Patent ID: 7054879

Claim:
A design support system, comprising a device for managing a design file formed of a series of work procedure data, which is identified by ID and consists of at least one work procedure data portion; a device for recording a work procedure data portion, which corresponds to figure element data to be referenced, as specific information linked with a standard design file by ID for identifying the work procedure data portion when reference from the standard design file to figure element data contained in another design file is determined; a first retrieval device for retrieving a corresponding work procedure data portion within another design file with ID, which is recorded in the specific information, used as a key in order to retrieve the each corresponding work procedure data portion when reference in the standard design file is executed; and a second retrieval device for comparing a work procedure data portion of specific information or figure element data with contents of another design file when a corresponding work procedure data portion is not retrieved by the first retrieval device and retrieving a corresponding work procedure data portion on the basis of the compared result; wherein the specific data includes figure data resulting from processing of figure element data targeted for reference, and an input pattern of work procedure pattern; and the second retrieval device retrieves work procedure data targeted for reference with figure data as specific information used as a key, and if work procedure data is not retrieved, retrieves work procedure data targeted for reference with the input pattern of the work procedure data itself used as a key.