Information processing apparatus, computer-readable medium, and computer program product

Abstract

An information processing apparatus and a computer-readable medium. The information processing apparatus is capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each of the jobs constituting the business, and stores files associated with the business or job. The information processing apparatus has a processor that acquires business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared, and selects, in accordance with an operation to display a display element indicating a file stored in the file storage area, a file as a display target from among the files stored in the file storage area, in accordance with a status of a business corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes a display target by the operation from the business status information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus and a computer-readable medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] When managing documents used in a business, a folder is often created for each business, and the documents are classified and managed. Further, sometimes, a folder is also created hierarchically, and the documents are classified and managed more finely.

[0003] When conducting a business, a document created in the past is often referred to, but sometimes, it is not remembered in which folder the document to be referred to is saved. In this case, the document is confirmed by trying to open the folder recalled, or downloading the document again to confirm the content of the document, or finding the document using a search function.

[0004] In the related art, a technique has been proposed in which, when a mouse is hovered over a folder, four image files that are initially found as representative images of image files included in the folder are displayed on a prompt box (for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-025998).

[0005] Further, as a related technical document, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4501731 can be cited. SUMMARY

[0006] However, in the related art, when an operation for displaying a file such as a mouse hover is performed, the file displayed is fixed to the initially found four image files and the like, and the file that becomes the display object does not differ, for example, depending on the situation of the business.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to, when an operation of displaying a display element indicating a file stored in a file storage area prepared in correspondence with a business is performed, select a file that becomes a display object from among files stored in a file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes a display object by the operation, depending on the situation of the business.

[0008] A first aspect of this disclosure provides an information processing apparatus capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job according to business specification information and storing files associated with that business or job, the business specification information specifying the jobs constituting the business and the files created in each job constituting the business, wherein the information processing apparatus has a processor that acquires business status information relating to the status of the business in which the file storage area has been prepared, and selects a file as a display object from the files stored in the file storage area according to the business status corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation obtained from the business status information.

[0009] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, when a service corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that has become a display object through the operation is completed, the processor selects the file that has become the display object by referring to the status of other services implemented according to the same service specification information as that service.

[0010] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, the processor selects a file created in the same job as the job being performed in the other job from files stored in a file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation, as the file that becomes the display object.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, the processor selects the file to be the display object from files stored in a file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation, with reference to the state of the file that should be created in the other service.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect of this disclosure, the processor selects a file of the same kind as a file created or approved by a user performing the operation in a job being performed in the other business as the file to be displayed.

[0013] According to a sixth aspect of this disclosure, when a service corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display object through the operation is being performed, the processor selects, from files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes a display object through the operation, at least one of a file created in the job being performed in the service or a file created in a job performed immediately before the job being performed, as the file that becomes the display object.

[0014] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the processor selects, as the file that is the display object, a file that is an object approved by the user who performed the operation in a process being performed.

[0015] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor selects, as the file that is the display object, a file whose degree of association with the file selected as the display object is a prescribed value or more, from among files stored in a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes the display object by the operation.

[0016] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, in a case where a file that should be created in a job being performed in a process corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes the display object by the operation has not yet been created, the processor selects, as the file that is the display object, a file whose degree of association with the file is a prescribed value or more.

[0017] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, the processor performs control to display a display element corresponding to the file that is the display object.

[0018] According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the processor creates the display element corresponding to the user who performed the operation or the file selected as the display object.

[0019] A twelfth aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium storing a program, the computer being able to access a file storage area prepared for each process or job in accordance with process provision information that specifies jobs constituting a process and files created in each job constituting a process, and storing files associated with the process or job, the program causing the computer to execute a process having the steps of: acquiring process status information regarding a status of a process for which the file storage area is prepared; and selecting, as a file that is a display object, a file from among files stored in a file storage area corresponding to a process status corresponding to a display element that becomes a display object by the operation obtained from the process status information, in accordance with an operation that causes the display element indicating the file stored in the file storage area to be displayed.

[0020] Effects of Invention

[0021] According to the first aspect described above, when an operation is performed that displays a display element indicating a file stored in a file storage area prepared in correspondence with a process, it is possible to select, as a file that is a display object, a file from among files stored in a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display object by the operation, in accordance with a status of the process.

[0022] According to the above-described second aspect, the file of the business can be selected with reference to the status of the other business performed in accordance with the same business specification information as the business corresponding to the file storage area of the display element that becomes the display object by the operation.

[0023] According to the above-described third aspect, the file of the business created in the same job as the job being performed in the other business performed in accordance with the same business specification information as the business corresponding to the file storage area of the display element that becomes the display object by the operation can be presumed to be selected as the file that the user wants to refer to.

[0024] According to the above-described fourth aspect, the file to be displayed can be selected in accordance with the status of the file to be created in the other business.

[0025] According to the above-described fifth aspect, in the other business being performed, the file that the user wants to refer to when creating or approving the file can be presumed to be selected.

[0026] According to the above-described sixth aspect, the file created most recently can be presumed to be selected as the file that the user wants to refer to.

[0027] According to the above-described seventh aspect, the file that is the object of the approval by the user in the business being performed can be presumed to be selected as the file that is desired to be referred to.

