Abstract:
An electronic document filing method and a system using the same is disclosed. The system comprises identification code addition means for adding identification code proper to the electronic document thereto, electronic document transfer means for registering the electronic document to which the identification code is added to the document server, print means for printing the registered electronic document and the identification code on the same paper face, identification code read means for reading the identification code printed on the paper face, identification code interpretation means for interpreting the identification code read by the identification code read means, and identification code transfer means for transferring the identification code interpreted by the identification code interpretation means to the document server.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a method and a system using the same for filing an electronic document and in particular to an electronic document filing method and system using the same which enable the user to easily register and retrieve an electronic document.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Related Art  
           [0004]    In recent years, with development in information processing systems, document processing systems and so on, electronic documents have been used increasingly and documents have been used in various manners.  
           [0005]    Here, FIG. 12 shows a document life cycle.  
           [0006]    In FIG. 12, each step represented by a solid line denotes an electronic document and each step represented by a dashed line denotes a paper-printed document.  
           [0007]    A document created by a creator at step  1001  is stored on a storage such as hard disk or in a document registration server at step  1002 , is distributed by electronic E-mail at step  1003 , or is printed on paper at step  1004 .  
           [0008]    The document stored at step  1002  may be reused by the creator and the document printed on paper at step  1004  is copied as required at step  1005  and is distributed as a paper document at step  1006  or is stored at step  1007 .  
           [0009]    On the other hand, the person who gets at step  1011  the electronic document distributed by E-mail at step  1003  reads the received document at step  1012  and prints the document at step  1013 , stores the document at step  1014 , or transfers the document to another person by E-mail at step  1015  as required.  
           [0010]    The document printed on paper at step  1013  is distributed at step  1016  or stored at step  1017  as a paper document and the document stored at step  1014  is reused as required at step  1018 .  
           [0011]    The person who gets the transferred document at step  1015  handles the document like the person who receives the electronic document at step  1011 .  
           [0012]    Thus, electronic documents can be easily reused as well as created, printed, distributed, and stored; they can be used effectively as compared with paper documents.  
           [0013]    However, to reuse an electronic document, the user must obtain the electronic document in a paper print format or an electronic file format from the location (hardware) where the electronic document is stored.  
           [0014]    In general, the user can get an electronic document by entering the storage location and the document name, but if such information does not exist, the document must be found with a keyword, etc.  
           [0015]    At this time, if the user has a printed document on hand, the required document can be obtained in the paper print format by copying the printed document, but it is not useful to obtain the electronic document in the electronic file format.  
           [0016]    Thus, the electronic documents can be easily reused, but it is hard to obtain a specific electronic document. Then, systems for easily obtaining electronic documents are proposed.  
           [0017]    There are proposed electronic document registration and retrieval systems using facsimiles and so on, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Hei 2-73466, Sho 63-242060, Sho 63-95578, Hei 2-2461, Hei 7-273926, Hei 8-251223, Hei 8-102824.  
           [0018]    However, the registration and retrieval systems require a specifically designed form using a mark sheet, etc., to register or retrieve a document and the user must enter specification contents for the registration and the retrieval on the form.  
           [0019]    There are proposed electronic document registration and retrieval systems wherein when a registered electronic document is printed on paper, identification code such as bar code, is also printed with the document, and is read for retrieving the registered electronic document, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Hei 3-291756, Hei 5-108794, Hei 6-44320, Hei 7-200634, Hei 8-16605. Moreover, there are proposed electronic document registration and retrieval systems wherein when a registered electronic document is printed on paper, additional information code, is also printed with the document, and is read for retrieving the registered electronic document, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Hei 8-50598, Hei 4-363268, Hei 6-40092, Hei 7-146854, Hei 7-271826.  
           [0020]    However, in the electronic document registration and retrieval systems, for example, the identification code such as bar code, must be printed at a predetermined position on paper and the document print area is narrowed, or the bar code may interfere with the layout, depending on the document.  
           [0021]    There are proposed systems for recording a structured document, a program, data, etc., on a document in a machine-readable format, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Hei 4-232564, Hei 6-83879, Hei 6-46244, Hei 7-200748, Hei 7-21214, however in the systems, a suggestion about retrieving and reusing a document is not made either.  
           [0022]    In addition, such arts for using bar code, etc., to relate printed documents and electronic documents to each other are also proposed, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. Hei 4-295886, Sho 60-12573, Hei 7-295958, Hei 7-115537, Hei 8-83283. In these systems, the bar code is printed on a book, an encyclopedia, etc., and is read, thereby outputting a related picture or voice, however, a suggestion concerning generation of identification code such as bar code is not made either.  
           [0023]    As described above, the electronic document is a document form that can be reused easily, but to reuse the electronic document, the user must retrieve it from the unit where the electronic document is stored, and retrieval work and registration work to facilitate retrieval are intricate.  
           [0024]    An art is also proposed wherein if the user has a paper-printed document on hand, identification code, etc., is printed with the document at the printing time, and is used to retrieve the corresponding electronic document. However, a procedure of giving registration information on which the identification code is based is complicated or the identification code narrows the document print area or interferes with the layout.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0025]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic document filing method and system using the same which can add identification code to a document without narrowing the document print area or interfering with the document layout, and which can easily retrieve the corresponding electronic document based on the identification code.  
           [0026]    According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic document filing method comprises the steps of the steps of adding identification code proper to an electronic document thereto, registering the electronic document to which the identification code is added in a document server connected through a network, printing the registered electronic document and the identification code on the same paper face, reading the printed identification code, and retrieving and obtaining the electronic document based on the read identification code.  
           [0027]    According to the method of the present invention, the document server may determine a location where the electronic document is to be stored based on the identification code added to the electronic document at the time of document registration, and may select and transfer the stored electronic document based on the corresponding identification code at the time of document retrieval.  
           [0028]    According to the method of the present invention, the electronic document may be registered automatically at the same time as it is printed, is transmitted to another user, is received from another printer, or is input through an image reader.  
           [0029]    According to the method of the present invention, the identification code may be printed on an arbitrary layout at an arbitrary position on the paper face.  
           [0030]    According to the method of the present invention, the identification code may be printed on the paper face as bar code.  
           [0031]    According to the method of the present invention, after a printing area of the electronic document is set, the identification code may be printed where except on the printing area of the electronic document at the time of printing.  
           [0032]    According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic document filing system comprises identification code addition means for adding identification code proper to the electronic document thereto, electronic document transfer means for registering the electronic document to which the identification code is added to the document server, print means for printing the registered electronic document and the identification code on the same paper face, identification code read means for reading the identification code printed on the paper face, identification code interpretation means for interpreting the identification code read by the identification code read means, and identification code transfer means for transferring the identification code interpreted by the identification code interpretation means to the document server.  
           [0033]    According to the system of the present invention, the document server may include document storage means for determining a location where the electronic document is to be stored based on the identification code added to the electronic document, and storing the electronic document in the determined location, document selection means for receiving the identification code transferred by the identification code transfer means and selecting the electronic document stored by the document storage means, and document sending means for sending the electronic document selected by the document selection means.  
           [0034]    According to the system of the present invention, the electronic document may be registered automatically at the same time as it is printed, is transmitted to another user, is received from another printer, or is input through an image reader. According to the system of the present invention, the identification code addition means may include an identification code generating section generating the identification code, print data generating section converting the electronic document into an print image data, and a data combining section combining the identification code with the print image data.  
           [0035]    According to the system of the present invention, the print means may print the identification code on an arbitrary layout at an arbitrary position on the paper face.  
           [0036]    According to the system of the present invention, the identification code may be printed on the paper face as bar code.  
           [0037]    According to the system of the present invention, after a printing area of the electronic document is set as the print image data in the print data generating section, the data combining section may combine the identification code generated from the identification code generating section with the print image data so that the identification code may be printed where except on the printing area of the electronic document.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0038]    In the accompanying drawings:  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 1 is a block diagram to show one embodiment of an electronic document filing method and a system using the same according to the present invention;  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 2 is a flow chart to show an outline of a document registration flow in a client PC(personal computer);  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 3 is a flow chart to show an outline of a document registration flow in a document registration server;  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 4 is an illustration to show a data structure in storage of the document registration server;  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 5 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration in the client PC when the document is printed;  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 6 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration in the client PC when E-mail is transmitted or received;  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 7 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration in the client PC when an image is input;  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 8 is a block diagram to show the configuration of an image scanner capable of combining image data and identification code;  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 9 is a flow chart to show a document retrieval process flow in the client PC and the document registration server;  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 10 is a block diagram to show the configuration of a pen scanner for reading identification code such as bar code when the document is retrieved;  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 11 is a chart to show an example of a flow in which two users register and reuse a document; and  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 12 is a chart to show a document life cycle.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0051]    Descriptions will be given below in detail of a preferred embodiment of an electronic document filing method and a system using the same according to the present invention with refer to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 1 is a block diagram to show one embodiment of an electronic document filing method and a system using the same according to the present invention.  
