Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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-FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a document assembly customization
system.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Conventional document editing systems are meeting with
indifferent success, in part because they are not easily changed to
accommodate the unique character of the user's needs. Attorneys,
for example, frequently need to customize the text of the system
template, or the question blanks that must be answered to complete
the text or to complete decisional clauses such as conditional or
repeat clauses. The questions may, for example, involve queries as
to the names and addresses of parties or identification of
property. The conditional clauses are those that are used or not
used depending upon the answers to certain questions. Repeat
clauses are those that can be
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repeated two or more times, also depending upon answers to
question blanks. The text may be added to or deleted;
questions and decisional clauses may be moved or deleted. In
order to effect this customization, an "author pac~age" must
be purchased at added expense along with the editing system
and, moreover, the customizing requires programming skills,
for the customization must be done at the source level. Most
users of document editing systems do not have those skills
and even if they do, do not typically wish to become involved
in complex computer programming operations in order to
customize their document templates.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION: I
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide
an improved, simpler and faster customization system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such
a system which enables a user to modify the document template
without reprogramming the system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such
a system which enables document template modification easily
by end users.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such
a system which enables template modification involving
addition, shifting or deletion of the text as well as moving
or deleting the question blanks and decisional commands.
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The invention results from the realization that a
simple, easy-to-ùse document assembly customization system
for modifying a source instrument can be achieved by using a
word processor to move and delete decisional command clauses
and automatically constructing a decision index which records
the type and location of the decisional command clauses in
the instrument.
This invention features a document assembly and
customization system for modifying a source instrument
including text and decisional commands. It includes means
for indicating each decisionai command in the instrument and
means for moving and deleting decisional commands. There are
means for generating a new template from the modified source
instrument and means for generating a decision index
identifying each decisional command and its location in the
text of the modified source instrument.
In a preferred embodiment there may be further included
means for adding and deleting words in the text. The source
instrument may include question blanks to be answered and
there may be further included means for indicating each
question blank in the instrument and means for moving and
deleting the question blanks. The means for indicating in
each decisional command and clause may include first syntax
symbol means accompanying each decisional command, and the
means for indicating each question blank may include second
syntax symbol means accomparying each question blank. The
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means for moving and deleting both the decisional commands
and clauses in the question blanks may include a word
processor. The first syntax symbol means may include a first
component identifying a decisional command and a second
component for selectively identifying the beginning and the
end of the decisional command and clause, and identifying the
command as one of a repeat clause or a conditional clause.
The means for generating a decision index may include means
for storing a representation of the second component
identifying the beginning and the end of the decisional
command and clause and whether it is a repeat or a
conditional clause. The means for generating a decision
index may further include means for recording in the text the
offset position of the decisional command clause. The means
for recording the offset position may define both the
beginning and the end in the text of the decisional command
clause represented by the decisional command.
DISCI,OSURE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Other objects, features and advantages will occur to
those skilled in the art fro~ the following description of a
preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system that can
be used to accomplish this invention including a word
processor stored on its hard disk;
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Fig. 2 is an illustration of an initial screen from
which the user can choose a modified source instrument which
has been customized using the word processor and create from
the modified source instrument a new template and decision
index;
Fig. 3 is~a replica of the original source instrument
to be modified using the word processor;
Fig. 4 is the modified source instrument after the
customization using the word processor;
Fig. 5 is the template that results from the
customization which the ultimate user can use in the document
editing system;
Fig. 6 is a decision index which is automatically
created by the system to record the positions of the
de~isional clauses in the text;
Fig. 7 is a functional flow chart of the software which
creates the template and decision index for the modified
source instrument according to this invention; and
Fig. 8 is a more detailed functional flow chart of the
routine that creates the decision index in Fig. 7.
Normally a document editor or document assembly system
is employed by a user such as an attorney to create a
document by answering questions which appear on the screen of
the host computer. These answers are later merged with the
template to create the document. The template usually
contains a number of questiorls that have to be answered, such
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as the names and addresses of parties, addresses of real estate and
the like. There are also decisional comm~n~R that have to be
responded to by the user attorney which will indicate whether or
not certain clauses are to be used, known as conditiona~ comm~n~R,
and whether or not a certain clause should be repeated, known as a
repeat command. These systems function well in limited use;
however, occasionally the end user, such as the attorney finds it
necessary to add, delete or move text within the template or to
move or delete the decisional comm~nAR. At this point the task
becomes a little more cumbersome, for now the user attorney must
perform more like a software programmer than an attorney
constructing a document. This can be a serious shortcoming when
the attorney has neither the time nor the expertise to perform the
necessary programming tasks to modify the source instrument in
order to obtain the template that he desires. This invention
relates to a document assembly customization system which allows
for a much easier and quicker modification of a source instrument,
even by persons unskilled in the programming art. Such a document
assembly customization system according to this invention can be
used with a document assembly system such as disclosed in Canadian
patent application serial number 2,056,865 filed December 3, 1991,
entitled "Interactive Computerized Document Assembly System", by
the instant inventor.