[0028] According to the above-described eighth aspect, the file having a high degree of relevance to the selected file can be selected together.

[0029] According to the above-described ninth aspect, the file having a high degree of association with the file to be generated in the job being performed can be selected.

[0030] According to the above-described tenth aspect, the file selected to be the display object can be indicated to the user.

[0031] According to the above-described eleventh aspect, the content of the selected file can be displayed in a manner that the user can easily grasp.

[0032] According to the above-described twelfth aspect, when an operation of displaying a display element indicating a file stored in a file storage area prepared in correspondence with a business is performed, the file to be displayed can be selected from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object by the operation in accordance with the status of the business. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall structure and a block structure of a file management system in Embodiment 1.

[0034] Figure 2Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of business management information in the first embodiment.

[0035] Figure 3A Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a status of case 1 in the first embodiment.

[0036] Figure 3B Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the first embodiment in correspondence with case 1.

[0037] Figure 3C Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a status of case 2 in the first embodiment.

[0038] Figure 3D Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the first embodiment in correspondence with case 2.

[0039] Figure 4 Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a display process in the first embodiment.

[0040] Figure 5 Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display on a client PC according to the first embodiment.

[0041] Figure 6A Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a status of case 1 in the second embodiment.

[0042] Figure 6B Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the second embodiment in correspondence with case 1.

[0043] Figure 6C Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a status of case 2 in the second embodiment.

[0044] Figure 6D Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the second embodiment in correspondence with case 2.

[0045] Figure 7A Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a status of case 1 in the third embodiment.

[0046] Figure 7B Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the third embodiment in correspondence with case 1.

[0047] Figure 7C Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a status of case 2 in the third embodiment.

[0048] Figure 7D Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a structure of folders and documents created in the third embodiment in correspondence with case 2.

[0049] Figure 8is a diagram showing other examples of the screen display on the client PC in each embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0051] First Embodiment

[0052] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overall structure and a block structure showing an outline of the file management system in the present embodiment. Figure 1 The display control device 1, the service management server 2, the database (DB) server 3, the user management server 4, and the client PC 5 are shown. Of these structures, the structures other than the client PC (Personal Computer) 5 are a system for providing a service relating to a file such as a document to a user using the client PC 5. In the present embodiment, a case where a document created through a prescribed service is processed is described as an example. The file management system in the present embodiment can be implemented by cloud computing, for example. Of course, it is not limited thereto, and one server device can be made to have the structures and the like possessed by each of the computers 1 to 4, and can be implemented in an appropriate structure according to the system scale and the usage situation.

[0053] The client PC 5 is implemented by a general-purpose hardware structure mounting a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage unit, a communication interface, and a user interface, and refers to a file managed by the database server 3 via the display control device 1. In the present embodiment, a mouse is used as a user interface for input.

[0054] Each of the servers 2, 3, and 4 can be implemented by a hardware structure of a general-purpose server computer. That is, each of the servers 2, 3, and 4 mounts a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage unit such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and a communication interface. In addition, a user interface can be mounted in order to enable an administrator or the like to perform management of information and the like.

[0055] The business management server 2 is a server computer that manages information related to a business. The business management server 2 has a business template and each database 21, 22 of business management information. The business template is business specification information that specifies jobs that constitute a business and kinds of files created in each job that constitutes a business. It is not necessary to determine the order of implementation of the jobs that constitute a business, but in the present embodiment, explanation will be given assuming jobs implemented in a time series, so in the following explanation, as a term corresponding to "job", "process" indicating a step of a job is used. As a case for completing a business, by designating an applied business template, the process and its order that should be executed in the case (i.e., a business process) and the kind of file that should be created are determined. The "case" corresponds to a business that is implemented by individually specifying the contents of the business prescribed by the business template. Also, in the present embodiment, explanation will be given assuming the case where a document data (hereinafter simply referred to as "document") is generated as an electronic file. In the present embodiment, a folder that is a storage area of a document is created for each process of a case. Also, the document created according to the progress of processing is saved in the corresponding folder. In the present embodiment, for example Figure 3B As shown in FIG. 1, a folder corresponding to a case of one business (hereinafter also referred to as "parent folder") is created, and folders of each process included in the case (hereinafter also referred to as "child folder") are created in a lower level of the folder, but it is also possible to not create the folders corresponding to each process (i.e., child folder), and to collectively store the documents in the folder of the case (i.e., parent folder). Also, it is possible to further create folders in the child folder or a lower level thereof to more hierarchically manage the documents.

[0056] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of business management information in the present embodiment. The business management information manages the status of the business in each case prepared. In the present embodiment, the business management information is stored in the database 21 of the business management server 2. Figure 2In the table, "Case No." is identification information of the case. "Template No." is identification information of the template applied to the case. "User" is identification information of the user related to the case. "Folder name" is the name of the uppermost folder (i.e., parent folder) of the case. "Progress status" indicates the progress status of the case. In the case of completion of the business of the case, "Completed" is set, and in the case of the current non-completion and progress of the case, the number indicating the process currently being executed is set. In the "Document", the document to be created in the case is managed for each process. In each process, "Document name", "Creator", and "Approver" are set for each document created in the process. Further, "Creation" and "Approval" are information indicating the state of the document whether the document is created or approved. For "Creation" and "Approval", "Completed" is set in the case where the document has been created / approved, and "Not completed" is set in the case where the document has not been created / approved.

