JPH04309168A - Method and device for processing document - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the document processing method and device which can speedily erase an unnecessary document from a memory by distributing the document while efficiently using the memory, and erasing the document after all the people at distribution destinations read the document. CONSTITUTION:An identification code is added to document data 61 for distribution, and the distribution destinations of the document data 61 for distribution added with the identification code are designated. According to the contents of a distribution destination list 62, the identification code is transmitted to these designated distribution destinations, and the existence of the document data designated as the distribution destinations is reported to the respective distribution destinations. Then, when it is judged that all the people at those distribution destinations read the document data, it is operated to erase the document data 61 from a memory 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing method and apparatus for distributing and circulating document data by e-mail, for example.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A network electronic bulletin board system (for example, J
unet news system) or the UNIX e-mail system.

[0003] In the former news system, articles are stored as files in a specific directory in the system, and each user manages which articles have been read. Then, when the user attempts to read the news, if there is an article that has not been read yet, this is notified to the reader and the reader reads it. In this way, it is a waste of memory to keep article files on the disk or other memory forever, so after a certain period of time, regardless of whether there are users who have not read the article or not, I manage files by deleting them.

[0004] Also, according to the latter UNIX mail system, documents (mail
) in a specific directory prepared for that user, and can also notify the user of new mail when the mail arrives. In this case, even when sending a document with the same content to multiple users, files will be copied for the number of destination users.

[0005]

However, the distribution and circulation of document data in the conventional example described above has the following problems.

First, in the electronic bulletin board system, readers cannot be freely (detailedly) set for each document data, so detailed management of each document data becomes impossible. Also, articles stored as files are deleted only after a predetermined period of time has passed, so even if everyone has already read them, they remain registered as files without being deleted, wasting memory. It will be used for. Also, or
There is a problem in which the article file is deleted from memory because the specified time has elapsed even though no one has read it yet.

[0007] Furthermore, when using an e-mail system, when notifying many people of document data with the same content,
Document data with exactly the same content is electronically copied as many times as there are distribution destinations, and stored in a directory designated for each user. Therefore, memory capacity corresponding to this amount is required. This can be done, for example, by sending an email containing only the file name of the document to each user.
Storing the same document data in multiple directories can be avoided by managing the actual part of the document data separately, but in that case, someone must be responsible for the actual part of the document data. This is inconvenient because it must be deleted consciously and each user must search for the document based on the file name.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and it is possible to distribute documents by efficiently using memory, and also to delete documents that are no longer needed after being read by everyone at the distribution destination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document processing method and device that can erase documents more quickly than from memory.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a document processing device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the document processing device is capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to a plurality of people, and includes an adding means for adding an identification code to the document data, and a specification for specifying a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. and a sending means for sending the identification code to a distribution destination specified by the specifying means.

[0010] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the document processing method of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the document processing method is capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to multiple people, and includes the steps of: adding an identification code to the document data; and specifying a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. a step of transmitting the identification code to specified distribution destinations to notify each distribution destination that there is document data designated as a distribution destination; and determining that all of the distribution destinations have finished reading the document data. When it was done,
and a step of erasing the document data.

[0011]

[Operation] In the above configuration, an identification code is added to document data, and a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code is added is specified. As a result, the identification code is sent to the specified distribution destinations to notify each distribution destination that there is document data specified as a distribution destination, and when all of the distribution destinations have finished reading the document data. When the determination is made, the document data is deleted from the memory.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing system according to this embodiment. In Figure 1, 1 is CP
U controls the entire document processing system according to programs and data stored in memories 5 to 7, which will be described later. 2 is a character input device, such as a keyboard,
It is operated by an operator to input document data and various commands. Reference numeral 3 denotes an output device, which may be, for example, a display device such as a CRT, or a printing device such as a printer. Reference numeral 4 denotes a pointing device, such as a mouse, which moves a cursor or the like on the output device 3 to indicate a coordinate position. 5~
Reference numeral 7 denotes a memory, which are connected to each other by a computer bus 8.

The memory 5 mainly stores programs, including an ID addition program 51 for adding an ID code, a distribution destination designation program 52, and an unnecessary document determination program 53 for determining document data to be deleted. .

[0015] The devices indicated by numbers 2 to 4 are grouped together to form one terminal device, and a plurality of devices may be connected. That is, in this document processing system, each of a plurality of users has a terminal device consisting of an input device 2, an output device 3, and a pointing device 4,
These can be connected to the bus 8 and used.

The document processing system of this embodiment will be explained by dividing it into three main parts: processing for distributing document data, processing for reading document data, and processing for deleting document data.

First, the process for distributing document data will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S1, the document creator (
An operator) electronically creates document data to be distributed using an existing text editor, etc., and stores it in memory 6.
The document is stored as a distribution document 61 in a specific directory. At this time, the id addition program 51 adds a unique id in the system as the file name. This may for example be a number. In this way, when managing files, you can use a unique number in the system (
It is common practice to add a number) to a file.

