U.S. patent application number 12/952743 was filed with the patent office on 2012-05-24 for template-based content creation.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Randy E. Oyarzabal, Jeffery A. Turner.
Application Number | 20120131445 12/952743 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45001773 |
Filed Date | 2012-05-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120131445 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Oyarzabal; Randy E. ; et
al. |
May 24, 2012 |
TEMPLATE-BASED CONTENT CREATION
Abstract
Methods, systems and program products for generating content
from a user-created template. Embodiments of the invention may
provide an interface configured to allow users to create templates,
where the templates further include a user-specified formatting.
Embodiments may receive a template created by a user using the
provided interface, and responsive to receiving the template, may
retrieve data associated with the variable fields in the received
template. Embodiments may generate new content based on the
received template and the retrieved data, where the generated new
content is formatted according to the user-specified formatting in
the received template.
Inventors: |
Oyarzabal; Randy E.;
(Rochester, MN) ; Turner; Jeffery A.; (Lexington,
KY) |
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
45001773 |
Appl. No.: |
12/952743 |
Filed: |
November 23, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/235 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/103 20200101;
G06F 40/186 20200101; G06F 40/18 20200101; G06F 40/166
20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/235 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for creating content, comprising:
providing a interface allowing a user to interactively create a
template for use in creating content, wherein the template contains
a plurality of fields including at least one variable field
displayed with formatting attributes given to content of the
variable field when displayed in the interface; receiving a first
template created using the provided interface; for each variable
field of the received first template, retrieving one or more data
values associated with the variable field; and generating, by
operation of one or more computer processors, new content based on
the received first template and the retrieved one or more data
values; wherein generating new content comprises: for each variable
field in the received first template, comprising: inserting the
associated one or more data values into the generated new content,
at a position corresponding to a placement position of the variable
field in the received first template; and formatting the associated
one or more data values, based on the formatting attributes
specified for the variable field.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fields further
contains at least one static field, and wherein generating new
content based on the received first template and the retrieved one
or more data values, further comprises: inserting each of the at
least one static fields in the generated new content, at a position
corresponding to a placement position of the static field in the
received first template.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the received first template
further comprises a table template specifying one or more
formatting options, and wherein the one or more formatting options
were visually depicted on the interface when the received first
template was created.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating new content based on
the received first template and the retrieved one or more data
values, further comprises: generating a table based on the table
template, wherein at least one field in the generated table is
formatted according to the one or more formatting options specified
in the table template.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the formatting attributes
comprise at least one of (i) a number of columns, (ii) a number of
rows, (iii) a column width, (iv) a row height, and (v) table
dimensions.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the formatting attributes
comprise at least one of (i) a font, (ii) a font size, (iii) a font
style, (iv) a font color, and (v) a font alignment.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating new content occurs
responsive to the occurrence of an event, wherein the generated new
content comprises a notification, and further comprising:
transmitting the notification to signify the occurrence of the
event.
8. A system, comprising: a computer processor; and a memory
containing a program that, when executed by the computer processor,
performs an operation for creating content, comprising: providing a
interface allowing a user to interactively create a template for
use in creating content, wherein the template contains a plurality
of fields including at least one variable field displayed with
formatting attributes given to content of the variable field when
displayed in the interface; receiving a first template created
using the provided interface; for each variable field of the
received first template, retrieving one or more data values
associated with the variable field; and generating new content
based on the received first template and the retrieved one or more
data values; wherein generating new content comprises: for each
variable field in the received first template, comprising:
inserting the associated one or more data values into the generated
new content, at a position corresponding to a placement position of
the variable field in the received first template; and formatting
the associated one or more data values, based on the formatting
attributes specified for the variable field.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of fields further
contains at least one static field, and wherein generating new
content based on the received first template and the retrieved one
or more data values, further comprises: inserting each of the at
least one static fields in the generated new content, at a position
corresponding to a placement position of the static field in the
received first template.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the received first template
further comprises a table template specifying one or more
formatting options, and wherein the one or more formatting options
were visually depicted on the interface when the received first
template was created.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein generating new content based on
the received first template and the retrieved one or more data
values, further comprises: generating a table based on the table
template, wherein at least one field in the generated table is
formatted according to the one or more formatting options specified
in the table template.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the formatting attributes
comprise at least one of (i) a number of columns, (ii) a number of
rows, (iii) a column width, (iv) a row height, and (v) table
dimensions.