[0057] Figure 2 The items shown in the present embodiment can also include other items in the business management information. The business management information is appropriately updated according to the status of the business, Figure 1 In the table, the configuration elements regarding information management and information provision for performing the setting, update, and the like of the information are omitted. The same applies to the other servers 3, 4.

[0058] The database server 3 has a document library 31 storing the documents processed in the present embodiment. As described above, the documents processed in the present embodiment are stored in the folders set for each process of the case in the document library 31.

[0059] The user management server 4 has a database 41 storing user information related to the user involved in the case. In the user information, the identification information and the department to which each person belongs are set.

[0060] The display control device 1 refers to the information managed by the above-described each server 2 to 4, and provides the document to the client PC 5. The display control device 1 in the present embodiment can be realized by the hardware structure of a general-purpose server computer or PC as with each server 2, 3, 4. That is, the display control device 1 mounts a storage unit such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive (HDD), and a communication interface. In addition, a user interface can also be mounted for management of information and the like.

[0061] The display control device 1 of the present embodiment has a user interface (UI) control section 11, a business management information acquisition section 12, a document selection section 13, and a display information generation section 14. In addition, Figure 1The user interface control section 11 has an operation reception section 111 and a display control section 112. The operation reception section 111 accepts operations by a user at the client PC 5. The display control section 112 controls display on the client PC 5. The business management information acquisition section 12 acquires business management information from the business management server 2. The business management information acquired by the business management information acquisition section 12 corresponds to business status information about the status of a business (i.e., a case). The document selection section 13 selects a document displayed on a screen of the client PC 5 when a user of the client PC 5 hovers a mouse over a folder displayed on the screen. The display information generation section 14 generates display information including a thumbnail of the selected document. The display control section 112 displays the display information generated by the display information generation section 14 on the screen of the client PC 5.

[0062] The respective components 11 to 14 in the display control apparatus 1 are realized by the coordinated action of a computer forming the display control apparatus 1 and a program acting in a CPU mounted on the computer.

[0063] In addition, the program used in the present embodiment can of course be provided through a communication unit, or can be provided stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a USB memory. The program provided from the communication unit or the recording medium is installed in the computer, and the CPU of the computer sequentially executes the program, whereby various processes are realized.

[0064] Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

[0065] When a case is prepared by specifying a business template, a folder for storing documents generated in the case is generated in the document library 31. Also, documents created in each process constituting the case are stored in the folder of the case in the document library 31.

[0066] In addition, when a user of the client PC 5 creates a document, for example, in a procedure in the current execution of a case currently in progress, there are cases in which the user wishes to refer to a document created in the past. More specifically, in some cases, the generation work of a document to be generated is performed while referring to a document having a high correlation with the document to be generated. In such a case, the user finds a document to be referred to by using a search function or the like by memory. However, there are many cases in which the names of documents generated in cases prepared using the same business template are similar. Therefore, it is necessary to open the document to confirm the content, and thus it is sometimes necessary to spend effort. In addition, even if the folder can be determined, since a plurality of files are stored in the folder, when the thumbnails of all the files cannot be displayed on one screen, it is necessary to search while scrolling the display.

[0067] Accordingly, the present embodiment is characterized in that, when the user performs an operation of displaying display elements (i.e., thumbnails) that represent files stored in a folder, for example, in a case where the user hovers a mouse over a certain folder displayed on a screen, a document that the user wants to refer to is selected as a display object from among files stored in the folder over which the mouse is hovered, in accordance with the status of the business or work (i.e., the case or the process) corresponding to the folder over which the mouse is hovered, and a thumbnail of the selected document is displayed as a display object. That is, in a case where the mouse is hovered over a folder, rather than fixedly displaying all documents stored in the folder as display objects, a document to be displayed is selected in accordance with the status of the case or the process. In other words, even if the user hovers the mouse over a folder, the document to be displayed is not fixed, but changes in accordance with the status of the case or the process. Thus, the user can easily find a document to be referred to. In addition, the display space of thumbnails of documents can be reduced.

[0068] Here, before describing the characteristic processing of the present embodiment, the status of the case at the time of operation of the present embodiment is described.

[0069] Figure 3A is a diagram that represents the status of the business relating to the case 1 established in accordance with the business template "T001". According to Figure 3A , the business template "T001" defines a business flow consisting of processes 1 to 4, and shows that two kinds of documents are respectively generated in each of the processes 1 to 4. Also, in Figure 3A , since "completed" is filled in, it is indicated that all of the processes 1 to 4 that constitute the case 1 are completed, and the case 1 is completed.

[0070] Figure 3B is a diagram that represents the structure of the folders and documents generated in correspondence with the case 1. As Figure 3B indicated, the folders of the case 1 are constituted by generating sub-folders corresponding to each process in a lower level of the parent folder of the case 1. In the sub-folders of each process, the documents generated in the process are stored. Since the case 1 has been completed, all of the documents that should be generated in each process are stored in the corresponding folder.

