Group publishing system

The present invention is a Group Publishing System (GPS) for permitting coordinated publishing, assembly and administration of texts by an unlimited number of authors or editors, each of whom may perform word processing, document assembly and editing functions on the same or different portions of a group authored project. Each user of the system also has the capability of electronically communicating through the GPS with any other user of the system working on the same project. The word-processing functions of the GPS are standardized according to pre-defined formats, and e-mail communication links are provided for communication between all users. The system displays the assembled or partially assembled product to all users and operates in multi-media (text, video, CD-ROM, audio and photographic) formats. The output of the GPS is directly viewable, printable or downloadable in publishable format.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX REFERENCE 
This application contains a microfiche appendix which is incorporated 
herein by reference. The microfiche appendix contains 1 microfiche and a 
total of 74 frames. 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a Group Publishing System (GPS) for permitting 
coordinated or simultaneous publishing, assembly and administration of 
texts by an unlimited number of authors or editors, each of whom may 
perform word processing, document assembly and editing functions on the 
same or different portions of a group authored project. Each user of the 
system also has the capability of communicating with any other user of the 
system working on the same project. The word-processing functions of the 
GPS are standardized according to pre-defined formats, and e-mail 
communication links are provided for communication between all users. The 
system displays the assembled or partially assembled product to all users 
and operates in multi-media (text, video, CD-ROM, audio and photographic) 
formats. The output of the GPS is directly viewable, printable or 
downloadable in publishable format. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In recent years, the need for collaborative computing environments has 
received increasing attention. Especially in book publishing, it has been 
found to be very time consuming to share data, to have edited versions of 
hard-copy documents shared by mail, and to exchange electronic copies of 
documents that are frequently in incompatible digital formats or 
languages. It is increasingly necessary for editors and authors to share 
data and to consult with colleagues, who often may be from different 
occupational disciplines, and who may be located in geographically distant 
and sometimes even remote places around the world. Since, in general, 
people prefer to use the tools they employ in their daily work, an 
important part of any collaborative computing project would be to allow 
maximal use of currently existing tools with which the user community is 
already familiar. 
Efforts known in the art attempting to achieve electronic collaboration 
between multiple users include the following: 
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,195, (the '195 patent), a multi-user conferencing 
network that allows all users to share data was disclosed. Word processing 
and publishing was not mentioned. The program is set up in a hierarchical 
structure where all users use one and the same application program. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,300 (the '300 patent) details IBM's development of data 
control systems permitting a central processing unit and peripheral data 
processing units to share in the subroutines necessary for successful 
implementation of a word-processing program. The advance claimed in the 
patent (see especially column 3, lines 44-47) is the ability to more 
effectively utilize the processing power of personal computers, as opposed 
to "dumb terminals," when linked to a main computer which houses the data 
and programs for executing word-processing functions. While enhancements 
such as those contemplated by the '300 patent may be operational for 
control of data communications between central and peripheral data 
processors in commercially available hardware or software systems in which 
the present group publishing system is implemented, the '300 patent 
neither discloses nor suggests a means for systematic coordination of the 
various procedural steps required for successful management of the 
activities of individual authors and editors who contribute to a group 
publishing project, which is the basis of the present contribution. 
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,008,853 and 5,220,657 (the '853 and '657 patents), a 
real-time, WYSIWIS ("what you see is what I see") system is described for 
manipulation of so-called "structured data objects," including multi-page 
documents, wherein each page linked to other pages in a predetermined 
order, is considered a "structured data object" (see column 1, line 65 to 
column 2, line 33). Specifically excluded from the types of "structured 
data objects" that may be employed according to the '853 and '657 patents 
are hierarchical texts, such as folders, record files, books, shared books 
themselves, and reference icons (see column 18, lines 43-59 of the '853 
patent). As will be seen, the present group publishing system is not so 
limited. In addition, from column 19, lines 1-15 of the '853 patent, it 
appears that in order to author or edit any section of a shared data 
object, a copy of the section of the object must be downloaded from a file 
server to the particular user's desktop machine, modified, and then 
re-uploaded to the file server for integration into the shared data 
object. Accordingly, multiple copies of a given document, or sections 
thereof, may exist on many different computers at the same time (see 
column 28, lines 7-8 of the '853 patent). Although the referenced patent 
relates efforts to update all users as to current data, the fact remains 
that multiple copies of an existing document may exist at various 
locations at the same time. As will be seen, this is essentially the 
inverse of the present system, in which all data and modifications to a 
group-authored document are made by each user on a single existing 
document resident on a central computer, thereby avoiding the problem of 
multiple versions of a document on different computers at the same time. 