13. The system of claim 8, wherein the formatting attributes
comprise at least one of (i) a font, (ii) a font size, (iii) a font
style, (iv) a font color, and (v) a font alignment.
14. The system of claim 8, wherein generating new content occurs
responsive to the occurrence of an event, wherein the generated new
content comprises a notification, and further comprising:
transmitting the notification to signify the occurrence of the
event.
15. A computer program product for creating content, comprising: a
computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program
code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code
comprising: computer readable program code to provide a interface
allowing a user to interactively create a template for use in
creating content, wherein the template contains a plurality of
fields including at least one variable field displayed with
formatting attributes given to content of the variable field when
displayed in the interface; computer readable program code to
receive a first template created using the provided interface;
computer readable program code to, for each variable field of the
received first template, retrieve one or more data values
associated with the variable field; and computer readable program
code to generate new content based on the received first template
and the retrieved one or more data values; wherein the computer
readable program code to generate new content comprises: for each
variable field in the received first template, computer readable
program code to: insert the associated one or more data values into
the generated new content, at a position corresponding to a
placement position of the variable field in the received first
template; and format the associated one or more data values, based
on the formatting attributes specified for the variable field.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the plurality
of fields further contains at least one static field, and wherein
the computer readable program code to generate new content based on
the received first template and the retrieved one or more data
values, further comprises: computer readable program code to insert
each of the at least one static fields in the generated new
content, at a position corresponding to a placement position of the
static field in the received first template.
17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the received
first template further comprises a table template specifying one or
more formatting options, and wherein the one or more formatting
options were visually depicted on the interface when the received
first template was created.
18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer
readable program code to generate new content based on the received
first template and the retrieved one or more data values, further
comprises: computer readable program code to generate a table based
on the table template, wherein at least one field in the generated
table is formatted according to the one or more formatting options
specified in the table template.
19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the
formatting attributes comprise at least one of (i) a number of
columns, (ii) a number of rows, (iii) a column width, (iv) a row
height, and (v) table dimensions.
20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
formatting attributes comprise at least one of (i) a font, (ii) a
font size, (iii) a font style, (iv) a font color, and (v) a font
alignment.
21. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer
readable program code to generate new content occurs responsive to
the occurrence of an event, wherein the generated new content
comprises a notification, and further comprising: computer readable
program code to transmit the notification to signify the occurrence
of the event.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Embodiments of the invention generally relate to document
generation, and more specifically, to techniques for creating
content using templates.
[0002] The creation of a service agreement is typically a complex
project involving multiple stakeholders, each with different goals
and concerns. Once the stakeholders reach a common agreement
regarding various solution components of the project, such an
agreement may be memorialized in a document of understanding.
However, because each of the stakeholders may wish to modify the
document of understanding with proposed amendments before the
document is finalized, multiple inconsistent variations of the
document may be created. Furthermore, reconciling these different
variations of the document is often a time consuming and error
prone process. Additionally, many service agreements are for a
fixed period of time (e.g., one year), and once a service agreement
expires, a new or updated document of understanding may be created
to renew the service agreement. Without such updates, the document
of understanding may quickly become obsolete and contain various
inaccuracies and outdated information.
[0003] Additionally, many documents of understanding include
similar formatting styles. For example two exemplary documents may
use the same font, the same section header style (e.g., centered,
capitalized text), the same margins, and so on. Additionally, these
exemplary documents may contain tables containing similar data, and
formatted in a similar way. For example, both documents may contain
tables containing relevant pricing data for their associated
document of understanding, and these tables may be formatted (e.g.,
text alignment, column width, etc.) in the same way as well.
