Editing program and editing method

Abstract

To provide an editing program and editing method that make it possible to prevent a reviewer from inadvertently editing an edit area in the initial state at the time of a review request.SOLUTION: An editing program includes an instruction for causing a control unit of a computer to execute the following processing. The control unit edits an edit layer set in an edit area in accordance with an edit instruction indicating editing of the edit area, and displays the edit area that has been edited on a display unit. The control unit limits editing of the edit layer in response to acquiring a review instruction indicating reviewing of the edit layer, edits a review layer that is set in the edit area and is different from the edit layer in accordance with the edit instruction, and displays the edit area that has been edited on the display unit (S41). The control unit cancels the limitation of editing of the edit layer in accordance with the ending of the review of the edit layer (S59).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an editing program and an editing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventional documents are simultaneously opened by different reviewers in order to receive reviews from multiple reviewers. Each reviewer can create comments on the document simultaneously. Comments created by one reviewer on a document are automatically synchronized with other reviewers who are accessing the document simultaneously.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional method, a reviewer may inadvertently edit the document in the state in which it was initially requested, making it difficult to check the document in the initially requested state.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an editing program and an editing method capable of preventing a reviewer from inadvertently editing an editing area in the state in which the review was initially requested.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An editing program according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an instruction to the control unit of a computer comprising a display unit and a control unit to perform an editing step in which, in accordance with an editing instruction to edit an editing area, the editing layer set in the editing area is edited and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; a review step in which, upon receiving a review instruction to review the editing layer, the editing of the editing layer is restricted, the review layer set in the editing area which is different from the editing layer is edited in accordance with the editing instruction, and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; and a release step in which, upon completion of the review of the editing layer, the restriction on editing the editing layer is released. In the editing program according to the first aspect, if an editing instruction is received during a review, comments and the like can be edited on the review layer in accordance with the editing instruction. Therefore, the review step of the editing program contributes to avoiding accidental editing of the editing layer during a review.

[0007] An editing method according to a second aspect of the present invention is an editing method performed by an editing system comprising a computer having a display unit and a control unit, and a server connectable to the computer, comprising: an editing step in which, in accordance with an editing instruction that instructs editing an editing area, an editing layer set in the editing area is edited and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; a review step in which, in response to receiving a review instruction that instructs reviewing the editing layer, editing of the editing layer is restricted, editing of a review layer set in the editing area that is different from the editing layer is edited in accordance with the editing instruction, and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; and a release step in which, in response to the completion of the review of the editing layer, the restriction on editing of the editing layer is released. In the editing method of the second aspect, if an editing instruction is received during a review, comments and the like can be edited on the review layer in accordance with the editing instruction. Therefore, the review step of the editing program contributes to avoiding accidental editing of the editing layer during a review. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the electrical configuration of editing system 1. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of the main process executed by terminal device 3. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating the transition of note information in a specific example. [Figure 4] These are explanatory diagrams for the home screen 60 and the editing screen 70, which are specific examples. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram of the history information stored in history information storage areas 28 and 39. [Figure 6] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the review process performed in the main process. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram of the transitions in screen 80 during a review, as shown in the example. [Figure 8] This is a diagram illustrating the transition of note information in a specific example. [Figure 9] This is an explanatory diagram of the editing layer LN, review layer LA, and review layer LJ set in the editing area 71. [Figure 10] These are explanatory diagrams for specific home screens 60 and 90. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart of the server processing performed by Server 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the editing system 1 has a server 2 and three terminal devices 3. The server 2 is connected to an access point 5 via a network line 4 so as to be communicative. The three terminal devices 3 are each used by different users A, B, and C. Each terminal device 3 is a portable terminal device such as a well-known tablet terminal device and a multifunction mobile phone (so-called smartphone), and is connected to the access point 5 so as to be wireless. Hereinafter, the terminal device 3 used by user A will also be called terminal device 3A, the terminal device 3 used by user B will also be called terminal device 3B, and the terminal device 3 used by user C will also be called terminal device 3C. In the following description, for the sake of simplicity, the case in which terminal devices 3A to 3C each have the same configuration will be described, but terminal devices 3A to 3C may each have different configurations.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, Server 2 has a CPU 6, ROM 21, RAM 22, flash memory 23, and a communication unit 24. The CPU 6 controls Server 2. ROM 21 stores information that the CPU 6 needs when executing various programs. RAM 22 temporarily stores data during the process of the CPU 6 executing processing. Flash memory 23 is a non-volatile storage device. Flash memory 23 includes a program storage area 25, an account storage area 26, a display information storage area 27, a history information storage area 28, and a note information storage area 29. The program storage area 25 stores various programs executed by the CPU 6. The account storage area 26 stores account information. Account information includes user information to distinguish one user from other users, and a password used when logging into the editing system 1. The display information storage area 27 stores display information indicating the object displayed in the latest editing area 71 (see Figure 4). The history information storage area 28 stores the history information described later. The note information storage area 29 stores the note information described later. The communication unit 24 is a communication module that allows the server 2 to communicate with each of the terminal devices 3A through 3C via the network line 4 and the access point 5.

[0011] Terminal device 3 includes a CPU 7, ROM 32, RAM 33, flash memory 34, display unit 35, input unit 36, and communication unit 37. The CPU 7 controls terminal device 3. The ROM 32 stores information required by the CPU 7 when executing various programs. The RAM 33 temporarily stores data during the process of the CPU 7 executing processing. The flash memory 34 is a non-volatile storage device. The flash memory 34 includes a program storage area 38, a history information storage area 39, and a note information storage area 40. The program storage area 38 stores various programs executed by the CPU 7, including the editing program described later. The history information storage area 39 stores the history information described later. The note information storage area 40 stores the note information described later. The display unit 35 is a liquid crystal display capable of displaying various information. The input unit 36 ​​is a touchscreen provided on the surface of the display unit 35, which detects the contact position of an operating object such as a pen or finger on the display unit 35 and outputs a detection signal to the CPU 7 according to the detected contact position. The communication unit 37 is a communication module that enables the terminal device 3 to communicate with the server 2 via the network line 4 and the access point 5.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the editing system 1 allows multiple users A through C to edit objects in a common editing area 71 (described later with reference to Figure 4) simultaneously or at different times via the server 2, using their respective terminal devices 3A through 3C. Users operate terminal device 3 to launch a shared application. Upon launching the shared application, the editing system 1 can display the screen shared among the terminal devices 3 specified by the users on the display unit 35 of each terminal device 3.

[0013] The following describes the process performed by the editing system 1, using the case where an editing operation is performed on terminal device 3A as an example. When the CPU 7 of terminal device 3A detects editing of an object via the input unit 36, the CPU 7 of terminal device 3A updates the screen of the display unit 35 according to the editing content. The CPU 7 of terminal device 3A sends history information and note information according to the editing content to server 2 via the network line 4 and access point 5. The history information is stored in the history information storage area 39 of terminal device 3A, and the note information is stored in the note information storage area 40 of terminal device 3A. When the CPU 6 of server 2 receives the history information and note information from terminal device 3A, it stores the received history information in the history information storage area 28, stores the note information in the note information storage area 29, and updates the display information storage area 27 according to the history information and note information. The CPU 6 sends the display information, history information, and note information to other terminal devices 3 that perform editing of the editing area 71 together with terminal device 3A via the network line 4 and access point 5. When terminal devices 3B and 3C receive display information, history information, and note information, the CPUs 7 of terminal devices 3B and 3C update the display unit 35 of terminal device 3B according to the received information. As a result, the contents of the editing area 71 are displayed on the respective display units 35 of terminal devices 3A, 3B, and 3C and shared within the editing system 1.

