Single-document active user interface, method and system for implementing same

• US 6,192,381 B1
• Filed: 10/02/1998
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CRISNET, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MEGG Associates Incorporated
• Inventors: Hacking, Cory L., Stiegemeier, Mark R
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kindred, Alford W.
• Application Number:
  US09/165,354
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 707/505, 707/504, 707/506, 707/507-508, 707/526, 707/530-531, 707/521, 707/500, 707/908, 345/433, 345/326, 345/333, 345/335
• US Class Current: 715/210
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A data management system user interface allows users to enter, store, retrieve, and display multiple, related groups of information in a single document. The interface loads document data into a separate template which defines various fields, and the interface determines the fields that should be displayed based on the information entered by the user. The user enters an unlimited amount of data into each field, thus creating a free-flowing document, and the user can create groups of entries for each field. The interface also contains a data validation and error correction feature, that provides automatic correction, prompts for manual correction, and allows the user to save a draft document with a list of errors for future correction at a later date.

Claims

1. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising:

(a) loading a document containing data from the storage device;

(b) loading a template containing format instructions and at least one data field from the storage device, each data field having a size that is not limited by the data management system;

(c) linking the document with the template; and

(d) displaying the document and the data within the document responsive to the template on the display device as specified by the format instructions.

2. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) loading, prior to the displaying step, a client script program;

(b) entering, after the displaying step, by a user, additional data having size and format;

(c) validating, via the client script program, at least one of the size and format of the data; and

(d) adjusting, via the client script program, the data to result in valid data.

3. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1,

wherein the format instructions create one or more fields which are displayed on the display device, the one or more fields having field identifications, formats and locations, the data having data identifications, and

wherein the linking step links data to fields where the data identifications and field identifications at least one of substantially and logically match.

4. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 3, wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

(a) determining, via the client script program, the data fields that are relevant based on the additional data and predetermined criteria; and

(b) modifying, on the display device, the displayed data by at least one of hiding, deactivating and removing the data fields that are not relevant.

5. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 4, further comprising the step of modifying, by the client script program, on the display device, the locations of the data fields.

6. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 3, wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

(a) identifying the data fields which require entry of the additional data;

(b) identifying the additional data which requires validation; and

(c) displaying a list of the data fields which require the entry of the additional data and the additional data which requires the validation.

7. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, wherein the data management device is one of a computer, a computer network, and a portable electronic device used over at least one of a local area network, a global network, the Internet, optionally using thin client processing.

8. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, wherein the document and the template each contain template codes in order to link at least one document with at least one template with at least substantially identical template codes.

9. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of additional data;

(2) validating, by the computer, that the plurality of additional data is in substantial conformance with a predetermined format, as the user enters the plurality of additional data;

(3) when the plurality of additional data is not in conformance with the predetermined format, creating a “

to do list”

for review and correction by the user at a later time; and

(4) repeatedly performing said steps (1)-(3), continuously adding to the “

to do list”

, and allowing the user to continue to enter the plurality of additional data.

10. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the step of entering, by the user, a plurality of additional data in accordance with a free form data entry format, the free form data format including unlimited field sizes, and the user not being restricted in size of an entry for a particular field.

11. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of additional data, the plurality of additional data including multiple groups with multiple entries of data for a substantially same field or substantially same set of fields;

(2) managing, by the data management system, the plurality of the additional data including the multiple groups with the multiple entries of data in at least one of a single document, single logical document and file, by maintaining each of the multiple entries directly after each other corresponding with each of the multiple groups.

12. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 11, further comprising the step of displaying only the field in the substantially same field or the substantially same set of fields corresponding to the entry selected by the user.

13. The method of entering, storing, displaying and retrieving data according to claim 11, further comprising the step of entering by the user a number of entries having a size that is not limited by the data management system into at least one of the multiple groups.

14. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of additional data, the plurality of additional data including multiple groups with multiple entries of data;

(2) linking a word processing program to the data management system;

(3) transmitting the plurality of additional data from the data management system to the word processing program, wherein each of the groups is an instance of a data object in an object oriented programming environment; and

(4) formatting by the word processing program the plurality of additional data for at least one of print previewing, printing and displaying, including converting each instance of each of the groups into separate data representative of each of the groups.

15. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of additional data, the plurality of additional data including multiple groups with multiple entries of data;

(2) linking a word processing program to the data management system;

(3) transmitting the plurality of additional data from the data management system to the word processing program; and

(4) formatting by the word processing program the plurality of additional data for at least one of print previewing, printing and displaying, including converting each of the multiple entries of the multiple groups into separate formatted data representative of each of the multiple groups.

16. The method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data according to claim 1, wherein the data comprises one or more of digitized text and digitized images.

20. A data management system executing the processes in accordance with one of claims 1, 17, 18 or 19.

21. A computer readable tangible medium storing the processes in accordance with one of claims 1, 17, 18 or 19, to be executed by a data management system.

17. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of the data;

(2) validating, by the computer, that the plurality of the data is in substantial conformance with a predetermined format, as the user enters the plurality of the data;

(3) when the plurality of the data is not in conformance with the predetermined format, creating a “

to do list”

for review and correction by the user at a later time; and

(4) repeatedly performing said steps (1)-(3), continuously adding to the “

to do list”

, and allowing the user to continue to enter the plurality of the data, even though previously the plurality of data is not in conformance with the predetermined format.

18. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of the data including multiple groups with multiple entries of data for a substantially same field or substantially same set of fields;

(2) managing, by the data management system, the plurality of the data including the multiple groups with the multiple entries of data in at least one of a single document, single logical document and file, by maintaining each of the multiple entries directly after each other corresponding with each of the multiple groups; and

(3) displaying only the field in the substantially same field or the substantially same set of fields corresponding to the entry selected by the user.

19. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) entering, by the user, a plurality of the data, the plurality of the data including multiple groups with multiple entries of data;

(2) linking a word processing program to the data management system;

(3) transmitting the plurality of the data from the data management system to the word processing program; and

(4) formatting by the word processing program the plurality of the data for at least one of print previewing, printing and displaying, including converting each of the multiple entries of the multiple groups into separate formatted data representative of each of the multiple groups.

22. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising:

(a) loading a document containing data and a document code from the storage device;

(b) identifying a template containing format instructions, at least one data field having unlimited size and a template code, based on correspondence of the document code and the template code;

(c) loading the template from the storage device;

(d) linking the document with the template; and

(e) displaying the document and the data within the document responsive to the template on the display device as specified by the format instructions.

23. A method of entering, storing, displaying, and retrieving data using a data management system having a display device, one or more input devices, and a storage device, said method comprising:

(a) entering, by the user, a plurality of data through one or more data fields of a template containing format instructions;

(b) identifying, by the data management system, a document corresponding to the data entered by the user;

(c) linking the document with the template;

(d) creating a new document that contains the data entered by the user and relevant data from the identified document; and

(e) displaying, by the data management system, the new document and the data within the new document responsive to the template on the display device as specified by the format instructions.