Detecting Edit Relationships in Collaborative Documents

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Solution Overview

Problem

In collaborative electronic document editing, multiple users often propose changes independently, leading to conflicts across different versions, requiring repeated revisions until all parties are satisfied, which is inefficient.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for detecting compounding and conflicting relationships between edits in a collaborative document editing environment, where a processor identifies shared positions of edits and determines compounding or conflicting relationships, displaying indicators to users to facilitate efficient decision-making and version management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple users independently propose changes to an electronic document, then collaborative editing capability is improved, but conflict management complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollaborative editing capabilityVSAvoidconflict management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of edit relationships by detecting compounding and conflicting relationships between edits before final resolution. This advance detection allows the system to prepare resolution strategies proactively, reducing the complexity of conflict management when multiple users independently propose changes to the document.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Stability of the object's composition

If repeated revisions are performed to resolve conflicts, then document version consistency is improved, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedocument version consistencyVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides feedback to users about detected compounding and conflicting relationships between edits. This feedback mechanism enables users to make informed decisions about edit resolution, reducing the number of repeated revision cycles needed to achieve document version consistency and thereby decreasing time consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If all suggested edits are manually reviewed, then editing accuracy is improved, but processing efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveediting accuracyVSAvoidprocessing efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the review process by automatically detecting and categorizing edit relationships into compounding and conflicting types. This segmentation allows the system to apply different processing strategies to different types of edits, maintaining editing accuracy through systematic analysis while improving processing efficiency by automating the initial classification of edits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9529785B2Detecting relationships between edits and acting on a subset of edits

Publication Date: 2016.12.27 GOOGLE LLC

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for detecting compounding and conflicting suggested edits in a collaborative document editing environment. A first edit and a second edit to an electronic document are received. A shared position of the first edit and the second edit in the electronic document is identified, and a compounding relationship or a conflicting relationship is determined based at least in part on the identification. The first edit, the second edit, and an indicator of the relationship are displayed to a user of the electronic document.