Using attached properties to provide document services

• US 6,240,429 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1998
• Issued: 05/29/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Salisbury, Michael P., Peterson, Karin, Terry, Douglas B., Thornton, James D., Lamping, John O., LaMarca, Anthony G., Dourish, James P., Edwards, Warren K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Application Number:
  US09/143,773
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: 707/201, 707/514, 707/513, 707/204, 707/10, 707/501, 707/102, 707/515, 707/516, 707/500, 709/202, 709/203, 709/328, 709/329, 709/310, 345/335
• US Class Current: 715/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

A document management system is provided which organizes, stores and retrieves documents according to properties attached to the documents. A property attachment mechanism allows a user to attach arbitrary static and active properties to a document. The active properties include executable code which activates an external service in response to a triggering event which is predefined by the user, such as an operation performed on the document. When the operation is applied to the document, the operation is compared to the active properties of the document to determine if it is a triggering event. If an active property is triggered, its code is executed which automatically invokes an external service that executes independently from the operation. The results of the service are sent back to the document management system and the operation is then continued. In this manner, a user interacts directly with a document rather than locating, loading and executing an external service to be applied to the document. The user and/or other applications are unaware of the external service being processed.

Claims

1. A method of activating a service to be performed on an electronic document in response to a triggering event, the method comprising the steps of:

logically attaching a property to the electronic document, the property being configured to activate the service for manipulating the electronic document in response to the triggering event;

associating an operation to the property as the triggering event, the operation being one to be performed on the electronic document which is initiated by an application, the service being independent from the application and capable of manipulating the electronic document without the application being aware of the manipulating;

initiating, by the application, the operation to be performed on the electronic document;

intercepting the operation before being performed on the electronic document;

identifying the property attached to the electronic document for which the operation is the triggering event;

activating the service associated to the property triggered by the operation, the service manipulating the electronic document independent from the application; and

performing the operation on the manipulated document.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the property is configured having instructions for activating the service such that the service executes on the document and manipulates the document in response to the triggering event.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the document includes content and the manipulating includes changing the content of the document.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the document includes content and the manipulating includes generating a result without changing the content of the document.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the manipulated document is separate from the document.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the property is attached to the document such that the application unintentionally activates the service by initiating the operation to be performed on the document.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including logically attaching a plurality of properties to the document, each of the properties being configured to activate a service upon a triggering event where the triggering event is an operation performed on the document by an application, the service being independent from the application.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the property is configured to activate a plurality of services in response to the triggering event.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the performing the operation on the manipulated document includes generating a result to the application, the result being different than a result which would be generated by the operation being performed on the document without activating the service.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including logically attaching a property to the document by a plurality of users where each property attached by each of the users is maintained independently for each of the users.

11. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the service activated is executed by an operating system which is different than an operating system executing the application.

12. In a document management system, a method of activating a service to be performed on an electronic document in response to a triggering event, the method comprising the steps of:

logically attaching a property to the electronic document, the property being configured to activate a service for manipulating the document in response to the triggering event;

associating the triggering event to the property such that the property invokes the service in response to an occurrence of the triggering event;

monitoring for an occurrence of the triggering event;

intercepting the triggering event;

identifying the property attached to the electronic document which has the triggering event associated thereto;

activating the service associated to the property triggered by the triggering event, the service manipulating the electronic document; and

generating a result of the service from manipulating the document.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the triggering event is an operation intiated by an application for processing the document.

14. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the triggering event is a system parameter.

15. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the service routinely sends queries to the document management system to determine which documents have attached properties associated to the service.

16. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the document includes content and the generating includes changing the content of the document.

17. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the document includes content and the result is generated without changing the content of the document.

18. A method of activating a service to be performed on a content containing document in response to a triggering event, the method comprising the steps of:

logically attaching an active property to the document, the active property being configured having instructions for activating the service such that the service executes on the document and manipulates the document in response to the triggering event;

associating an operation to the active property as the triggering event, the operation being one to be performed on the document which is initiated by an application, the service being independent from the application and capable of manipulating the document without the application being aware of the manipulating;

initiating, by the application, the operation to be performed on the document;

intercepting the operation before being performed on the document;

identifying the active property attached to the document for which the operation is the triggering event;

activating the service associated to the active property triggered by the operation, the service manipulating the document independent from the application, wherein manipulating includes changing the content of the document; and

performing the operation on the manipulated document.

19. The method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the manipulated document is separate from the document.

20. The method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the active property is attached to the document such that the application unintentionally activates the service by initiating the operation to be performed on the document.