Electronic document system, electronic document management apparatus, computer program product, and computer memory product

• US 7,243,114 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2002
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Fukuichi, Masanao, Gondo, Akiko, Akazawa, Masashi, Miyamoto, Akinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): HWANG, JOON H
• Application Number:
  US10/298,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20040003010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707/203
• US Class Current: 707/812
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A management apparatus searches whether or not a notification file corresponding to a document name displayed on a display is present within a difference management table, and displays a predetermined indication “*”, which indicates the presence of a notification file, on the display, when a notification file is present. When conventional documents are converted into electronic documents, there arises problems that rather inconveniences would be brought compared to the paper-printed documents before converted into the electronic documents, and these inconveniences may cause mistakes in the work and misjudgments in the maintenance and operation of machinery and equipment and may induce considerable economical loss in the business activities and serious accidents in the maintenance and operation of machinery and equipment. However, these problems are solved by the present invention.

Claims

1. An electronic document system, comprising:

an original file system for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document;

a notification file system for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies that a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information;

an original management table for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file system and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other;

a difference management table for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

a display unit for displaying information; and

a management apparatus includes a processor performing operations of;

displaying on said display unit the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

searching whether or not information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said display unit is stored in said difference management table; and

displaying a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said display unit wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when in said searching operation the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table.

2. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said processor of said management apparatus further performing operations of:

displaying on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information;

reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table; and

displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

3. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a notification management table for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file system and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other,

wherein said processor of said management apparatus further performing operations of:

when said predetermined indication displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said difference management table the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the designated predetermined indication;

reading out from said notification management table the information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the read information read out from said difference management table; and

displaying said information read out from said notification management table on said display unit.

4. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said processor of said management apparatus further performing operations of:

displaying on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information;

reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table; and

displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

5. An electronic document management apparatus comprising a processor performing operations of:

accessing an original file system for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document;

a notification file system for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information;

an original management table for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file system and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other; and

a difference management table for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

accepting an instruction to display on a display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

reading out the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information from said original management table and displaying the read information on said display unit according to the accepted instruction;

searching whether or not information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said display unit is stored in said difference management table; and

displaying a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said display wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when in said searching operation the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table.

6. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said processor further performing operations of:

displaying the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table on said display unit; and

when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information;

reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table; and

displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

7. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said processor further performing operations of:

accessing a notification management table for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file system and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other;

when said predetermined indication displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said difference management table the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the designated predetermined indication;

reading out from said notification management table the information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the read information read out from said difference management table; and

displaying said information read out from said notification management table on said display unit.

8. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said processor further performing operations of:

displaying the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table on said display unit;

when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit is designated, reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information;

reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table; and

displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

9. An electronic document system, comprising:

original file storing means for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document;

notification file storing means for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information;

original management table storing means for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file storing means and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other;

difference management table storing means for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

displaying means for displaying the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means;

searching means for searching whether or not information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said displaying means is stored in said difference management table storing means; and

controlling means for displaying a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said displaying means wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when said searching means finds the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table storing means.

10. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 9, wherein

said displaying means displays the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means, and

said controlling means, when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said displaying means is designated, reads out from said original management table storing means the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information, reads out from said original file storing means the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said original file storing means on said displaying means.

11. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 9,

further including notification management table storing means for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file storing means and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other,

wherein said controlling means, when said predetermined indication displayed on said displaying means is designated, reads out from said difference management table storing means the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the designated predetermined indication, reads out from said notification management table storing means the information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the information read out from said difference management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said notification management table storing means on said displaying means.

12. The electronic document system as set forth in claim 11, wherein

said displaying means displays the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means, and

said controlling means, when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said displaying means is designated, reads out from said original management table storing means the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information, reads out from said original file storing means the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said original file storing means on said displaying means.

23. The computer memory product as set forth in claim 11, wherein said computer is further accessing a notification management table for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file system and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other, said computer memory product further comprising:

an instruction for accepting designation of said predetermined indication;

an instruction for reading out from said difference management table the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated predetermined indication; and

an instruction for reading out from said notification management table information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the read information read out from said difference management table, and displaying said information read out from said notification management table on said display unit.

