information entry;

automatically updating the user'"'"'s organizational information without the user'"'"'s involvement; and

requesting confirmation from the user to update the user'"'"'s organizational information.

14. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising performing one or more delivery mechanisms on the text document, the one or more delivery mechanisms being selected by the user through the user interface.

15. A method for updating a user'"'"'s organizational information database with organizational information included in a text document, the method comprising:

initiating a parser module to parse a text document displayed in a user interface;

analyzing the text document with an organizational information dictionary to identify organizational information in the text document;

determining at least one type for the identified organizational information;

selecting an template that corresponds to the at least one type;

inserting the identified organizational information into the selected template; and

updating the user'"'"'s organizational information database with the organizational information inserted in the selected template.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein initiating a parser module to parse a text document displayed in a user interface further comprises at least one of:

initiating the parser module in response to user input; and

automatically initiating the parser module upon accessing the text document.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein accessing the text document comprises one or more of:

creating the text document;

receiving the text document from another user;

downloading the text document from an application;

opening the text document; and

selecting a delivery mechanism for the text document.

18. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein inserting the identified organizational information into the selected template further comprises at least one of:

automatically saving the selected template to the user'"'"'s organization information database;

prompting the user to confirm the identified organizational information inserted in the selected template;

requesting organizational information not found by the parser module in the text document from the user;

determining if the identified organizational information is already included in the user'"'"'s organizational information database; and

selecting another template for other types or organizational information identified by the parser module.

19. A method as recited in claim 15, further comprising prompting the user to save at least a portion of the text document as a note in the user'"'"'s organizational information database if organizational information is not identified in the text document.

20. A method as recited in claim 15, further comprising automatically saving at least a portion of the text document as a note in the user'"'"'s organizational information database if organizational information is not identified in the text document.