The document assembly customization system according to
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_ this invention for modifying a source instrument including
text and decisional commands and their associated decisional
clauses includes some means for indicating each decisional
command and its associated decisional clause in the
instrument. This typically includes a first syntax symbol
means. The first syntax symbol means may include a first
component such as angle brackets which surround and identify
the decisional command and a second component which
selectively identifies the beginning and the end of the
decisional command and its associated clause, and also
identifies the command as one of a repeat clause or a
conditional clause. For example, inside of the angle
brackets at the beginning of the decisional clause may be the
word "condition" or "repeat", which indicates both the start
of the decisional command clause and the fact that it is
either a conditional command clause or a repeat command
clause, respectively. This second component also includes a
pair of angle brackets positioned at the end of the
decisional command clause, which contains another phrase such
as "end" or "end condition" to signify the end of the
conditional command clause or ~'finish~' or ~'finish repeat"
to indicate the end of the repeat command end clause. The
user attorney uses the word processor to move and delete
decisional commands and their associated decisional clauses.
The word processor may also be used to move, delete and add
material to the te~:t itself. The word processor may be for
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_ example Word Perfect or Ami Pro. There are means for
generating a new template from the modified source instrument
and for generating a decision index which identifies each
decisional command and its associated declsional clause, and
its location in the text of the modified source instrument.
The means for generating the new template and the decision
index are accomplished in the software disclosed herein. The
source instrument may also include, in addition to the
decisional commands and clauses, question blanks which are to
be answered by the user attorney, and there is further
included means for indicating each question blank in the
instrument and means for moving and deleting the question
blanks. The question blanks may be indicated by a second
syntax symbol means such as square brackets, and the moving
and deleting of question blanks may be accomplished by the
same word processor. The software means for generating a
decision index stores a representation of the second
component, which identifies the beginning and the end of the
decisional command and clause, and whether it is a repeat or
conditional clause. This can be simply the letter C for
conditional clause, the letter E for the end of a conditional
clause, an R for a repeat clause, and an F for the finish of
the repeat clause. The decision index also may record the
offset position in the text o the decisional command clause,
which is a number representing the count from the beginning
of the document to the beginning of the clause and from the
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beginning of the document to the end of the clause.
The document assembly customization system according to
this invention can be implemented on a computer system 10,
Fig. 1, which includes a CPU 12 with a memory 14. There is a
conventional hard disk 16 which includes a word processor
such as Word Perfect '~8. The keyboard 20 can be used to
control CPU 12 and there is a display 22 and a printer 24.
Computer system 10 may be implemented by a conventional PC
type computer such as an IBM personal computer.
After the user attorney has modified the source
instrument in some way using the word processor, he then
calls the instrument up to create the template and the
decision index. This is done for example by referring to the
screen 30 in Fig. 2, which presents a list 32 of possible
documents that the attorney may wish to call. In this
example the attorney calls Special Power of Attorney 34. The
original source instrument 40 is shown in Fig. 3 as it
appears before modification or customization by the user
attorney using the wcrd processor. There it can be seen that
the Special Power of Attorney 3~ includes a number of
question blanks 42, 44, 46 indicated by square brackets 48 at
the beginning and end of each question blank.
In between the question blanks is ordinary text 50.
Such question blanks surrounded in brackets appear throughout
the instrument. Also appearing in source instrument 40 are
decisional commands and clauses. There is a repeat
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decisional clause and command 60 which includes the repeat command
62 indicated by angle brackets 64 and containing the first
component, that is, the word repeat, 66 which indicates that this
is the beginning of a repeat comm~nA. Following repeat comm~nA 62
is repeat clause 68 which includes a comment part 70 contained
within braces 72, and the actual repeat provision 74, at the end of
which appears the rem~;nAer of the second part of the component 76
which includes angle brackets 64 containing the phrase "finish
repeat" indicating that this is the end of the repeat clause.
Following this in original source instrument 40 is the second
decisional command 80, which is a conditional command that includes
the condition command 82 and the conditional clause 84.
Conditional command 82 again includes angle brackets 64 surrounding
the word "condition", which indicates the start of a conditional
clause. The num~bers A3-a following the word "condition" and the
number K3 following repeat 66 identify the questions that invoke
the decision, as explained more fully it the C~n~A;an patent
application serial number 2,056,865 referred to previously.
Following condition command 82, condition clause 84 includes a
decisional comment 86 contained in braces 72, followed by the
decisional provision 88 itself. At the end of clause 84 the syntax
symbol appears again with the angle brackets 64 surrounding the
phrase "end condition~ 89 which indicates the end of a conditional
declslon comm~nA end claùse. If the
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user attorney is unhappy with the structure of source
instrument 40 he may modify this using the word processor 18,
for example, to switch the position of the conditional
command clause 80 and the repeat command clause 60, so
that the instrument now appears as the modified source
instrument 90, Fig. 4, where the conditional command and
clause 80 occurs fir~t and the repeat command and clause 60
appears second in the body of instrument 90.