         [0053]    In FIG. 1, a document registration server  1  and client PC(personal computer)s  2  ( 2 - 1  and  2 - 2 ) are connected by a network  3  and a network printer  4  is also connected to the network  3 .  
         [0054]    A printer  5  ( 5 - 1 ,  5 - 2 ) and an image scanner  6  ( 6 - 1 ,  6 - 2 ) are connected to each of the client PCs  2  ( 2 - 1 ,  2 - 2 ).  
         [0055]    When a document is printed, transmitted, or received, or is entered through the image scanner  6  in the client PC  2 , it is automatically registered in the document registration server  1 . To retrieve the document, the identification code assigned to the document at the time of document registration is read through the scanner.  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 2 is a flow chart to show an outline of a document registration flow in the client PC  2 .  
         [0057]    In FIG. 2, when the client PC  2  operates at step  101  and a created document is printed (YES at step  102  and YES at step  103 ) or is transmitted by E-mail (YES at step  102 , NO at step  103 , and YES at step  104 ), or paper document is input through the image scanner  6  (NO at step  102  and YES at step  105 ) or document is received by E-mail (NO at step  102 , NO at step  105 , and YES at step  106 ), identification code required for registering the document is generated at step  107 .  
         [0058]    The identification code is generated as identification code proper to the registered document in the whole network by using the identification code generation time, the document name, the creator name, the network address of the client PC  2 , etc.  
         [0059]    When the identification code is generated at step  107 , the client PC  2  starts a document registration program and starts a registration process at step  151 .  
         [0060]    The identification code generated at step  107  is added to the document as identification code that can be read through the image scanner, such as bar code, at step  108 , and is passed to the registration program at step  152 .  
         [0061]    The document to which the identification code is added is converted into a predetermined format at step  109 . If a command for printing the document is issued before step  107  (YES at step  110 ), the document is printed at the network printer  4  or the printer  5 . If a command for transmitting the document by E-mail is issued (NO at step  110  and YES at step  112 ), the document is transmitted by E-mail through the network  3  at step  113 . If the document is a document received by E-mail through the network  3  (NO at step  112  and YES at step  114 ), it is received by E-mail at step  115 . If the document is a paper document input through the image scanner  6  (NO at step  114 ), input processing is performed at step  116 .  
         [0062]    The document converted into the predetermined format at step  109  is processed such as printing (at step  110  or later) and is also converted into a registration format by the registration program at step  153 .  
         [0063]    Next, the registration program determines the server in which the document is to be registered at step  154  if more than one document registration server exists, and generates an address to send the document through the network  3  at step  155 .  
         [0064]    When the address is generated, the registration program adds the identification code obtained at step  152  to the document converted into the registration format at step  153  and sends the document to the network  3  at step  156  based on the address generated at step  155 , then terminates the document registration process at step  157 .  
         [0065]    [0065]FIG. 3 is a flow chart to show an outline of a document registration flow in the document registration server  1 . FIG. 4 is an illustration to show a data structure in storage of the document registration server  1 .  
         [0066]    When the document registration server  1  starts a document registration process at step  201  and receives a registered document transferred through the network  3  from the client PC  2  at step  202 , it interprets the identification code added to the registered document at step  203 .  
         [0067]    Next, the document registration server  1  determines the document registration location therein based on the interpreted identification code at step  204 , determines a directory  11  ( 11 - 1 ,  11 - 2 ) in which the document is to be registered at step  205 , and selects a drawer  12  ( 12 - 1  to  12 - 4 ) and a folder  13  ( 13 - 1  to  13 - 10 ) in the directory  11  at step  206 .  
         [0068]    Upon selection of the drawer  12 , folder  13  in which the document is to be registered, the document registration server  1  stores the registered document in the folder  13  at step  207 , writes the identification code to the registered document into an index file  14  and relates the identification code to the address of the registered document on the storage at step  208 , and terminates the document registration process at step  209 .  
         [0069]    In the description, the data structure in the storage of the document registration server  1  is a hierarchical structure consisting of the directories  11 , the drawers  12 , the folders  13 , etc., but may be a flat structure, which does not interfere with registration or retrieval either.  
