Patent ID: 7703004
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for automatically converting documents expressed in a markup language to structured shared writeable and editable documents, comprising: inputting, using a computer, a first document having a first document coding expressed in a markup language; inputting, using the computer, conversion parameters usable to convert the first document into a second document by selecting which types of content in the first document are to become sequences of editable items, selecting options that determine the content of a template that will be constructed and applied to the editable items by selecting a location in the template for an editing icon relative to other visible elements of the template and setting an editing icon placement flag according to the selected location; converting, using the computer, the first document into the second document having a second document coding expressed in a markup language by identifying at least one region of content of the first document as an editable item and identifying at least one sub-region of the at least one region as an editable field; constructing, using the computer, a template describing how each editable item in the second document will be formatted and displayed; outputting, on the computer, the second document containing content of the first document and one or more selected content icons by identifying at least one beginning and at least one ending of at least one sequence of editable items and adding, removing, or modifying markup language elements at at least some of the at least one beginning and the at least one ending of the at least one sequence, wherein the converting of the first document into the second document includes: