SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A COMMON FRAMEWORK FOR REVIEWING COMPARISONS OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS
Systems and methods for providing a common framework for a document comparison review process are disclosed. Using the common framework, the comparison review process allows a reviewer to perform either an electronic-based review or a paper-based review. The different review technologies can be used interchangeably in the common framework.
1 . A system for providing a framework for reviewing a comparison document with a review technology, wherein the comparison document is generated by a comparison application, the system comprising:
an export module operable to render a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format for the review technology, store locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document in a data store, and transfer the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document to a reviewer;
the import module operable to receive a reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations, associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data store is on a server computer.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data store is embedded in the rendered comparison document.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data store is embedded in the comparison document.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein annotations include typed text, handwritten text, drawings, voice notes, and other media-type annotations.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the export module and the import module are part of the comparison application.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the export module and the import module present a common interface to the comparison application.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the export module and the import module are executed by processors on different computers.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein objects include characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the import module is further operable to present annotation information in a standard format to the comparison application.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the review technology is digital paper.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to overlay markings needed to identify locations of objects, changes, and annotations on a printout of the comparison document;
transferring the locations of objects and the changes in the rendered comparison document comprises sending an output of the printing process to a printer and conveying the printout to the reviewer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from a reviewer to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the review technology is a computing device that displays electronic paper files.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to create an electronic paper file of the appropriate file format representing the comparison document and recording locations of each change and other objects to a data store;
transferring the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document comprises transferring the electronic paper file to a computing device;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from a reviewer to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the import module is further operable to present the annotations and the locations of the annotations in a standard format to the comparison application for display to a user.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the export module and the import module present a common interface to the comparison application so that the comparison application need not be aware of the review technology.
17 . A system, comprising:
at least one memory component storing a software program;
a processor coupled to the at least one memory component, wherein the processor is configured to execute the software program, the software program including:
an export module operable to render a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format for a review technology, store locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document, and transfer the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document to a reviewer; and
a review module operable to receive and store electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations within the rendered comparison document and transmit the annotations and the locations of the annotations for processing.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the review module transmits the annotations and the locations of the annotations for processing by an import module, and the software program further includes the import module operable to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects in the comparison document.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the comparison document is generated by a comparison application.
20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the review technology is digital paper, and the review module comprises a printed copy of the comparison document and a smart pen.
21 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the review technology is a computing device that displays electronic paper files, and the review module comprises the computing device having software for viewing an electronic paper file and allowing a user to make annotations on the electronic paper file.
22 . A system for providing a framework for reviewing a comparison document with a review technology, wherein the comparison document is generated by a comparison application, the system comprising:
an export module operable to render a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format for the review technology, store locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document in a data store, and transfer the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document to a reviewer;
a review module operable to receive and store electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations, and transfer the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations to an import module;
the import module operable to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the review technology is digital paper.
24 . The system of claim 23 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to overlay markings needed to identify locations of objects, changes, and annotations on a printout of the comparison document;
transferring the locations of objects and the changes in the rendered comparison document comprises sending an output of the printing process to a printer and conveying the printout to the reviewer;
receiving and storing electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations comprises identifying locations of annotations made by the reviewer with a smart pen on the printout and storing the annotations and locations of the annotations in a memory;
transmitting the annotations and the locations of the annotations comprises performing data transfer of the annotations and locations of the annotations stored in the memory to a computer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from the memory to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document.
25 . The system of claim 24 , wherein the review module comprises a printed copy of the comparison document and a smart pen, and further wherein the memory is part of the smart pen.
26 . The system of claim 24 , wherein transferring the annotations and the location of the annotations includes one method selected from a group consisting of: using e-mail, network file transfer, uploading to a web site, and using removable storage devices.
27 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the review technology is a computing device that displays electronic paper files.
28 . The system of claim 27 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to create an electronic paper file of the appropriate file format representing the comparison document and recording locations of each change and other objects to a data store;
transferring the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document comprises transferring the electronic paper file to a computing device;
receiving and storing electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations comprises identifying locations of annotations made by the reviewer on a computing device with electronic paper viewing software and storing the annotations and locations of the annotations in a memory;
transmitting the annotations and the locations of the annotations comprises performing data transfer of the annotations and locations of the annotations stored in the memory to a computer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from the memory to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
29 . The system of claim 27 , wherein the review module comprises a computing device having software for viewing the electronic paper file and allowing a user to make annotations on the electronic paper file.
