Method of associating document processing states with an action market

This invention relates to marking a document with action markers and specifying an action to be performed by a responding end user. Notification criteria, notify ID and a status, which are associated with the action to be performed, are also specified. Upon the completion of the action specified, the responding end user updates the status and a message is automatically generated and transmitted to an end user associated with the notify ID if the updated status meets the notification criteria.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
This application is related in subject matter to the following applications 
filed concurrently herewith and assigned to a common assignee: 
Application Ser. No. 07/289,991 filed by M. G. MacPhail entitled "Method of 
Associating Another Document With An Action Marker". 
Application Ser. No. 07/290,014 filed by M. G. MacPhail entitled "Method of 
Marking a Document for Action". 
TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to a method of associating status with an action 
marker and more particularly, to a method of specifying notification 
criteria to be associated with a document upon the completion of the 
review thereof by a responding end user. 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
The use of personal computers has increased both in the home and in 
business. In recent times, the growth of personal computers in business 
has been explosive. A great majority of workers now utilize terminals to 
perform their respective jobs. Moreover, the exchange of information 
between employees within an office or within offices remotely connected 
has become commonplace through the use of networks. Faster, larger and 
more reliable networking and distribution systems are being developed. The 
use of networks has reduced the cost associated with expensive I/O devices 
such as large DASD devices by making these devices available to all of the 
users throughout a network. Although networks have coupled users together, 
new applications are still needed which focus on making tasks performed by 
a group of users more productive. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a method of marking a document for review and 
specifying status and notification criteria whereby an automatic response 
is generated upon the updating of the status to match the notification 
criteria. A requesting EU marks a section of a document to be reviewed by 
a responding EU. The action to be performed by the responding EU, an 
identification of the responding EU and a due date, which are specified by 
the requesting EU, becomes a part of the document and are associated with 
a begin action marker and an end action marker. The requesting EU also 
specifies notification criteria, notify ID and status for the action to be 
performed. Multiple sections can be marked for, review by the same 
responding EU or other responding EUs. After the document has been marked, 
the document is filed and the responding EU or EUs may be given access to 
the document to complete the review thereof. Alternately, the document can 
be transmitted to the responding EU or EUs for review. When the responding 
EU or EUs have complete their respective review of the document, the 
status associated with the action is updated. If the updated status is the 
same as the notification criteria, a message is automatically transmitted 
to the end user associated with the notify ID.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 shows a document management system 10 which controls the creation, 
retrieval, editing and distribution of documents within an information 
processing sysrem (not shown). Documents which are created by an end user 
(EU) are stored in a library 12. The library 12 performs various services 
for the system 10. These services are used for storing and retrieving 
documents electronically. Whenever a document is filed in the library 12, 
a set of descriptors called a document profile is filed with it. The 
document profile contains descriptors such as a name under which the 
document is filed, author/owner of the document, the subject of the 
document and the date the document was filed in the library. Document 
profiles that facilitate the searching for documents are filed in the 
library 12. 
The library 12 also provides the following services: deleting documents 
from the library; updating work in progress documents in the library; 
specifying a security level to be associated with the document which is 
being filed; allowing authorized end users other than the author/owner to 
retrieve a document from the library; and performing searches for and 
retrieving documents filed in the library for other end users. 
The EU may retrieve documents, which were previously stored in the library 
12, for editing and/or distribution by interacting with a text editor 14. 
The text editor 14 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention 
supports a uniform data stream for documents created, stored and edited 
thereby. The uniform datastream, which is supported by text editor 14 and 
which is well known in the art, is document content architecture. Text 
editors supporting document content architecture either support a final 
form text format or revisable form text format. The text editor 14, in the 
preferred embodiment, supports the revisable form text format. Since the 
details of text editors, which support the revisable form text format are 
well known in the art, they will not explained further herein. 
