Abstract:
The present invention provides an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing source information from an object originating from a first document and inserted into a second document. The present invention automatically generates source information for an object that is cut or copied from a document and inserted into another document. The source information may be stored, hidden, or pasted into the second document, and also may automatically trigger the generation of a footnote for the second document. An application supplies the source information that the window manager extracts when an object is cut or copied from a document. The window manager requests the source information from the application displaying the first document. The application displaying the second document accepts the source information from the window manager when an object originating from the first document is inserted into the second document.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an improved data processing system. In particular, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing source information from an object originating from a first document and inserted into a second document.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    When writing research papers, source information has to be set up for objects, such as quotes, which have been cut or copied and pasted into a research paper or document. Source information is information used to identify the source of text or other objects, such as images or audio clips. This information includes, for example, copyright information, authorship information, and other information that may be used to create citations and footnotes to the source of the text or other objects. Often objects are cut or copied from one document and pasted into another document. Different objects, such as portions of text, images, or audio clips, from multiple documents may be pasted into a document. When the cut/copy and paste process is repeated many times, it may be difficult to remember from where the object was cut/copied so that source information can be gathered for the objects that have been pasted into a document. Additionally, it is time consuming and sometimes difficult to gather source information in order to create footnotes, copyright, and citation information for documents.  
           [0005]    Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing source information from an object originating from a first document and inserted into a second document.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention provides an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing source information from an object originating from a first document and inserted into a second document. The present invention automatically generates source information for an object that is cut or copied from a document and inserted into another document. The source information may be stored, hidden, or pasted into the second document, and also may automatically trigger the generation of a footnote for the second document. An application supplies the source information that the window manager extracts when an object is cut or copied from a document. The window manager requests the source information from the application, such as for example, a word processor, browser, or editor, which displays the object originating from the first document. The application displaying the second document accepts the source information from the window manager when the object originating from a first document is inserted into the second document.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a process to provide source information associated with an object cut or copied from one document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the process to generate authorship and copyright information associated with an object cut or copied from one document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the process for a window manager to extract authorship and copyright information for an object that is cut or copied from a document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the process for maintaining authorship and copyright information for an object that is cut or copied from a document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the process to generate source information for an object that is cut or copied from a document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference to FIG. 1, a pictorial representation of a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A computer  100  is depicted which includes system unit  102 , video display terminal  104 , keyboard  106 , storage devices  108 , which may include floppy drives and other types of permanent and removable storage media, and mouse  110 . Additional input devices may be included with personal computer  100 , such as, for example, a joystick, touchpad, touch screen, trackball, microphone, and the like. Computer  100  can be implemented using any suitable computer, such as an IBM RS/6000 computer or IntelliStation computer, which are products of International Business Machines Corporation, located in Armonk, N.Y. Although the depicted representation shows a computer, other embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in other types of data processing systems, such as a network computer. Computer  100  also preferably includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that may be implemented by means of systems software residing in computer readable media in operation within computer  100 .  
         [0016]    With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system is shown in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system  200  is an example of a computer, such as computer  100  in FIG. 1, in which code or instructions implementing the processes of the present invention may be located. Data processing system  200  employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor  202  and main memory  204  are connected to PCI local bus  206  through PCI bridge  208 . PCI bridge  208  also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor  202 . Additional connections to PCI local bus  206  may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter  210 , small computer system interface SCSI host bus adapter  212 , and expansion bus interface  214  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter  216 , graphics adapter  218 , and audio/video adapter  219  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface  214  provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter  220 , modem  222 , and additional memory  224 . SCSI host bus adapter  212  provides a connection for hard disk drive  226 , tape drive  228 , and CD-ROM drive  230 . Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.  
         [0017]    An operating system runs on processor  202  and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system  200  in FIG. 2. The operating system may be a commercially available operating system such as Windows 2000, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provides calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system  200 . “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented programming system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive  226 , and may be loaded into main memory  204  for execution by processor  202 .  
