| **Stockholders' deficit**                         | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    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| **Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]**          |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    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| Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block] | Stockholders' equity (deficit) Preferred and Preference Stocks NIC has authorized 30 million shares of preferred stock, none of which have been issued, with a par value of $1.00 per share.  In July 2007, the Company filed a Certificate of Designation to its Restated Certificate of Incorporation creating a series of 110,000 shares of Preferred Stock designated as Junior Participating Preferred Stock, Series A, par value $1.00 per share. The Junior Participating Preferred Stock, Series A are entitled to dividends and shall have the voting and such other rights as provided for in the Certificate of Designation. NIC has authorized 10 million shares of preference stock with a par value of $1.00 per share. The UAW holds the Series B Nonconvertible Junior Preference Stock (“Series B”) and is currently entitled to elect one member of our Board of Directors. As of October 31, 2011 and 2010, there was one share of Series B Preference stock authorized and outstanding. As of October 31, 2011 and 2010, there were 136,801 and 140,162 shares, respectively, of Series D Convertible Junior Preference Stock (“Series D”) issued and outstanding. These shares were issued with a par value of $1.00 per share, an optional redemption price, and a liquidation preference of $25 per share plus accrued dividends. The Series D stock may be converted into NIC common stock at the holder's option (subject to adjustment in certain circumstances); upon conversion each share of Series D stock is converted to 0.3125 shares of common stock. The Series D stock ranks senior to common stock as to dividends and liquidation and receives dividends at a rate of 120% of the cash dividends on common stock as declared on an as-converted basis. Common Stock On February 15, 2011, upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the stockholders voted on and approved an amendment to the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock from 110 million shares to 220 million shares, with a par value of $0.10 per share. There were 70.5 million shares and 71.8 million shares of common stock outstanding, net of common stock held in treasury, at October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Additional Paid in Capital In connection with the sale of the Convertible Notes, the Company purchased call options for $125 million and entered into separate warrant transactions whereby the Company sold warrants for $87 million to purchase shares of common stock. As the call options and warrants are indexed to our common stock, we recognized them in permanent equity in Additional paid in capital, and will not recognize subsequent changes in fair value as long as the instruments remain classified as equity. See Note 10, Debt, for further discussion. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Accumulated other comprehensive loss consists of the following as of October 31:   2011 2010 2009(in millions)      Postretirement and other postemployment benefits (2,045) (1,316) (1,788)Foreign currency translation adjustments 101 120 98Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,944) (1,196) (1,690)Dividend Restrictions Under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, dividends may only be paid out of surplus or out of net profits for the year in which the dividend is declared or the preceding year, and no dividend may be paid on common stock at any time during which the capital of outstanding preferred stock or preference stock exceeds our net assets. As set forth in the Senior Notes Indenture, the terms of our Senior Notes include various financial covenants and restrictions including, among others, certain limitations on dividends. The Loan Agreement with regard to the Tax Exempt Bonds contains substantially identical financial covenants and restrictions, including among others, certain limitations on dividends. We have not paid dividends on our common stock since 1980. Share Repurchase Programs In July 2008, our Board of Directors authorized a $36 million share repurchase program, which expired in July 2009. Under this program, we repurchased 1 million shares of our common stock at an average price of $28.89. In December 2010, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program utilizing cash proceeds received from the exercise of stock options, up to a limit of $25 million, which was completed in September 2011. Under this program, we repurchased 532,016 shares of our common stock.In September 2011, a special committee of our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may acquire, from time to time on or before March 15, 2012, up to $175 million worth of the Company's common stock in the open market or in any private transaction. This share repurchase program is in addition to the Company's share repurchase program of $25 million completed in September 2011.  In October 2011, the Company entered into a variable term accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with a third-party financial institution to purchase shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $100 million. Under the agreement, the Company paid the financial institution $100 million and received an initial delivery of 2,380,952 shares. The value of the delivered shares on the date of purchase was $80 million at $33.60 per share, and was included in Common stock held in treasury in our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of October 31, 2011. The remaining $20 million was included in Additional paid in capital in our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of October 31, 2011.In November 2011, the ASR program concluded and the Company received 161,657 of additional shares for a total of 2,542,609 shares. The final settlement was based upon the volume weighted average price of the Company's common stock (subject to a discount agreed upon with the financial institution) over an averaging period. With the conclusion of the agreement, the remaining $20 million included in Additional paid in capital was reclassified to Common stock held in treasury. The ASR was accounted for as an initial stock purchase transaction and a forward stock purchase contract. The initial delivery of shares resulted in an immediate reduction of the outstanding shares used to calculate the weighted average common shares outstanding for basic and diluted net earnings per share from the effective date of the ASR. The forward stock purchase contract is classified as an equity instrument at October 31, 2011. In October 2011, the Company entered into an open market share repurchase agreement with a third-party financial institution to purchase the remaining $75 million worth of the Company's common stock authorized by a special committee of our Board of Directors in September 2011. The related repurchase activity was commenced in November 2011, following the completion of the ASR program. |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for shareholders' equity, comprised of portions attributable to the parent entity and noncontrolling interest, if any, including other comprehensive income (as applicable).  Including, but not limited to: (1) balances of common stock, preferred stock, additional paid-in capital, other capital and retained earnings; (2) accumulated balance for each classification of other comprehensive income and total amount of comprehensive income; (3) amount and nature of changes in separate accounts, including the number of shares authorized and outstanding, number of shares issued upon exercise and conversion, and for other comprehensive income, the adjustments for reclassifications to net income; (4) rights and privileges of each class of stock authorized; (5) basis of treasury stock, if other than cost, and amounts paid and accounting treatment for treasury stock purchased significantly in excess of market; (6) dividends paid or payable per share and in the aggregate for each class of stock for each period presented; (7) dividend restrictions and accumulated preferred dividends in arrears (in aggregate and per share amount); (8) retained earnings appropriations or restrictions, such as dividend restrictions; (9) impact of change in accounting principle, initial adoption of new accounting principle and correction of an error in previously issued financial statements; (10) shares held in trust for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP); (11) deferred compensation related to issuance of capital stock; (12) note received for issuance of stock; (13) unamortized discount on shares; (14) description, terms, and number of warrants or rights outstanding; (15) shares under subscription and subscription receivables, effective date of new retained earnings after quasi-reorganization and deficit eliminated by quasi-reorganization and, for a period of at least ten years after the effective date, the point in time from which the new retained dates; and (16) retroactive effective of subsequent change in capital structure.
+ References
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