[0071] Figure 3C is a diagram that represents the status of the business flow of the case 2 established in accordance with the business template "T001". According to Figure 3C , since it is the case 2 established in accordance with the same business template "T001" as Figure 3A , a business flow consisting of processes 1 to 4 is defined, and it is shown that two kinds of documents are respectively required to be generated in each of the processes 1 to 4. Also, in Figure 3C , since "process 3" is filled in, it is indicated that the process 3 is currently being executed.

[0072] Figure 3DThis is a diagram showing the structure of the folders and documents generated corresponding to Case 2. For example... Figure 3D As shown, subfolders corresponding to each process are generated at the lower levels of the parent folder of Case 2 to form the folder for Case 2. Documents generated in each process are stored in the subfolders of each process. Regarding Case 2, it is shown that although documents for completed processes 1 and 2, as well as "Document 3-1" for the currently ongoing process 3, have been generated, "Document 3-2" for process 3 and the document for process 4 have not yet been generated.

[0073] Next, use Figure 4 The flowchart shown illustrates the display process of this embodiment. Here, we take the service as an example. Figures 3A-3D The situation shown is an example of performing display processing. Furthermore, in the following description, unless otherwise stated, "user" refers to the user using client PC5.

[0074] First, in order to find the document they want to refer to, the user performs a prescribed operation, such as launching a document management application. The operation receiving unit 111 in the display control device 1 accepts this prescribed operation. Then, the display control unit 112 displays the hierarchical structure of folders formed in the document library 31 on the client PC 5. Next, the user selects the folder containing the document they want to refer to from the displayed folders. The folder selection operation will be explained using mouse hover as an example.

[0075] In the display control device 1, when the operation receiving unit 111 receives a folder selection operation, the business management information acquisition unit 12 designates the folder where the mouse is hovering as the folder to be retrieved (step 101). Then, it checks whether the designated folder is associated with a case. For example, the folder name of the parent folder for each case is set in the business management information, so it is easy to determine whether the hovered folder is associated with a case. If it is the folder of the case corresponding to the above (Y in step 102), the business management information acquisition unit 12 refers to the business management information to check the progress of the case.

[0076] Here, we assume the user selected the top-level folder in Case 1 (i.e., the parent folder, hereinafter referred to as "the folder in Case 1"). See [reference needed]. Figure 3A In the case of example case 1, case 1 is completed. In this situation (Y in step 103), the business management information acquisition unit 12 retrieves other cases implemented using the same business template as case 1, and cases that are currently in progress, and determines the current process in that case (step 104). In this embodiment, the retrieved... Figure 3CThe case 2 is exemplified. The business management information acquisition section 12 acquires the business management information corresponding to the case 1 and the case 2.

[0077] The document selection section 13 selects the documents to be displayed with reference to the business management information acquired by the business management information acquisition section 12. That is, in the example case, for the case 2, since the process 3 is currently being executed, the document selection section 13 acquires the documents corresponding to the process 3 of the case 1 selected by the user from the document library 31, and selects the documents "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" as the display objects. Figure 3B In the example shown, "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" are selected as the display objects as surrounded by the dotted line (step 105).

[0078] Since the user selects the folder of the case 1, "document 1-1", "document 1-2", "document 2-1",... "document 4-2" included in the folders corresponding to the processes 1 to 4 of the case 1 can become the display objects. However, since the process 3 is currently being executed in the case 2 being currently processed, the document selection section 13 infers that the user wants to refer to the documents "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" related to the process 3, and selects the documents "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" related to the process 3 from the documents corresponding to the case 1.

[0079] When the documents are acquired, the thumbnail generation section 141 generates the thumbnails of the acquired respective documents (step 106). Then, the display control section 112 displays the display information screen including the generated thumbnails on the client PC 5 (step 107).

[0080] As described above, in the present embodiment, in the case where the case 1 corresponding to the folder selected by the user's display document operation (the above-described "hovering") (the above-described "folder of the case 1" in the example) is completed, the documents to be displayed are selected with reference to the situation of the other business (i.e., "case 2") implemented according to the same business template as the case 1, and specifically, the documents "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" of the process 3 of the case 1 identical to the process 3 being currently executed are selected in the case 2.

[0081] Suppose that the case 2 being processed is executing the process 4, the document selection section 13 selects the documents "document 4-1" and "document 4-2" related to the process 4 from the documents corresponding to the case 1. That is, when the user hovers the mouse over the folder of the case 1, the documents to be displayed differ according to the business situation of the case 2.

[0082] Thus, according to the present embodiment, the document presumed to be desired to be referred to by the user can be selected and displayed from the corresponding documents in accordance with the hovering over the folder icon. Therefore, the user can easily find the document desired to be referred to from the displayed documents. In addition, by selecting the document as the display target, the space in which the thumbnails of the documents are displayed can be reduced.

[0083] In addition, in the present embodiment, the thumbnails of the documents are displayed, but it is not necessarily required to display the thumbnails, and attribute information of the documents, such as the document names, can be displayed.

[0084] In addition, in step 104, the case in which the same template as that of the case 1 is used is found (the "case 2" in the above example), but in the case in which a plurality of cases in which the same template is used are in progress, the document of the case 1 corresponding to the currently in-progress process in each case can also be the display target. Alternatively, as in the other example described later, the range of the document to be the display target can be narrowed down in accordance with other conditions, such as the user of the operation being the creator or the approver, or the document.