However, since the creation of such documents is currently a manual
process, these formatting styles are typically recreated for each
separate document of understanding. Such a manual process often
consumes a significant amount of time and resources, and is often
an error-prone process as well.
SUMMARY
[0004] Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and
program product for creating content. The method, system and
program product include providing a interface allowing a user to
interactively create a template for use in creating content,
wherein the template contains a plurality of fields including at
least one variable field displayed with formatting attributes given
to content of the variable field when displayed in the interface.
Additionally, the method, system and program product include
receiving a first template created using the provided interface,
and for each variable field of the received first template,
retrieving one or more data values associated with the variable
field. The method, system and program product also include
generating new content based on the received first template and the
retrieved one or more data values. Furthermore, generating new
content includes, for each variable field in the received first
template, inserting the associated one or more data values into the
generated new content, at a position corresponding to a placement
position of the variable field in the received first template; and
formatting the associated one or more data values, based on the
formatting attributes specified for the variable field.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] So that the manner in which the above recited aspects are
attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular
description of embodiments of the invention, briefly summarized
above, may be had by reference to the appended drawings.
[0006] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings
illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are
therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the
invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the creation of a document,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of a computer system
configured to run a document creation component, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the
components of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of creating a
master document, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of approving
a document, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0012] FIGS. 6 is a screenshot of an exemplary notify template,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIGS. 7 is a screenshot of notification generated using the
notify template of FIG. 6, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a screenshot of an exemplary table template,
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 9 is a screenshot of an exemplary table generated using
the table template of FIG. 8, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 10 is a screenshot of an exemplary table template,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 11 is a screenshot of an exemplary notification
including a table generated using the table template of FIG. 10,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 12 is a screenshot of an exemplary data import page of
a document creation component, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for creating
content through the use of templates. Embodiments may provide a
graphical interface configured to allow a user to create a template
for use in creating content. Such a template may include one or
more variable fields, which specify a particular data type.
Generally, when content is created using the template, each
variable field may be replaced with one or more data values
relating to the created content and of the particular data type
specified by the variable field. The graphical interface may
display the one or more variable fields as having a particular
user-specified formatting. For example, if a user wishes the one or
more data values in the subsequently-created content to be
italicized, the user may apply such a formatting to the variable
field associated with those data values in the template, and such
formatting may be reflected by the graphical interface.
[0020] Upon receiving a template created by a user using the
graphical interface, embodiments may retrieve data values
associated with each of the variable fields in the received
template. Embodiments may then generate new content based on the
received template and the retrieved data values, by inserting the
data values in the generated new content at a position
corresponding to a placement position of the variable field in the
received first template. Additionally, embodiments may format the
data values in the generated new content, based on the formatting
specified by the user for the associated variable field.
[0021] In the following, reference is made to embodiments of the
invention. However, it should be understood that the invention is
not limited to specific described embodiments. Instead, any
combination of the following features and elements, whether related
to different embodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and
practice the invention. Furthermore, although embodiments of the
invention may achieve advantages over other possible solutions
and/or over the prior art, whether or not a particular advantage is
achieved by a given embodiment is not limiting of the invention.
Thus, the following aspects, features, embodiments and advantages
are merely illustrative and are not considered elements or
limitations of the appended claims except where explicitly recited
in a claim(s). Likewise, reference to "the invention" shall not be
construed as a generalization of any inventive subject matter
disclosed herein and shall not be considered to be an element or
limitation of the appended claims except where explicitly recited
in a claim(s).
[0022] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of
the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or
computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present
invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident
software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and
hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a
"circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the
present invention may take the form of a computer program product
embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer
readable program code embodied thereon.
[0023] Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s)
may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer
readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A
computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not
limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any
suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a
non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would
include the following: an electrical connection having one or more
wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access
memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable
read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a
portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage
device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of
the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable
storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or
store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction
execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0024] A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated
data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein,
for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a
propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including,
but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable
combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any
computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage
medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program
for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,
apparatus, or device.
[0025] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be
transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited
to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any
suitable combination of the foregoing.
[0026] Computer program code for carrying out operations for
aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination
of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented
programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and
conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C"
programming language or similar programming languages. The program
code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the
user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the
user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the
remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider).
[0027] Aspects of the present invention are described below with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program
instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or
blocks.
[0028] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other
programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored
in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture
including instructions which implement the function/act specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0029] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a
computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other
devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on
the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to
produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions
which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus
provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in
the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0030] Embodiments of the invention may be provided to end users
through a cloud computing infrastructure. Cloud computing generally
refers to the provision of scalable computing resources as a
service over a network. More formally, cloud computing may be
defined as a computing capability that provides an abstraction
between the computing resource and its underlying technical
architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks), enabling
convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned
and released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction. Thus, cloud computing allows a user to access virtual
computing resources (e.g., storage, data, applications, and even
complete virtualized computing systems) in "the cloud," without
regard for the underlying physical systems (or locations of those
systems) used to provide the computing resources.
[0031] Typically, cloud computing resources are provided to a user
on a pay-per-use basis, where users are charged only for the
computing resources actually used (e.g. an amount of storage space
consumed by a user or a number of virtualized systems instantiated
by the user). A user can access any of the resources that reside in
the cloud at any time, and from anywhere across the Internet. In
context of the present invention, a user may access applications
(e.g., a document creation component) or related data available in
the cloud. For example, the document creation component could
execute on a computing system in the cloud and allow users to
create templates for use in generating content using a graphical
interface. In such a case, a document creation component could
receive a user-created template, generate new content based on the
template, and store the generated content at a storage location in
the cloud. Doing so allows users to access the generated new
content from any computing system attached to a network connected
to the cloud (e.g., the Internet).
[0032] Referring now to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a flow diagram
illustrating a document creation method, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. For purposes of this example,
assume that the generated document is a document of understanding
related to an exemplary service agreement. As shown, the method 100
begins with the document administrators 130 interacting with the
builder 125 to construct an initial document. Generally, the
builder 125 may receive selections of components 120 from a user
(e.g., the document administrators 130), and may populate each of
these selections with data. In one embodiment of the invention, the
builder 125 may display a list of available component documents 120
to the user and allow the user to select which component(s) to
incorporate in the initial document. Generally, the components 120
define one or more attributes of the document of understanding. For
example, the components 120 may include a billing component, which
contains billing information related to a particular service
offering. If the user selects the billing component, the builder
125 may further prompt the user for the information used to
populate the billing component (e.g., an initial cost of the
service agreement, a monthly cost of the service agreement,
etc.).
[0033] Once the selected component 120 is populated, the builder
125 may insert the populated component into the initial document.
The document administrators 130 may continue to interact with the
builder 125 to add components 120 to the initial document until the
initial document is complete. The document administrators 130 may
additionally use the builder 125 to arrange the components in the
initial document. For example, an initial document may contain two
components: a billing component, and a billing component header. In
such an example, a document administrator 130 may wish to arrange
the components such that the billing component header precedes the
billing component itself.
[0034] As discussed above, the builder 125 may populate certain
information in the initial document based on user input.
Additionally, the document generator 135 may also interact with one
or more other applications 140 (e.g., a database) in order to
populate portions of the final document. For example, the document
generator 135 may retrieve updated pricing information from a
pricing database 140, and may use the updated pricing information
to populate fields in the billing component. In one embodiment of
the present invention, the document administrators 130 may use the
builder 125 to specify a particular source 140 to retrieve
information from. For example, the document administrators 130 may
specify that the billing component in the initial document should
be populated using a particular database table related to pricing
information.
