Using attached properties to provide document services
US6240429A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 31, 1998 |
| Grant date | May 29, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 31, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/93
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A document management system is provided which organizes, stores and retrieves documents according to properties attached to the documents. A property attachment mechanism allows a user to attach arbitrary static and active properties to a document. The active properties include executable code which activates an external service in response to a triggering event which is predefined by the user, such as an operation performed on the document. When the operation is applied to the document, the operation is compared to the active properties of the document to determine if it is a triggering event. If an active property is triggered, its code is executed which automatically invokes an external service that executes independently from the operation. The results of the service are sent back to the document management system and the operation is then continued. In this manner, a user interacts directly with a document rather than locating, loading and executing an external service to be applied to the document. The user and/or other applications are unaware of the external service being processed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.