         [0070]    Next, the document registration process operation at the time of document printing, the time of E-mail transmission, the time of E-mail reception, and the time of image input in the client PC  2  will be discussed.  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 5 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration at the time of document printing in the client PC  2 .  
         [0072]    In FIG. 5, the client PC  2  comprises an application  21 , a printer driver  22 , and a data communication section  23 .  
         [0073]    The printer driver  22  is made up of an identification code generating section  221 , a print data generating section  222 , and a data combining section  223 .  
         [0074]    When the user enters a command for printing a document created with the application  21  such as word-processing software, drawing software, or spreadsheet software, the document data required for printing the document and information including the created time, the file name, the creator name and so on, required for generating identification code are transferred from the application  21  to the printer driver  22  (the printer driver  22  may extract the information from the document created with the application  21 ).  
         [0075]    The print data generating section  222  converts the document data into image data and inputs the image data to the data combining section  223  and also directly to the data communication section  23 .  
         [0076]    The identification code generating section  221  generates identification code proper to the printed document based on the information, input from the application  21  and outputs the identification code to the data communication section  23  and the data combining section  223 .  
         [0077]    The data combining section  223  converts the identification code input from the identification code generating section  221  into a format that can be read through the image scanner, such as bar code, and combines the conversion result with the image data input from the print data generating section  222 , then outputs the result to the printer  5 .  
         [0078]    At this time, the data combining section  223  combines the identification in a blank portion in the document or the position set by the user so as not to impair the document layout.  
         [0079]    Processing such as print data scaling or n-up (multiple-face layout) is performed in the print data generating section  222  and therefore is not performed for the identification code combined by the data combining section  223 .  
         [0080]    On the other hand, the data communication section  23  adds the identification code generated by the identification code generating section  221  to at least either of the image data input from the data combining section  223  and the data in the format corresponding to the application  21  input therefrom and transmits the data to the document registration server  1 .  
         [0081]    [0081]FIG. 6 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration in the client PC  2  at the time of E-mail transmission or reception.  
         [0082]    In FIG. 6, the client PC  2  comprises application  21 , a key input acceptance section  24 , identification code generating section  25 , a clock  26 , a data combining section  27 , a data transmission section  231 , and a data reception section  232 .  
         [0083]    At the time of E-mail transmission, the application  21  sends document data to the data combining section  27  and also sends information, etc., required for generating identification code, such as the file name and the creator name, to the identification code generating section  25 .  
         [0084]    The identification code generating section  25  generates identification code proper to the document transmitted by E-mail based on the information of the file name, the creator name, etc., input from the application  21 , the time input from the clock  26 , and any other information input from the key input acceptance section  24  as required and outputs the identification code to the data combining section  27 .  
         [0085]    The data combining section  27  combines the document data input from the application  21  and the identification code generated by the identification code generating section  25  and outputs the result to the data transmission section  231 .  
         [0086]    The data transmission section  231  sends the document to which the E-mail address of an addressee is added through the network  3  to another PC  7  and also sends the document to the document registration server  1 .  
         [0087]    At the time of E-mail reception, the data reception section  232  receives the document transmitted from the PC  7  through the network  3  and inputs the received document to the application  21  and the data combining section  27 .  
         [0088]    The application  21  expands the data so that the user can read the document sent by E-mail, and outputs information of the file name, the sender name, etc., required for generating identification code to the identification code generating section  25 .  
         [0089]    The identification code generating section  25  generates identification code proper to the document received by E-mail based on the information of the file name, the sender name, etc., input from the application  21 , the time input from the clock  26 , and any other information input from the key input acceptance section  24  as required and outputs the identification code to the data combining section  27 .  
         [0090]    The data combining section  27  combines the document data input from the data reception section  232  and the identification code generated by the identification code generating section  25  and outputs the result to the data transmission section  231 , which then sends the document to the document registration server  1 .  
         [0091]    [0091]FIG. 7 is a block diagram to show the configuration of the part required for document registration in the client PC  2  at the time of image input.  
         [0092]    In FIG. 7, the client PC  2  comprises the application  21 , the data communication section  23 , the key input acceptance section  24 , the identification code generating section  25 , the clock  26 , the data combining section  27 , and an image data input interface (I/F)  28 .  
         [0093]    At the time of image input, the image data read through the image scanner  6  is input through the image data input I/F  28  to the application  21  and the data combining section  27 .  