[0014] Referring to Figures 2 to 10, the main processing performed on each of the terminal devices 3A to 3C will be explained. The main processing of terminal devices 3A to 3C is performed individually on each terminal device 3, but for the sake of simplicity, it will be explained in parallel. When the CPU 7 detects a login instruction to log in to the editing system 1 entered by the user via the input unit 36, it reads the editing program from the program storage area 38 shown in Figure 1. The CPU 7 starts the main processing shown in Figure 2 by executing the read editing program. As an example, a specific example is used in which user A edits the layout of a zoo using the editing system 1, and then requests reviews from users B and C, and users A through C each review the zoo layout edited by user A. In this specific example, the editing area 71 is edited or viewed by users A through C. Referring to Figure 11, as will be described later, when the server 2 receives update information in the main processing transmitted from terminal device 3, it updates the display information, history information, and note information, and transmits the display information, history information, and note information to the other terminal devices 3 that are logged in.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the CPU 7 of terminal device 3A performs login processing to log in to editing system 1 (S1). Specifically, the CPU 7 sends login information, including user information and password included in the login instruction, to server 2. The CPU 6 of server 2 compares the received login information with the account information stored in account storage area 26.

[0016] When the CPU 6 of server 2 fails to log in, it sends error information to the terminal device 3 that performed the login process and aborts the subsequent processing. When the login is successful, the CPU 6 sends the note information associated with the terminal device 3A to the terminal device 3A that performed the login process and continues the subsequent processing. When the note information associated with the terminal device 3A is not stored, the CPU 6 of the server 2 performs a process of newly starting the editing of the note and the editing area 71. The CPU 6 is configured to be able to identify the terminal device 3 that transmitted the history information and the note information based on the login information even when multiple users are logged in to the editing system 1 simultaneously.

[0017] A note is an editing unit composed of one or more editing areas 71. The editing area 71 included in a note is also referred to as a page. As shown in FIG. 3, the table T1 stored in the note information storage area 40 includes a note ID 51, a mode 52, an access right 53, a page ID 54, layer information 55, and review information 56. The note ID 51 is the identification information of the note. The mode 52 defines the editing conditions of the editing areas included in the note. The modes of this embodiment include three types: normal, review, and archive. Normal indicates that the editing areas included in the note are in an editable state. When the mode is normal, the layer set is called the editing layer. Review indicates that the editing area is under review, and at the start of the review, the layers of the editing areas included in the note are in a non-editable state. When the mode is review, the layer set is called the review layer. When the mode 52 is under review, the editing of the layers included in the note is restricted at the start of the review, but the CPU 7 can add a review layer to the editing area or edit an object in the added review layer after the start of the review. Archive indicates that the review of the editing area has ended, and the editing of each of the editing layer and the review layer of the editing area is restricted. When the mode is archive, layer editing is not accepted.

[0018] The access right 53 stores the identification information of users who can access the editing area included in the note. The page ID 54 indicates the identification information of the editing area included in the note. The layer information 55 is the information of the layers included in the editing area. The layer information 55 includes the ID, type, and user of the layer. The ID of the layer is the identification information of the layer. The type of the layer represents the type of the layer. The type in this embodiment is either "Normal" representing the editing layer or "Review" representing the review layer. The user of the layer is the information that identifies the user who can edit the layer. The user is identified by, for example, the user ID and group ID. The user of the layer that can be edited by all users having the access right may be "All". The layer information 55 may include the information of the objects arranged on the layer. The review information 56 is the information given when the mode 52 is set to review. The review information 56 will be described later.

[0019] The CPU 7 of terminal device 3A, having received table T1 as note information from server 2, stores table T1 in note information storage area 40 and displays the home screen 60 shown in Figure 4 on the display unit 35 based on table T1 (S3). The home screen 60 includes a display area 61, a button display area 62, and a page selection field 65. The display area 61 displays a list of notes to which terminal device 3A has access rights, based on table T1 received from server 2. In the display area 61 of Figure 4, notes N1 to N3 each represent notes corresponding to note information indicated by note IDs N1 to N3. In the display area 61, the background of the selected note is changed to a different color from other notes. In Figure 4, note N1 is selected. The button display area 62 displays buttons that instruct operations on the selected note or page. In this embodiment, the button display area 62 includes a review button 63 for inputting instructions to request a review and a settings button 64 for instructing account settings. The page selection field 65 displays thumbnail images of the pages included in the selected note and accepts instructions to select a page to edit or view from among the displayed pages. In the screen 60 of Figure 4, thumbnails of pages P1 to P4 included in note N1 are displayed.

[0020] The CPU 7 of terminal device 3A determines whether it has received a notification from another terminal device 3 (S4). The notification in this embodiment is one of several types of notifications, including a start notification that notifies the start of a review and an end notification that notifies the end of a review. If a notification is received (S4: YES), the CPU 7 retrieves the page specified by the notification (S5). If no notification is received (S4: NO), the CPU 7 determines whether to configure the account based on whether the setting button 64 has been pressed (S6). The account configuration includes, for example, setting access rights to the note and configuring the note administrator. The administrator in this embodiment has the authority to edit the editing layer even when the note's mode is review. If the setting button 64 has been pressed (S6: YES), the CPU 7 performs the process of configuring the account according to the user's input (S7). If an instruction to configure an administrator for the note is detected, the S7 process configures an administrator who can edit the editing layer. The CPU 7 returns to processing S4.

[0021] If the press of the settings button 64 is not detected (S6: NO), the CPU 7 determines whether a review instruction for the selected note has been detected based on whether the review button 63 has been selected (S8). If a review instruction is detected (S8: YES), the CPU 7 processes a request for review regarding the selected note (S16 to S22). The process of requesting a review will be described later. If a review instruction is not detected (S8: NO), the CPU 7 processes a selection of the page to be edited or viewed from the list of pages displayed in the page selection field 65 based on the detection result of the input unit 36 ​​(S9).

[0022] Following S5 or S9, the CPU 7 determines whether the mode of the note containing the page acquired in S5 or selected in S9 is normal (S10). If the mode is normal (S10: YES), the CPU 7 displays the normal editing screen 70 (S10). As shown in Figure 4, the editing screen 70 includes an editing area 71, a button display area 72, and a display area 74. The editing area 71 is an area where objects can be edited. Initially, no objects are placed in the editing area 71. Objects are placed in the editing area 71 in response to editing operations by a user of any terminal device 3. In the example shown in Figure 4, the editing area 71 includes objects J1 to J6. Objects J1 to J6 represent a layout plan for the lion area, tiger area, and pond of a zoo, edited by user A. Object J1 is the word "LION", and object J2 is the rectangle surrounding object J1. Object J3 is the word "TIGER" placed below objects J1 and J2, and object J4 is the rectangle surrounding object J3. Object J5 is the word "POND", and object J6 is the circle surrounding object J5 and placed to the left of objects J1 through J4.

[0023] The button display area 72 displays multiple buttons 81 to 89, 73, and 63, which are selected to specify editing attributes indicating the type of object to be edited, or to specify the content to be edited. The editing attributes in this embodiment include strokes, markers, characters, shapes, and images. Strokes are lines such as straight lines and curves that extend to the position indicated by the detection signal. Markers are lines of a predetermined width used for coloring. Characters are letters, numbers, and symbols, etc., placed within a rectangular character block (not shown). Shapes are planar or three-dimensional shapes. Images are still images or moving images. The editing content in this embodiment includes adding, deleting, moving, changing the color, changing the size, and changing the font of objects.