[0085] Next, it is assumed that the user selects the top-level folder in the case 2 (i.e., the parent folder, hereinafter referred to as the "folder of the case 2"). Referring to Figure 3C The case 2 is in progress, and the process 3 is currently being executed, in the example of the case 2. In this case (N in step 103), the process 3 in the case 2 is determined by the business management information acquisition unit 12. Also, the business management information corresponding to the case 2 is acquired by the business management information acquisition unit 12. Then, the document selection unit 13 refers to the acquired business management information, and selects at least one of the document created in the currently executed process 3 or the document created in the process 2 executed before the currently executed process 3 from the documents stored in the folder corresponding to the case 2 level (including the lower-level sub-folders) as the display target. In the present embodiment, when the process of selecting the documents corresponding to both the processes 2 and 3 is performed, the document selection unit 13 selects the documents corresponding to the processes 2 and 3, and acquires the selected documents from the document library 31 (step 108). Figure 3D In the example shown in FIG. 10, "Document 2-1", "Document 2-2", and "Document 3-1" are selected and acquired from the document library 31 as shown by the dotted line (step 108).

[0086] When the documents are acquired, the thumbnail generation unit 141 generates the thumbnails of the acquired respective documents as described above (step 106). Then, the display control unit 112 displays the display information screen including the generated thumbnails on the client PC 5 (step 107).

[0087] In the case where the user selects the folder of the ongoing case 2, it can be considered that the user wants to refer to the most recently generated document at the time of generating the document. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, according to the operation (for example, "hovering") of displaying the document by the user, the most recently generated document is displayed on the client PC 5 as a document that the user wants to refer to, from among the documents corresponding to the case 2.

[0088] In the present embodiment, when the document is created / approved, "completion" is set in the business management information, but the date and time of creating / approving the document can also be set.

[0089] If the folder on which the user hovers is a folder that is not related to the case (N in step 102), the document is specified according to a predetermined rule, and the specified document is acquired from the document library 31 (step 109). In the present embodiment, an example in the case where the document downloaded by referring to the access history information (not shown) is acquired is shown. Also in this case, the thumbnail generation section 141 generates the thumbnail of each of the acquired documents (step 106). Then, the display control section 112 displays the display information screen including the generated thumbnail on the client PC 5 (step 107). Figure 4

[0090] As described above, in the present embodiment, even if the user hovers the mouse over the same folder, the document that becomes the display object differs according to the business situation of the ongoing case 2.

[0091] Figure 5 Fig. 1 is an example of a screen display of the client PC 5. In Fig. 1, the folders of the cases 1 to 4 are displayed in the lower level of the folder "User A". Also, it is an example of the display when the user hovers the mouse over the folder of the case 2 therefrom. As shown in this display example, the user can confirm what kind of document is included in the folder (as described above, the document selected by the document selection section 13) by the prompt box or pop-up window, and can find in which folder the desired document is included, only by hovering the mouse over the folder of the case 2 without opening the folder of the case 2. Figure 5

[0092] Second Embodiment

[0093] In the present embodiment, Figure 1 2 the structure shown in Fig. 1 and Figure 4 ​​​​​​​​​​The display processing shown can be the same as in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the documents that become the targets in steps 105, 108 differ from the first embodiment by discriminating the user hovering over the icon of the folder. In other words, even in a case where the same user operation is performed in the same business situation, the structure of the document that is the display target differs depending on the user who performs the operation. The following uses Figures 6A-6D The processing of acquiring the document is explained.

[0094] With regard to the progress status of each case 1, 2 and the document generated in each work procedure, which are shown in Figures 6A-6D , the same as the Figures 3A-3D used in the first embodiment. However, as shown in Figure 6C , in the present embodiment, reference is made to the creator and approver of each document of the currently ongoing case 2, the state of creation and approval, that is, information on whether creation / approval has been completed, which are set in the business management information.

[0095] First, assume that the user to be operated is user A whose identification information is "userA". The user who performs the operation can be identified, for example, by reference to login information or the like. As shown in Figure 6C , in the business management information, user A is set as the creator of all the documents of case 2. Also, user A is the creation responsible person (synonymous with "creator") of "document 3-1" and "document 3-2" in the current work procedure 3 of case 2, and as shown in Figure 6C , this indicates that "document 3-1" is currently being created, but "document 3-2" has not yet been created.

[0096] Here, assume that user A hovers the mouse over the folder of case 1. At this time, as explained in the first embodiment, the current work procedure 3 of case 2 is specified using the same business template "T001" as case 1. In the current work procedure 3 of case 2, user A has created "document 3-1", but has not yet created "document 3-2". That is, it can be inferred that user A wants to refer to the already generated "document 3-2" of case 1 to perform the creation work of "document 3-2" of case 2. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 6B , as shown surrounded by a dotted line, the document selection section 13 selects "document 3-2" of case 1, which corresponds to the same kind as "document 3-2" of case 2, and acquires it from the document library 31.

[0097] Also, in a case where user A selects the folder of case 2, the same as the first embodiment can be performed, so the explanation is omitted.