         [0094]    The application  21  processes the image data input by the user such as editing or storing.  
         [0095]    On the other hand, the identification code generating section  25  generates identification code proper to the document input as image data based on the information of the file name, the creator name, etc., input from the key input acceptance section  24  and the time input from the clock  26  and outputs the identification code to the data combining section  27 .  
         [0096]    The data combining section  27  combines the image data input from the image data input I/F  28  and the identification code generated by the identification code generating section  25  and outputs the result to the data communication section  23 , which then sends the result to the document registration server  1 .  
         [0097]    In FIG. 7, the image data input from the image data input I/F  28  is combined with the identification code in the PC  2  and the result is registered in the document registration server  1 , but the image data and the identification code may also be combined in an image scanner.  
         [0098]    [0098]FIG. 8 is a block diagram to show the configuration of an image scanner capable of combining image data and identification code.  
         [0099]    In FIG. 8, an image scanner  8  comprises a control panel  80 , a clock  81 , an identification code generating section  82 , a light source  83 , a photoelectric conversion section  84 , an A/D conversion section  85 , an image data processing section  86 , an image data format preparation section  87 , a data combining section  88 , and an image data input interface (I/F) section  89 .  
         [0100]    To input an image through the image scanner  8 , the user enters information of file name, input person name, etc., from the control panel  80 . The identification code generating section  82  generates identification code proper to the document input as image data based on the information and the time input from the clock  81  and outputs the identification code to the data combining section  88 .  
         [0101]    On the other hand, the photoelectric conversion section  84  converts light generated from the light source  83  and reflected from the original into an electric signal to generate image data and inputs the image data to the A/D conversion section  85 , which then converts the image data from an analog signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the image data processing section  86 .  
         [0102]    The image data processing section  86  makes corrections such as a γ correction, a brightness correction, a contrast correction, and a shading correction to the image data input from the A/D conversion section  85  and outputs the resultant data to the image data format preparation section  87 .  
         [0103]    The image data format preparation section  87  converts the input image data into a predetermined format and outputs the resultant image data to the data combining section  88 .  
         [0104]    The data combining section  88  combines the image data and the identification code generated by the identification code generating section  82  and the image data input interface (I/F) section  89  outputs the result to the client PC  2   
         [0105]    The client PC  2  inputs the document (image data) input through the image scanner  8  to the application  21  and also registers the input document in the document registration server  1 .  
         [0106]    By the way, the described document registration processing is performed automatically when the user prints a document, transmits or receives a document by E-mail, or inputs an image, the user need not perform special operation for document registration.  
         [0107]    Next, retrieving a document registered in the document registration server  1  will be discussed.  
         [0108]    [0108]FIG. 9 is a flow chart to show a document retrieval process flow in the client PC  2  and the document registration server  1 .  
         [0109]    In FIG. 9, steps  301  to  304  and  311  to  315  are performed in the client PC  2  and steps  305  to  310  are performed in the document registration server  1 .  
         [0110]    When a document retrieval process is started in the client PC  2  at step  301  and an image of identification code such as bar code is input (YES at step  302 ), the input identification code is interpreted at step  303  and the document registration server  1  in which the required document is registered is identified from the identification code (if more than one document registration server exists), then a document request address for the network is generated at step  304 . The document request address contains the identification code proper to the document, added thereto at the time of document registration as well as the address of the document registration server  1 .  
         [0111]    The document request address is sent through the network  3  to the document registration server  1 . When receiving the document request address (YES at step  305 ), the document registration server  1  interprets the document request address at step  306 .  
         [0112]    Next, the document registration server  1  looks up in the index file  14  based on the interpreted document request address at step  307  and obtains a storage address of the requested document at step  308 .  
         [0113]    The document registration server  1  selects the document based on the storage address at step  309 , adds the address of the client PC  2  to the selected document as the return address at step  310 , and returns the document to the client PC  2  through the network  3 .  
         [0114]    The client PC  2 , which receives the document at step  311 , converts the document into the format corresponding to the used application at step  312 , starts the application at step  313 , displays the document at step  314 , and terminates the document retrieval process at step  315 .  
         [0115]    By the way, identification code such as bar code is printed at any position on a paper document, thus when the identification code is input as an image, a pen scanner is used or the whole paper face is input as an image through the image scanner before the position of the identification code is found.  