[0024] Button 81 is selected when adding a stroke. Button 82 is selected when erasing an object. Button 83 is selected when adding a marker. Button 84 is selected when adding text. Button 85 is selected when adding a shape. Button 86 is selected when adding an image. Button 87 is selected when changing the color of an object. Button 88 is selected when changing the thickness of a stroke. Button 89 is selected when sending a notification to other users who are collaboratively editing the editing area 71. Button 73 is selected when configuring the layer settings set for the editing area 71. In this embodiment, the CPU 7 can set the display / hide status and the editable / non-editable status of objects for each layer as layer settings.

[0025] The CPU 7 determines whether a review instruction has been detected based on whether button 63 has been selected (S15). If no review instruction has been detected (S15: NO), the CPU 7 determines whether an edit instruction has been detected (S24). In terminal device 3A, if no object is placed in the edit area 71, and after button 84 is selected, the text "LION" is entered (S24: YES), the CPU 7 of terminal device 3A edits the edit layer set in the edit area 71 according to the edit instruction to edit the edit area 71, and displays the edited edit area 71 on the display unit 35 (S25). The CPU 7 stores history information in the history information storage area 39 in response to having received an edit instruction to edit object J1.

[0026] As shown in Figure 5, the history information indicates the history corresponding to the editing operation. In this embodiment, the history information includes a history ID 41, user information 42, editing date and time 43, editing position 44, editing attribute / object 45, editing content 46, and layer 47. The history ID 41 is the identification information for the history information. In this embodiment, the history ID 41 is a string combining the letter R and a number indicating the memory order. In the following description, the history ID 41 is used to identify the history information. For example, history information R1 indicates the history information where the history ID 41 is "R1".

[0027] User information 42 can be any information that can identify the user using terminal device 3, and may be the user's name or the identification information of terminal device 3. In this embodiment, user information 42 is the username, and CPU 7 sets the user information in history information R1 to "User A," indicating that the editing operation was performed by user A. Edit date and time 43 indicates a representative point in time when an editing operation was performed, and in this embodiment, the representative point in time indicates the time when the editing operation was completed. CPU 7 sets the editing date and time in history information R1 to "July 1, 2022 W1," the date and time when the editing operation was completed. In Figure 5, the strings of letters such as W1 and numbers indicating the memory order are simplified time information for the sake of explanation.

[0028] The editing position 44 indicates the position of a representative point within the editing area 71 (see Figure 4) of the object edited by the editing operation, using coordinate data. The origin of the coordinate data can be set as appropriate, for example, located at the upper left corner of the editing area 71. The left-right direction of the editing area 71 corresponds to the X-axis direction. The up-down direction of the editing area 71 corresponds to the Y-axis direction. The representative point is, for example, either the center or a vertex of the rectangle that encloses the object. The CPU 7 sets (X1, Y1) to the editing position 44 in the history information R1.

[0029] Edit Attributes / Object 45 indicates the type and object of the object to be edited. CPU7 sets Edit Attributes / Object 45 in History Information R1 to "Text (LION)". Edit Content 46 indicates the edit made to the object. CPU7 sets Edit Content 46 in History Information R1 to "Add". Layer 47 indicates the layer on which the object to be edited is located.

[0030] The CPU 7 of terminal device 3A transmits history information R1 to server 2. The editing system 1 of this embodiment is configured to store history information in the history information storage area 28 for each editing area 71. In this embodiment, the history information stored in the history information storage area 28 and the history information stored in the history information storage area 39 are the same. When server 2 receives history information R1, it stores the history information R1 in the history information storage area 28 as history information for the editing area 71, and, in cooperation with terminal device 3A which transmitted the history information R1, transmits the history information R1 and display information to the terminal device 3 that is currently logged in and editing the editing area 71. When the CPU 7 of terminal device 3B receives the history information R1 from server 2 for terminal device 3A, it displays the edited content of user A on the display unit 35 based on the received history information R1 and display information. The CPU 7 of terminal device 3B stores the received history information R1. After processing in S25, the CPU 7 performs the processing in S29.

[0031] If no editing instruction is detected (S24:NO), CPU7 determines whether an instruction to set a layer has been detected based on whether the layer button 73 is selected (S26). If an instruction to set a layer is detected (S26:YES), CPU7 sets the layer according to the instruction (S27). If no instruction to set a layer is detected (S26:NO), CPU7 determines whether a review instruction has been received from another terminal device 3 (S28). If a review instruction is received (S28:YES), CPU7 returns to processing S4. If no review notification is received (S28:NO), or after S27, CPU7 performs the processing in S29.

[0032] If a review instruction is detected while page P1 is displayed on terminal device 3A (S15: YES), the CPU 7 processes a request for review regarding note N1 which contains the selected page P1 (S16 to S22). In this embodiment, the request for review is made on a note-by-note basis. The CPU 7 determines whether it has detected an instruction to set up a review (S16). The review setting is a setting that specifies the conditions for the review. As shown in Figure 3, the review setting RK in this embodiment includes a deadline 91, a reminder time 92, a reviewer 93, a group 94, approval information 95, and a reminder 96. The deadline 91 is the deadline for performing the review, and the reminder time 92 is the time to send the reminder. The reviewer 93 is selected from users who have access rights to the note to be reviewed. In this embodiment, the reviewer 93 can be the user who entered the review instruction, but the user who entered the review instruction may not be selectable as a reviewer. The review setting in this embodiment can further set a required reviewer as the type of reviewer. A required reviewer is a reviewer who has the authority to approve the edits to the editing area 71 under review. Group 94 is any group to which reviewer 93 belongs. For example, if editing system 1 is used in a company organization, the group may be a department, and the required reviewer may be a department head. Approval information 95 stores information on whether the edits to the editing area 71 under review are approved. In this embodiment, approval information 95 includes the approval result, the approval date and time, and the note ID. The initial value of the approval result is "Not Approved," indicating that no approval information has been entered. The approval result is set to either approved or disapproved depending on the reviewer's input. The page ID is the page ID of the approved page. In other words, in this embodiment, approval is set on a page-by-page basis within the note. If the approval result is disapproved, it means that all pages within the note are not approved. The approval date and time indicates the date and time when the approval result was last set. Reminder 96 stores information on whether a reminder has been sent to the reviewer.The initial value of Reminder 96 is "Not Sent," indicating that the reminder has not yet been sent. It is updated to "Sent" once the reminder has been sent.

[0033] If an instruction to set up a review is detected (S16:YES), the CPU 7 displays the setting screen on the display unit 35 (S17) and accepts the specification of review conditions until an instruction to end the review setting is detected (S18:NO). In this specific example, User A designates all users with access rights to Note N1 as reviewers, and designates User A and User B as required reviewers. User A sets the deadline to one week from now and the reminder sending time to five days from now. If an instruction to end the review setting is detected (S18:YES), the CPU 7 obtains the review setting RK entered via the input unit 36 ​​(S19).

[0034] If no review settings are made (S16: NO), CPU7 obtains the default review settings (S20). The default review settings may be pre-configured or configured by the user. Following S19 or S20, CPU7 sets the mode of the note for which a review instruction has been obtained to review (S21). As shown in table T2 of Figure 3, CPU7 sets the mode to review and stores the review setting RK obtained in S19 or S20 in the review information 56. CPU7 sends update information to server 2 indicating that the mode of the note for which a review instruction has been obtained has been changed to review (S22). CPU7 sends a start notification transmission request to server 2, which includes the review setting RK obtained in S19 or S20 (S23). The process in S23 is to send the review instruction to the reviewer via server 2. The review instruction includes a review deadline 91 and a time 92 for sending a reminder to the reviewer. Upon receiving the start notification transmission request, server 2 sends the review instruction to the reviewer included in the start notification transmission request. CPU7 determines whether it has received a termination instruction to end the main process (S29). If it has not received a termination instruction (S29: NO), CPU7 returns to S4. If it has received a termination instruction (S29: YES), CPU7 terminates the main process.

