Method and system for collaborative editing of a document

• US 7,962,853 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2007
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carter, Marc Stanley, Partridge, Lucas William, Gale, Martin J., Stanford-Clark, Andrew James, Bedi, Bharat Veer
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US11/626,946
• Publication Number:
  US 20070271502A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 715200-202, 715/205, 715/226, 715229-234, 715/253, 715/273, 715/760, 715/204, 715/209, 715/210, 715/212, 715/215, 715/221, 715/255, 715/256, 715/731, 715/751, 715/752, 715/753, 709/201, 709/203, 709/204, 709/206, 709/207, 709/216, 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/227
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

A method and system for collaborative editing of a document by an author of the document and reviewers. Program code receives from the author an identification of selected portions of the document and receives from the author: comments created by the author and an identification of at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed. The selected portions and the comments are associated with each other on a one-to-one basis. Each comment pertains to content of the selected portion that each comment is associated with. The program code parses the received comments, and utilizes the identification of the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed, to generate a list of comments specifying for each comment the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed. The program code makes available to each reviewer the comments on the list of comments directed to each reviewer.

Claims

1. A method for collaborative editing of a document by an author of the document and a plurality of reviewers, said method being performed by program code executing on a computer, said method comprising:

receiving, by the program code from the author, an identification of a plurality of selected portions of the document;

receiving, by the program code from the author, a plurality of comments created by the author and an identification of at least one reviewer of the plurality of reviewers to which each received comment is directed, wherein the selected portions and the comments are associated with each other on a one-to-one basis, and wherein each comment pertains to content of the selected portion that each comment is associated with;

parsing the received comments, and utilizing the received identification of the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed, to generate a list of comments comprising the plurality of comments, wherein the list of comments specifies for each comment the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed, and wherein said parsing and said utilizing are performed by the program code; and

making available, by the program code to each reviewer, the comments on the list of comments directed to each reviewer,

wherein the method further comprises for each selected portion of the document;

providing, by the program code to the author, a corresponding displayed form;

wherein each displayed form includes the selected portion and space for the author to specify both the comment associated with the selected portion and the identification of at the least one reviewer to which the associated comment is directed; and

wherein said receiving the plurality of comments comprises receiving the comments in the displayed forms corresponding to the selected portions of the document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein during said receiving the identification of the plurality of selected portions of the document, the selected portions of the document are identified by being highlighted.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the received comments are stored as part of the document, and wherein said parsing comprises parsing the document to generate the list of comments.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received comments and links to their associated portion of the document are stored in a storage medium apart of the document, and wherein said parsing comprises parsing the storage medium to generate the list of comments.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said making available comprises sending notification to each reviewer that the comments directed to each reviewer are available.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said sending notification comprises sending notification to each reviewer by email.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said sending notification comprises sending notification to each reviewer by instant messaging.

8. The method of claim 5,

wherein each comment is classified as more urgent or less urgent such that a first comment is classified as more urgent and a second comment is classified as less urgent,

wherein said sending notification comprises sending notification to each reviewer by a first notification method for each comment classified as more urgent and by a second notification method for each comment classified as less urgent, and

wherein the second notification method differs from the first notification method.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first notification method is an instant messaging notification method, and wherein the second notification method is an email notification method.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the notification to a first reviewer of the plurality of reviewers comprises a link to the document.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the notification to the first reviewer further comprises each comment directed to the first reviewer and the portion of the document associated with each comment directed to the first reviewer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the notification to the first reviewer further comprises a link to each comment directed to the first reviewer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said making available comprises:

batching up the comments on the list of comments directed to each reviewer and listing the batched up comments at the head of the document, and

making the document available to each reviewer to enable each reviewer to periodically check the documents for comments directed to each reviewer.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selected portions of the document comprise a diagram or a spreadsheet.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a first comment of the plurality of comments is directed to at least two reviewers of the plurality of reviewers.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the program code from the author, a directive to delete a first comment of the plurality of comments, said first comment having been directed to a first reviewer of the plurality of reviewers.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the program code from a first reviewer of the plurality of reviewers, a directive to delete a first comment of the plurality of comments, said first comment having been directed to the first reviewer.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

after said making available, receiving by the program code a response from a first reviewer of the plurality of reviewers to a first comment directed to the first reviewer; and

notifying the author of the response to the first comment.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the response to the first comment comprises a modification by the first reviewer of the portion of the document associated with the first comment.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the response to the first comment comprises a further comment by the first reviewer, and wherein the further comment pertains to content of the first comment.

21. A computer system comprising a computer and a computer readable memory unit, said memory unit containing program code that when executed by the computer performs the method of claim 1.

22. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable memory unit having program code that when executed on a computer performs the method of claim 1.

23. A method for collaborative editing of a document by an author of the document and a plurality of reviewers, said method being performed by program code executing on a computer, said method comprising:

receiving, by the program code from the author, an identification of a plurality of selected portions of the document;

receiving, by the program code from the author, a plurality of comments created by the author and an identification of at least one reviewer of the plurality of reviewers to which each received comment is directed, wherein the selected portions and the comments are associated with each other on a one-to-one basis, and wherein each comment pertains to content of the selected portion that each comment is associated with;

parsing the received comments, and utilizing the received identification of the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed, to generate a list of comments comprising the plurality of comments, wherein the list of comments specifies for each comment the at least one reviewer to which each comment is directed, and wherein said parsing and said utilizing are performed by the program code; and

making available, by the program code to each reviewer, the comments on the list of comments directed to each reviewer,

wherein the list of comments is a table of comments,

wherein the table comprises multiple rows and multiple columns,

wherein the multiple rows comprise a title row and a plurality of additional rows,

wherein the multiple columns comprise a title column and a plurality of additional columns,

wherein the title row in the title column comprises text denoting that the additional rows in the title column each comprise a comment of the plurality of comments,

wherein each additional row comprises a unique comment of the plurality of comments,

wherein each additional column in the title row identifies a unique reviewer of the plurality of reviewers,

wherein each cell representing an intersection of a respective row of the additional rows and a respective column of the additional columns comprises either;

a first symbol denoting that the unique comment associated with the respective row is not directed to the unique reviewer associated with the respective column;

or

a second symbol denoting that the unique comment associated with the respective row is directed to the unique reviewer associated with the respective column, and

wherein a first additional row and a second additional row of the additional rows in one column of the additional columns respectively comprise the first symbol and the second symbol.

24. The method of claim 23,

wherein the table consists of the multiple rows and the multiple columns,

wherein the multiple rows consist of the title row and the plurality of additional rows, and

wherein the multiple columns consist of the title column and the plurality of additional columns.