Document display apparatus and method for displaying documents

• US 6,877,135 B1
• Filed: 12/28/1999
• Issued: 04/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kamiwada, Toru, Fujita, Takushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LUDWIG, MATTHEW J
• Application Number:
  US09/473,049
• Time in Patent Office: 1,925 Days
• Field of Search: 345/788, 345/790, 715/513, 715/500.1
• US Class Current: 715/210
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A document display apparatus analyzes document data of electronic documents that are scanning targets (Step S11), calculates a display priority p (Step S12), registers it as priority level information if it is greater than or equal to first set value P1 (Step S14), further scans the document structure of those electronic documents if they have link destination documents (Step S17), and releases storage region of document management information if display priority p is smaller than second set value P2 (Step 20) in order to better manage finite computer system resources.

Claims

1. A document display apparatus that manages a plurality of electronic documents each holding, when a linked document having hyperlinks exists, a relative relevancy to the linked document, as structure information, determines a display priority of each electronic document, and displays each electronic document based on the display priority thereof, provided with:

structure storage means for storing the display priority of each said electronic document;

structure analysis means for determining the display priority of each of said plurality of electronic documents based on the structure information held by each of said plurality of electronic documents, and stores the display priority thereof in said structure storage means; and

display means for determining a display method of each said electronic document based on the display priority determined by said structure analysis means,

wherein said structure analysis means scans each linked document based on the structure information held by an origin electronic document, analyzes a document group structure and stores information corresponding to the document group structure in said structure storage means,

wherein said structure analysis means does not scan linked documents of electronic documents having a display priority having a value that is smaller than a predetermined first set value, and

wherein said structure analysis means excludes electronic documents having a display priority that has a value smaller than a predetermined second set value from a management target of the document group structure stored in said structure storage means, and releases computer resources needed for a management of said excluded electronic documents.

2. The document display apparatus according to claim 1, further having:

instruction reception means for receiving a display-related instruction input,

wherein based on the instruction input received by said instruction reception means, the display priority of each of said plurality of electronic documents is recalculated by said structure analysis means and is stored in said structure storage means.

3. The document display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display means displays only ones of said plurality of electronic documents having a display priority that is a value larger than a predetermined display set value.

4. The document display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said display means allocates computer resources to ones of said electronic documents having a display priority value that is larger than said display set value, in order of largest display priority value, and each said electronic document having a display priority value that is smaller than a predetermined value is not displayed.

5. The document display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display means allocates computer resources for displaying determined ones of said plurality of electronic documents in order of a largest display priority value, and each said electronic document having a corresponding display priority value that is smaller than a predetermined value is not displayed.

6. The document display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a layout and a display of the electronic documents are determined based solely on a hyperlink structure.

7. A document display method of managing a plurality of electronic documents each including structure information relating to a linked document, as hyperlinks having display relevancy, the document display method of determining a display priority of each said electronic document, and of displaying each said electronic document on a display apparatus based on a display priority thereof, the method comprising:

determining a starting point document to be used as a starting point when analyzing the structure information of the plurality of electronic documents;

analyzing the structure information of the starting point document to calculate the display priority of each linked document group having a link source that is included in the starting point document;

specifying a display document to be displayed on the display apparatus based on the display priority of the linked document group;

specifying document group constituent documents that constitute a document group structure, adding and storing the structure information in the document group structure based on the display priority of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document; and

searching for the electronic document that constitutes a next starting point document based on the document group structure,

wherein, the analyzing the structure information, the specifying a display document, the specifying a document group and the searching for the electronic document are repeated recursively, and scanning for displaying is terminated at a point in time when there are no longer any electronic documents that constitute the starting point document determined by the determining of the start point operation,

wherein, in said determining of the start point, an origin document with a highest priority is specified as a first starting point document based on an instruction input,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document a display priority value of each electronic document of the linked document group linked to said starting point document is compared to a predetermined display set value such that all of the electronic documents having corresponding display priority values greater than or equal to the predetermined display set value are set to be displayed on the display apparatus and the electronic documents having the corresponding display priority values less that the predetermined display set value are not displayed on the display apparatus,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document computer resources are allocated to display the determined electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are greater than or equal to said predetermined display set value and each electronic document having the corresponding display priority value that is smaller than that of the predetermined display priority value is not displayed on the display apparatus,

wherein, in said specifying of the document group constituent documents, the structure information of the electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed, and

wherein, in said specifying of the document group constituent documents, computer resources needed to manage said electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined second set value are released.