After retrieving a document from the library 12 or creating a new document, 
the EU may mark at least one selected portion thereof and specify an 
action to be subsequently performed by another end user. The EU 
accmplishes this by invoking an action marker function which is available 
through the editor 14. Additionally, the EU may invoke a function to 
notify a responding end user (EUR) to perform the specified action. The 
notify function either may be performed within the text editor 14 or 
through the use of a notify processor 16 which is external to the text 
editor. The EU interacts with the notify processor 16 to select an 
existing message or to generate a new message to be transmitted to the 
EUR. Moreover, the EU specifies notification criteria so that an 
appropriate user is notified when the specified action is completed and 
indicates whether a copy of the document, as marked, is to be transmitted 
to the EUR. When the action marker is first generated, an "open" action 
status is associated therewith. When the EUR completes the review of the 
document, as marked, a completion date is entered into the action marker 
data area associated with the action marker along with a change of status 
to "completed". If the notification criteria is so specified, the 
appropriate user will be notified with a message upon completion of the 
specified action. Alternately, instead of transmitting the document, as 
marked, and any related documents to the EUR, the EU may choose to give 
access to the EUR to a copy of the document filed in the library 12. If 
the document, as marked, is to be transmitted to the EUR, the notify 
processor 16 interacts with library server 18 to retrieve the documents 
from the library 12. Thereafter, the notify processor 16 transmits the 
selected or generated message and the retrieved documents to the EUR. It 
should be understood that the EUR may be within the same system or 
remotely coupled to the EU by a network (not shown). 
Referring to FIG. 2, each document filed in the library 12 includes the 
Document Model Object 61, the Action Marker Object 62, the Original Owner 
Object 63, the User Profile Object 64, the Reverse Search Index Object 65, 
the Search Index Object 66, the Document Content Object 67, the Profile 
Content Object 68, the Version Control Object 69, the Document Relation 
Object 70, and the Access Control Model Object 71 shown therein. All of 
the objects shown in FIG. 2 are created in response to processing a FILE 
command. 
The model object 61 contains information concerning ownership and 
attributes of a specific document. This object controls the access to the 
document during its life in the library 12. 
The original owner object 63 contains or points to information used by an 
owner of the document to control access to the document as filed. 
The document content object 67 provides for the storage of the document 
content and for saving information relating to the actual size of the 
filed document. 
The document relation object 70 describes the logical relationship between 
the document and other documents. If the document is a folder document, 
each of the documents contained therein has a pointer or library assigned 
document name (LADN) entry in this object. If this document is in one or 
more folder documents, then each folder document has a pointer or LADN 
entry in this object. Enter and remove history may be maintained for the 
document as a folder document or as a document in other folders. 
The access control model object 71 is created when the document owner 
authorizes other users to access the document. 
The action marker model object 62 provides for constructs for the beginning 
and the end of portions marked in a document. This object also provides 
for data area where an end user may specify, the responding end user, due 
date, action to be performed, notification, status request and 
specification of any related documents. 
Structures for all of the above-identifed objects are a part of a DISOSS 
office system marketed by International Business Machines Corporation and 
will not be described herein. 
Referring again to FIG. 1, the editor 14 includes a plurality of functions 
associated with action markers. The action marker functions may be 
displayed to the requesting EU on a display unit (not shown) included in 
document management system 10. Further, the action marker functions may be 
displayed as items on an action bar on the display unit or as items on a 
pop-up menu. The action marker functions may be selected by using a 
pointing device, a keyboard or a touch sensitive screen included as a part 
of the document management system 10. Alternately, each of the action 
marker functions may be associated with a selected one of a plurality of 
function keys on the keyboard. A selected one of the action marker 
functions facilitates the invocation of an action marker application 
program. 
The preferred embodiment of the present invention enables a requesting end 
user (EU) to mark-up a selected document and specify an action to be taken 
by the responding end user (EUR). The requesting EU, interacting with the 
editor 14 (FIG. 1), activates an action marker function 88 among a 
plurality of document management system functions 80 through 91 as shown 
in FIG. 3 to mark a section of the selected document (functions 80-87 and 
89-91 being unrelated to this invention). The document management system 
10 then displays in FIGS. 4a and 4b an action marker data 92 and 
additional action marker including View Actions 93, View List 94, Begin 
Marker 95, End Marker 96, and End 97 respectively, to the requesting EU. 
