METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL WITH SELECTIVE DOCUMENT COMPARISON

摘要

This invention discloses a novel system and method for displaying electronic documents on remote devices and enabling collaborative editing where the system upon a request by a user to access a document, automatically determines the latest version of a document that the person had accessed and also whether a newer version had been created. The invention also merges parallel changes that have not been viewed by the user into the comparison result. The invention also includes running a comparison on the two versions and presenting the result to the user.

主权项

1. A method for providing a user operating a remote computer access to a document embodied in at least two versions stored on a server comprising:
receiving from a user a request for access to the document; by inspecting a data structure representing the access history of the document, making a first determination of a first version of the document that is the latest version viewed by the requesting user, a second determination whether the document is embodied in a second version saved by a user other than the requesting user that is associated with either a storage time or a version indicator that is later than the first version or both; in dependence on the second determination, transmitting a query to the requesting user; receiving from the user a response to the query; and in dependence on the response, generating a comparison between the first version and the second version of the document.