8. The document display method according to claim 7, wherein managing of the plurality of electronic documents comprises:

determining a layout and a display of the electronic documents based solely on a hyperlink structure.

9. A document display method of managing a plurality of electronic documents each including structure information relating to a linked document, as hyperlinks having display relevancy, the document display method of determining a display priority of each said electronic document, and of displaying each said electronic document on a display apparatus based on a display priority thereof, the method comprising:

determining a starting point document to be used as a starting point when analyzing the structure information of the plurality of electronic documents;

analyzing the structure information of the starting point document to calculate the display priority of each linked document group having a link source that is included in the starting point document;

specifying a display document to be displayed on the display apparatus based on the display priority of the linked document group;

specifying a document group constituent documents that constitute a document group structure, adding and storing the structure information in the document group structure based on the display priority of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document; and

searching for the electronic document that constitutes a next starting point document based on the document group structure,

wherein, the analyzing the structure information, the specifying a display document, the specifying a document group, and the searching for the electronic document are repeated recursively, and scanning for displaying is terminated at a point in time when there are no longer any electronic documents that constitute the starting point document determined by the determining of the start point operation,

wherein, in said determining of the start point, an origin document with a highest priority is specified as a first starting point document based on an instruction input,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document, a display priority value of each electronic document of the linked document group linked to said starting point document is compared to a predetermined display set value such that all of the electronic documents having corresponding display priority values greater than or equal to the predetermined display set value are set to be displayed on the display apparatus, and the electronic documents having the corresponding display priority values less that the predetermined display set value are not displayed on the display apparatus,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document, computer resources are allocated to display the determined electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are greater than or equal to said predetermined display set value, and each electronic document having the corresponding display priority value that is smaller than that of the predetermined display priority value is not displayed on the display apparatus, and

wherein, in said specifying of the document group constituent documents, the structure information of the electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

10. A document display method of managing a plurality of electronic documents each including structure information relating to a linked document, as hyperlinks having display relevancy, the document display method of determining a display priority of each said electronic document, and of displaying each said electronic document on a display apparatus based on a display priority thereof, the method comprising:

determining a starting point document to be used as a starting point when analyzing the structure information of the plurality of electronic documents;

analyzing the structure information of the starting point document to calculate the display priority of each linked document group having a link source that is included in the starting point document;

specifying a display document to be displayed on the display apparatus based on the display priority of the linked document group;

specifying document group constituent documents that constitute a document group structure, adding and storing the structure information in the document group structure based on the display priority of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document; and

searching for the electronic document that constitutes a next starting point document based on the document group structure,

wherein, the analyzing the structure information, the specifying a display document, the specifying a document group, and the searching for the electronic document are repeated recursively, and scanning for displaying is terminated at a point in time when there are no longer any electronic documents that constitute the starting point document determined by the determining of the start point operation,

wherein, in said determining of the start point, an origin document with a highest priority is specified as a first starting point document based on an instruction input,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document, a display priority value of each electronic document of the linked document group linked to said starting point document is compared to a predetermined display set value such that all of the electronic documents having corresponding display priority values greater than or equal to the predetermined display set value are set to be displayed on the display apparatus, and the electronic documents having the corresponding display priority values less that the predetermined display set value are not displayed on the display apparatus,

wherein, in said specifying of the display document, computer resources are allocated to display the determined electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document, and having the corresponding display priority values that are greater than or equal to said predetermined display set value, and each electronic document having the corresponding display priority value that is smaller than that of the predetermined display priority value is not displayed on the display apparatus, and

wherein, in said specifying of the document group constituent documents, computer resources needed to manage said electronic documents of the linked document group having the link source that is the starting point document and having the corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined second set value are released.

11. A document display method to display a first electronic document and a second electronic document, the first electronic document having information related to the second electronic document, the method comprising:

determining a display priority based on a relevancy between each of the electronic documents;

displaying the first electronic document on a computer display;

overlaying an image on the first electronic document corresponding to the second electronic document at a predetermined position defined in the first electronic document;

resizing the first electronic document and the image corresponding to the second electronic document such that the first electronic document and the image of the second electronic document change sizes proportionally with respect to one another, said resizing being in response to user input or computer commands; and

further displaying the resized first electronic document and overlaying the resized image corresponding to the second document on the computer display and maintaining relative positions between the first and second electronic documents in accordance with the predetermined position,

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

12. The document display method as set forth in claim 11 wherein:

said overlaying comprises further overlaying an image corresponding to a third electronic document on the first electronic document at a second predetermined position defined in the first electronic document;

said resizing comprises further resizing the image corresponding to the third electronic document proportionally with the resizing of the first and second electronic documents; and

said further displaying comprises overlaying the resized image corresponding to the third electronic document on the first electronic document and maintaining relative positions between the first and third electronic documents in accordance with the second predetermined position of the third electronic document relative to the first electronic document.

13. A document display apparatus for displaying a first electronic document and a second electronic document, the first electronic document having information related to the second electronic document, the apparatus comprising:

means for determining a display priority of the first and second electronic document;

means for displaying the first electronic document on a computer display;

means for overlaying an image on the first electronic document corresponding to the second electronic document at a predetermined position defined in the first electronic document;

means for resizing the first electronic document and the image corresponding to the second electronic document in response to computer and/or user commands such that a size of the first electronic document and a size of the image of the second electronic document change proportionally with respect to one another; and

means for further displaying the resized first electronic document and overlaying the resized image corresponding to the second document on the computer display and maintaining relative positions between the first and second electronic documents in accordance with the predetermined position; and

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

14. A document display apparatus to manage a plurality of electronic documents, a portion of which includes hyperlink information relating to linked documents having a display relevancy, comprising:

a structure analysis unit to determine a display priority of each of the electronic documents based on only the hyperlink information thereof;

a display unit to determine a display method of each of the electronic documents based on the determined display priority; and

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

15. The document display apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a structure storage unit to store the determined display priority of each of the electronic documents.

16. A document display method of managing a plurality of electronic documents, a portion of which includes hyperlink information relating to linked documents having display relevancy, comprising:

determining a starting point document to use as a starting point when analyzing the hyperlink information of the plurality of electronic documents;

analyzing the hyperlink information of the starting point document and calculating a display priority of each document having a link source included in the starting point document;

specifying one or more display documents to display based on the display priority of each said document having the link source included in the starting point document;

specifying constituent documents constituting a document group structure by adding and storing the hyperlink information in the document group structure based on the display priority of the linked document having the link source that is the starting point document; and

searching for a next electronic document that constitutes a next starting point document based on the document group structure, wherein,

repeatedly performing the determining operation, the analyzing operation, the specifying operations and the searching operation; and

terminating display scanning at a time when there are no longer any electronic documents that constitute the starting point document determined by the determining operation; and

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

17. A document display method of managing a plurality of electronic documents, a portion of which includes hyperlink information relating to linked documents having display relevancy, comprising:

determining a starting point document to use as a starting point;

analyzing the hyperlink information of the starting point document;

calculating a display priority of each document having a link source included in the starting point document according to the analyzed hyperlink information therein; and

displaying one or more display documents based on the calculated display priority of each said document having the link source included in the starting point document; and

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.

18. A document display apparatus for displaying a first electronic document and a second electronic document, the first electronic document having information related to the second electronic document, the apparatus comprising:

a display priority unit determining a display priority of the first and second electronic document;

a display unit displaying the first electronic document on a computer display;

an image overlaying unit overlaying an image on the first electronic document corresponding to the second electronic document at a predetermined position defined in the first electronic document; and

resizing unit resizing the first electronic document and the image corresponding to the second electronic document in response to computer and/or user commands such that a size of the first electronic document and a size of the image of the second electronic document change proportionally with respect to one another, wherein the resized first electronic document is further displayed and the resized image corresponding to the second document is overlayed on the computer display and relative positions between the first and second electronic documents are maintained in accordance with the predetermined position, and

wherein structure information of electronic documents of a linked document group having a link source that is a starting point document and having corresponding display priority values that are smaller than a predetermined first set value are not analyzed.