In accordance with this invention then, the template
100, Fig. 5, is formed and can he recalled repeatedly by the
user attorney whenever he wishes to use that Special
Power of Attorney that he has customized for his use in
office. Now the template 100 may be used in the normal way
by simply answering the questions and responding to the
decisional requirements as with any other document editor or
assembly system. While automatically preparing this
template, the system also automatically prepares the decision
index 110 of Fig. 6. Since there are only two conditional
clauses and they run in serial, that is, one starts and
finishes before the next one starts and finishes, the
decision index is a very simple tabulation. For example, the
beginning of the conditional command and clause is identified
simply by the letter C, 112. The question upon which the
condition relies is indicated at 114 by the coding A3-a, and
the beginning of the conditional command and clause occurs at
the fifty-third position in the text of the template as
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- indicated by the number 53 at location 116. The number 2,
item 118, indicates that this conditional command and
clause ends at the second position in the index. This can be
seen clearly by the occurrence of the letter E which
indicates the end of the conditional clause. The place where
the end of the cond'itional clause occurs is location 287 as
indicated at 122, and the conditional clause is signified as
having begun at the first position by the 1 indicated at 124.
In a similar manner, the repeat clause is indicated as
beginning by the letter R at 126, K3 at 128 indicates the
position of the question on which the conditional response
relies. The number 564 at 130 indicates the beginning of the
repeat command and clause, and the numeral 4 at 132 indicates
that the repeat command and clause will end at the fourth
position in the index. Finally, the letter F at position 134
indicates the end of the repeat clause, the number 972 at
136 indicates the location in the text where the repeat
command or clause ends, and the numeral 3 at 138 indicates
that the repeat clause began at the third position in the
decision index. Of course, much more complex decision
indices would occur when there are a number of conditional
and repeat commands used and they are interleaved, cascaded
or nested one in the other, as explained more fully in the
parent application.
Each line of the decision index is called a decision
item, or index item. The position numbers 118, 124, 132, 138
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_ of the items in the index are called simply the index
numbers. The software which creates a decision index and the
template customization system 150, Fig. 7, begins at start
152. The user in step 154 calls the word processor 18 to
modify the source instrument 40. In step 156 the user then
selects the modified source instrument 90 from screen 30,
Fig. 2. The modified source instrument is stored in memory,
step 158, and the first character is retrieved from the
modified source instrument in step 160. This operation is
disclosed in more detail in the parent application
specifically with respect to Fig. 17 therein. The current
character location in the template is set to 0 in step 162
and then inquiry is made as to whether the system is now at a
decisional command in the source instrument in step 164. If
the response is negative, then in step 166 the modified
source instrument character is stored in the template 100,
Fig. 5. One is added to the current character location in
the template in step 168 and the inquiry is made in step 170
as to whether the system is at the end of the modified source
instrument. If it is not, then in step 172 the next modified
source instrument character ls retrieved and the system
returns to step 164. If the system is at the end of a
modified source instrument, then the template is stored in
step 174. The decision index is stored in step 176, and the
routine is exited in step 178. If the answer is in the
affirmative, at the time the inquiry is made in step 164 as
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~- to whether there is a decisional command in the source
instrument, then the cecision index 110, Fig. 6, is created
in step 180. After this, the system moves past the decision
command in the source instrument, step 182, and returns to
the inquiry in step 170.
The operation of creating the decision index item in
step 180 is the subject of a more detailed routine 190, Fig.
8, where the operation of creating a decision index 192
begins with the inquiry as to whether the system is at the
beginning of the decision index 194. If it is, the current
index number is set to 1, step 196. If it is not, then in
step 198 the current index number is simply incremented. The
current index numbers are the numbers 118, 124, 132 and 138
in Fig. 6. Following either occurrence, the current
character location is stored in the index in step 200. The
current character location is the point which the system has
reached in the template text. These are the numbers 53, 287,
564 and 972 indicated at 116, 122, 130 and 136. Following
this the inquiry is made in step 202 as to whether this is a
condition command. If it is, then in step 204 the C is
stored in the current index. This is the C 112 in Fig. 6.
Following this the system returns, step 206, to the main
system routine 150 shown in Fig. 7. If this is not a
condition command, then inquiry is made in step 208 as to
whether this is an end condition command. If it is, then in
step 210 an E 120, Fig. 6, is stored, and a condition index
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number is also stored in the current index. In this case the
current index number is the number 1 shown at 124 in Fig. 6.
Following this in step 212 the end condition index number 2,
shown at 118 in Fig. 6, is stored. If in step 208 it was
determined that the system was not at an end condition
command, then inquiry is made at step 214 as to whether this
is a repeat command. If it is, then in step 216 the system
stores an R 126, Fig. 6, and the repeat blank represented
by K3 indicated at 128 in Fig. 6, and then the system
returns in step 206 to the main system routine 150, Fig. 7.
If this was not a repeat command, then in step 218 inquiry is
made as to whether this is a finish repeat command. If it
is, then in step 220 the letter F 134, Fig. 6, is stored
along with the repeat blank K~, and the index number 3
indicated at 138, Fig. 6. Following this, in step 222 the
finish repeat index number 4, shown at 132 in Fig. 6, is
stored.
Although specific features of the invention are shown in
some drawings and not others, this is for convenience only as
each feature may be combined with any or all of the other
features in accordance with the invention.
Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art
and are within the following claims:
What is claimed is:
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