Electronic Slide Deck Management via Positional Content Reuse

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in managing and locating electronic slide decks due to their dispersed storage across multiple devices and systems, with issues of duplicates and overlapping content, leading to inefficiencies in retrieval and organization.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method that allows for the reuse of content from one electronic slide deck into another by identifying matching slides based on positional relationships, searching for matching slides across multiple decks, and autonomously grouping slides with related content, using visual and text matching, and metadata analysis.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If users store electronic slide decks in multiple locations and systems, then document accessibility and storage flexibility are improved, but document location and organization become increasingly difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage flexibilityVSAvoiddocument location

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a document management system that acts as an intermediary between users and multiple storage locations. This system automatically indexes documents across diverse storage systems (local devices, cloud storage, email attachments) and provides a unified search interface, eliminating the need for users to manually track document locations while maintaining storage flexibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a universal document management layer that works across multiple storage systems and devices simultaneously. By implementing cross-platform document indexing and search capabilities, it provides consistent document access regardless of where documents are stored, making the system versatile across different storage environments

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If users manually search through document repositories, then document retrieval is possible, but time and effort required for location increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedocument retrievalVSAvoidsearch time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary indexing and categorization of documents automatically as they are stored or accessed. By pre-processing document metadata, content, and relationships before user queries are submitted, the system enables instant retrieval without requiring users to spend time searching through repositories

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical searching with automated electronic search algorithms. The system uses computer-based indexing, metadata analysis, and intelligent query processing to automatically locate documents, substituting the time-consuming manual browsing process with efficient automated retrieval mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Adaptability or versatility

If users organize documents in disparate folders without logical structure, then storage flexibility is maintained, but document tracking and location efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage flexibilityVSAvoiddocument management efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically changes organizational parameters based on document properties, user behavior patterns, and access frequency. It automatically adjusts folder structures, tagging schemes, and search priorities without requiring users to impose rigid organizational schemes, thereby maintaining storage flexibility while improving management efficiency through adaptive parameter optimization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS10698917B2Managing electronic slide decks

Publication Date: 2020.06.30 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A computer system edits a first electronic slide deck by reusing content from a second electronic slide deck, the electronic slide decks containing first and second sequences of slides respectively. The computer system identifies at least a second of the slides of the second electronic slide deck as a candidate for insertion in the first electronic slide deck by identifying the second slide as having a target positional relationship with a first slide of the first electronic slide deck. In response to the user accepting a suggestion to insert the second slide into the first slide deck, a version of the second slide is inserted into the first slide deck at a position in the first sequence that is determined automatically by the computer system.