Further, it is noted that throughout, the locking of a document by a given 
user may be a user-specified function, as opposed to a system imposed 
function (see for example column 21, lines 24-56 of the '853 patent; 
however, see also column 23, lines 23-62, which seems to imply some level 
of automatic system lockup of documents). This raises the difficulty that 
when other authors or editors need to access a locked document, contact 
with the locking author may first be required (see column 27, lines 
61-68). In addition, if an author or editor fails to lock a document they 
are working on, others may access unedited versions of the same document, 
thus causing confusion, loss of time and efficiency. As will be seen, in 
the instant system, access to a document or subsection thereof 
automatically prevents others from accessing the document or section until 
the first author or editor has completed work on that document or section. 
These and other differences will be apparent from a review of the complete 
disclosure of the present invention, which follows. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,412, (the '412 patent), a windows-based system was 
disclosed wherein updating of workspace data structures on linked 
workspaces was disclosed. The output of the system is a transient display 
on various terminals. Accordingly, the system does not amount to a system 
in which a group authored product is produced, as in the present 
invention. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,553, (the '553 patent), an interactive document 
generation system is described which allows multiple users to essentially 
instantaneously and concurrently view, edit and share data on linked 
computers. Requirements of the '553 patented system include that similar 
computers must be used, and that each computer must be controlled by 
similar computer programs (see column 4, lines 3-6). Unlike the present 
invention, the '553 patented system does not involve a central computer 
that stores data produced by a first user, and which makes the stored data 
available to other users at a time independent of the first user's input. 
Further, as will be noted from a review of the instant disclosure, one of 
the key advantages of the present system is that dissimilar computers may 
be used in the system, while the central computer software controls the 
document assembly process. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,615 (the '615 patent), a system for interactive data 
processing is described wherein participation of a new member is 
controlled by a first communication, followed by acceptance by existing 
users, and thereafter, real-time co-processing of data which is 
transmitted in a ring-like path (each workstation has an upstream and a 
downstream workstation) from participant to participant. Each 
participant's machine is required to house similar software for the system 
to operate as described (see column 4, lines 6-8). Concurrent telephone 
contact between the participants appears to be critical to the operation 
of the described system (see column 4, lines 38-40). Details regarding the 
establishment and termination of the upstream and downstream links forms 
the basis of the patent. By contrast, the instant invention does not 
require independent telephone and data links, does not require real-time 
interaction between users, and does not require similar or identical 
software to reside on each user's computer. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,374, (the '374 patent), a collaborative information 
processing system and workstation is described wherein multiple users 
"referencing an identical screen image through data communications" are 
able to modify documents in real time. The "electronic conversation" that 
results appears to require separate and concurrent telephonic 
communications between data processing participants (see column 4, lines 
11-19). Each workstation involved in the system is equipped with an "X 
window system (a trade mark or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 
which is a window system of server/client model." (See column 4, line 67 
to column 5, line 13). Accordingly, the '374 patent system requires 
specific software and hardware for operation. The essence of the '374 
patent being the control of window modules required to be called up from a 
windows server, rather than with control means for collaborative document 
generation, as in the present invention. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,619 (the '619 patent), a method and apparatus for 
collaborative use by a number of users of one or more application 
program(s) is disclosed, wherein a control program is interposed between 
the application program(s) and the plurality of users, such that existing 
application programs intended for single-users may be used by the multiple 
users, optionally located remotely from each other. By virtue of the 
control program, all users are simultaneously able to view the output of 
the application program (column 2, lines 7-11). The subject control 
program operates using a communication protocol, such as X Windows, in 
which the application program is treated as a client and the remote users 
are treated as servers (column 3, lines 35-50). In this way, the 
application program is "fooled" into operating as if the control program 
is a single client, whereas each user interacts with the control program 
as if it were a multi-user capable application program (column 4, lines 
27-31; i.e. the control program is a multi-user adapter for a single-user 
application program). As one example of the way in which the control 
program of the patent may be used, a simultaneous, interactive editing 
session of a text document is proposed (column 6, lines 45-64). However, 