         [0116]    [0116]FIG. 10 is a block diagram to show the configuration of a pen scanner for reading identification code such as bar code at the document retrieval time.  
         [0117]    In FIG. 10, a pen scanner  9  comprises a light source  91 , a rotary encoder  92 , an operation timing generation section  93 , a photoelectric conversion section  94 , an analog image data processing section  95 , an A/D conversion section  96 , a digital image data processing section  97 , an identification code interpretation section  98 , and a data communication section  99 .  
         [0118]    When the user scans right over identification code such as bar code with the pen scanner  9 , the rotary encoder  92  detects the scan speed ( or distance) and outputs the detection result to the operation timing generation section  93 .  
         [0119]    The operation timing generation section  93  generates operation timing pulses to operate the sections based on output of the rotary encoder  92  and supplies the timing pulses to the sections as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 10.  
         [0120]    On the other hand, the photoelectric conversion section  94  converts a light which is generated from the light source  91  and is then reflected from the identification code printed on the original (as indicated by the dash line in the figure) into an electric signal as image data.  
         [0121]    The analog image data processing section  95  makes corrections such as a γ correction, a brightness correction, a contrast correction, and a shading correction to the electric signal and the A/D conversion section  96  converts the resultant signal from an analog signal into a digital signal.  
         [0122]    The digital image data processing section  97  again makes corrections such as a γ correction, a brightness correction, a contrast correction, a shading correction, and a resolution correction to the image data converted into the digital signal as required and inputs the resultant data to the identification code interpretation section  98 .  
         [0123]    The identification code interpretation section  98  obtains an address of the document registration server  1  in which the retrieved document is registered and the identification code proper to the retrieved document from the image data of the read identification code (corresponding to step  303  in FIG. 9).  
         [0124]    The address and the identification code are input to the data communication section  99 , which then transfers them to the client PC by using a radio wave or infrared rays.  
         [0125]    The pen scanner shown in FIG. 10 is an example, the address and the identification code may be transferred by wire communication and the scanner for reading the identification code need not be a pen scanner, needless to say.  
         [0126]    By the way, the user who obtains the retrieved document can reuse the document in such a manner to distribute or edit the document.  
         [0127]    [0127]FIG. 11 is a chart to show an example of a flow in which two users register and reuse a document. Each step represented by a dashed line denotes a paper-printed document.  
         [0128]    When user A  500  creates document a at step  501  and prints it at step  502 , the document a is registered in the document registration server  1  at the same time at step  701 .  
         [0129]    When the user A  500  distributes the printed document a to user B  600  at step  702  and the user B  600  obtaining the document a edits it to prepare a new document, the user B  600  inputs the identification code such as bar code added to the document a as an image at step  601 .  
         [0130]    When the user B  600  inputs the identification code as an image, the identification code and information required for requesting the document are transmitted to the document registration server  1  at step  703  and the document registration server  1  then returns the document a to the user B  600  at step  704 .  
         [0131]    Next, when the user B  600  edits (reuses) the document a to prepare a document b at step  602  and transmits the document b to the user A  500  at step  705 , the document b is registered in the document registration server  1  at the same time at step  706 .  
         [0132]    The user A  500  prints and retains the document b sent from the user B  600  at step  503  and if the user A  500  wants to again obtain the document b, the user A  500  inputs the identification code such as bar code added to the document b as an image at step  504 .  
         [0133]    When the user A  500  inputs the identification code as an image, the identification code and information required for requesting the document are transmitted to the document registration server  1  at step  707  and the document registration server  1  then returns the document b to the user A  500  at step  708 .  
         [0134]    The user A  500  edits the returned document b to prepare a document c at step  505  and distributes and retains the document c.  
         [0135]    One document is thus used by a number of users, whereby it can be used efficiently and effectively.  
         [0136]    The document use flow shown in FIG. 11 is an example and the number of users and the document use method are not limited to the example.  
         [0137]    As has been described heretofore, according to the present invention, when the user prints a document, or transmits or receives a document by E-mail, or executes image input, identification code is automatically added to the document and is registered in the document registration server and the identification code added to a document printed on paper can be input through the image scanner for obtaining the desired document. Thus, when a document is registered or retrieved, since it is not necessary to select a document registration server or enter a keyword, the registration and retrieval of the document can be facilitated.  
         [0138]    Therefore, a document can be reused easily, a created document can be used effectively, and trouble for creating a new document can be saved, so that a document can also be created, distributed, and reused efficiently among the users.