[0035] If user A, who sent the review instruction, continues the main processing, the CPU 7 of terminal device 3A determines that the mode of notebook N1, which contains the selected page P1, is not normal (S10: NO) but review (S12: YES). In response to receiving the review instruction, the CPU 7 restricts editing of the editing layer and performs review processing to edit the review layer set in the editing area 71 according to the editing instruction (S13).

[0036] As shown in Figure 6, the review process determines whether user A on terminal device 3A is the reviewer of note N1 containing the selected page P1 (S31). If the user on terminal device 3 is not the reviewer of note N1 containing the selected page P1 (S31: NO), the CPU 7 terminates the review process and returns to the main process.

[0037] Since user A of terminal device 3A is the reviewer of note N1 which contains the selected page P1 (S31: YES), the CPU 7 displays the review screen 80 shown in Figure 7 on the display unit 35 (S32). The items displayed in the display area 74 of the review screen 80 are different from those displayed in the editing screen 70 when the mode is normal. The display area 74 of the review screen 80 displays an item for selecting a review layer that is generated separately from the editing layer. In this embodiment, review layers are generated on a per-user or per-group basis in response to editing instructions for objects input from the reviewer.

[0038] CPU7 determines whether an instruction to add a comment has been detected (S33). If object J8 has been added on terminal device 3A (S33: YES), CPU7 obtains the layer information for page P1 (S34). Object J8 is the text "BENCH". CPU7 determines whether user A belongs to a group (S35). Since user A does not belong to a group (S35: NO), CPU7 searches the layer information obtained in S34 to see if user A's personal layer is included (S37). It is determined that user A's personal layer is not included (S38: NO), and as shown in table T3 in Figure 3, CPU7 generates review layer LA, which is user A's personal layer (S40). The process in S40 generates a review layer when the first edit instruction is obtained after a review instruction has been obtained. As described above, the CPU 7 of this embodiment designates the reviewer who inputs the editing instruction as the "focused reviewer," and after receiving a review instruction, generates a "focused layer," which is a review layer corresponding to the focused reviewer, when it receives the first editing instruction from the focused reviewer.

[0039] The CPU 7 edits a review layer different from the editing layer set in the editing area 71 according to the editing instructions, and displays the edited editing area 71 on the display unit 35 (S41). Specifically, as a process to edit the review layer LA generated in S40, the CPU 7 adds object J8 to the review layer LA according to the editing instructions from user A obtained in S33. The CPU 7 stores the history information R8 corresponding to object J8 in the history information storage area 39. In this way, the CPU 7 edits the focus layer according to the editing instructions entered by the focus reviewer, and does not accept editing of the focus layer by reviewers other than the focus reviewer. In other words, the review layer LA is edited according to the editing instructions of user A, but not according to the editing instructions of user B or user C. Since the editing layer and the review layer are displayed on the display unit 35, there is no apparent difference between when user A edits the editing layer LN and when user A edits the review layer LA.

[0040] CPU7 sends update information regarding the addition of object J8 to server2 (S42). CPU7 determines whether it has received a completion notification from server2 to end the review (S68). If a completion notification is received (S68:YES), CPU7 displays "Review completed." on display unit 35, ends the review process, and returns the process to the main process in Figure 2. If a completion notification is not received (S68:NO), CPU7 determines whether it has received an instruction to end the review process (S69). If it has not received an instruction to end the review process (S69:NO), CPU7 returns the process to S33.

[0041] Similarly, if object J9 is added on terminal device 3A (S33:YES), CPU 7 obtains the layer information of page P1 (S34, S35:NO, S37) and determines that there is a review layer LA which is user A's personal layer (S38:YES). Object J9 is the rectangle surrounding object J9. CPU 7 obtains user A's review layer LA (S39) and adds object J9 to the obtained review layer LA according to the editing instructions obtained in S33 (S41). CPU 7 stores the history information R9 corresponding to object J9 in the history information storage area 39 and sends update information regarding the addition of object J9 to server 2 (S42). If no termination notification is received (S68:NO) and an instruction to terminate the review process is obtained (S69:YES), CPU 7 terminates the review process, returns the process to the main process, and terminates the main process.

[0042] If no instruction to add a comment is detected in terminal device 3A (S33: NO), the CPU 7 determines whether an editing instruction has been detected with the editing layer selected (S50). If an instruction to edit the editing layer is detected (S50: YES), the CPU 7 determines whether user A of terminal device 3A is the administrator of note N1 under review (S51). If user A is not the administrator (S51: NO), the CPU 7 displays an error message on the display unit 35 indicating that user A does not have permission to edit the editing layer (S53). If user A is the administrator (S51: YES), the CPU 7 executes an editing process to edit the editing layer of the editing area 71 based on the editing instruction obtained in S51 (S52). The CPU 7 sends update information including the edited content in S53 to server 2.

[0043] Following S52 or S53, the CPU 7 determines whether an instruction to end the review has been detected (S54). As shown in Figure 10, in this embodiment, when a note with the mode set to review is selected on the home screen 60, buttons 67 to 69 are displayed in the button display area 62 instead of button 63. Button 67 is selected to check the review status. Button 68 is selected to enter approval information for the selected note N1. Button 69 is selected to end the review. The user who sent the review instruction can, for example, select button 69 to end the review before the deadline if the review is completed before the deadline. If the selection of button 69 is detected (S54: YES), the CPU 7 sends update information to the server 2 indicating that the review of the selected note N1 is complete (S55). The CPU 7 sends a completion notification transmission request to the server 2, requesting that it send a completion notification to the reviewer informing them that the review is complete (S56).

[0044] CPU 7 sends an archive creation request to Server 2 requesting the creation of an archive of Note N1 to be reviewed (S57). Upon receiving the archive creation request, Server 2 stores the first editing area 71 and the second editing area 71 and updates the note information through server processing described later. Server 2 sends the updated note information to Terminal Device 3 connected to Server 2. The CPU 7 of Terminal Device 3 stores the first editing area 71 and the second editing area 71 in the note information storage area 40, as shown in Table T5 in Figure 8 (S58, S59). Specifically, CPU 7 sets the mode of Note N1 to normal and generates a copy of the note information of Note N1. Of the two note information items with the same content, CPU 7 sets the mode of the note information with Note ID NA to normal and makes it the first editing area 71, and sets both the editing layer and the review layer of the first editing area 71 to non-editable and stores it (S58). CPU7 sets the note information with note ID N1 to archive and makes it the second editing area 71, and stores the editing layer of the second editing area 71 with editing enabled and the review layer with editing disabled (S59). For note information with note ID NA, the mode is set to archive, so only viewing is permitted in the first editing area 71, and editing is not permitted. For note information with note ID N1, the mode is set to normal, so both viewing and editing are permitted in the editing layer of the second editing area 71. CPU7 then finishes the review process and returns the process to the main process shown in Figure 2.

[0045] If no selection of button 69 is detected (S54: NO), the CPU 7 determines whether a selection of button 67 has been detected (S60). If a selection of button 67 is detected (S60: YES), the CPU 7 obtains the note information of the selected note N1 (S61). The CPU 7 obtains the reviewer information (S62). The CPU 7 obtains approval information indicating whether the reviewer has approved the edits to the editing layer (S63). The CPU 7 displays the approval information for each reviewer on the display unit 35, distinguishing between reviewers who have approved the edits to the editing layer and those who have not, and displays them on the display unit 35 accordingly (S64). Specifically, as shown in Figure 10, the CPU 7 displays screen 90 on the display unit 35. Screen 90 includes the reviewer 97 and the approval information 95. The approval information 95 includes the approval date and time 98, the approval result 99, and the page ID 100. Screen 90 shows that users A and B approved on July 3, 2022, but user C has not yet entered approval information 95. Button 102 is selected to close screen 90. Screen 90 may be displayed for a predetermined time and then automatically closed.

[0046] If no selection of button 67 is detected (S60: NO), or after S64, CPU 7 determines whether a selection of button 68 has been detected (S65). If a selection of button 68 is detected (S65), CPU 7 updates user A's approval information (S66). CPU 7 sends the updated information, including the approval information updated in S66, to server 2 (S67). If no selection of button 68 is detected (S65: NO), or after S67, CPU 7 receives a termination notification (S68: YES), or receives an instruction to terminate the review process (S68: NO, S69: YES), the review process is terminated, and processing returns to the main process in Figure 2, terminating the main process.

[0047] When user B receives a review instruction and starts the main process (S1 to S3), the CPU 7 of terminal device 3B determines that the mode of notebook N1 containing the selected page P1 is not normal (S10: NO) but review (S12: YES). The CPU 7 then performs the review process (S13). As shown in Figure 6, during the review process, it is determined that user B of terminal device 3B is the reviewer of notebook N1 containing the selected page P1 (S31: YES, S32).

[0048] If object J10, shown in the review screen 80 at the bottom of Figure 7, is added to the editing area 71 of the review screen 80 at the top of Figure 7 (S33: YES), CPU 7 retrieves the layer information for page P1 (S34) and determines that user B belongs to group J (S35: YES). Object J10 is a rectangle surrounding objects J5 and J6. CPU 7 searches the layer information retrieved in S34 to see if the layer of group J to which user B belongs is included (S36). It is determined that the layer of group J to which user B belongs is not included (S38: NO), and as shown in table T4 in Figure 8, CPU 7 generates the review layer LJ of group J to which user B belongs (S40). In this way, CPU 7 designates the group to which the reviewer who entered the editing instruction belongs as the group of interest, and after obtaining the review instruction, generates the group of interest layer, which is the review layer corresponding to the group of interest, when it obtains the first editing instruction from any reviewer belonging to the group.

[0049] CPU7 edits the group of interest layer according to the editing instructions entered by the reviewers belonging to the group, and adds object J10 to the generated review layer LJ according to the editing instructions obtained in S33 (S41). CPU7 stores the history information R10 corresponding to object J10 in the history information storage area 39. CPU7 does not accept editing of the group of interest layer by reviewers other than those belonging to the group of interest. CPU7 sends update information regarding the addition of object J10 to server 2 (S42).

[0050] Similarly, when objects J11 and J12 are added sequentially on terminal device 3B (S33:YES), CPU 7 obtains the layer information of page P1 (S34, S35:YES, S36) and determines that there is a review layer LJ for group J to which user B belongs (S38:YES). Object J11 is the word "SQUARE", and object J12 is an arrow-shaped stroke placed between object J10 and object J11. CPU 7 obtains the review layer LJ for group J to which user B belongs (S39) and adds objects J11 and J12 to the obtained review layer LJ according to the editing instructions obtained in S33 (S41). CPU 7 stores the history information R11 and R12 corresponding to objects J11 and J12 in the history information storage area 39 and sends update information regarding the addition of objects J11 and J12 to server 2 (S42). If a termination notification is received (S68:YES), or if an instruction to terminate the review process is received (S68:NO, S69:YES), CPU7 terminates the review process, returns the process to the main process, and terminates the main process.

[0051] When user C, who has received a review instruction, starts the main process (S1 to S3), the CPU 7 of terminal device 3C determines that the mode of notebook N1, which contains the selected page P1, is not normal (S10: NO) but review (S12: YES), and performs the review process (S13). As shown in Figure 6, during the review process, user C of terminal device 3C is determined to be the reviewer of notebook N1, which contains the selected page P1 (S31: YES, S32).

[0052] If object J13 is added (S33:YES), CPU7 retrieves the layer information for page P1 (S34) and determines that user C belongs to group J (S35:YES). Object J13 is a semicircular stroke that surrounds objects J1 and J3. CPU7 determines that the layer information retrieved in S34 includes the review layer LJ of group J to which user C belongs (S36, S38:YES), and retrieves the review layer LJ of group J to which user C belongs (S39). CPU7 adds object J13 to the retrieved review layer LJ according to the editing instructions retrieved in S33 (S41). CPU7 stores the history information R13 corresponding to object J13 in the history information storage area 39 and sends update information regarding the addition of object J13 to server 2 (S42). Similarly, the process of adding objects J14 to J16 is executed on terminal device 3C. Object J14 is a line segment extending horizontally between objects J1 and J3. Object J15 is an arrow-shaped stroke. Object J16 is the word "CHANGE" positioned above object J10. If a termination notification is received (S68:YES), or if an instruction to terminate the review process is received (S68:NO, S69:YES), CPU7 terminates the review process, returns the process to the main process, and terminates the main process.

[0053] As a result of the above processing, as shown in Figure 9, editing layer LN, review layers LA and LJ are set in the editing area 71. Objects J1 to J6 are placed in editing layer LN. Objects J8 and J9, edited by user A, are placed in review layer LA. Objects J10 to J12, edited by user B, and objects J13 to J16, edited by user C, are placed in review layer LJ.

[0054] In the S58 process, after note NA, whose mode is archive, is stored, if a page contained in note NA is selected (S10: NO, S12: NO), CPU 7 only allows viewing of the selected page and does not accept editing instructions (S14). At this time, CPU 7 may display a screen similar to the normal editing screen 70 and allow editing instructions to be entered, or it may display a screen different from the editing screen 70, which is for when the mode is archive, and prevent editing instructions from being entered. CPU 7 then terminates the main processing.

[0055] In the S59 process, after note N1, which is in normal mode, is stored, if a page included in note N1 is selected (S10:YES), the CPU 7 displays the normal editing screen 70 on the display unit 35. If an editing instruction for the editing layer is detected (S15:NO, S24:YES), the CPU 7 edits the editing layer according to the editing instruction (S25). However, if an editing instruction for the review layer is detected (S15:NO, S24:YES), the CPU 7 does not edit the review layer according to the editing instruction. If an instruction to terminate the main process is detected (S29:YES), the CPU 7 terminates the main process. In the above main process, if a review is to be performed again in the editing area 71, which includes the review layer and is in normal mode, the CPU 7 makes the previous review layer uneditable and adds a new review layer for the new review in response to the reviewer's editing instruction.

[0056] Referring to Figure 11, the server processing performed on server 2 will be explained. When the power is turned on, CPU 6 reads the server program from the program storage area 25 shown in Figure 1. By executing the read server program, CPU 6 starts the server processing shown in Figure 11. Some or all of the server processing may be performed on terminal device 3.

[0057] As shown in Figure 11, the CPU 6 of server 2 determines whether it has received a login notification from terminal device 3 (S71). If it has received a login notification from terminal device 3A (S71), the CPU 6 performs the login process for terminal device 3A based on the received notification (S72). If the login process is successful, the CPU 6 sends the note information of the note to terminal device 3A that has access rights to the note that sent the notification (S73). The CPU 6 determines whether it has stored note information with mode set to review in the note information storage area 29 (S74).

[0058] If note information with a mode set to review is stored (S74:YES), CPU6 determines whether it is time to check for deadlines (S75). In this embodiment, CPU6 determines at predetermined intervals whether the deadline set in the review settings has passed. The predetermined interval may be set in advance or may be a period specified by the user. In this embodiment, server 2 sets the 0th minute of each hour as the deadline check time and performs the following processing every hour. If it is not time to check for deadlines (S75:NO), CPU6 executes the process in S91 described later. If it is time to check for deadlines (S75:YES), CPU6 determines whether a deadline is set in the review settings (S76). If there is no note information with a review deadline set (S76:NO), CPU6 executes the process in S91 described later. If there is note information with a deadline set (S76:YES), CPU6 performs the following processing for each of the note information with a deadline set. CPU6 extracts note information that has passed its set deadline (S77).

[0059] Note information that has not expired and satisfies the termination condition is extracted (S78). The termination condition in this embodiment is that approval information for all reviewers has been set or approval information for all required reviewers has been set. For example, when the approval information shown on screen 90 in Figure 10 is obtained, approval information for all reviewers has not been stored, so note N1 does not satisfy the termination condition. On the other hand, when user A and user B are set as required reviewers on screen 90, approval information for all required reviewers has been set, so note N1 satisfies the termination condition. If there is note information extracted in S77 or S78 (S79: YES), CPU 6 sets the mode of the note information to normal for each of the note information that satisfies the termination condition extracted in 78 and the note information that has expired extracted in S77 (S80). As a result of the processing in S80, CPU 6 terminates the review of the editing layer when the review deadline is reached (S77, S80) (S80). CPU6 terminates the review (S80) if the approval information of all reviewers or required reviewers has been stored, even if the review deadline has not been reached (S78).

[0060] CPU6 copies the note information, whose mode was set to normal in S80, to the note information storage area 29 (S81). Of the two identical note information files, CPU6 sets the mode of one of them, the note information with note ID NA, to normal and makes it the first editing area 71, and sets both the editing layer and the review layer of the first editing area 71 to non-editable and stores it (S82). CPU6 sets the other note information, the note information with note ID N1, to archive and makes it the second editing area 71, and sets the editing layer of the second editing area 71 to editable and the review layer to non-editable and stores it (S83). As shown in table T5 of Figure 8, in accordance with the completion of the review of the editing layer through processing from S81 to S83, the first editing area 71, which has note ID NA and includes both the editing layer and the review layer, and the second editing area 71, which has note ID N1 and includes the editing layer, are each stored in the note information storage area 29. CPU6 sends completion notifications to the reviewer and the user who requested the review, informing them that the review is complete (S84). CPU6 then returns processing to S71.

[0061] If no note information is extracted in S77 or S78 (S79: NO), CPU 6 determines whether it is a reminder period (S91). In this embodiment, CPU 6 determines at a predetermined interval whether the reminder period set in the review settings has passed. The predetermined interval may be set in advance or may be a period specified by the user. In this embodiment, Server 2 sets 30 minutes past every hour as the reminder period and performs the following processing every hour. If it is not a reminder period (S91: NO), CPU 6 executes the process in S99 described below. If it is a reminder period (S91: YES), CPU 6 determines whether there is note information with a reminder period set in the review settings (S76). If there is no note information with a reminder period set (S92: NO), CPU 6 executes the process in S99 described below. If there is note information with a reminder period set (S92: YES), CPU 6 determines whether there is note information for which a reminder has been sent (S93). If only the note information to which a reminder has been sent (S93:YES), CPU6 performs the process in S99. If there is note information to which a reminder has not been sent (S93:NO), CPU6 determines whether the set reminder period has passed for the note information to which a reminder has not been sent (S94).

[0062] If there is no note information whose reminder period has expired (S94: NO), CPU6 performs S99 as described below. If there is note information whose reminder period has expired (S94: YES), CPU6 obtains approval information for note information whose mode is review, for which a reminder has not been sent, and for which the reminder period has expired (S95), and extracts reviewers who have not set approval information (S96). CPU6 sends reminders to the reviewers extracted in S96 (S97). Through the process in S97, CPU6 sends reminders to reviewers when the sending time has arrived. CPU6 sets the reminder 96 in the review settings corresponding to the reviewer to whom the reminder was sent to "Done" to indicate that the reminder has been sent (S98). CPU6 returns to processing S71.

[0063] The CPU 6 determines whether it has received update information from terminal device 3 (S99). If it has received update information (S99: YES), the CPU 6 stores the update information (S100) and updates the display information, note information, and history information. The CPU 6 sends the display information, history information, and note information corresponding to the update information to the terminal device 3 of the user who has access rights to the note related to the update information.

[0064] If no update information has been received (S99:NO), or after S100, the CPU 6 determines whether a notification request has been received (S101). If the CPU 6 has received a notification request (S101:YES), it updates the history information and, if necessary, the note information based on the received notification request (S102), and sends the specified notification to the other terminal device 3 specified in the notification request (S103). For example, if the CPU 6 receives a start notification transmission request (S101:YES), it updates the history information and the note information based on the start notification transmission request (S102), and changes the mode of the note information specified in the start notification transmission request to review. The CPU 6 sends a start notification including a review instruction to the reviewer specified in the start notification transmission request (S103). If the CPU 6 receives a termination notification transmission request (S101:YES), it updates the history information and the note information based on the termination notification transmission request (S102), and changes the mode of the note information specified in the termination notification transmission request to normal. CPU6 sends a completion notification to the reviewer specified in the completion notification request, informing them that the review has been completed (S103).

[0065] If no notification request has been received (S101:NO), or after S103, CPU6 determines whether an archive creation request has been received (S104). If an archive creation request has been received (S104:YES), CPU6 copies the note information to the note information storage area 29, similar to S81 to S83 (S105). Of the two note information items with the same content, the mode of one note information item is set to normal (S106), and the other note information item is set to archive (S107). As a result of the processing from S104 to S106, the review of the editing layer is completed, and the first editing area 71, which includes the editing layer and the review layer, and the second editing area 71, which includes the editing layer, are each stored in the note information storage area 29. If no archive creation request has been received (S104:NO), or after S107, CPU6 returns the process to S7. Although not shown, the server processing terminates when a termination instruction is detected.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the editing system 1, server 2, terminal device 3, display unit 35, and CPU 7 are examples of the editing system, server, computer, display unit, and control unit of the present invention, respectively. The processing in S25 is an example of the editing step of the present invention. The processing in S41 is an example of the review step of the present invention. The processing in S59 is an example of the release step of the present invention. The processing in S97 is an example of the transmission step of the present invention. The processing in S40 is an example of the generation step of the present invention. The processing in S7 is an example of the setting step of the present invention. The processing in S58 and S59 are examples of the storage step of the present invention. The processing in S63 is an example of the approval acquisition step of the present invention. The processing in S64 is an example of the display step of the present invention. The processing in S80 is an example of the termination step of the present invention.

[0067] The editing program of the above embodiment includes instructions to the CPU 7 of a terminal device 3, which is equipped with a display unit 35 and a CPU 7, to perform the following processes. The CPU 7 edits the editing layer set in the editing area 71 in accordance with an editing instruction to edit the editing area 71, and displays the edited editing area 71 on the display unit 35 (S25). The CPU 7 restricts editing of the editing layer in response to receiving a review instruction to review the editing layer, and edits a review layer different from the editing layer set in the editing area 71 in accordance with the editing instruction, and displays the edited editing area 71 on the display unit 35 (S41). The CPU 7 releases the restriction on editing of the editing layer in response to the completion of the review of the editing layer (S59). If an editing instruction is received during the review, the editing program can edit comments, etc., on the review layer in accordance with the editing instruction. Therefore, the processing in S41 of the editing program contributes to preventing the editing layer from being unintentionally edited during the review.

[0068] The editing program includes an instruction to the CPU 7 to send a review instruction to the reviewer (S23). In S41, the CPU 7, upon receiving the review instruction, restricts editing of the editing layer and edits the review layer set in the editing area 71 according to the editing instruction (S41). The editing program can also perform processing when it requests a reviewer to review the editing area 71 or when it is requested to be a reviewer of the editing area 71 by another user. The editing program helps to avoid inadvertently editing the editing layer to be reviewed when a review request is made.

[0069] The editing program includes an instruction to the CPU 7 to generate a review layer when it receives the first editing instruction after receiving a review instruction (S40). The CPU 7 edits the review layer generated in the generation step according to the editing instruction (S41). The editing program helps to avoid generating unnecessary review layers that are not edited, compared to the case where a review layer is generated unconditionally when a review instruction is received.

[0070] The editing program includes an instruction to the CPU 7 to designate the reviewer who entered the editing instructions as the "focused reviewer," and, after receiving review instructions, to generate a "focused layer," which is the review layer corresponding to the focused reviewer, if the CPU 7 receives the first editing instructions from the focused reviewer (S37, S38: NO) (S40). In S41, the CPU 7 edits the "focused layer" according to the editing instructions entered by the focused reviewer and does not accept editing of the "focused layer" by reviewers other than the focused reviewer. The editing program helps to prevent the review layer edited in accordance with review instructions from being modified by other reviewers.

[0071] The editing program includes an instruction to the CPU 7 to designate the group to which the reviewer who entered the editing instruction belongs as the group of interest, and after receiving the review instruction, if the first editing instruction is received from any reviewer belonging to the group (S36, S38: NO), to generate a group of interest layer, which is the review layer corresponding to the group of interest (S40). In S41, the CPU 7 edits the group of interest layer according to the editing instruction entered by the reviewer belonging to the group, and does not accept editing of the group of interest layer by reviewers other than those belonging to the group of interest (S41). The editing program contributes to reflecting editing instructions from reviewers belonging to the same group in the same review layer. The editing program contributes to reducing the number of layers compared to when review layers are generated on an individual basis, and avoids the layer structure of the editing area 71 becoming complex. The editing program contributes to preventing reviewers belonging to a group from editing review layers other than the review layer corresponding to the group.

[0072] The editing program includes an instruction to CPU7 to set an administrator who can edit the editing layer (S7). If the administrator enters an editing instruction (S52: YES), CPU7 edits the editing layer according to the instruction (S53). The editing program allows any administrator to edit the editing layer during review. The editing program can suppress accidental editing of the editing layer while improving convenience when it becomes necessary to edit the editing layer during review.

[0073] The editing program, when the CPU 7 has finished reviewing the editing layer, stores the first editing area 71 containing the editing layer and the review layer, and the second editing area 71 containing the editing layer, respectively (S58, S59). Even if editing of the editing area 71 is resumed after the review is completed, the editing program can, for example, leave the editing area 71 at the review completion stage as the first editing area 71 and allow the editing of the second editing area 71 to continue. The editing program helps the user to easily obtain and confirm the editing area 71 at the review completion stage.

[0074] In S58, CPU7 sets the editing layer and review layer of the first editing area 71 to non-editable and stores this setting. CPU7 does not perform any editing based on editing instructions to the first editing area 71 (S14). The editing program contributes to ensuring that the first editing area 71 after review is not tampered with.

[0075] The second editing area 71 includes a review layer. In S26, the CPU 7 performs editing based on editing instructions for the editing layer in the second editing area 71, but does not perform editing based on editing instructions for the review layer in the second editing area 71. The editing program ensures that the review layer is not tampered with in the second editing area 71 after review, and can normally edit the layers according to editing instructions. In this embodiment, the CPU 7 can select to show / hide each layer as a layer setting, so when the mode is normal, it can also set review layers generated during past reviews to be hidden as needed.

[0076] The CPU 7 of the editing system 1, following the editing method, obtains approval information indicating whether the reviewer has approved the edited content of the editing layer (S63). The editing program includes an instruction for the CPU 7 to distinguish between reviewers who have approved the edited content of the editing layer and those who have not, and to display them on the display unit 35 (S64). The editing program helps the user easily recognize which reviewer has approved the content.

[0077] The review instructions include a review deadline. When the review deadline is reached (S77:YES), the server 2 of editing system 1 terminates the review of the editing layer (S80). The editing program contributes to automatically terminating the review at a predetermined time. Editing system 1 eliminates the need to input instructions to terminate the review by executing the editing method. Editing system 1 can reliably prevent the editing area 71 from being left in the state during the review period.

[0078] The review instructions include a timing for sending a reminder to the reviewer. When the timing for sending the reminder arrives, the server 2 of the editing system 1 sends a reminder to the reviewer (S97). Since the timing for sending the reminder can be set by executing the editing method, the automatic sending of reminders helps to prevent reviewers from forgetting to review.

[0079] Server 2 of editing system 1 terminates the review (S80) once the approval information of all reviewers or required reviewers has been stored. By executing the editing method, editing system 1 terminates the review based on the approval information of all reviewers or required reviewers, thus reducing the effort required to confirm whether the review is complete compared to the case where this is not the case.

[0080] The present invention's editing program and editing method are not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the following modifications may be made as appropriate. The present invention can be implemented in various forms, and may be realized, for example, in the form of a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing an editing program, an editing device, and an editing system.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the configuration and number of the server 2 and terminal devices 3 provided in the editing system 1 may be changed as appropriate. The terminal device 3 is not limited to a tablet terminal, but may be a smartphone, personal computer, dedicated terminal, etc. The display unit 35 of the terminal device 3 only needs to be capable of displaying images, and may be, for example, an organic EL display, plasma display, plasma tube array display, or electronic paper display using electrophoresis, etc. The input unit 36 ​​of the terminal device 3 may be a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, joystick, etc. The terminal device 3 may be shared by multiple users. The main processing may be performed in the editing system 1, which is composed of the server 2 and a single terminal device 3, or it may be performed in a terminal device 3 that does not communicate with the server 2. The communication unit 37 may be omitted.

[0082] Object attributes may include types other than strokes, markers, text, shapes, and images, or they may include only some types of strokes, markers, text, shapes, and images, for example, only text. The editing units of the editing area 71 may be changed as appropriate. The CPU 7 does not need to have notes as an editing unit. Depending on the editing units of the editing area 71, the timing of storing note information and history information may be changed as appropriate. The content of note information and history information may be changed as appropriate. The content and layout of the home screen, editing screen, and review screen may be changed as appropriate.

[0083] The editing program, which includes instructions for executing the main process, only needs to be stored in the memory device of terminal device 3 before the CPU 7 of terminal device 3 executes the editing program. Therefore, the method of acquiring the editing program, the acquisition path, and the device that stores the program may be changed as appropriate. The editing program executed by terminal device 3 may be received from other devices via cable or wireless communication and stored in a memory device such as a memory unit. Other devices include, for example, a PC and a server connected via a network.

