Computer-implemented document manager application enabler system and method

• US 8,566,313 B1
• Filed: 03/18/2005
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyland Software Incorporated (HSI Holdings II Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Hyland Software Incorporated (HSI Holdings II Incorporated)
• Inventors: Zubizarreta, Miguel A., Vanegas, Alejandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Son T
• Application Number:
  US11/084,180
• Time in Patent Office: 3,140 Days
• Field of Search: 707/736, 707/822
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for retrieving documents stored in a document management system based upon data from an application. While an interface is displayed, associations are created between one or more fields on the application'"'"'s interface and one or more retrieval-related attributes of the document management system. Data that is subsequently provided for the fields is used to retrieve documents from the document management system based the created associations. The data obtained is used for such other operations as generating bar codes and generating indexes for documents to be stored in a document management system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for enabling a host application to retrieve document images of a plurality of physical documents stored in a document management system through an enabler application that is used for creating an association between at least one field on an interface of the host application and at least one field of the document management system, the method comprising steps of:

(a) executing the enabler application and the host application by an execution application;

(b) displaying the interface of the host application while the host application is executing during run-time, wherein the interface of the host application contains the at least one field; and

(c) while the interface is being displayed, creating an association using the enabler application between the at least one field on the interface of the host application and the at least one field of the document management system that is used for retrieving the document images from the document management system, wherein the association identifies the at least one field on the interface based upon a position of the at least one field on the interface,

(d) in response to receiving an indication at the enabler application that the at least one field on the interface is an interactive field, when a user performs an interaction with the interactive field, a query is immediately performed based on existing data in the interactive field, and any document images retrieved from the document management system are displayed based on the performed interaction;

wherein

data provided for the at least one field on the interface of the host application during the execution of the host application is captured based upon the position of the at least one field on the interface, and wherein the data captured from the at least one field is used to generate bar codes based upon the created association;

the generated bar codes are associated with one or more physical documents for automating input of the one or more physical documents into the document management system;

the bar codes are generated before the one or more physical documents exist;

an indexing process is performed from the executing application, wherein the indexing process assigns an index record including keyword values to corresponding physical documents from the data provided to the interface,

during the indexing process, the user matches data currently displayed on the interface of the host application with a particular physical document to be indexed in the document management system to eliminate needs to re-key index information of the particular physical document in the document management system; and

the index record is associated with the plurality of physical documents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the document management system handles image files, paper, reports, application files, e-mails, and web contents.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field on the interface is identified through a unique window identifier that is assigned to control appearing on the interface, wherein identification of the at least one field on the interface is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification of the at least one field on the interface is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field on the interface is identified through an absolute position of the at least one field on the interface, wherein the identification of the at least one field one the interface is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field on the interface is identified based upon an order in which operating system and the applications communicate to each other, wherein the identification of the at least one field is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a retrieval-related attribute used to retrieve the document images comprises a keyword type to be searched when retrieving the document images from the document management system while the enabler and host applications are executing.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein other associations are created between other fields on the interface and retrieval-related attributes, wherein data specified in the other fields on the interface are used to create at least a query that retrieves the document images from the document management system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein documents images stored in the document management system are retrieved by performing a keyboard event on the host application'"'"'s field that contains a keyword value.

10. A computer-implemented system for operating within a processor-based environment and enabling a host application to retrieve document images of a plurality of physical documents stored in a document management system through an enabler application that is used for creating an association between at least one field on an interface of the host application and at least one field of the document management system, the system comprising:

a computer processor;

means for executing through the computer processor the enabler application and the host application;

means for displaying through the computer processor the interface of the host application while the host application is executing during run-time, wherein the interface of the host application contains the at least one field;

means for creating through the computer processor an association using the enabler application between the at least one field on the interface of the host application and the at least one field of the document management system that is used for retrieving the document images from the document management system while the interface is being displayed, wherein the association identifies the at least one field one the interface based upon a position of the at least one field on the interface;

wherein

in response to receiving an indication at the enabler application that the at least one field on the interface is an interactive field, when a user performs an interaction with the interactive field, a query is immediately performed based on existing data in the interactive field, and any document images retrieved from the document management system are displayed based on the performed interaction;

data provided for the at least one field on the interface of the host application during an execution of the host application is captured based upon the position of the at least one field on the interface, and wherein the data captured from the at least one field is used to generate bar codes based upon the created association;

the generated bar codes are associated with one or more physical documents for automating input of the one or more physical documents into the document management system;

the bar codes are generated before the one or more physical documents exist;

an indexing process is performed from the executing application, wherein the indexing process assigns an index record including keyword values to corresponding physical documents from the data provided to the interface;

during the indexing process, the user matches data currently displayed on the interface of the host application with a particular physical document to be indexed in the document management system to eliminate needs to re-key index information of the particular physical document in the document management system; and

the index record is associated with the plurality of physical documents.

