System and method for data format transformation
First Claim
1. A method executed by a computer system, for defining a document format transformation process for automatically transforming documents with a common format, comprising:
- receiving an example document in a first format;
receiving user input indicating an anchor point within the example document and attributes associated with the anchor point, the anchor point indicating a location within the example document and demarcating a region of data at the location, and the attributes defining an operation to be performed on the region of data;
associating the anchor point with a position in a central format corresponding to the location of the anchor point in the example document, such that the demarcated region of data is mapped to the central format according to the attributes;
defining a document format transformation according to the associating of the anchor point with the position in the central format;
storing the document format transformation in the computer system;
receiving a similar document in the first format; and
automatically transforming the similar document into the central format using the document format transformation.
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Abstract
A method for defining a document format transformation process for documents similar to an example document includes the following steps. An example document is provided in a first format. At least one anchor point is then specified within the example document. The anchor points serve to mark out regions of data within the example document. Positions are then defined for respective regions within a central format. During the transformation process, the data extracted from each region is transferred into the respective position. The method enables transforming documents similar to the example document into the central format.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method executed by a computer system, for defining a document format transformation process for automatically transforming documents with a common format, comprising:
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receiving an example document in a first format; receiving user input indicating an anchor point within the example document and attributes associated with the anchor point, the anchor point indicating a location within the example document and demarcating a region of data at the location, and the attributes defining an operation to be performed on the region of data; associating the anchor point with a position in a central format corresponding to the location of the anchor point in the example document, such that the demarcated region of data is mapped to the central format according to the attributes; defining a document format transformation according to the associating of the anchor point with the position in the central format; storing the document format transformation in the computer system; receiving a similar document in the first format; and automatically transforming the similar document into the central format using the document format transformation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for defining a document format transformation process for automatically transforming documents with a common format, comprising:
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a processor; a document markup unit executed by the processor configured to receive user input indicating an anchor point and attributes associated with the anchor point, the anchor point indicating a location within an example document in a first format, the anchor point demarcating a region of data at the location, and the attributes defining an operation to be performed on the region of data; and a transformation generator executed by the processor, communicatively coupled with the document markup unit, configured to; associate the anchor point with a position in a central format corresponding to the location of the anchor point in the example document, such that the demarcated region of data is mapped to the central format according to the attributes; define a document format transformation using the association of the example document; store the document format transformation in a storage medium; receive a similar document in the first format; and automatically transform the similar document into the central format using the document format transformation. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification