Content Distribution Across Electronic Documents

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for sharing content among electronic documents controlled by multiple users are inefficient, prone to errors, and require manual intervention, often relying on recipients to take action.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that allows a sender to push specific content to designated sections of documents controlled by other users, with the content being formatted and validated for proper interpretation, enabling seamless insertion without affecting the master document or other receiver documents.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual content sharing methods are used (screen shots, text entry, copying), then content can be shared among users, but the process is time consuming and error prone

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent sharing accuracyVSAvoidcontent sharing time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates a master electronic document with content that can be automatically copied and distributed to multiple recipient documents. The sender selects content from the master document, and the system automatically copies it to designated sections in recipient documents, eliminating manual transcription and ensuring accuracy while reducing time consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary formatting and validation of content before distribution. The sender prepares content in the master document with proper formatting, and the system validates and formats it appropriately before inserting into recipient documents, eliminating the need for recipients to manually format or re-enter content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If recipients manually insert content into their documents, then content sharing is achieved, but recipient interaction and participation are required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent sharing simplicityVSAvoidautomated content distribution

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables the sender to perform all content distribution operations independently. The sender selects content from the master document, specifies recipient documents and sections, and the system automatically distributes the content without requiring recipient intervention. Recipients simply receive the pre-formatted content in their documents without needing to take any action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system acts as an intermediary between the sender and recipients. It receives content from the sender, processes and formats it appropriately, and automatically inserts it into the designated sections of recipient documents. This intermediary process eliminates the need for direct interaction between senders and recipients, automating the entire distribution workflow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If content is pushed to multiple documents, then content distribution efficiency is improved, but formatting compatibility and proper interpretation must be ensured

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent distribution speedVSAvoidcontent formatting accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically adjusts formatting parameters when distributing content to different recipient documents. It validates the content against the destination document's formatting requirements and modifies parameters such as font, size, and style to ensure compatibility. This automatic parameter adjustment maintains high distribution speed while ensuring formatting accuracy across different document types and recipients.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

4Loss of information

If full documents are shared among users, then complete information is transmitted, but data transmission volume and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent completenessVSAvoiddata transmission time

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the specific content that needs to be shared from the master document, rather than distributing entire documents. The sender selects specific sections, paragraphs, or elements for distribution, and the system extracts and transmits only that selected content to the appropriate sections in recipient documents. This selective extraction reduces data transmission volume and processing time while maintaining content completeness for the shared portions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS10664466B2Specific content distribution across documents

Publication Date: 2020.05.26 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Distributing content to multiple electronic documents or sections thereof, with various controlling users, documents states, and host devices quickly and accurately is provided herein. Content from a sender document is identified, reduced to its necessary parts, fixed in position, and validated so that it may be pushed to identified sections within the sender document or to sections in receiver documents on other host devices. Content is pushed from the sender document to sections identified as available, and each receiver section or document may have different sections and subsections available. The systems and methods provided herein operate without requiring the content to be encapsulated in new documents, and thus reduces the memory and bandwidth needed to share content remotely, and improves the user experience for sharing content.