[0098] Next, assume that the user to be operated is user B whose identification information is "userB". As shown in Figure 6CAs shown, in the business management information, user B is the approver of all the documents of case 2. Also, in the current process 3 of case 2, "text 2-1" of process 2 implemented before the current process 3 and the current process 3 have not been approved yet. That is, "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" are the objects of approval by user B.

[0099] Here, assume that user B selects the folder of case 1. In this case, as described above, the current process 3 of case 2 using the same business template as case 1 is designated. User B has not approved "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" in the generated documents in case 2. That is, it can be inferred that user B wants to refer to "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 1 that have been generated, and perform the approval work of "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 2. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the document selection section 13 selects "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 1 that are the same kind as "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 2, and acquires them from the document library 31. Figure 6B In the example shown, as shown surrounded by a double-dotted line, the document selection section 13 selects "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 1 that are the same kind as "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" of case 2, and acquires them from the document library 31.

[0100] Next, in the case where user B selects the folder of case 2, it can be considered that user B wants to perform the approval work in case 2. Therefore, the document selection section 13 selects "document 2-1" and "document 3-1" that have completed creation but have not completed approval as the objects of approval, and acquires them from the document library 31.

[0101] As described above, in the present embodiment, in the case where the same user operation is performed in the same business situation, and the document to be referred to differs depending on the user who performs the operation, the document to be displayed can be selected. That is, the document to be displayed can be made to differ depending on the user.

[0102] Third Embodiment

[0103] In the above-described first embodiment, in the case where the folder of case 1 that has completed is selected, the current process (process 3 of case 2 in the above-described example) of the ongoing case using the same business template is designated, and the document of the process of case 1 corresponding to the process is selected as the display object.

[0104] In the present embodiment, although the same configuration is made, the present embodiment is further characterized in that a document having relevance to the document to be displayed is also selected as the display object.

[0105] Figure 7A and Figure 7C are diagrams showing the situations of cases 1, 2, respectively, and are the same as the diagrams shown in FIG. 7. Figure 3A and Figure 3CThe same figure shows the same situation as the first embodiment. In Figure 7B When the user hovers the mouse over the folder of Case 1, the document selection section 13 selects "Document 3-1" and "Document 3-2" by processing in the same manner as the first embodiment, and in this embodiment, also shows a case where "Document 1-2" having relevance to at least one of "Document 3-1" or "Document 3-2" is selected as a display object.

[0106] As for the document having relevance, for example, the degree of relevance between the documents is calculated according to a predetermined rule. In the case of this embodiment, the degree of relevance of each document corresponding to Case 1 to "Document 3-1" and "Document 3-2" is calculated. Then, the document whose calculated degree of relevance is above a predetermined threshold value ("Document 1-2" in the above example) is selected. As for the degree of relevance, a conventional technique can be used. For example, when the creator or approver is the same, the more the number of sentences commonly contained in the respective documents, the greater the value of the degree of relevance. In addition, the degree of relevance can also be calculated by referring to the attribute information of the documents. For example, the degree of relevance can be calculated by referring to the registration date and time of the documents in the document library 31, the update date and time of the documents, the number of times of downloading or accessing the documents, the number of times of revoking the operation from the document library 31, the relationship of the department to which the creator belongs (for example, in the case of the same department, the relevance becomes stronger), and the like.

[0107] In addition, when the user hovers the mouse over the folder of the ongoing Case 2, the document selection section 13 selects the document having relevance to the document created in the current process 3. Also, as shown in Figure 7D in the case where the documents "Document 3-1" and "Document 3-2" of the process 3 have not been created, the document selection section 13 does not select "Document 3-1" and "Document 3-2", but selects the document having relevance to "Document 3-1" and "Document 3-2" to be created ( "Document 1-2" in the above example). The selection method of the document having relevance can be the same as described above.

[0108] Fourth Embodiment

[0109] In each of the above first to third embodiments, when the user hovers the mouse over the folder, the document selected as a display object, and the thumbnail of the selected document is displayed as a display element corresponding to the document on the screen of the client PC 5. The feature of the thumbnail generation section 141 in this embodiment is that the displayed thumbnail is generated in accordance with the user who has performed the hovering operation or the document selected as a display object.

[0110] Generally, a thumbnail is generated by reducing the first page of a document cover and the like in many cases. The thumbnail generation section 141 of the present embodiment generates a thumbnail from an image of a page related to the procedure or a page on which a feature of the document is described.

[0111] For example, assume that the document selected by the document selection section 13 is a document A including, for example, an order form. Also, in a case where the document A has not been approved and the user who has performed the operation is an approver of the document A, the thumbnail generation section 141 generates a thumbnail of the document A from an image of a page referred to at the time of approval, for example, a description page in an order item list.

[0112] In addition, in a case where the next procedure of the procedure in which the document A is created is being executed and the user who has performed the operation is a creator of the document in the next procedure, the thumbnail generation section 141 generates a thumbnail of the document A from an image of a page that can contribute to the creation of the document, for example, a table of contents page of the document A. In addition, in the case 1 in the third embodiment, "document 1-2" is selected as a file having relevance to the selected "document 3-1", and in this case, the thumbnail generation section 141 specifies a page having relevance to "document 3-1" by analyzing "document 1-2" and generates a thumbnail of "document 1-2" from an image of the page. In addition, in a case where "document 1-2" has relevance to "document 3-2", the thumbnail generation section 141 specifies a page having relevance to "document 3-2" by analyzing "document 1-2" and generates a thumbnail of "document 1-2" from an image of the page. The page having relevance can be specified by counting the number of occurrences of a described sentence or by using a natural language analysis process and the like using existing technology.

