Computer generation of documents using layout elements and content elements

• US 8,990,683 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Caro, Perry A., Pasqua, Joseph, Brotsky, Daniel C.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US13/185,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20110283186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,345 Days
• Field of Search: 715/200, 715/243, 715/255
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/10 Text processing natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30; processing or translation of natural language G06F40/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

Bindings are used to describe a document (and a different document) by associating content elements with layout elements, the layout elements defining layout features or placement information to be applied to the associated content elements in the document, the bindings being stored separately from both the content and layout elements.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a storage device configured to store a binding specification that describes a document by associating individual content elements with individual layout elements for the document, the layout elements defining layout features or placement information to be applied to the associated content elements; and

a computing device comprising;

a formatter configured to combine the content and layout elements according to at least one binding included in the binding specification to generate the document based on the binding specification, the content elements, and the layout elements, wherein the binding specification is stored separately from both the content and layout elements.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage device is further configured to store a different binding specification that includes at least one other binding, the different binding specification describing another, different document by associating at least one of the content elements with at least one of the layout elements, at least one layout element defining layout features or placement information to be applied to at least one corresponding content element in the different document, the binding specification for the different document being stored separately from the binding specification for the document and separately from the content and layout elements.

3. The system of claim 2 in which the at least one binding provides a primary control for the generation of the document and the different document.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the formatter is further configured to enable generation of the document and the different document using the elements and the at least one binding in the binding specification.

5. The system of claim 2 in which the binding specification for the two documents are the same and at least one of the content elements and layout elements associated with binding sites is different for the document and the different document.

6. The system of claim 2 in which the binding specifications for the two documents are different and at least some of the content elements and the layout elements are the same for the document and the different document.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage device is further configured to store the content elements and the layout elements.

8. The system of claim 1 in which at least some of the layout elements and at least some of the content elements are identified by uniquely named binding sites.

9. The system of claim 1 in which the storage device is configured to store content elements in a portfolio and the layout elements in a separate portfolio.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the binding specification includes a plurality of bindings and in which some of the bindings are layout-centric and some of the bindings are content-centric.

11. A system comprising:

a storage device configured to store a binding specification including at least one binding, the binding specification describing a document by associating individual content elements with individual layout elements, the layout elements defining layout features or placement information to be applied to the associated content elements; and

a computing device comprising;

a formatter configured to combine the content elements, and the layout elements

according to at least one binding included in the binding specification to generate the document based on the binding specification, the content elements, and the layout elements,

wherein the storage device is further configured to store a different binding specification including at least one binding, the different binding specification describing another, different document by associating at least one of the individual content elements with at least one of the individual layout elements, the at least one layout element defining layout features or placement information to be applied to the corresponding at least one content element in the different document, the different document being generated based on the different binding specification, the content elements, and the layout elements, the binding specification and the different binding specification being stored separately from the content elements and separately from the layout elements.

12. The system of claim 11 in which the at least one binding provides a primary control for the generation of the document and the different document.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the formatter is further configured to enable generation of the document and the different document using the elements and the at least one binding in the binding specification.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the storage device is further configured to store the content elements and the layout elements.

15. The system of claim 11 in which at least some of the layout elements and at least some of the content elements are identified by uniquely named binding sites.

16. The system of claim 11 in which the storage device is configured to store content elements in a portfolio and the layout elements in a separate portfolio.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the binding specification includes a plurality of bindings and in which some of the bindings are layout-centric and some of the bindings are content-centric.

18. The system of claim 11 in which the binding specification for the two documents are the same and at least one of the content elements and layout elements associated with binding sites is different for the document and the different document.

19. The system of claim 11 in which the binding specifications for the two documents are different and at least some of the content elements and the layout elements are the same for the document and the different document.

20. A system comprising:

a formatter for generating documents based on a binding specification, individual content elements and on individual layout elements stored in a layout portfolio, wherein the formatter is configured to generate the documents by combining the content and layout elements according to at least one binding included in the binding specification, and, the binding specification is stored separately from both the content and layout elements; and

a storage device that stores an application program for creating the individual content elements, wherein the storage device is further configured to store the individual content elements in a format native to the application program as a content portfolio, based on the stored individual content elements, and

wherein the content portfolio is formed by storing unique binding site names associated with respective content elements, and storing information with each of the content elements that aids the formatter.

21. The system of claim 20 in which the information that aids the formatter comprises attributes associated with is the content elements.

22. The system of claim 20 further comprising storing the binding specification which refers to the content elements.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein the storage device is further configured to store implementation specific properties as a part of the content portfolio.

24. The system of claim 20 wherein the storage device is further configured to store portfolio-specific attributes as a part of the content portfolio.

25. The system of claim 20 wherein the storage device is further configured to store a list of binding sites of elements belonging to the content portfolio.

26. The system of claim 20 wherein the storage device is further configured to store a list of groups of content elements belonging to the content portfolio.

27. A system comprising:

a formatter for generating documents based on a binding specification, content elements referenced by the binding specification, and layout elements referenced by the binding

specification, wherein the formatter is configured to format the documents by combining the content and layout elements according to at least one binding included in the binding specification, and

a storage device configured to store the binding specification separately from both the content and layout elements, the storage device also configured to store, in the binding specification, global bindings and direct bindings that aid the formatter in formatting documents.

28. The system of claim 27 in which the global bindings include a list of element bindings that define a default binding for elements of a specified type.

29. The system of claim 28 in which the global bindings include a list of model bindings that define a default model for a specified binding site.

30. The system of claim 27 in which the binding specification contains composition sequences that aid the formatter in formatting documents, the composition sequences defining the order in which formatting is to proceed using bindings between content elements and layout elements, each of the composition sequences including composition blocks containing ordered lists of direct bindings.

31. The system of claim 30 in which each of the direct bindings comprises a placement binding or a style binding.

32. A system comprising:

a formatter for formatting a document using stored content elements and stored layout elements, and a binding specification, the stored content elements including content aspects and layout aspects, the formatter further configured to determine whether layout of the document should be dominated by the layout elements or the layout aspects of the content elements, wherein formatting the document includes combining the content and layout elements according to at least one binding included in the binding specification; and

a storage device configured to store the binding specification separately from both the content and layout elements.

33. The system of claim 32 in which the content elements include layout aspects and the bindings contain information sufficient to mediate a conflict between a layout aspect of a content element and a layout element with which the content element is associated.