Identifying logical elements by modifying a source document using marker attribute values

• US 6,934,909 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2000
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Tewari, Sourabh
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): STORK, KYLE R
• Application Number:
  US09/747,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20020078100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,707 Days
• Field of Search: 715/523, 715/517, 715/513, 715/526, 715/528, 715/529, 715/511, 715/512, 715/531
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/117 Tagging; Marking up details of markup languages G06F40/143; Designating a block; Setting of attributes style sheets, e.g. eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation [XSLT], G06F40/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for processing an electronic document. A first electronic document including a plurality of logical elements is obtained. Each logical element has a logical type and associated content with a visual appearance. A second electronic document is generated by associating a marker attribute value with a plurality of logical elements in the first electronic document and converting the first electronic document with the associated marker attribute values through a document conversion process. The marker attribute values are a value of a marker attribute and the conversion process preserves the association of the marker attribute values and the logical elements. The marker attribute values are then used to identify logical elements in the second electronic document.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing an electronic document, the method comprising:

obtaining a first electronic document including a plurality of logical elements, each logical element having associated content with a visual appearance;

modifying the first electronic document by associating a respective marker attribute value with a marker attribute of each of the logical elements in the first electronic document, each respective marker attribute value being a value of the marker attribute of the content of the respective logical element;

generating a second electronic document by converting the modified first electronic document with the associated marker attribute values through a document conversion process that preserves the association of the marker attribute values and the content of the logical elements;

using the marker attribute values of the content in the second electronic document to identify each of the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document;

generating a third electronic document before associating a marker attribute value with each of the plurality of logical elements in the first electronic document, by converting the first electronic document through the document conversion process; and

using the marker attribute values in the second electronic document to identify logical elements in the third electronic document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the logical elements in the second and third electronic documents has a corresponding logical element in the first electronic document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the document conversion process is a print process.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a second electronic document comprises associating a different marker attribute value with content of each of the plurality of logical elements in the first electronic document.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a second electronic document comprises associating a different marker attribute value with content of each logical element located within one same page of the first electronic document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective marker attribute value is a color value that is assigned to each respective logical element by coloring the content off each respective logical element.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electronic document is an electronic document generated in a word processing application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second electronic document is a PDF document.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

each logical element has a logical type, the logical type comprising at least one of a header, a paragraph, a text box, a list element, a table cell, or an image; and

using the marker attribute values to identify logical elements in the second electronic document comprises identifying the logical elements in the second electronic document by converting the marker attribute values to logical types.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the values in the second electronic document to create a hierarchal structure for the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining structural information from the first electronic document to create a hierarchal structure for the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document.

12. A computer program product, stored on a machine-readable medium, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

obtain a first electronic document including a plurality of logical elements, each logical element having associated content with a visual appearance;

modify the first electronic document by associating a respective market attribute value with a marker attribute of each of the logical elements in the first electronic document, each respective marker attribute value being a value of the marker attribute of the content of the respective logical element;

generate a second electronic document by converting the modified first electronic document with the associated marker attribute values through a document conversion process that preserves the association of the marker attribute values and the content of the logical elements;

use the marker attribute values of the content in the second electronic document to identify each of the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document;

generate a third electronic document before associating a marker attribute value with each of the plurality of logical elements in the first electronic document, by converting the first electronic document through the document conversion process; and

use the marker attribute values in the second electronic document to identify logical elements in the third electronic document.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein each of the logical elements in the second and third electronic documents has a corresponding logical element in the first electronic document.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the document conversion process is a print process.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein to generate a second electronic document comprises to associate a different marker attribute value with content of each of the plurality of logical elements in the first electronic document.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein to generate a second electronic document comprises to associate a different marker attribute value with content of each logical element located within one same page of the first electronic document.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the respective marker attribute value is a color value that is assigned to each respective logical element by coloring the content of each respective logical element.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the first electronic document is an electronic document generated in a word processing application.

19. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the second electronic document is a PDF document.

20. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein:

each logical element has a logical type, the logical type comprising at least one of a header, a paragraph, a text box, a list element, a table cell, or an image; and

to use the marker attribute values to identify logical elements in the second electronic document comprises to identify the logical elements in the second electronic document by converting the marker attribute values to logical types.

21. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to use the marker attribute values in the second electronic document to create a hierarchal structure for the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to obtain structural information from the first electronic document to create a hierarchal structure for the plurality of logical elements in the second electronic document.