         [0018]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in FIG. 2 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash ROM (or equivalent nonvolatile memory) or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG. 2. Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.  
         [0019]    For example, data processing system  200 , if optionally configured as a network computer, may not include SCSI host bus adapter  212 , hard disk drive  226 , tape drive  228 , and CD-ROM  230 . In that case, the computer, to be properly called a client computer, includes some type of network communication interface, such as LAN adapter  210 , modem  222 , or the like. As another example, data processing system  200  may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interface, whether or not data processing system  200  comprises some type of network communication interface. As a further example, data processing system  200  may be a personal digital assistant (PDA), which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM to provide nonvolatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data.  
         [0020]    The depicted example in FIG. 2 and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system  200  also may be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system  200  also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance.  
         [0021]    The processes of the present invention are performed by processor  202  using computer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory such as, for example, main memory  204 , memory  224 , or in one or more peripheral devices  226 - 230 .  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a process to provide source information associated with an object cut or copied from one document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Application  300  displays a document such as document  310 . Application  320  displays another document such document  330 . The user may select an object, such as a portion of text, to cut or copy from document  310 , such as cut text  340 . Cut text  340  is pasted into document  330  creating pasted text  350 .  
         [0023]    Window manager  360  extracts source information, such as authorship information  370  and copyright information  375  associated with cut text  340  from application  300  when an object, in this example cut text  340 , is cut from document  310 .  
         [0024]    Window manager  360  retrieves authorship information  380  and copyright information  385  from application  320 . If an application, such as application  320 , does not maintain source information, the application is setup so that the user can enter the source information using a GUI interface discussed in more detail in FIG. 4.  
         [0025]    Window manager  360  sends authorship information  380  and copyright information  385  to application  320  when cut text  340  is pasted into document  330 . Application  320  may be an application such as, for example, Lotus Word Pro, Netscape Composer, Microsoft Word, the vi editor for UNIX, or other word processor, editor, or browser. If application  320 , is an application such as Lotus Word Pro, application  320  would be setup to accept authorship information  380  and copyright information  385  so that footnote  390  is automatically generated when pasted text  350  is pasted into document  330 .  
         [0026]    An application such as the vi editor would not understand the source information; therefore, if application  320  is the vi editor, window manager  360  could paste the source information after pasted text  350  so that the user could use the information as needed. Additionally, if the document is a plain text file, the source information could be stored as an extended attribute. An extended attribute is user-defined information that is associated with the file. When the file is copied, the extended attribute is copied also. One common form of extended attribute is an ACL.  
         [0027]    If application  320  is an application, such as Netscape Composer, application  320  could either setup footnotes, such as footnote  390 , or hide source information in hidden fields inside of the HTML document. Each type of application may be setup to uniquely process the source information associated with the object cut or copied from a document and pasted into another document.  
         [0028]    Objects may include items such as for example portions of text, images, or audio clips. The example illustrated in FIG. 3 uses text, but the present invention is not limited to text and may be applied to other objects such as images or audio clips.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the process to generate source information, such as for example, authorship and copyright information, associated with an object cut or copied from one document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]    Application  400  displays a document such as document  410 . Mouse  420  may be, for example, an input device such as mouse  110  in FIG. 1. Mouse  420  is right clicked by depressing button  422  to generate menu  430 , which contains menu options  432 - 438 . Menu  430  contains menu option “Enter Authorship Information”  432 . When menu option “Enter Authorship Information”  432  is selected, popup window  440  is displayed. Popup window  440  allows the user to enter authorship information, such as for example author  442 , title  444 , date  446 , and time  448 , for an object, which may be for example a portion of text. Menu  430  also contains menu option “Enter Copyright Information”  434 . When menu option “Enter Copyright Information”  434  is selected, popup window  450  is displayed. Popup window  450  allows the user to enter copyright information, such as for example text  452  and date  454 , for an object, which may be for example a portion of text.  