while potentially useful in implementing the communication protocols that 
may be needed to implement the present invention, the method of the '619 
patent neither discloses nor suggests a system, such as that provided by 
the instant disclosure, by which the efforts of a group of authors may be 
managed to produce a coherent group-authored project. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,842 (the '842 patent), an object-oriented 
collaboration system is disclosed wherein, in a real-time fashion, 
collaborating users of the system are able to concurrently work on a joint 
project. The '842 patent neither discloses nor suggests a document control 
system in which each user operates authors or edits a portion of a 
document which, in combination with similar contributions by other authors 
or editors, which are uploaded in a defined format structure to a central 
group authored project, results in the production of the group-authored 
work. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,872, (the '872 patent), a system is disclosed for 
enabling multiple remote users to operate a single computer program, the 
visual output of which is viewable by all users, each of which is able to 
annotate the display. Each computer using the proprietary system is 
required to execute the same software (see column 3, lines 3-4). By 
contrast, the present invention displays modifications to a document only 
after the modified document is refreshed for display on a network or 
server computer. In addition, the '872 patented system requires a host 
computer to execute all application programs such as word processors, 
whereas in the present invention, an author or editor may perform all 
tasks on their own workstation prior to making contact with the server and 
uploading the new data to the group authored project. Furthermore, the 
'872 patent is principally concerned with a system by which remote users 
may interactively modify a document, rather than with a management system 
for controlling the various steps required to successfully implement a 
group-authored document. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,539 (the '539 patent), addresses itself to the 
bandwidth constraints that limit effective, contemporaneous multimedia 
conferencing between individuals located at distributed locations. The 
stated goal of the '539 patented system is to achieve real-time 
collaboration between such individuals such that synchronization of 
real-time video and audio with text, graphic and other asynchronous data 
occurs over a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and the 
like. Accordingly, the intent of the patented system is the enhancement of 
real-time communications, as opposed to centralized, sequential (or 
asynchronous) assembly of a group authored project by a plurality of 
distributed users. 
As is apparent from a review of the above discussed existing systems, there 
has been an emphasis in the collaborative computing arts to achieve, as 
much as possible, a real-time synchrony between distributed users of a 
system to achieve immediate conferencing or project modification. By 
contrast, as will be appreciated from a review of the full disclosure 
herein, the present invention provides an improved system for achieving 
centralized, sequential (or asynchronous) assembly of a group authored 
project by a plurality of distributed users. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a computer-based Group Publishing System 
(GPS) for enhancing collaboration between and among individuals who may be 
separated by distance and/or time. Principal among the goals of this 
invention is to facilitate, in a desktop computing environment, through 
the Internet or other networked computing environment, a jointly authored 
and edited project. Multiple users can simultaneously work on the same 
project. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a joint 
information processing system that includes an unlimited number of 
terminals capable of facilitating the joining of a member in and 
withdrawal of a member from a joint publishing project. 
Another object of the present invention is provide a joint information 
processing system, including an unlimited number of terminals through 
which the members of a joint project can be easily contacted by other 
members. 
A further object of this invention is to provide a method to facilitate and 
expedite the process of book and text editing, wherein more than one 
author and more than one editor participate and contribute. 
A further object of this invention is to provide a method to allow 
essentially simultaneous viewing of an entire in-process document, which 
easily can be downloaded for publication in a variety of formats, 
including but not limited to CD-ROM, hard-copy book, or on-line HTML 
format. 
Further objects of this invention include the provision of: 
An Internet-based word-processing and editing GPS for documents that allows 
updating of documents for all authorized users; that allows users of the 
GPS to use any word-processing software currently on the market; and that 
is HTML-based and allows audio and video to be embedded in the text 
itself. 
A communications system that allows full use of and integration with any 
current Internet e-mail provider or other networked e-mail system and 
which has Internet e-mail or other networked e-mail communications built 
directly into the GPS. 
An HTML-based word-processing system that allows instant downloading of 
text to existing pre-press formats, such as Quark or Pagemaker, and 
uploading of pictures, graphics, video or audio data in any format. 
A word-processing system that allows imbedding, directly into the document, 
of any currently existing graphic formats, from either Internet or 
off-line sources. 