[0113] Further, for example, in a case where the document is a paper, a thumbnail is generated from an image of a page on which a general statement or an abstract is described. Further, if the document is an account, a thumbnail is generated from an image of a page on which an account amount is described. Further, in a case where the document is a delivery order, a thumbnail is generated from an image of a page on which information about a delivery destination is described.

[0114] Further, even if the entire page is not used as a thumbnail, a part of the page on which an account amount is described, a part of the page on which delivery destination information is described, and the like can be extracted and a thumbnail can be generated.

[0115] As described above, according to the present embodiment, an appropriate page or a part of a page can be generated as a thumbnail in accordance with a user who has performed an operation or a kind of a document.

[0116] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, as the operation of displaying the display element (the "thumbnail" in the above example) that indicates the file stored in the folder, a mouse-over is exemplified. However, the operation of causing the display element to be displayed does not need to be limited to the mouse-over.

[0117] Figure 8 is another example of the screen display on the client PC 5 in each of the above embodiments. In Figure 8 , each folder of the cases 1 to 4 located at the lower level of the folder "User A" is displayed. Also, among them, as exemplified for the folders of the case 1 and the case 2, the icon of the folder is formed and displayed in the form of displaying the thumbnail of all or part of the documents stored in the folder. In Figure 8 the example shown in, even if the user does not open the folder, or even if the user does not perform an operation such as a mouse-over or a click, the user can confirm what kind of document (the document selected by the document selection section 13 as described above) is included in the folder, and the user can find in which folder the desired document is included. As in the example shown in Figure 8 , the operation of causing the display element to be displayed does not need to be limited to an operation intentionally displayed by the user such as a mouse-over. In the case of an operation that is not based on the intention of displaying the document stored in the folder, only the document selected by applying the function of each of the above embodiments can be displayed as the display object. In other words, the display element is displayed by starting the application or the like, and thus, the operation of starting the application, and the operation of selecting the upper folder, that is, the operation of displaying the folder in a list, and the like are included in the operation of causing the display element to be displayed. In addition, the folder is displayed as a result of the operation, and thus, it can also be regarded as an operation equivalent to "selecting" the folder.

[0118] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the parent folder is mouse-overed is exemplified, but the same processing can be applied in the case where the subfolder corresponding to each procedure is selected. When the subfolder is selected, the document selected as the display object is selected from the document stored in the subfolder and the document stored in the folder created at the level lower than the subfolder.

[0119] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, as the job, the procedure whose order has been determined is exemplified, but it can also be applied to a job whose order has not been determined.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each job constituting a business, characterized by a processor, the processor acquiring business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared, selecting a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by an operation to display a display element representing a file stored in the file storage area in accordance with a status of a business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation from the business status information, selecting a file to be displayed when the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is completed with reference to a status of another business performed in accordance with the same business specification information as the business, the processor selecting a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation with reference to a state of a file that should be created in the other business, the processor selecting a file to be displayed that is the same kind as a file that is an object created or approved by a user who performed the operation in a job being performed in the other business, the processor selecting at least one of a file created in a job being performed in the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation or a file created in a job performed immediately before the job being performed as a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation when the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being performed, the processor selecting a file to be displayed that is an object approved by a user who performed the operation in the business being performed, the processor performing control to display a display element corresponding to the file to be displayed, the processor creating the display element corresponding to a user who performed the operation or a file selected to be the display target.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation with reference to a status of a job being performed in the other business.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation with reference to a state of a file that should be created in the other business.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects a file to be displayed that is the same kind as a file that is an object created or approved by a user who performed the operation in a job being performed in the other business.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects at least one of a file created in a job being performed in the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation or a file created in a job performed immediately before the job being performed as a file to be displayed from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation when the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being performed.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects a file to be displayed that is an object approved by a user who performed the operation in the business being performed.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor performs control to display a display element corresponding to the file to be displayed. 3.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor creates the display element corresponding to a user who performed the operation or a file selected to be the display target.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by, ​ 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, ​ 6.The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein ​ 7.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein ​ 8.The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein ​ 9. An information processing apparatus capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each of the jobs constituting the business, characterized by a processor, the processor acquires business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared, in accordance with an operation to cause a display element indicating a file stored in the file storage area to be displayed, a file to be displayed is selected from files stored in the file storage area corresponding to a status of a business corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation from the business status information, in a case where the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being implemented, the processor selects at least one of a file created in a job being implemented in the business or a file created in a job implemented immediately before the job being implemented, from files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, as the file to be displayed, the processor selects, as the file to be displayed, files having a degree of association with the file selected as the file to be displayed that is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation.