30 . A system for providing a framework for reviewing a comparison document with two review technologies, wherein the comparison document is generated by a comparison application, the system comprising:
a first export module operable to render a content of the comparison document into a first rendered comparison document for a first review technology, store locations of objects and changes in the first format in a data store, and transfer the locations of objects and the changes in the first format to a first reviewer;
a first review module operable to receive and store electronically the first reviewer's annotations and locations of the first reviewer's annotations within the first rendered comparison document, and transfer the first reviewer's annotations and locations of the first reviewer's annotations to a first import module;
the first import module operable to associate the first reviewer's annotations and the locations of the first reviewer's annotations with the objects in the comparison document;
a second export module operable to render the content of the comparison document into a second rendered comparison document for a second review technology, store locations of objects and changes in the second format in the data store, and transfer the locations of objects and the changes in the second format to a second reviewer;
a second review module operable to receive and store electronically the second reviewer's annotations and locations of the second reviewer's annotations within the second rendered comparison document, and transfer the second reviewer's annotations and locations of the second reviewer's annotations to a second import module;
the second import module operable to associate the second reviewer's annotations and the locations of the second reviewer's annotations with the objects in the comparison document.
31 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the first review technology is digital paper and the second review technology is a computing device that displays electronic paper files.
32 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the first export module and first import module are part of a first server, and the second export module and the second import module are part of a second server.
33 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the first export module, first import module, the second export module, and the second import module are performed on one computer.
34 . A method of providing a framework for reviewing a comparison document using a review technology, comprising:
accessing a comparison document;
rendering a content of the comparison document into a format appropriate for the review technology;
recording a location and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document to a data store;
sending the rendered comparison document to a reviewer;
receiving and storing the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
35 . The method of claim 34 , wherein the annotations include typed text, handwritten text, drawings, voice notes, and other media-type annotations.
36 . The method of claim 34 , further comprising loading the rendered comparison document onto an electronic device for the reviewer to annotate the comparison document, wherein the review technology is a computing device that displays electronic documents.
37 . The method of claim 34 , wherein objects include characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs.
38 . The method of claim 34 , further comprising presenting annotation information in a standard format to a comparison application for display.
39 . A method of providing a framework for reviewing a comparison document using a review technology, comprising:
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format for the review technology;
storing locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document in a data store;
transferring the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document to a reviewer;
receiving and storing electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations;
transmitting the annotations and the locations of the annotations to a computer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.
40 . The system of claim 39 , wherein the review technology is digital paper.
41 . The system of claim 40 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to overlay markings needed to identify locations of objects, changes, and annotations on a printout of the comparison document;
transferring the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document comprises sending an output of the printing process to a printer and conveying the printout to the reviewer;
receiving and storing electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations comprises identifying locations of annotations made by the reviewer with a smart pen on the printout and storing the annotations and locations of the annotations in a memory;
transmitting the annotations and the locations of the annotations comprises performing data transfer of the annotations and locations of the annotations stored in the memory to the computer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from the memory to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and the changes in the comparison document.
42 . The system of claim 39 , wherein the review technology is a computing device that displays electronic paper files.
43 . The system of claim 42 , wherein
rendering a content of the comparison document into an appropriate format comprises performing a printing process to create an electronic paper file of the appropriate file format representing the comparison document and recording locations of each change and other objects to a data store;
transferring the locations and extent of changes and objects in the rendered comparison document comprises transferring the electronic paper file to a computing device;
receiving and storing electronically the reviewer's annotations and locations of the annotations comprises identifying locations of annotations made by the reviewer on a computing device with electronic paper viewing software and storing the annotations and locations of the annotations in a memory;
transmitting the annotations and the locations of the annotations comprises performing data transfer of the annotations and locations of the annotations stored in the memory to a computer;
associating the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document comprises using software to interpret the annotations and the locations of the annotations obtained from the memory to associate the annotations and the locations of the annotations with the objects and changes in the comparison document.