[0035] Once all the components 120 have been added to the initial
document and once any empty fields in the initial document are
populated, the initial document is sent to the document generator
135 to create a final document. As referred to herein, the final
document generally refers to the document of understanding
generated according to embodiments of the invention. That is,
although a first draft of the document of understanding has been
created, such a draft may not be marked as active (i.e., will not
take effect) until both parties to the document have agreed to its
terms. The final document 145 may then be sent to the customers 150
for approval. In one embodiment, rather than sending a separate
instance of the document of understanding to the customers 150 for
approval, embodiments may send a reference to a single, centralized
copy of the document.
[0036] Upon receiving the final document 145 (or a reference to the
final document), if the customers 150 wish to modify the final
document 145, the customers 150 may reject the final document 145
and return the document to the document administrators 130 for
revisions. The document administrators 130 may use the builder 125
to revise the components in the initial document, based on the
revisions specified by the customer 150. A revised document may
then be generated using the document generator 135, and the revised
document may be submitted to the customers 150 for approval. Upon
approval of the final document 145 (or the revised document), the
final document 145 is marked as active and takes effect as the
document of understanding for the exemplary service agreement.
[0037] Advantageously, by doing this, embodiments of the invention
may more efficiently create a document of understanding for a
particular project by using existing components 120 and data. For
example, an existing solution for adding a billing section to a new
document of understanding is to manually create the billing section
in the document, research updated pricing data, and manually
populate the billing section with the updated pricing data. In
contrast, embodiments may more efficiently create the document by
adding a billing component from the plurality of components 120 to
the initial document, and then automatically populating the billing
component with pricing data retrieved from a database 140. By doing
this, embodiments of the invention may more efficiently create the
document of understanding. Additionally, because embodiments create
a single, centralized document of understanding, any revisions made
to the document will be incorporated into the centralized copy of
the document, thus preventing the creation of multiple inconsistent
versions of the document.
[0038] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of a computer system
configured to run a document creation component, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the document
creation system 200 includes, without limitation, a central
processing unit (CPU) 205, a network interface 215, an interconnect
220, a memory 225, and storage 230. The document creation system
200 may also include an I/O devices interface 210 used to connect
I/O devices 212 to the compute node 130. I/O devices 212 may
represent a variety of input and output devices, including
keyboards, mice, visual displays, printers and so on. The document
creation system 200 may connect to the network 215 (e.g., the
Internet) using the network interface 215.
[0039] The CPU 205 retrieves and executes programming instructions
stored in the memory 225. Similarly, the CPU 205 stores and
retrieves application data residing in the memory 225. The
interconnect 220 is used to transmit programming instructions and
application data between the CPU 205, I/O devices interface 210,
storage 230, network interface 215, and memory 225. CPU 205 is
included to be representative of a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a
single CPU having multiple processing cores, and the like.
Furthermore, CPU 205 may be any processor capable of performing the
functions described herein. Although memory 225 is shown as a
single entity, memory 225 may include one or more memory devices
having blocks of memory associated with physical addresses, such as
random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory or
other types of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Storage 230,
such as a hard disk drive, solid state device (SSD), or flash
memory storage drive, may store non-volatile data. Furthermore, as
will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, any
computer system capable of performing the functions described
herein may be used.
[0040] In the pictured embodiment, memory 225 contains a document
creation component 245, which in turn contains component documents
120, a builder 125, and a document generator 135. The component
documents 120 contain build components 235 and utility components
240. The build components 235 are generally components pertaining
to aspects of a service agreement, such as, without limitation,
billing, hardware, and services. The utility components 240, on the
other hand, are components pertaining to presentation and content
of a created document, such as templates and service offerings.
Additionally, storage 230 contains an initial document 250 and a
final document 145. Furthermore, although various elements are
shown as residing in either memory 225 or storage 230, such a
depiction is without limitation and is merely for illustrative
purposes.
[0041] Generally, users (e.g., document administrators) may use the
document creation component 245 to create an initial document 250.
More specifically, the builder 125 may present the user with a
plurality of component documents 120, which may include both build
components 235 and utility components 240, and allow users to
select particular component documents for inclusion in the initial
document 250. Upon receiving a selection of a particular component
document 120, the builder 125 may add the selected component
document 120 to the initial document 250. Additionally, the builder
125 may prompt the user regarding a placement in the initial
document 250 to insert a selected component document 120. For
example, if the user has already inserted a header for a billing
section into the initial document 250, the user may then specify
that a billing section itself should be inserted immediately
following the header.