A GPS that does not require any additional technical connections, such as 
special cables or phone lines (beyond standard Internet or other network 
connections). 
A GPS that does not require the installation of additional software or 
distributed desktop computing systems, as the GPS operating on a central 
server permits input from existing word-processing, publication, and 
pictorial formats. 
A product that accepts input of varied text formats, if necessary, into the 
group authored document or project. 
A system that allows direct and updatable links to be imbedded within the 
document to international, federal, state, and private searchable 
databases. 
A GPS which allows, upon completion of the document or project, searching 
of all texts for keywords. 
Other objects and advantages of the GPS of this invention will become 
apparent from a review of the complete disclosure and the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
General features of the present invention may best be understood with 
reference to the figures, which explain in detail the collaborative 
environment provided by the Group Publishing System (GPS) of this 
invention. For purposes of logical disclosure of the GPS of this 
invention, publication projects are described as encompassing three key 
categories: (1) data storage and retrieval, (2) project management and (3) 
editing. The group authored product is referred to herein as the GPS 
project, a group authored project or document, or as a data object. 
1. Data Storage and Retrieval: 
A key requirement of the present GPS is that it provides support for 
efficiently finding, retrieving and storing the correct revisions of 
documents in process, even though multiple authors or editors may jointly 
be contributing to the assembly of the publication project, and even 
though these authors and editors may be geographically remote from each 
other. The GPS includes a means for tracking all document information, 
including but not limited to all information necessary to reproduce the 
document. In addition to document content, this information includes, but 
is not limited to, style and layout rules, spelling dictionaries and 
information obtained by following links and cross-references to other 
publications. 
The GPS of this invention also safeguards data, despite computer or network 
failures or attempts by unauthorized users to modify the document. The 
current invention provides access control to prevent unauthorized persons 
from accessing and making changes to documents and projects. 
2. Project Management: 
The GPS of this invention offers support for organizing the production of 
documents. It assists with the layout of the document, with planning tasks 
and responsibilities, and with tracking the progress of work. In addition, 
through the e-mail links embedded at appropriate locations within the GPS, 
it is possible for any user of the GPS to contact any other participants 
on a project, without having to exit the GPS to use other applications. 
Furthermore, administration of the project assembly process, assignment of 
projects to authors and editors, and overall GPS maintenance by a GPS 
administrator is facilitated by an administration control center. 
3. Editing: 
Each system user has a computer, a display or monitor, and a means for 
entering data. To utilize the GPS of this invention a user connects to the 
Internet or other networked computing environment (such as a LAN, a WAN, a 
private dial-up billboard, and the like). Using any currently acceptable 
and available browser, including but not limited to Netscape Navigator, 
Internet Explorer, or the America On-line browser, the user links to the 
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the site on the Internet, or to the 
appropriate file on the server for another form of network, at which the 
GPS project is being hosted. The GPS of this invention is compatible with 
any computer, without requiring software changes to the user's software or 
hardware, thus allowing the viewing, editing and sharing of documents 
among users with a wide variety of individual computing environments. 
A user of the GPS of this invention begins an editing session by accessing 
the gateway or top-level of the GPS URL, through which the user is 
permitted access to the document to be edited or authored. To prevent 
unauthorized access, the GPS requires each user to provide a username and 
a password to access the editing module of the system. Once an editing 
session is in progress, the system allows no other user to access the 
editing module for that document, or edited document segment, until the 
first user's editing session has ended. The GPS provides a control window, 
or interface, which allows the user to edit the document according to a 
style specified by the overall administrator of the GPS assembled project, 
to edit only a part of the document, or to select additional modules which 
facilitate uploading of other data, such as pictures, video, or audio. 
Text data is keyed directly into the system. Alternatively, data is 
entered via CUT and PASTE (clipboard) functions of word-processing 
software resident on the user's computer. Word processing functions to 
accept the cut and pasted documents and any embedded audio or video data 
are built into the GPS, making the GPS of the present invention compatible 
with any word-processing software currently available on the market, and 
with either Macintosh-compatible or IBM-compatible (Windows or Windows 95) 
computers. Therefore, the user of the GPS is able to author or edit GPS 
project documents using the software with which he or she is already 
familiar on their own desktop, and then to upload that data to the GPS 
project for assembly. Once the GPS editing or publishing session has been 
completed, viewing of the document is possible, as formatted and including 
such added data as pictures and video. Accordingly, it will be recognized 
that the GPS of this invention supports various types of data, including 
video and audio data, as well as various types and forms of graphics. Any 
non-text data is stored as part of the document itself, and is viewable 
upon incorporation into the GPS. 
