CREATING DOCUMENTS FROM OBJECTS WITH TEXT IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE

• US 20090083624A1
• Filed: 09/25/2007
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, O'Connell, Brian M., Pickover, Clifford A., Seaman, James W., Walker, Keith R.
• Application Number:
  US11/861,264
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083624A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/273
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

Described herein are processes and devices that create and manage documents in a virtual universe. One of the devices described is a virtual document converter. The virtual document converter can determine a plurality of text objects associated with a document graphic. The plurality of text objects present text, such as of a multiple page virtual document in a virtual universe. The virtual document converter generates a single, multi-page document file, for example, by encoding the text presented by the plurality of text objects into the document file.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining a plurality of text objects associated with a document graphic, wherein the plurality of text objects present text of a multiple page virtual document in a virtual universe, wherein the multiple page virtual document is represented by the document graphic; and

generating a single, multi-page document file that encodes the text presented by the plurality of text objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the single, multi-page document file comprises

encoding text from the plurality of text objects into a plurality of document pages, and

binding the plurality of document pages into the single, multi-page document file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the text comprises metadata from the virtual universe.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the document file as a single, multi-page document in the virtual universe.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the document graphic comprises one or more of a chat screen, a virtual document, a scroll, a note, a picture album, and a help screen.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of text objects contain graphical objects included with the text, and wherein generating the document comprises encoding the graphical objects included with the text into the single, multi-page document file.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the document file in the virtual universe by performing one or more of printing the document file, saving the document file, transferring the document file within the virtual universe, separating a page from the document file to be transferred within the virtual universe, creating a shortcut to the document file, attaching the document file to an email, lending the document file, locking the document file, and retrieving the document file from a borrower.

8. A system comprising:

a machine configured to connect to a communication network, the machine configured to process data in a virtual universe; and

a virtual document converter configured to connect to any one of the machine and the communication network, wherein the virtual document converter comprises

a virtual document processor configured to determine a plurality of text objects associated with a document graphic wherein the plurality of text objects present text of a multiple page virtual document in a virtual universe, wherein the multiple page virtual document is represented by the document graphic, and

a document generation module configured to generate a single, multi-page document file that encodes the text presented by the plurality of text objects.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a parser module configured to

generate a plurality of document pages, and

encode text from the plurality of text objects into the plurality of document pages.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the document generation module is configured to bind the plurality of document pages into the single, multi-page document file.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a virtual universe document handler to control movement of the document file inside the virtual universe; and

a unit processing module to process the document file in the virtual universe.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the text comprises metadata from the virtual universe.

13. One or more machine-readable media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors causes the set of one or more processors to perform operations that comprise:

determining a plurality of text objects associated with a document graphic, wherein the plurality of text objects present text of a multiple page virtual document in a virtual universe, wherein the multiple page virtual document is represented by the document graphic; and

generating a single, multi-page document file that encodes the text presented by the plurality of text objects.

14. The machine-readable media of claim 13, wherein operations for generating a single multiple page document file comprise

encoding text from the plurality of text objects into a plurality of document pages, and

binding the plurality of document pages into the single, multi-page document file.

15. The machine-readable media of claim 13, wherein the text comprises metadata from the virtual universe.

16. The machine-readable media of claim 13, further comprising:

processing the document file in the virtual universe by performing one or more of printing the document file, saving the document file, transferring the document file within the virtual universe, separating a page from the document file to be transferred within the virtual universe, creating a shortcut to the document file, attaching the document file to an email, lending the document file, locking the document file, and retrieving the document file from a borrower.

17. A method, comprising:

determining a plurality of document graphics with one or more text objects in a virtual universe;

creating a plurality of document pages;

encoding text from the one or more text objects of the plurality of document graphics onto the plurality of document pages; and

generating a single, multi-page document file from the plurality of document pages.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the single, multi-page document file comprises binding the plurality of document pages into the single, multi-page document file.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of document graphics comprises one or more of chat screens, virtual documents, scrolls, notes, picture albums, and help screens.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of text objects comprises one or more of page layers of a virtual document and talk-bubble chat screens from avatars in the virtual universe.