         [0031]    The depicted examples are not meant to imply limitations, for example, the functionality of menu options  432  and  434  may be combined so that authorship and copyright information is entered in one popup window rather than two separate popup windows. Further, the popup windows may prompt for other or additional information to define the source information.  
         [0032]    Application  460  displays a document such as document  470 . Menu  430  contains menu option Paste Authorship Information  436 . When menu option Paste Authorship Information  436  is selected, popup window  480  is displayed. Popup window  480  prompts for the information, such as the filename of the document to paste authorship information from, needed to retrieve the desired authorship information. Once the authorship information is retrieved, this information is pasted into document  470  as pasted authorship information  485 . Similarly, menu  430  contains menu option “Paste Copyright Information”  438 . When menu option “Paste Copyright Information”  438  is selected, popup window  490  is displayed. Popup window  490  prompts for the information, such as the filename of the document to paste copyright information from, needed to retrieve the desired copyright information. Once the copyright information is retrieved, it is pasted into document  470  as pasted copyright information  495 . Again, the depicted examples are not meant to imply limitations, for example, the functionality of menu options  436  and  438  may be combined so that authorship and copyright information may be pasted in one step rather than two separate steps. Also, additional source information may be included in the menu options, such as, for example, citation information, an audio message from the author, author contact information, and ISBN number.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the process for a window manager to extract authorship and copyright information for an object that is cut or copied from a document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0034]    An object is cut or copied from a document into a save buffer (step  510 ). A determination is made as to whether the application, displaying the document containing the cut or copied object, supports authorship information (step  520 ). If the application does not support authorship information, the process moves to step  540 . If the application supports authorship information, the authorship information associated with the cut or copied object is retrieved and stored into a buffer (step  530 ). The process continues to the next step, in which a determination is made as to whether the application, displaying the document containing the cut or copied object, supports copyright information (step  540 ). If the application does not support copyright information, the process terminates. If the application supports copyright information, the copyright information associated with the cut or copied object is retrieved and stored into a buffer (step  550 ). The process terminates thereafter.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the process for maintaining authorship and copyright information for an object that is cut or copied from a document and pasted into another document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0036]    An object, which has been cut or copied from a document, is pasted into another document (step  610 ). A determination is made as to whether authorship information is associated with the object (step  620 ). If authorship information is absent, the process continues to step  660 . If authorship information is present, a determination is made as to whether the application displaying the pasted object supports authorship information (step  630 ).  
         [0037]    If the application supports authorship information, the authorship information is supplied to the application for processing (step  640 ). The processing of the authorship information will vary depending on the setup of the application as discussed in FIG. 3. If the application does not support authorship information, the authorship information is pasted into the document after the pasted object, which is displayed by the application (step  650 ).  
         [0038]    Next, a determination is made as to whether copyright information is associated with the object (step  660 ). If copyright information is absent, the process terminates thereafter. If copyright information is present, a determination is made as to whether the application displaying the pasted object supports copyright information (step  670 ). If the application supports copyright information, the copyright information is supplied to the application for processing (step  680 ). The processing of the copyright information will vary depending on the setup of the application as discussed in FIG. 3. If the application does not support copyright information, the copyright information is pasted into the document after the pasted object, which is displayed by the application (step  690 ). The process terminates thereafter.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the process to generate source information for an object that is cut or copied from a document in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0040]    The process begins with a document being opened (step  710 ). A selection of a menu option to enter source information is received (step  720 ). A popup window is displayed prompting for source information (step  730 ). Source information is received from input into the fields displayed by the popup window (step  740 ). The source information associated with a document or an object within a document is stored (step  750 ) with the process termination thereafter.  
         [0041]    Thus, the present invention provides an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for maintaining buffer history from portions of text cut from a first document and pasted into a second document. The present invention saves time and confusion in the creation of authorship and copyright information for portions of text cut from one document and pasted into another since the information is automatically supplied to the application containing the document with the pasted text.  
         [0042]    It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular data processing system.  
         [0043]    The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.