Structuring data for word processing documents

• US 7,617,451 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2006
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jones, Brian, Bishop, Andrew, Little, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Campbell; Joshua D
• Application Number:
  US11/398,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20060190815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500, 715/511, 715/513, 715/515, 715/200, 715/209, 715/229, 715/234, 715/272
• US Class Current: 715/272
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/131 Fragmentation of text files, e.g. creating reusable text-blocks; Linking to fragments, e.g. using XInclude; Namespaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

An open file format is used to structure the features and data within a document associated with a word processing application. The file format simplifies the way a word processing application organizes document features and data, and presents a logical model that is easily accessible. The file format is made up of a collection of modular parts that are stored within a container. The content included in the modular parts are XML that is based on ASCII. The XML schema provides a definitional framework for how the modular parts relate. This content allows tools to interrogate a word processing document to examine and utilize content and ensure that the file is written correctly. Each of the modular parts is capable of being interrogated separately regardless of whether the application that created the document is running. Information may also be changed, added, and deleted from each of the modular parts.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, will cause the computer to perform a method of structuring a document that is associated with a word processing application utilizing an open file format, wherein the document is structured in a modular content framework implemented within the computer, the method comprising:

logically separating modular parts in the document, wherein the modular parts include a document part for identifying relationships associated with the document, a document properties part for identifying relationships associated with the document, a document properties part operative as a guide for properties of the document, and a markup language part that includes information for the modular part;

expressing one or more relationships among the modular parts, wherein each modular part is associated with a relationship type; and

interrogating each of the modular parts separately without other modular parts being interrogated to facilitate locating the contents of the document, wherein each modular part is extracted from the document and reused in a different document along with associated modular parts identified by traversing inbound and outbound relationships of the modular part reused.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the modular content framework includes a container that encloses the modular parts within a single file.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the modular parts further include a personal information part that is removed for security reasons.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the modular parts further include a data store item part containing customized data that is read into the document.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the modular parts further include at least one of the following:

a code part that includes code associated with the document;

a font table part that includes common fonts; and

a functions part that includes common functions.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the functions part includes functions that are expressed as text and are associated with the document.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, where the relationship types associated with the modular parts comprises at least one of a code file relationship identifying potentially harmful code files, a data item relationship, a hyperlink relationship, a comments relationship, an embedded object relationship, a personal information relationship;

an image relationship, a document properties relationship, a header relationship, a footer relationship, a footnote relationship, an endnote relationship, or a styles relationship.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the modular parts include a future storage area such that previous versions of an application and future versions of the application work without corrupting data.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein when content within a modular part is declared incorrectly, a word processor application is configured to fail to open the modular part.

10. A computer-implemented method for structuring a word processor document in a file format wherein modular parts associated with the word processor document include each part written into the file format, comprising:

writing a word processor document part of the file format that is included within a word processor document;

querying the word processor document for relationship types to be associated with modular parts logically separate from the word processor document part but associated with the word processor document part by one or more relationships;

writing a second part of the file format separate from the word processor document part;

establishing a relationship between the word processor document part and the second part;

wherein the word processor part and the second part are interrogated individually;

interrogating each of the parts separately to facilitate locating the contents of the word processor document; and

extracting each part from the word processor document and reusing each part in a different document along with associated modular parts identified by traversing inbound and outbound relationships of the part reused.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

writing other modular parts associated with relationship types wherein the other modular parts that are to be shared are written only once; and

establishing relationships to the other modular parts written.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein writing the other modular parts associated with the relationship types, comprises:

examining data associated with the document;

opening a modular part referenced when examining the data;

determining whether the data examined has been written to a modular part;

writing and storing the modular part to include the data examined when the data examined has not been written to the modular part;

determining whether other data associated with the document has been examined; and

examining the other data associated with the document in response to determining that the other data has not been examined.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising stripping out code from the document before the modular part is written.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising stripping out personal information from the document before the modular part is written.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising validating the modular parts with an associated schema.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising, writing a shared font table part that includes common fonts utilized within the word processor document part.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising writing a functions part that includes common functions utilized within the word processor document part.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising encapsulating the word processor document part and the second modular part within a container and storing the container as a single file.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to represent a word processor document in a file format comprising modular parts wherein the modular parts of the file format include each part written into the file format, the control logic comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computer to:

write a document part of the file format;

write a document properties part associated with the document part;

write a personal information part;

write a code part;

establish and write relationships between the parts;

interrogate each of the parts separately to facilitate locating the contents of the word processor document; and

extract each part from the word processor document and reuse each part in a different document along with associated modular parts identified by traversing inbound and outbound relationships of the part reused.