On-line documentation facility

• US 4,800,485 A
• Filed: 06/16/1986
• Issued: 01/24/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Mitchell, John C., Heffler, Michael J., Ackroff, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Gareth D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester G.
• Application Number:
  US06/875,246
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Users of an on-line documentation facility in a computer system are provided with the capability of specifying modifications to be made to the documentation that would otherwise be provided by the system.

Claims

1. A method performed by an on-line documentation program executing in a computer system, said method comprising the steps of

maintaining in a file within said computer system particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command,

receiving from at least one user of said system user-specific on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command, said at least one user being other than a designer of said computer system,

retrieving from said file and providing to each other individual user of said system, in response to each issuance by said each other user of said particular on-line documentation command, said particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command, and

providing to said at least one user of said system, in response to each issuance by said at least one user of said particular on-line documentation command, said user-specific on-line documentation, said user-specific on-line documentation being different from said system on-line documentation.

2. An on-line documentation method for use in a computer system, said method comprising the steps of

receiving from at least one user of said system user-specific on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command,

providing to other individual users of said system, in response to each issuance by said other users of said particular on-line documentation command, system on-line documentation associated with that particular on-line documentation command, and

providing to said at least one user of said system, in response to each issuance by said at least one user of said particular on-line documentation command, said user-specific on-line documentation, said user-specific on-line documentation being different from said system on-line documentation,

wherein said computer system includes means for storing the system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command and for storing system on-line documentation associated with other on-line documentation commands that can be issued by the users of said system, and wherein the second of said providing steps includes the steps of

storing one or more user documentation texts associated with at least said particular on-line documentation command,

storing an instruction associated with each user documentation text which indicates how that user documentation text is to be used to modify the stored system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command, and

creating said user-specific on-line documentation in accordance with each said instruction.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the system on-line documentation associated with each on-line documentation command includes one or more sections of system documentation text and wherein in said creating step each user documentation text associated with said particular on-line documentation command is either added to a corresponding system documentation text, used to replace a corresponding system documentation text or used as a separate section in said user-specific on-line documentation, as determined by the instruction associated with that user documentation text.

4. A method performed by an on-line documentation program executing in a computer system, said program being adapted to display on-line documentation in response to associated on-line documentation commands, said method comprising the steps of

receiving, from each of a plurality of users of said system, user-specific on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command, each of said users being other than a designer of said computer system, and

displaying for each one of said plurality of users of said system, in response to said particular on-line documentation command issued by said one of them, the user-specific on-line documentation previously received from said one of them, said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one of said plurality of users being different from said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one other of said plurality of users.

5. A method performed by an on-line documentation program executing in a computer system, said program being adapted to display on-line documentation in response to associated on-line documentation commands, said method comprising the steps of

maintaining in a file within said computer system particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command,

receiving, from each of a plurality of users of said system, user-specific on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command, each of said users being other than a designer of said computer system, and

displaying for each one of said plurality of users of said system, in response to said particular on-line documentation command issued by said one of them, the user-specific on-line documentation previously received from said one of them, said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one of said plurality of users being different from said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one other of said plurality of users,

said method comprising the further step of retrieving from said file and displaying for each other user of said system, in response to the issuance of said particular on-line documentation command by said each other user, said particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command.

6. A method for use in a computer system in which on-line documentation is displayed in response to associated on-line documentation commands, said method comprising the steps of

receiving, from each of a plurality of users of said system, user-specific on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command, and

displaying for each one of said plurality of users of said system, in response to said particular on-line documentation command issued by said one of them, the user-specific on-line documentation previously received from said one of them, said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one of said plurality of users being different from said user-specific on-line documentation for at least one other of said plurality of users,

said method comprising the further step of displaying for each other user of said system, in response to the issuance of said particular on-line documentation command by said each other user, predefined system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command,

the first of said displaying steps including the steps of

storing for each of said plurality of users information indicating how the user-specific on-line documentation to be displayed for that user differs from said system on-line documentation and

creating said user-specific on-line documentation in response to said system on-line documentation and said information.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said information includes one or more user documentation texts and instructions indicating how each user documentation text is to be combined with said system on-line documentation to create said user-specific on-line documentation.

8. An on-line documentation facility for use in a computer system comprising

means for maintaining in a file within said computer system particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with a particular on-line documentation command,

means for storing for at least one user of said system user-specific on-line documentation received from said one user, said user-specific on-line documentation being associated with said particular on-line documentation command, said at least one user being other than a designer of said computer system,

first means for retrieving from said file and providing to each other individual user of said system, in response to each issuance by said each other user of said particular on-line documentation command, said particular predefined system on-line documentation associated with that particular on-line documentation command, and

second means for providing to said at least one user of said system, in response to each issuance by said at least one user of said particular on-line documentation command, said user-specific on-line documentation, said user-specific on-line documentation being different from said system on-line documentation.

9. An on-line documentation facility for use in a computer system comprising

means for storing for at least one user of said system user-specific on-line documentation received from said one user, said user-specific on-line documentation being associated with a particular on-line documentation command,

first means for providing to each other individual users of said system, in response to each issuance by said other users of said particular on-line documentation command, system on-line documentation associated with that particular on-line documentation command, and

second means for providing to said at least one user of said system, in response to each issuance by said at least one user of said particular on-line documentation command, said user-specific on-line documentation, said user-specific on-line documentation being different from said system on-line documentation,

wherein said storing means further includes means for storing the system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command and for storing system on-line documentation associated with other on-line documentation commands that can be issued by the users of said system, and

means for storing one or more user documentation texts associated with at least said particular on-line documentation command and for storing an instruction associated with each user documentation text which indicates how that user documentation text is to be used to modify the stored system on-line documentation associated with said particular on-line documentation command, and wherein said second means further includes

means for creating said user-specific on-line documentation in accordance with each said instruction.