Next, in step S2, the distribution destination is designated by the distribution destination designation program 52. At this time, the distribution destination designation program 52 creates a list representing the distribution destinations. This is for specifying to whom the previously created distribution document 61 should be distributed. Here, something that can identify the user on the computer, such as a login name, is used and stored as a file in the format shown in FIG. 3. This is just a text file with a login name written on each line. Such a distribution list is stored in a specific directory of the memory 6 as a distribution destination list 62. At this time,
In order to express the correspondence between the distribution document 61 and the distribution destination list 62, the file name of the distribution destination list 62 is assumed to have an extension ".list" after the distribution document 61. For example, the directory for storing these files is "/haifu", and the distribution document 61 is
If the id of “/ha” is “56”, the process up to this point will create “/ha”.
“56.ifu” is associated with a file “56” (document file). A file (distribution destination list) 62 with the extension "list" is created.

Next, proceed to step S3, and step S2
The ID attached to the document data, rather than the document file itself, is distributed to the users written in the distribution destination list 62 created in . For example, the ID of the distribution document 61 is stored in a directory prepared in advance for each user.
The file with contents is the document ID storage file 71
Store as . This will be copied as many times as there are users to distribute it to, and stored in a directory prepared for each user. This file name can be anything as long as it is not the same in the directory.

Next, proceeding to step S4, the distribution document 6
Notify each user that 1 has arrived. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, an icon 46 indicating that there is a distributed document is displayed in a window 42 on the user's terminal screen. As a result, for the users of each terminal, the number of icons corresponding to the number of documents distributed to them will be displayed in the window 42 of the output device 3. Each of these icons corresponds to the document ID storage file 71.
There is a one-to-one correspondence with the document file. In Figure 4, 4
1, 44, and 45 correspond to the display/output units of each user, and the icon 46 notifies each user that the distributed document 61 exists. Note that 43 is an icon in the shape of a trash can for instructing to delete unnecessary documents, etc. on the screen.

[0022] In addition to this, the user can periodically search the /haifu directory (a directory containing files indicating the actual document and its distribution destination) to check whether there is a distributed document addressed to the user. It is also possible.

This concludes the explanation of the document distribution process.

Next, the process by which each user reads distributed document data will be explained.

When the user wishes to read the distributed document data, he/she double-clicks the icon 46 displayed in the window 42 shown in FIG. 4 using the pointing device 4 such as a mouse. Then, the document file stored in the directory /haifu can be extracted from the ID of the distributed document data. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the actual portion 47 of the document data can be read and displayed on the user's screen.

[0026] In addition to reading a document, it is also possible to perform operations such as copying the file of the substantial part of the document to the user's directory.

Next, a process for deleting document data already read by the user from the document ID storage file 71 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, each user points to an icon 46 representing a distributed document on the display of the terminal using a cursor or the like, and performs a drag operation or the like to place the icon of that document on the trash can-shaped icon 43. By stacking 46, you can discard unnecessary documents. Such processing is already common, and examples include systems such as Apple's personal computer (Macintosh).

In FIG. 6, this deletion process is executed on the user displays indicated by 41 and 44, and the icon 46 of the distributed document is deleted from the window 42 of the user who performed this process. , 45, the icon 46 does not disappear from the window 42 of the user who does not perform this process.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, if everyone has not finished reading the distributed document 61 and deletion of the distributed document 61 is not instructed, the actual document file (distributed document 61) is not deleted, but the As shown in FIG. 7, the remaining user 45 deletes the icon 46, and all users delete the distributed document 6.
1, the distributed document 61 is deleted from the memory 6.

The above processing will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the arrival notification process. First, in step S11, the document ID storage file 71 of the user who performed this process is deleted from the memory 7. At this time, the icon 46 on the window 42 of the corresponding user is also deleted.

Next, the process advances to step S12, and the line containing the name of the user performing this operation is deleted from the distribution destination list 62 corresponding to the target document. Next, the process advances to step S13, and the unnecessary document determination program 53 determines whether this document is unnecessary. The unnecessary document determination program 53 here determines whether the distribution destination list 62 is empty. Step S
If it is not empty at 13, the process ends. if,
If it is empty, the distributed document 61 as shown in FIG.
When all the users have finished reading the icon and perform the deletion operation by pointing to the icon, it is determined that the distribution document 61 is no longer needed. Therefore, in step S14, the distribution document 61 and the distribution destination list 62 are deleted. Delete and end the process. <Example 2 (FIGS. 9 to 11)> In the first example described above, the actual portion of the distributed document 61 was deleted on the condition that all users had finished reading the distributed document data. In addition, a condition is added that after a certain period of time has elapsed, the actual part of the document data is deleted even if there is a document that has not been read yet.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing system according to a second embodiment. Portions common to those of the document processing system according to the first embodiment described above are designated by the same numbers, and their explanations are omitted. do. 54 is a time-limited execution program, which is a program that executes a specific command at a certain time.

An example of such a time-limited execution program 54 is the UNIX at command. By starting this program by specifying a certain time and command name, the specified command will be executed at that time.

The process of distributing document data in this second embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 10 shows a step S2a in which timed execution processing is performed between step S2 and step S3 in FIG.
The rest is the same as the flowchart in FIG. 2 except that .