(The other document management system functions 110-116 are unrelated to 
this invention.) The requesting EU, subsequent to having positioned a 
cursor associated with the display,unit at a beginning of a section to be 
marked, then selects a begin marker function 95. Thereafter, the cursor is 
then moved to an end of the section being marked and an end marker 
function 96 is selected. The editor 14 displays a begin action marker icon 
or symbol, such as "&gt;&gt;" at the beginning of the section and a end action 
marker icon or symbol, such as "&lt;&lt;" at the end of the section. The 
beginning and end action marker icons may be any of a plurality of fancy 
icons or symbols which are recognizable by all users of the document 
management system 10. Alternately, a section of a document may be marked 
by underlining the section to be reviewed, causing the section to appear 
in bold type, changing the fonts and/or color and/or highlighting the 
section including the use of reverse video. Additionally, the requesting 
EU enters the action to be performed, the responding end user to perform 
the action, and the date by which the action must be completed in the 
action marker data area shown in FIG. 4a if other than a default due date. 
The requesting EU then files the document as marked rnto the library 12 
and/or transmits the document, as marked, to the EUR. In either case, the 
EU sends a message to the EUR setting forth some action to be taken on the 
document. If the EU filed the document in the library 12, the EUR must be 
given access to the document stored therein. 
The requesting EU may desire to review an action associated with a selected 
action marker in the document. The requesting EU activates a show action 
function 100, which is among a plurality of other document management 
system functions 80-84, 86-91, shown in FIG. 5. (The other document 
management system functions 80-84, 86-87, and 89-91 are unrelated to this 
invention.) The document management system 10 then displays an action 
marker data area 99 shown in FIG. 6b and an additional action marker 
function shown as the update marker function 101 among a plurality of 
other functions which include the end function 97 and other document 
management functions 111-120. The requesting EU may either change or 
update the data displayed in the action marker data area or terminate the 
review of the selected action marker. 
Set out below is an illustration of a mark-up application program invocable 
by a user of the document management system 10 to mark a document and 
specify actions to be performed by an identified responsible end user 
within an information processing system. The program is in program design 
language from which source code and machine code are derivable. 
______________________________________ 
BEGIN MARK-UP PROC 
INPUT 
POSITION CURSOR AT BEGINNING OF A 
SELECTED SECTION OF THE DOCUMENT TO 
BE MARKED. 
SPECIFY ACTION MARKER DATA WHICH 
INCLUDES: 
ACTION TO BE PERFORMED; 
ID OF USER RESPONSIBLE TO PERFORM 
ACTION; 
DUE DATE, IF OTHER THAN DEFAULT; 
POSITION CURSOR AT END OF THE SELECTED 
SECTION OF THE DOCUMENT BEING MARKED. 
PROCESS 
ASSIGN A UNIQUE ACTION ID FOR THIS 
ACTION MARKER. 
CREATE A BEGIN ACTION MARKER CON- 
STRUCT FOR THIS ACTION. 
DISPLAY BEGIN ACTION MARKER SYMBOL AT 
POSITION OF CURSOR. 
SET DEFAULT DUE DATE. 
GET ACTION MARKER DATA FROM USER. 
CREATE END ACTION MARKER CONSTRUCT 
FOR THIS ACTION. 
DISPLAY END ACTION MARKER SYMBOL AT 
POSITION OF CURSOR. 
CREATE AN ENTRY IN THE ACTION MARKER 
DATA 
AREA ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACTION 
MARKER. 
SET THE ACTION ID, ACTION, USER RESPON- 
SIBLE, 
DUE DATE, BEGIN MARKER LOCATION, AND 
END 
MARKER LOCATION IN THE ACTION MAR- 
KER DATA AREA. 
END MARK-UP PROC 
______________________________________ 
Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a flow diagram for marking a document. 
Subsequent to the invocation of the mark-up application program, each 
action to be performed in association with the selected document has a 
unique action identifier assigned thereto in step 30. This identifier is 
also used to couple the begin action marker to the end action marker. In 
step 32, a begin action marker construct is generated in the data 
associated with the selected document and corresponds to the present 
position of the cursor within the document. In step 34, the action marker 
display data area, to be associated with the action marker, is 
initialized. The action marker display data area may be a pop-up window, a 
menu or any other input mechanism. The document management system 10 then 
sets the defaults for the due date, whether notify is requested, 
notification status and an notification ID for the requesting EU in the 
action marker display data area in step 36. The requesting EU may, if 
desired, override the default due date. In step 38, the document 
management system 10 then displays the action marker data area and any 
additional action marker functions to the requesting EU for the entry of 
data in the display data area and the activation of the additional action 
marker functions. Lists for person responsible (responding EU), status, 
and notify ID can be provided to the requesting EU to facilitate the entry 
of the data into, the data area. The entered data is then made available 
to the application program. In step 40, an end marker construct is 
generated in the selected document in response to the activation of the 
end action marker function. The end marker construct is built in the text 
data associated with the document and corresponds to the current position 
of the cursor. Moreover, the end marker construct will include the unique 
identifier associated with the begin action marker. An entry is created 
into the action marker data area in the document model object in step 42 
and the data, which was entered by the requesting EU in step 38, is then 
entered into the action marker data area in the document model object in 
step 44. 
Set out below is an illustration of an update action application program 
invocable by a user of the document management system 10 to update the 
action marker data area associated with an action marker of the document. 
The program is in program design language from which source code and 
machine code are derivable. 
______________________________________ 
BEGIN UPDATE ACTION PROC 
INPUT 
MOVE CURSOR TO A SELECTED BEGIN OR 
END ACTION MARKER WITHIN DOCUMENT. 
PROCESS 
GET AND SAVE THE ENTRY ASSOCIATED 
WITH THIS ACTION MARKER. 
SET THE ACTION, PERSON RESPONSIBLE, DUE 
DATE, COMPLETION DATA, NOTIFICATION 
CRITERIA, NOTIFICATION ID AND CURRENT 
STATUS - FOR DISPLAY TO REQUESTER. 
DISPLAY DATA TO REQUESTER. 
UPDATE THE ENTRY AS SPECIFIED. 
IF THE STATUS IS CHANGED AND THE NEW 
STATUS 
EQUALS THE NOTIFICATION STATUS AND 
REQUESTER WANTS NOTIFICATION, THEN 
SEND A NOTIFICATION MESSAGE TO 
THE ID TO BE NOTIFIED. 
ENDIF 
END UPDATE ACTION PROC 
______________________________________ 
Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a flow diagram of the update action 
application program. As noted above, each action to be specified in the 
document, as marked, is associated with an unique identifier. The 
identifier is used to couple an action marker entry in an action marker 
table (not shown) stored in the document management system 10 and the 
begin and end action markers. Either the begin act:on marker or the end 
action marker can be used to access the entry for this action. In step 50, 
the document management system 10 determines which action marker has been 
selected by determining the current position of the cursor. The action 
marker data area associated with the selected action marker is then 
retrieved from storage and displayed to the requesting EU in step 52. In 
step 54, the requesting EU enters data to update that which is currently 
displayed in the action marker data area. Step 56 determines whether the 
notification criteria has been met. In essence, the determination is 
whether (1) the status has been changed and if the new status equals the 
notification status and (2) whether the requesting EU wanted notification. 
If the requesting EU notification and the new status equals the 
notification status, a message is generated and transmitted to the 
requesting EU in step 58. 
In summary, the requesting EU, marks a section of a document to be reviewed 
by a responding EU. The action to be performed by the responding EU, an 
identification of the responding EU and the due date, which are specified 
by the requesting EU, becomes a part of the document and are associated 
with a begin action marker and an end action marker. The requesting EU 
also specifies notification criteria, notify ID and status for the action 
to be performed. Multiple sections can be marked for review by the same 
responding EU or other responding EUs. After the document has been marked, 
the document is filed and the responding EU or EUs may be given access to 
the document to complete the review thereof. Alternately, the document can 
be transmitted to the responding EU or EUS for review. When the responding 
EU or EUs have completed their respective review of the document, the 
status associated with the action is updated. If the updated status is the 
same as the notification criteria, a message is automatically transmitted 
to the end user associated with the notify ID.