Document Management User Interface With User Customized Application Functionalities

• US 20110225493A1
• Filed: 03/11/2010
• Published: 09/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: KATO, Kazuhiko, TANAKA, Shun, UCHIDA, Yuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,949 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/704
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems and methods are provided for accessing a document management application through a network, wherein for each application user, application functionalities in the application user interface are customized for that application user.

Claims

1. A document access apparatus for streamlining access to a document management application in a document management system, said document access apparatus comprising:

a user registration part configured to provide a registration user interface for registration of a specific user in a registration session, and selection of specific ones of a plurality of application functionalities of a document management apparatus for the specific user, and register the selected application functionalities in connection with the user registration;

a user information maintenance part configured to maintain, for the specific user, user information including functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered by the user information maintenance part for the specific user; and

an application operations part configured to retrieve upon login by the specific user in a later operations session, the functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered for the specific user, and provide in the later session an operations user interface showing the retrieved functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities for the specific user.

2. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

during the registration session, the registration user interface provides a view of the operations user interface including the selected application functionalities, and requests confirmation that the operations user interface including the selected application functionalities is to be provided when the specific user logins in the later operations session.

3. The document access apparatus of claim 2, wherein after the view of the operations user interface is displayed, the registration user interface allows the user to unselect one or more of the selected application functionalities, and the registration user interface provides an updated view of the operations user interface without the unselected application functionality.

4. The document access apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the user information maintained by the user information maintenance part for the specific user includes UI information for generating the confirmed operations user interface including the selected application functionalities when the specific user logins in the later operations session.

5. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

at least one of the application functionalities selected through the user registration part include one or more document parameters, other than document name, selected during the registration session and registered for the selected application functionality, and the application functionality is provided in the operations user interface when the specific user logins in the later operations session, along with the one or more document parameters registered for the application functionality, and not including other document parameters in the document management apparatus that were not registered for the application functionality.

6. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the operations user interface includes a search part,

during the registration session, the registration user interface permits selection of a subset, less than all, of document parameters in the document management apparatus, and the subset of selected document parameters are registered for the search part, and

the search part of the operations user interface provided when the specific user logins in the later operations session allows for user selection from the registered document parameters, and not from other document parameters in the document management apparatus that were not registered for the search part.

7. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

at least one of the application functionalities selected through the user registration part is registered with only document types selected during the registration session, and the application functionality is provided in the operations user interface when the specific user logins in the later operations session, along with the document types registered for the application functionality, and not including other document types in the document management apparatus that were not registered for the application functionality.

8. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the application functionalities selected through the user registration part during the registration of the specific user in the registration session include specific commands for the specific user to select for transmission to an application program interface of the document management apparatus.

9. The document access apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the specific commands for the specific user to select for transmission to the application program interface of the document management apparatus include a specified macro.

10. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the application functionalities selected through the user registration part include a plurality of databases to which the specific user has access privileges.

11. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the user information maintained by the user information maintenance part for the specific user includes business relevancy information indicating a specific business relevancy field pertinent to the specific user, and

the operations user interface (UI) is configured to receive user authentication information during the login of the specific user, utilize the user authentication information to retrieve the business relevancy information of the specific user, and present information corresponding to the specific business relevancy field pertinent to the specific user and indicated by the retrieved business relevancy information of the specific user.

12. The document access apparatus of claim 11, wherein

the operations user interface (UI) provides application functionalities corresponding to the specific business relevancy field pertinent to the specific user, and does not provide other application functionalities that are unrelated to the specific business relevancy field.

13. The document access apparatus of claim 11, wherein

the operations user interface (UI) includes one or more UI activators to access application functionalities corresponding to the specific business relevancy field pertinent to the specific user.

14. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of said application functionalities registered for the specific user is a specified macro defined by the user that includes one or more operation steps to be performed in a selected sequence, and

wherein an activator corresponding to the specified macro is included in the operations user interface provided to the user upon login, the activator being configured to perform said one or more operation steps in the selected sequence when the activator is selected.

15. The document access apparatus of claim 1, wherein the application functionality is registered with a document type selected during the registration session and one or more document parameters selected during the registration session, and the application functionality is provided in the operations user interface when the specific user logins, along with the document type and the one or more document parameters registered for the application functionality, and

wherein the document parameters are specific to the document type and functionally related to the document type.

16. A system for providing document management services on a terminal, said system comprising:

a document management apparatus configured to execute a document management application having a plurality of application functionalities;

an application user interface apparatus configured to communicate through a network with the document management apparatus, the application user interface apparatus including;

a user registration part configured to provide a registration user interface for registration of a specific user in a registration session, and selection of specific ones of the plurality of application functionalities of the document management apparatus, for the specific user, and register the selected application functionalities in connection with the user registration;

a user information maintenance part configured to maintain, for the specific user, user information including functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered by the user information maintenance part for the specific user; and

an application operations part configured to retrieve upon login by the specific user in a later operations session, the functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered for the specific user, and provide in the later session an operations user interface showing the retrieved functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities for the specific user.

17. The document management system of claim 16, wherein

the document management apparatus includes an application program interface;

and

the application functionalities selected through the user registration part during the registration of the specific user in the registration session include specific commands for the specific user to select, in the later operations session, for transmission to the application program interface of the document management apparatus.

18. The document management system of claim 17, wherein

the document management apparatus includes an access control part to maintain, for each registered user, access control data indicating portions of documents and document data in a document database that the registered user is authorized to access, and

when a command selected by the specific user in the later operations session is transmitted to the application program interface of the document management apparatus, the command is applied by the document management apparatus only to the documents and document data to which the specific user is authorized to access.

19. A method for streamlining access in a document management system including an application user interface apparatus configured to communicate through a network with a document management apparatus that is configured to execute a document management application having a plurality of application functionalities, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing, by the application user interface apparatus in a registration session, a registration user interface for registration of a specific user and selection of specific ones of a plurality of application functionalities for the specific user, and register the selected application functionalities in connection with the user registration;

(b) maintaining, by the application user interface apparatus, for the specific user, user information including functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered in (a) for the specific user; and

(c) retrieving upon login by the specific user in a later session, the functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities registered in (a) for the specific user, and providing in the later session an operations user interface showing the retrieved functionalities information indicating the specific application functionalities for the specific user.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

(d) maintaining, by the application user interface apparatus, in the user information, business relevancy information, obtained in the registration session, indicating a specific business relevancy field pertinent to the registered user; and

(e) receiving user information during the login of the specific user, and utilizing the user information to retrieve the business relevancy information of the specific user; and

wherein the operations user interface (UI), provided by the application user interface apparatus in (c), provides application functionalities corresponding to the specific business relevancy field pertinent to the specific user, and does not provide other application functionalities that are unrelated to the specific business relevancy field.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the application user interface apparatus only registers the selected ones of the plurality of application functionalities for the specific user, if the specific user confirms that the operations user interface including the selected application functionalities is to be provided when the specific user logins in the later operations session.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein when the operations user interface receives input of a user instruction to access a document, the application user interface apparatus only applies the instruction to the document if it is determined based on user access data that the specific user is authorized to access the document.