[0036] In step S2a, the time to delete the document data is received from the user, and at that time, related files such as the document data with a predetermined ID and its distribution destination list 62 are deleted. Activate a time-limited execution program such as the at command to activate a command such as

The document file deletion command will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S21, it is determined whether the distribution document 61 with the designated ID still exists in the directory where the document is stored. If the distribution document 61 exists, the process advances to step S22.
Delete. Furthermore, the process proceeds to step S23, and the distribution destination list 62 is referred to, and if there are still names remaining in the distribution destination list 62 (
File 7 for storing user document IDs (not yet read)
Delete 1. Further, in step S24, the distribution destination list 62 is deleted. If the specified ID distribution document 6
If there is no 1, exit without doing anything. The processing when reading a document and the processing when deleting a document are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0039] By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a document whose content is only valid until a certain period from remaining in the memory forever because there are readers who have not read it. <Example 3 (Figure 12)> In this third example, the substance of the document is deleted after all readers have read it or the specified period has passed as in the second example above. When the document data is deleted, the document creator is notified that the document data will be deleted.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a document processing system according to the third embodiment, except that the creator name 63 of the memory 6 stores the creator name of the distribution document 61. The configuration is the same as that of the first and second embodiments.

[0041] This creator 63, when distributing the document,
Information about the creator of the distribution document 61 is stored. To this end, during the process of distributing the document, for example, the login name of the document creator may be stored in a file with an extension of "author" added to the document ID. In other words, for a document created by an author named yamada and whose document ID is "56", it will be stored in the directory /haifu.
56. All you have to do is create a file called "author" and set its contents to, for example, yamada.

Another difference from the second embodiment is that when deleting the entity of the distribution document 61, the user name of the document creator is read from the file containing the name of the document creator, and this is used as the destination. , you can send a message via e-mail or the like to inform that the document itself will be deleted. In this way, the document creator can know when the distribution document 61 was deleted. At this time, if there is a file with the extension ".list", there are unread readers, and considering that the content is the login name of the unread reader, even though there are unread readers, the specified If the actual document is to be deleted after a certain amount of time has passed, it is also possible to add an unread list and send a message to the document creator.

[0043] In this way, the document creator can check who has not read the distribution document 61.

The present invention may be applied to a system made up of a plurality of devices, or to an apparatus made up of one device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to cases where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or device.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, an ID code is added to a document created for distribution, and the ID code is added to the document rather than the document file itself to the users listed in the distribution destination list. Distribute the ID. This eliminates the need to distribute the document file itself to each user, which reduces the amount of communication and further reduces the amount of memory used.

Furthermore, such a document for distribution exists until all the users to whom it is distributed have read the document, and is deleted immediately after all the users have read it, so that memory can be used effectively.

[0047]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, documents can be distributed using memory efficiently, and documents that are no longer needed can be stored in the memory by being deleted after being read by everyone at the distribution destination. It can be erased more quickly, and
This has the effect of allowing you to save documents that you still need.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a document processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process for distributing documents in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a distribution list in this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a state in which documents are distributed to each user terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a user reads a distributed document.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a distributed document has been deleted by a user.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the substantial part of the document data is deleted when all the users to whom the document was distributed delete the distributed document.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating deletion processing of unnecessary distributed documents in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a document processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing document distribution processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing time-limited execution processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a document processing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU 2 Character input device 3 Output device 4 Pointing device 5-7 Memory 51 ID addition program 52 Distribution destination designation program 53 Unnecessary document determination program 54 Timed execution program 61 Documents for distribution 62 Distribution list 63 Creator name 71 Document ID storage file

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A document processing device capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to a plurality of people, comprising: an addition means for adding an identification code to the document data; and a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. a specifying means for specifying;
A document processing apparatus comprising: sending means for sending the identification code to a distribution destination specified by the specifying means. 2. A distribution destination that has received the identification code displays an icon corresponding to the document data, and can read the document data by pointing to the icon. 1. The document processing device according to 1. 3. A document processing device capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to a plurality of people, comprising: adding means for adding an identification code to the document data; and a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. a specifying means for specifying;
sending means for sending the identification code to the distribution destination specified by the specification means; document determination means for determining whether all the distribution destinations have finished reading the document data;
When the document determining means determines that the document has been read,
A document processing device comprising: erasing means for erasing the document data. 4. A document processing method capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to multiple people, the method comprising: adding an identification code to the document data; and specifying a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. a step of transmitting the identification code to the specified distribution destinations to notify each distribution destination that there is document data designated as the distribution destination; A document processing method comprising the step of erasing the document data when it is determined that the document data has been completed. 5. A document processing method capable of distributing document data consisting of code information to multiple people, the method comprising: adding an identification code to the document data; and specifying a distribution destination of the document data to which the identification code has been added. a step of transmitting the identification code to the specified distribution destinations to notify each distribution destination that there is document data designated as the distribution destination; A document processing method comprising the steps of deleting the document data when it is determined that the document data has been completed, and notifying the creator of the document data to that effect when deleting the document data.