10. An information processing apparatus capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each of the jobs constituting the business, characterized by a processor, the processor acquires business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared, in accordance with an operation to cause a display element indicating a file stored in the file storage area to be displayed, a file to be displayed is selected from files stored in the file storage area corresponding to a status of a business corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation from the business status information, in a case where the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being implemented, the processor selects at least one of a file created in a job being implemented in the business or a file created in a job implemented immediately before the job being implemented, from files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, as the file to be displayed, ​ ​ In a case where a file that should be created in a job is not created yet because a job in a business corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation is being executed, the processor selects a file having a degree of association with the file that is a predetermined value or more as the file that becomes the display target.

11. A computer-readable medium storing a program, The computer can access a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business definition information that defines jobs constituting a business and files created in each job constituting a business, and stores files associated with the business or job, The program causes the computer to execute a process having the steps of: acquiring business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared; selecting a file that becomes a display target from files stored in the file storage area in accordance with a status of a business corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation, from among the files stored in the file storage area, in accordance with the operation that causes a display element indicating the files stored in the file storage area to be displayed, based on the business status information; selecting a file that becomes the display target with reference to a status of another business performed in accordance with the same business definition information as the business, at a time when the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is completed; and selecting a file that becomes the display target by merging files having a degree of association with the file selected as the file that becomes the display target that is a predetermined value or more, from among the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation.

12. A computer-readable medium storing a program, The computer can access a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business definition information that defines jobs constituting a business and files created in each job constituting a business, and stores files associated with the business or job, The program causes the computer to execute a process having the steps of: acquiring business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared; selecting a file that becomes a display target from files stored in the file storage area in accordance with a status of a business corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation, from among the files stored in the file storage area, in accordance with the operation that causes a display element indicating the files stored in the file storage area to be displayed, based on the business status information; selecting a file that becomes the display target with reference to a status of another business performed in accordance with the same business definition information as the business, at a time when the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is completed; and selecting a file that becomes the display target by merging files having a degree of association with the file selected as the file that becomes the display target that is a predetermined value or more, from among the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation. From the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation, merge the files whose correlation with the file selected as the display object is a predetermined value or higher, and select the file as the display object.

13. A computer-readable medium storing a program, The computer has access to a file storage area that is prepared for each business or job according to business specification information, and stores files associated with that business or job. This business specification information defines the jobs that constitute the business and the files created within each job that constitutes the business. This program causes the computer to perform the following process, which has the following steps: Obtain business status information related to the business status of the prepared file storage area; Based on the operation of displaying display elements representing files stored in the file storage area, and according to the business status corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display elements that become display objects through the operation obtained from the business status information, a file is selected from the files stored in the file storage area as the display object. When a service corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation is in progress, at least one of the following is selected from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation: a file created in the job currently being performed in that service or a file created in a job performed immediately before the job currently being performed, as the file that becomes the display object. If a job in the business corresponding to the file storage area of ​​the display element that becomes the display object through the operation is being performed and the file that should be created in the job has not yet been created, the processor will select a file with an association degree of more than a specified value with that file as the file to become the display object.

14. A computer program product comprising programs that cause a computer to perform processing. The computer has access to a file storage area that is prepared for each business or job according to business specification information, and stores files associated with that business or job. This business specification information defines the jobs that constitute the business and the files created within each job that constitutes the business. This program causes the computer to perform the following process, which has the following steps: Obtain business status information related to the business status of the prepared file storage area; Based on the operation of displaying display elements representing files stored in the file storage area, and according to the business status corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display elements that become display objects through the operation obtained from the business status information, a file is selected from the files stored in the file storage area as the display object. When the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display object through the operation is completed, the file that becomes the display object is selected by referring to the status of other businesses implemented according to the same business specification information as the business; as well as from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, files having a degree of association of a predetermined value or more with the file selected as the file that becomes the display target are merged, and the file that becomes the display target is selected.

15. A computer program product including a program that causes a computer to execute processing, The computer is capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each job constituting a business, and storing files associated with the business or job, The program causes the computer to execute processing having the steps of: acquiring business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared; selecting, as a file that becomes a display target, from files stored in a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation, a file created in a job being executed in the business or a file created in a job executed immediately before the job being executed, in a case where the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being executed, from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, files having a degree of association of a predetermined value or more with the file selected as the file that becomes the display target are merged, and the file that becomes the display target is selected.

16. A computer program product including a program that causes a computer to execute processing, The computer is capable of accessing a file storage area prepared for each business or job in accordance with business specification information that specifies jobs constituting a business and files created in each job constituting a business, and storing files associated with the business or job, The program causes the computer to execute processing having the steps of: acquiring business status information about a status of a business for which the file storage area is prepared; selecting, as a file that becomes a display target, from files stored in a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation, a file created in a job being executed in the business or a file created in a job executed immediately before the job being executed, in a case where the business corresponding to the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation is being executed, from the files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, files having a degree of association of a predetermined value or more with the file selected as the file that becomes the display target are merged, and the file that becomes the display target is selected. In a case where a service corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation is being executed, from among files stored in the file storage area corresponding to the display element that becomes the display target by the operation, at least one of a file created in a job being executed in the service or a file created in a job executed immediately before the job being executed is selected as a file that becomes the display target, In a case where a file that should be created in a job in a service corresponding to a file storage area corresponding to a display element that becomes a display target by the operation has not been created because the job is being executed, the processor selects, as a file that becomes the display target, a file having a degree of association with the file that is a predetermined value or more.

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