[0084] Each step of the main process is not limited to being performed by CPU 7, but may be partially or entirely performed by other electronic devices (e.g., ASICs). Similarly, each step of the server process is not limited to being performed by CPU 6, but may be partially or entirely performed by other electronic devices. Each step of the main process and server process may be distributed among multiple electronic devices (e.g., multiple CPUs). Each step of the main process and server process can be reordered, omitted, or added as needed. The following modifications may be made as appropriate to the processing performed in the editing system 1, including the main process and server process: Part of the main process may be performed by server 2, or part of the server process may be performed by terminal device 3.

[0085] The main processing may be completed on a single terminal device 3, in which case the processing in S16 to S20, and the processing in S22, S23, and S28 may be omitted. A review layer may be generated for each reviewer, regardless of whether an editing instruction is given, in response to the server 2 receiving a review instruction. A review layer may not be generated for each reviewer, but one or more pre-configured layers may be set. Multiple review layers may be generated for a single reviewer of interest or a single group of interest. The group to which a reviewer belongs may be identified based on the information entered by the reviewer. The CPU 7 may not be able to set an administrator in S7, and may omit the processing in S50 to S53, and may not accept any edits to the editing layer during the period when the mode is set to review.

[0086] CPU 7 may execute processes S80 to S84. CPU 7 may omit process S57 and execute processes S105 to S107. In editing system 1, the process of storing the first editing area 71 and the second editing area 71 in response to the completion of the review may be omitted. In that case, the review layer of the editing area 71 whose review has been completed may be set to non-editable, set to editable, or stored separately from the editing layer. The second editing area 71 does not have to include a review layer. If the second editing area 71 includes a review layer, the review layer may be editable, or the user may set whether it is editable or not.

[0087] The review instructions do not have to include at least one of the review deadline and the timing for sending a reminder to the reviewer. In that case, Server 2 may omit or modify at least one of the processes for managing the review deadline from S75 to S84 and the processes for sending reminders from S91 to S98. Server 2 may automatically set at least one of the review deadline and the reminder sending timing based on when it receives the start notification sending request from Terminal Device 3. CPU 7 may execute the process that Server 2 used to perform to terminate the review of the editing layer when the review deadline is reached. CPU 7 may execute the process that Server 2 used to perform to send a reminder directly to the reviewer's Terminal Device 3 when the sending timing is reached, or it may send a request to Server 2 to send a reminder to the reviewer and send the reminder via Server 2. CPU 7 may omit at least one of S61 to S67 and not perform some or all of the processing related to approval information. CPU7 may terminate the review once the approval information for all reviewers or required reviewers, which was handled by Server 2, has been stored. CPU7 may also send reminders to reviewers who have entered their approval information. Server 2 may omit S78 and not terminate the review once the approval information for all reviewers or required reviewers has been stored. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0088] 1: Editing system, 2: Server, 3, 3A, 3B, 3C: Terminal devices, 6, 7: CPU, 21, 32: ROM, 22, 33: RAM, 23, 34: Flash memory, 35: Display unit, 36: Input unit, 24, 37: Communication unit

Claims

1. A computer comprising a display unit and a control unit, the control unit of which, An editing step which involves editing the editing layer set in the editing area in accordance with an editing instruction which instructs to edit the editing area, and displaying the edited editing area on the display unit, A review step in which, upon receiving a review instruction to review the editing layer, the editing of the editing layer is restricted, a review layer different from the editing layer set in the editing area is edited in accordance with the editing instruction, and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; A release step is taken to release the restriction on editing the editing layer in accordance with the completion of the review of the editing layer. An editing program characterized by including instructions to perform an action.

2. The instructions further include an instruction to perform a sending step that sends the aforementioned review instructions to the reviewer, The editing program according to claim 1, wherein the review step restricts editing of the editing layer in response to receiving the review instruction, and edits the review layer set in the editing area in accordance with the editing instruction.

3. The instruction further includes, after obtaining the review instruction, an instruction to execute a generation step to generate the review layer when the first editing instruction is obtained, The editing program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the review step edits the review layer generated in the generation step in accordance with the editing instructions.

4. The instructions further include specifying that the reviewer who entered the editing instructions is a featured reviewer, and that after obtaining the review instructions, if the first editing instructions are obtained from the featured reviewer, the instructions will execute a generation step to generate a featured layer, which is the review layer corresponding to the featured reviewer. The editing program according to claim 2, characterized in that the review step edits the featured layer in accordance with the editing instructions entered by the featured reviewer, and does not accept editing of the featured layer by reviewers other than the featured reviewer.

5. The instruction further includes specifying that the group to which the reviewer who entered the editing instructions belongs is designated as the attention group, and that after obtaining the review instructions, when the first editing instructions are obtained from any of the reviewers belonging to the group, the instruction causes the execution of a generation step to generate the attention group layer, which is the review layer corresponding to the attention group, The editing program according to claim 2, wherein the review step edits the group of interest layer in accordance with the editing instructions entered by the reviewer belonging to the group, and does not accept editing of the group of interest layer by reviewers other than the reviewer belonging to the group of interest.

6. The instructions further include an instruction to perform a configuration step to set up an administrator who can edit the aforementioned editing layer, The editing program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the review step edits the editing layer in accordance with the editing instructions when the administrator inputs the editing instructions.

7. Upon completion of the review of the aforementioned editing layer, A first editing area including the editing layer and the review layer, The second editing area including the aforementioned editing layer The editing program according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it includes an instruction to further perform a storage step of storing each of the following.

8. The storage step involves setting the editing layer and the review layer of the first editing area to non-editable and storing them. The storage step involves setting the editing layer of the second editing area to editable and the review layer to non-editable and storing the settings. The editing program according to claim 7, characterized in that the editing step does not perform editing based on the editing instructions to the first editing area.

9. The second editing area includes the review layer, The editing program according to claim 7, characterized in that the editing step performs editing based on the editing instructions to the editing layer of the second editing area, but does not perform editing based on the editing instructions to the review layer of the second editing area.

10. An approval acquisition step to obtain approval information indicating whether the reviewer has approved the edited content of the editing layer, The editing program according to claim 2, further comprising an instruction to perform a display step of distinguishing between reviewers who have approved the editing content of the editing layer and reviewers who have not approved it, and displaying them on the display unit.

11. An editing method performed by an editing system comprising a computer having a display unit and a control unit, and a server connectable to the computer, An editing step which involves editing the editing layer set in the editing area in accordance with an editing instruction which instructs to edit the editing area, and displaying the edited editing area on the display unit, A review step in which, upon receiving a review instruction to review the editing layer, the editing of the editing layer is restricted, a review layer different from the editing layer set in the editing area is edited in accordance with the editing instruction, and the edited editing area is displayed on the display unit; A release step is taken to release the restriction on editing the editing layer in accordance with the completion of the review of the editing layer. An editing method characterized by comprising the following features.

12. The system further includes a transmission step for sending the aforementioned review instructions to the reviewer, The editing method according to claim 11, characterized in that the review step restricts editing of the editing layer in response to receiving the review instruction, and edits the review layer set in the editing area in accordance with the editing instruction.

13. The aforementioned review instructions include the review deadline, The editing method according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a termination step of terminating the review of the editing layer when the aforementioned review deadline is reached.

14. The review instructions include the timing for sending a reminder to the reviewer. The editing method according to claim 12, further comprising a reminder step of sending the reminder to the reviewer when the aforementioned transmission time has been reached.

15. An approval acquisition step to obtain approval information indicating whether the reviewer has approved the edited content of the editing layer, A display step that distinguishes between reviewers who have approved the editing content of the editing layer and reviewers who have not approved it and displays them on the display unit, Depending on whether the approval information of all reviewers or required reviewers is stored, a termination step is taken to terminate the review. The editing method according to claim 12, further comprising the following:

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