Reviewing and editing word processing documents

• US 8,296,647 B1
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Bourdev, Lubomir D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughn, Gregory J
• Application Number:
  US10/912,816
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500, 715/511, 715/512, 715/513, 715/526, 715/200, 715/229, 715/230, 715/231, 715/232, 715/273
• US Class Current: 715/230
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71

Abstract

Methods and systems, including computer program products, implementing techniques for reviewing and editing word processing documents. The techniques include receiving from a reviewer one or more comments about a word processing document, receiving from an editor one or more changes to the word processing document, and classifying each change under one of the comments. The techniques can further include selecting a subset of the comments and presenting the word processing document so that the changes that are classified under the selected comments are distinguishable from the changes that are not classified under the selected comments.

Claims

1. A machine-readable storage device encoding a computer program that causes data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a reviewer, multiple comments about a word processing document;

presenting the multiple comments to an editor;

for each comment of the multiple comments presented to the editor,

receiving, from the editor, an instruction to access the comment,

accessing the comment in response to the instruction,

receiving, from the editor, one or more changes to the word processing document that address the accessed comment, and

storing the one or more received changes to the word processing document in a document difference record associated with the accessed comment;

receiving, from the reviewer, a request selecting a first comment from among the multiple accessed comments; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the request, the word processing document and a first document difference record associated with the selected first comment, while hiding document difference records that correspond to unselected comments from among the multiple comments.

2. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving, from the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments and unselecting the first comment; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and a second document difference record associated with the selected second comment, while hiding the first document difference record associated with the unselected first comment and any document difference records that correspond to any unselected comments different from the first comment from among the multiple comments.

3. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving, from the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments;

combining the respective first and second document difference records of the selected first and second comments into a composite document difference record; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and the composite document difference record, while hiding document difference records of the multiple comments.

4. The machine-readable storage device of claim 3, wherein

a second change, from among the one or more changes that address the second comment, addresses a portion of the second comment referencing a first change from among the one or more changes that address the first comment, and

the operation of presenting the composite document difference record comprises highlighting only the second change, while not highlighting the one or more changes that address the first comment and other of the one or more changes that address the second comment.

5. The machine-readable storage device of claim 4, wherein the operation of highlighting only the second change, while not highlighting the one or more changes that address the first comment and other of the one or more changes that address the second comment comprises presenting the second change in a color, while presenting the one or more changes that address the first comment and other of the one or more changes that address the second comment in another, different color.

6. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving, from the reviewer, another request unselecting the first comment and selecting other comments from among the multiple accessed comments;

combining the document difference records of the other selected comments into a composite document difference record; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and the composite document difference record, while hiding the document difference record associated with the unselected first comment.

7. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise receiving input from the editor closing the accessed comment.

8. The machine-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein, for each comment of the multiple accessed comments, the one or more received changes are stored in the document difference record associated with the comment upon closing the accessed comment.

9. The machine-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the operations comprise:

for each comment of the multiple comments presented to the editor,

recording an initial state of the word processing document when the presented comment is accessed; and

comparing a changed state of the word processing document with the recorded initial state when the accessed comment is closed to generate an associated document difference.

10. The machine-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein, for each comment of the multiple accessed comments, the operation of storing the one or more received changes to the word processing document further comprises storing the associated document difference in the document difference record associated with the comment.

11. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the word processing document is in PDF format.

12. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the word processing document is in markup language format.

13. The machine-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the reviewer and the editor share a single copy of the word processing document.

14. A system comprising:

a hardware processor; and

a storage device communicatively coupled with the hardware processor, the storage device storing instructions that cause the hardware processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a reviewer, multiple comments about a word processing document;

presenting the multiple comments to an editor;

for each comment of the multiple comments presented to the editor,

receiving, from the editor, an instruction to access the comment,

accessing the comment in response to the instruction,

receiving, from the editor, one or more changes to the word processing document that address the accessed comment, and

storing the one or more received changes to the word processing document in a document difference record associated with the accessed comment;

receiving, from the reviewer, a request selecting a first comment from among the multiple accessed comments; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the request, the word processing document and a first document difference record associated with the selected first comment, while hiding document difference records that correspond to unselected comments from among the multiple comments.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving, from the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments and unselecting the first comment; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and a second document difference record associated with the selected second comment, while hiding the first document difference record associated with the unselected first comment and any document difference records that correspond to any unselected comments different from the first comment from among the multiple comments.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving, from the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments;

combining the respective first and second document difference records of the selected first and second comments into a composite document difference record; and

presenting, to the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and the composite document difference record, while hiding document difference records of the multiple comments.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the reviewer and the editor share a single copy of the word processing document.

18. A method comprising:

receiving, from a computer system associated with a reviewer, multiple comments about a word processing document;

presenting the multiple comments to another computer system associated with an editor;

for each comment of the multiple comments presented to the other computer system associated with the editor,

receiving, from the other computer system associated with the editor, an instruction to access the comment,

accessing the comment in response to the instruction,

receiving, from the other computer system associated with the editor, one or more changes to the word processing document that address the accessed comment, and

storing the one or more received changes to the word processing document in a document difference record associated with the accessed comment;

receiving, from the computer system associated with the reviewer, a request selecting a first comment from among the multiple accessed comments; and

presenting, to the computer system associated with the reviewer in response to the request, the word processing document and a first document difference record associated with the selected first comment, while hiding document difference records that correspond to unselected comments from among the multiple comments.

19. The method of claim 18 comprising:

receiving, from the computer system associated with the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments and unselecting the first comment; and

presenting, to the computer system associated with the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and a second document difference record associated with the selected second comment, while hiding the first document difference record associated with the unselected first comment and any document difference records that correspond to any unselected comments different from the first comment from among the multiple comments.

20. The method of claim 18 comprising:

receiving, from the computer system associated with the reviewer, another request selecting a second comment from among the multiple accessed comments;

combining the respective first and second document difference records of the selected first and second comments into a composite document difference record; and

presenting, to the computer system associated with the reviewer in response to the other request, the word processing document and the composite document difference record, while hiding document difference records of the multiple comments.