24. The computer memory product as set forth in claim 23, further comprising:

an instruction for displaying on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

an instruction for accepting designation of the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit;

an instruction for reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated information; and

an instruction for reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table, and displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

13. An electronic document management apparatus, comprising:

accessing means for accessing original file storing means for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document, notification file storing means for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information, original management table storing means for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file storing means and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other, and difference management table storing means for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

means for accepting an instruction to display on displaying means the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means;

means for reading out the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information from said original management table storing means and displaying the read information on said displaying means according to the accepted instruction;

searching means for searching whether or not information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said displaying means is stored in said difference management table storing means; and

controlling means for displaying a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said displaying means wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when said searching means finds the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table storing means.

14. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein said controlling means displays the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means on said displaying means, and when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said displaying means is designated, said controlling means reads out from said original management table storing means the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information, reads out from said original file storing means the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said original file storing means on said displaying means.

15. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein

said accessing means further accesses notification management table storing means for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file storing means and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other, and

said controlling means, when said predetermined indication displayed on said displaying means is designated, reads out from said difference management table storing means the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the designated predetermined indication, reads out from said notification management table storing means the information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the read information read out from said difference management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said notification management table storing means on said displaying means.

16. The electronic document management apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said controlling means displays the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table storing means on said displaying means, and when the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said displaying means is designated, said controlling means reads out from said original management table storing means the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the designated information, reads out from said original file storing means the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table storing means, and displays said information read out from said original file storing means on said displaying means.

17. A computer program product for use with an electronic document system, comprising:

a computer usable storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein for managing an electronic document system, said computer readable program code comprising;

causing a computer to access an original file system for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document;

a notification file system for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information;

an original management table for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file system and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other; and

a difference management table for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

causing a computer to accept an instruction to display on a display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

causing a computer to read out the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information from the original management table and display the read information on said display unit according to the accepted instruction;

causing a computer to search whether or not the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said display unit is stored in said difference management table; and

causing a computer to display a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said display unit wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table.

18. The computer program product as set forth in claim 17, wherein said computer readable program code further comprises:

causing a computer to display on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

causing a computer to accept designation of the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit;

causing a computer to read out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated information; and

causing a computer to read out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table, and display said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

19. The computer program product as set forth in claim 17, wherein said computer readable program code further comprises:

causing a computer to access a notification management table for storing information specifying the notification electronic information stored in said notification file system and information suggesting a content of each notification electronic information in connection with each other;

causing a computer to accept designation of said predetermined indication;

causing a computer to read out from said difference management table the information specifying the notification electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated predetermined indication; and

causing a computer to read out from said notification management table information suggesting the content of the notification electronic information specified by the read information read out from said difference management table, and display said information read out from said notification management table on said display unit.

20. The computer program product as set forth in claim 19, wherein said computer readable program code further comprises:

causing a computer to display on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

causing a computer to accept designation of the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit;

causing a computer to read out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated information; and

causing a computer to read out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table, and display said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.

21. A computer memory product readable by a computer to manage an electronic document system, wherein said computer accessing an original file system for storing unit original electronic information created by dividing an original electronic document having a table of contents with headings into a plurality of units and converting the plurality of units into electronic information corresponding to each heading in the table of contents of the original electronic document;

a notification file system for storing notification electronic information created by converting a notification document, which notifies a change was made to the original electronic document, into electronic information;

an original management table for storing information specifying the unit original electronic information stored in said original file system and information suggesting a content of each unit original electronic information in connection with each other; and

a difference management table for storing information specifying unit original electronic information corresponding to a portion of the original electronic document to which the change was made and information specifying the corresponding notification electronic information to correspond with each other;

said computer memory product comprising;

an instruction to display on a display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

an instruction to read out the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information from said original management table and displaying the read information on said display unit according to the accepted instruction;

an instruction to search whether or not the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the information displayed on said display unit is stored in said difference management table; and

an instruction to display a predetermined indication, which indicates presence of notification electronic information, on said display unit wherein the predetermined indication is added to the information suggesting the content of unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit when the information being searched for is stored in said difference management table.

22. The computer memory product as set forth in claim 21, further comprising:

an instruction for displaying on said display unit the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information stored in said original management table;

an instruction for accepting designation of the information suggesting the content of the unit original electronic information displayed on said display unit;

an instruction for reading out from said original management table the information specifying the unit original electronic information corresponding to the accepted designated information; and

an instruction for reading out from said original file system the unit original electronic information corresponding to the read information read out from said original management table, and displaying said information read out from said original file system on said display unit.