Referring now to FIG. 1, a flow diagram is provided which outlines the 
operation and features of the GPS 100 of this invention. A top level 101 
of the system is accessed by linking to the uniform resource locator (URL) 
for the project to be authored or edited. As is by now well known in the 
art, the URL is an address for a unique file or set of files hosted on a 
particular server, linked to the Internet. The server is nothing more than 
a host computer which accepts access to data stored on the server, to 
which each such user is entitled to gain access. Means for controlling 
data access via username and password combinations, or like protection 
means, are well known in the art. It will be noted by those skilled in the 
art that the GPS of this invention need not be hosted on an 
Internet-linked server. Alternatively, the server may be accessible only 
to users via direct dialup, and in this event, the top level 101 of the 
GPS is merely the billboard provided for welcoming users to the private 
dialup server. In other embodiments of this invention, the GPS is 
operational over a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), or 
like networked environment, which may or may not require dialup, and which 
may operate over standard telephone lines, fiberoptic lines, ISDN 
connections or frame-relay connections. 
From the top-level 101 of the GPS, users select from among a menu of 
document project(s) (102, 103, 104) to which that author or editor has 
previously received access authorization. The prior authorization to 
access a given project or document is arranged by any of a number of means 
acceptable both the contributing author or editor, and the overall manager 
of the GPS for the document being assembled. For example, in-person, 
telephonic, facsimile, standard mail, e-mail or like communication between 
the GPS project manager and the author or editor allows for convenient 
authorization of usernames and passwords. 
Each project 102, 103, 104 displayed at the top-level of the GPS 101 is 
preferably a hyperlink to the particular project. As is well know in the 
art, hyperlinks are subroutines which permit the user to simply highlight 
or click on the desired link, and the appropriate behind-the scenes 
processing occurs such that the desired data is downloaded to the user's 
computer. Accordingly, selection and viewing of the document topics is 
achieved through the use of the mouse or like pointing and selection means 
known in the art. Upon selection of document topics to be viewed, a new 
display window 110 is displayed on the user's monitor. The user is 
provided with the options of: viewing documents by selection from a menu 
of subtopics 111, searching 112 the accessed database for keywords in 
desired documents. At this level, the user is able to enter keywords 113 
for search according to Boolean or like search algorithms known in the 
art, and the user is able to specify how many documents should be 
retrieved 114 and whether an entire document, a complete file, or an 
extract thereof 115 is to be retrieved. Upon making the appropriate 
selections, the user then executes 116 or clears 117 the specified search. 
Once the appropriate subtopic has been selected 111 or a menu of search 
results is returned from execution of an appropriate search 116, the user 
who is an editor or author of a certain document selects 120 the section, 
subtopic or book on which he or she is working. Upon selection of the 
document, the user is prompted by an updated display 130 to select whether 
he/she is an author 131 or editor 132 of an already authored document. 
Because the author or editor may be authorized to work on multiple 
sections, subtopics or books, or because new authors or editors may need 
to determine whether there are books, topics, subtopics or sections of a 
group publishing project for which an assignment of author or editor has 
yet to be made, at this level, a display 133 of all available subtopics 
may be selected in order of the e-mail address of the author or editor 
assigned to the subtopic. Alternatively, a display according to subtopic 
name 134 may be selected, with an associated e-mail links to the assigned 
author(s) or editor(s) for the subtopic. In addition, the user may choose 
to have a display generated of all topics by name for which no author or 
editor has yet been assigned 135. In addition, to provide a guide of the 
format of the GPS project data, sample topics of documents are viewable by 
selection of a "View Sample" 136 option. To assist in visualization of the 
various aspects of this invention, screen shots of specific embodiments 
are provided wherein like numbered sections of the represented display are 
as described in FIGS. 1-4. Thus, in FIG. 5, one embodiment of this level 
of the GPS is shown. Those skilled in the art will recognize that 
alternate layouts of the disclosed elements of the GPS are contemplated by 
this invention. 
The user next has the option of specifying whether they are an "author" 131 
or an "editor" 132. Selection of the "author" option, 131, initiates a GPS 
subroutine calling for the authorized author to supply their username 141 
and password 142 for author log-in 140, (see FIG. 6 for one embodiment of 
the layout for these functions). At this level, it is also possible for a 
new author to supply a username and password for acceptance of the new 
author as an expert, or by other criteria, for publishing of an unassigned 
topic. If a new author signs into the system, his or her name is added to 
a GPS database of usernames and passwords. Upon providing the required 
log-in data, a log-in selection 143 executes the log-in command, and if 
approved username and password data are supplied by the user, access to a 
menu of topics, subtopic, or chapters 151, 152, 153 for which the author 
is authorized to contribute is provided 150, along with a selection 154 to 
view or edit the selected document, (see FIG. 7 for one embodiment of the 
layout of these functions). 
By selecting and highlighting the document 151, 152, 153 and selecting 
"View/Edit Document" 154, the GPS provides an publishing/editing control 
form 160 for the specific document. This form preferably comprises the 
following components: an indication of the current topic 161; an 
executable link to the current author's e-mail address 162; the name of 
the current or main author of the document 163; the name of the editor 
164; an executable link to the assigned editor's e-mail address 165; a 
listing of the current document's subheadings or subsections for the 
author to select which document section is to be worked on 166; an option 
to "Edit a Section," 167 which, upon selection, executes the command and 
displays the selected document section to be edited; an option 168 to view 
the entire chapter in view-only mode; an option to "Spell Check" the 
selected section 169, selection of which opens the entire document for 
spell checking according to known algorithms; a selection 170 permitting 
the author to enter personal information such as their name, address, 
telephone number and similar data; 171 is a display of the date and time 
when the document was last modified; 172 displays the date on which the 
document was finally completed; 173, 174, 175, 176 are displays of the 
completion date of assigned aspects of the editing tasks associated with 
the document completion (for example, for a medically related document, 
these sections might include editorial signoffs by medical, 
pharmaceutical, grammatical and other experts, as well as signoff, for 
example, by an executive editor.; editorial titles, naturally, vary with 
the project); 177 provides a link to one or more particularly desirable 
databases or search engines (for example, for a medically related 
document, having a live link to a Medline Search engine at this point is 
preferred; see FIG. 8 for one embodiment of the layout of these GPS 
functions). 
In a similar fashion to that described for author login, an editor logs-in 
upon performing the same initial steps up to the point where a selection 
of "author" 131 or "editor" 132 has to be made. Selection of the "editor" 
option 132, initiates a GPS subroutine 180 calling for the authorized 
editor to supply their username 181 and password 182. In addition, a 
selection 183 of the type of editor (e.g. medical, pharmaceutical, 
grammatical, etc.), is entered. At this level, it is also possible for a 
new editor to supply a username and password for acceptance of the new 
editor as an expert, or by other criteria, for editing of an unassigned 
editing topic or aspect. If a new editor signs into the system, his or her 
name is added to a GPS database of editor usernames and passwords, (see 
FIG. 9 for one embodiment of the layout for these functions). Upon 
providing the required log-in data, a log-in selection 184 executes the 
log-in command, and if approved username and password data are supplied by 
the user, access is provided to a menu 190 of topics, subtopics, or 
chapters 191, 192, 193 for which work by the authors is complete and which 
await editing. A menu 194 of topics that have already been edited by this 
editor and which are approved for further editing by other types of 
editors (e.g. by the grammar editors) is also preferably provided. A 
further menu 195 may be selected for topics that have been assigned to the 
editor but are not ready to be edited. The editor selects and highlights 
the desired topic and downloads that segment of the document by selecting 
196, "View/Edit Chapter," (see FIG. 10 for one embodiment of the layout 
for these functions). 
In response to executing the "View/Edit Chapter" selection 196, the GPS 
displays the Edit Control Form 200 for the specific document. This form 
preferably comprises the following components: an indication of the 
current topic 201; an executable link to the current author's e-mail 
address 202; the name of the current or main author of the document 203; 
the name of the editor 204; an executable link to the assigned editor's 
e-mail address 205; a listing of the current document's subheadings or 
subsections for the editor to select which document section is to be 
worked on 206; an option to "Edit a Section," 207 which, upon selection, 
executes the command and displays the selected document section to be 
edited; an option 208 to view the entire chapter in view-only mode; an 
option to "Spell Check" the selected section 209, selection of which opens 
the entire document for spell checking according to known algorithms; a 
selection 210 permitting the editor to enter personal information such as 
their name, address, telephone number and similar data; 211 is a display 
of the date and time when the document was last modified; 212 displays the 
date on which the document was finally completed; 213, 214, 215, 216 are 
displays of the completion date of assigned aspects of the editing tasks 
associated with the document completion (for example, for a medically 
related document, these sections might include editorial signoffs by 
medical, pharmaceutical, grammatical and other experts, as well as 
signoff, for example, by an executive editor.; editorial titles, 
naturally, vary with the project); 217 provides a link to one or more 
particularly desirable databases or search engines (for example, for a 
medically related document, having a live link to a Medline Search engine 
at this point is preferred; see FIG. 11 for one embodiment of the layout 
for these functions). 
The entire GPS is administered by a system administrator. As with editors 
or authors, as described above, the system administrator selects a book or 
project to review. However, by virtue of the administrator having been 
given administrative authority in the initial set-up of the GPS, upon 
selection of a book or project, the administrator invokes the GPS 
Administrative Control Center 300, preferably comprising at least the 
following components: 
301 invokes a master editor for the document, permitting, for example, 
final administrative review of all edited aspects of the project; 302, 
"List e-mail address," allows the administrator to view the e-mail 
addresses of all participating authors and editors of that particular book 
or project; 303 invokes a menu of all book/project topics listed 
alphabetically with the corresponding e-mail addresses of the authors; 304 
is a menu of all unassigned topics, allowing the administrator to view all 
project topics that have not been assigned to authors or editors; 305 
maintain the web board, allows the administrator to modify any menus or 
selections available anywhere in the GPS, and posting of notes and 
messages to and from authors/editors involved in the project; 306 invokes 
a utility by which the administrator is able to delete any author's e-mail 
address or to delete any other information from GPS databases; 307 calls 
up a summary of the status of each available chapter within a project; 308 
lists the progress of any aspects of the project to which authors or 
editors have yet to be assigned; 309 allows the administrator to review a 
list of the e-mail addresses of all current authors, as well as their 
assigned chapter topics and passwords; 310 allows the administrator to 
review a list of the e-mail addresses of all current editors, as well as 
their assigned chapter topics and passwords; 311 allows the e-mail address 
and other information of a new author to be entered, including physical 
addresses, phone numbers, and similar data; 312 allows the administrator 
to assign chapters to authors as well as review topics currently assigned 
to the author and topics that have not yet been assigned; 313 invokes 
statistical algorithms for tracking usage of the system; 314, as an option 
for the administrator, provides instant e-mail to all authors who are 
currently in the database for the specific topic; 315 enables the 
administrator to edit author information by providing the author's e-mail 
address and selecting "edit author information," 316; 317 facilitates 
editor assignment by invoking a display of all topics, as well as the 
names of all the editors assigned to that topic; 318 allows the 
administrator to change or delete any topic that is currently available in 
the topic database; 319 facilitates entrance of new topics to the GPS 
topic database. 
In view of the foregoing disclosure, those skilled in the art will 
recognize that the system and method disclosed herein allows essentially 
simultaneous viewing of an entire in-process document, which easily can be 
downloaded for publication in a variety of formats, including but not 
limited to CD-ROM, hardcopy book, or on-line HTML format. Furthermore, the 
system permits assembly of HTML or text-based word-processing that allows 
instant downloading of text to existing pre-press formats, such as Quark 
or Pagemaker, and uploading of pictures, graphics, video or audio data in 
any format. In addition, it will be appreciated that the GPS of this 
invention allows, upon completion of the document or project, searching of 
all texts for keywords. 
While it is believed that the foregoing disclosure fully enables those 
skilled in the art to make and use a group publishing system as disclosed 
herein, as an appendix hereto, there is provided a microfiche in which the 
object/source code for one embodiment of the GPS is provided. It should be 
recognized that independent copyright interests exist with respect to such 
code, and although no limitation is placed on copies being made of the 
present disclosure, all rights with respect to the copyrights in the 
appended code is explicitly reserved. 
Those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the instant 
disclosure, modifications and variations on the specifics provided herein 
may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined 
in the claims which follow.