11. A computer-implemented apparatus for operating within a processor-based environment and for enabling a host application to retrieve document images of a plurality of physical documents stored in a document management system through an enabler application that is used for creating an association between at least one field on an interface of the host application and at least one field of the document management system, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing mapping rules having associations between the at least one field of the host application and the at least one field of the document management system that is used for retrieving the document images from the document management system, wherein the associations are created using the enabler application while the host application is being executed during run-time, wherein a particular association identifies a particular field based upon a position of the particular field on the interface;

an interrogator module that executes on a computer processor and that interacts with an operating system (OS) that is hosting the host application in order to determine whether a preselected interface event has occurred; and

an input event processor that executes on the computer processor and that receives interface data from the host application after detection of the interface event by the interrogator module, wherein the interface data is captured based upon the position of the particular field on the interface, wherein the data captured by the apparatus is used to generate bar codes;

wherein

in response to receiving an indication at the enabler application that the at least one field on the interface is an interactive field, when a user performs an interaction with the interactive field, a query is immediately performed based on existing data in the interactive field, and any document images retrieved from the document management system are displayed based on the performed interaction;

the generated bar codes are associated with one or more physical documents for automating input of the one or more physical documents into the document management system;

the bar codes are generated before the one or more physical documents exist;

an indexing process is performed from the executing application, wherein the indexing process assigns an index record including keyword values to corresponding physical documents from the data provided to the interface;

during the indexing process, the user matches data currently displayed on the interface of the host application with a particular physical document to be indexed in the document management system to eliminate needs to re-key index information of the particular physical document in the document management system; and

the index record is associated with the plurality of physical documents.

12. A system for enabling a host application to retrieve document images of a plurality of physical documents stored in a document management system through an enabler application that is used for creating an association between at least one field on an interface of the host application and at least one field of the document management system, the system comprising:

a computer processor;

a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium containing one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to execute steps comprising;

(a) executing the enabler application and the host application by an execution application;

(b) displaying the interface of the host application while the host application is executing during run-time, wherein the interface of the host application contains the at least one field; and

(c) while the interface is being displayed, creating an association using the enabler application between the at least one field on the interface of the host application and the at least one field of the document management system that is used for retrieving the document images from the document management system, wherein the association identifies the at least one field on the interface based upon a position of the at least one field on the interface,

(d) in response to receiving an indication at the enabler application that the at least one field on the interface is an interactive field, when a user performs an interaction with the interactive field, a query is immediately performed based on existing data in the interactive field, and any document images retrieved from the document management system are displayed based on the performed interaction;

wherein

data provided for the at least one field on the interface of the host application during the execution of the host application is captured based upon the position of the at least one field on the interface, and wherein the data captured from the at least one field is used to generate bar codes based upon the created association;

the generated bar codes are associated with one or more physical documents for automating input of the one or more physical documents into the document management system;

the bar codes are generated before the one or more physical documents exist;

an indexing process is performed from the executing application, wherein the indexing process assigns an index record including keyword values to corresponding physical documents from the data provided to the interface,

during the indexing process, the user matches data currently displayed on the interface of the host application with a particular physical document to be indexed in the document management system to eliminate needs to re-key index information of the particular physical document in the document management system; and

the index record is associated with the plurality of physical documents.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one field on the interface is identified through a unique window identifier that is assigned to controls appearing on the interface, wherein identification of the at least one field on the interface is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the identification of the at least one field one the interface is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving document images from the document management system.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one field one the interface is identified through an absolute position of the at least one field on the interface, wherein the identification of the at least one field is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one field on the interface is identified based upon an order in which operating system and the applications communicate to each other, wherein the identification of the at least one field is used to determine whether the data provided to the at least one field is to be used in generating the query for retrieving the document images from the document management system.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein a retrieval-related attribute used to retrieve the document images comprises a keyword type to be searched when retrieving the document images from the document management system while the enabler and host applications are executing.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein other associations are created between other fields on the interface and retrieval-related attributes, wherein data specified in the other fields on the interface are used to create at least a query that retrieves the document images from the document management system.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein document images stored in the document management system are retrieved by performing a keyboard event on the host application'"'"'s field that contains a keyword value.