Forms processor with controlled remote revision

• US 5,218,539 A
• Filed: 10/10/1990
• Issued: 06/08/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Elphick, Simon J., Wickes, Robin M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming, Michael R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHUN, DEBRA
• Application Number:
  US07/595,740
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419, 395/600
• US Class Current: 715/209
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

The specification teaches a structured text processing system for use by such people as bank tellers and insurance agents who work at computer controlled work stations connected together in a network of computers. A draft document in the form of a work in progress (WIP) document is disclosed. The WIP document allows the system to efficiently transmit drafts of highly controlled documents such as loan applications and customer letters from one computer to another in the network for approval or additional information without losing control of the standard form text. The standard form text originates as a shell document having defined variables, the text values of which are entered by tellers at work station screens having prompt messages defined by a related shell detail data set. The variable text is stored into a variable response data set. The shell text and the data sets are made part of the WIP document and therefore are available at other computers in the network for use in revising the WIP document.

Claims

1. The method of preparing a structured document in a network of computer controlled keyboard displays comprising the steps of:

displaying to an operator, from shell detail data, prompt messages to said operator which solicit entry of variable text to be merged into a related shell document which has been selected by an operator;

reading from said keyboard, said variable text entered by said operator in response to said prompt messages;

establishing in the memory of the computer controlling said display to said operator, variable reply data containing said variable text entered by said operator;

concatenating said variable reply data and said shell detail data to said shell document to create a work in progress document, said shell document being separated from said shell detail data and said variable reply data by a non text unit identifier;

transmitting said work in progress document to another computer in said network;

displaying to another person at said another computer from said shell detail data and from said variable reply data of said work in progress document, said prompt messages and said variable text entered by said operator;

reading from said keyboard at said another computer, revised variable text entered by said another person in response to said prompt messages and said variable text entered by said operator;

replacing variable text in said variable reply data with said revised variable text; and

merging said revised variable text from said variable reply data into said shell document to create a merged document which contains the invariable text of said shell document and said variable text and said revised variable text to provide said structured document.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of concatenating first includes the step of:

merging said variable text from said variable reply data into said shell document to create a merged portion which contains said invariable text of said shell document and said variable text to provide a merged portion to which said variable reply data and said shell detail data are concatenated instead of said shell document to create said work in progress document.

3. The method of creating a work in progress document comprising the steps of:

responding to the selection by an operator, at a computer controlled keyboard display work station, of a shell document by

displaying to said operator, prompt messages from shell detail data, said prompt messages soliciting entry of variable text to be merged into said shell document which has been selected by said operator and reading from said keyboard of said work station, said variable text entered by said operator in response to said prompt messages;

establishing in the memory of said computer, variable reply data containing said variable text entered by said operator;

concatenating said variable reply data and said shell detail data to said shell document, by inserting an identifier between said shell document and said data, to create said work in progress document which can be sent to another computer for revision.

4. The method of revising a work in progress document stored in the memory of a computer controlled keyboard display workstation comprising the steps of:

displaying to a person at said computer, prompt messages from shell detail data and variable text from variable reply data, said variable text having been previously entered by another person who created said work in progress document, said shell detail data and said variable reply data being part of said work in progress document and separated from invariable text by a control indicator;

reading from said keyboard at said computer, revised variable text entered by said person in response to said prompt messages and said variable text entered by said another person;

replacing variable text in said variable reply data with said revised variable text; and

merging said revised variable text from said variable reply data into said invariable text which is also part of said work in progress document to create a merged document which contains said invariable text, at least some of said variable text and said revised variable text.

5. The method of editing a structured document received from another computer, said structured document being a combination of fixed text and variable text, comprising the steps of:

separating said variable text from said fixed text by recognizing a control indicator;

displaying said variable text to a person editing said structured document;

replacing text in said variable text portion of said structured document with revised text received from said person editing said structured document to create revised variable text;

merging said revised variable text and said fixed text to provide an integrated document in which said fixed text and said revised variable text are no longer separately distinguishable.