[0042] Additionally, the document creation component 245 may prompt
the user for data with which to populate the selected component
documents 120. For instance, an exemplary build component 235 may
be a services component, which contains a list of services to be
provided as part of a service agreement. In such an example, the
document creation component 245 may prompt the user for which
particular services should be included in the initial document 250.
For example, a particular service agreement may include basic
support services for an initial period of time, and may then
include premium support services thereafter. In such a situation,
the user may add two different service components to the initial
document 250: one service component for the basic support service
and a second service component for the premium support service.
Additionally, the document creation component 245 may prompt the
user for metadata about the provided services. For example, the
metadata may include, without limitation, information about the
service components such as when each service begins, a duration of
each service, etc.
[0043] Once the user finishes adding component documents 120 to the
initial document 250, the document generator 135 may generate a
final document of understanding 145, based on the initial document
250. The document generator 135 may generate the final document 145
using a utility component 240 (e.g., such as a template). For
example, the final document 145 may contain a billing section that
includes a table detailing pricing information related to the
service agreement. In such an example, the document generator 135
may generate the table with particular formatting specified by a
particular utility component 240, such as a table template.
[0044] Additionally, the document generator 135 may query other
applications (e.g., a database accessible over the communications
network 205) and retrieve data for use in populating portions of
the final document 145. For example, an exemplary initial document
250 may contain a billing section for a particular service
agreement. In such an example, the document generator 135 may
retrieve updated pricing information pertaining to the service
agreement from an external database, and may populate a
corresponding section of the final document 145 based on the
retrieved pricing information. By doing this, embodiments of the
invention may save the user from having to expend time and effort
in manually retrieving the updated pricing information when
creating a document of understanding. Furthermore, by retrieving
updated information at the time the final document 145 is created,
embodiments help to ensure the accuracy of information in the
created document of understanding.
[0045] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the
components of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the present
invention. As shown, the components 120 contain build components
235 and utility components 240. The build components 235 contain
billing components 320, server components 325, services components
330, and headers 335. The billing components 320 generally relate
to any billing structure involved in a service agreement including,
but not limited to, fixed costs, recurring costs (e.g., monthly
costs), and per-use costs. The server components 325 may relate to
any server hardware provided as part of the service agreement. Such
server hardware may include, without limitation, standalone
computer systems, clustered computer systems, virtual computer
systems, and cloud computer systems. The services components 330
generally relate to any services to be provided as part of the
service agreement. For example, a service component 330 may specify
a type of customer support (e.g., basic support, premium support,
etc.) provided as part of the service agreement. As a second
example, an exemplary service component 330 may specify computing
services, such as web hosting, database access, shell access, etc.,
to be provided as part of the service agreement. The headers 335
generally include section headers for use in the created document
of understanding.
[0046] As discussed above, the utility components 240 generally
contain components used in creating the document of understanding.
The utility components 240 contain content offerings 340, service
offerings 345, and templates 350. Content offerings 340 generally
include content that may be inserted into the document of
understanding. For example, content offerings 340 may include,
without limitation, formatted text such as assumptions of the
service agreement, the terms agreed to, legal form language (e.g.,
a disclaimer), graphics (e.g., a company logo), and links (e.g., a
hyperlink to a company's webpage). In one embodiment, content
offerings 340 further contains multimedia content, such as audio
content, video content, and animated content. Of course, these
examples are for illustrative purposes only, and are without
limitation. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will
quickly understand that content offerings 340 may include
combinations of these and other content types as well. For example,
the content offerings 340 may include an interactive animation
containing formatted text that, when accessed by a user, links to a
particular webpage.
[0047] Additionally, the service offerings 345 may include
potential services that may be offered as part of the service
agreement. As an example, a particular business may potentially
offer both web hosting and database services, which may be
reflected in the corresponding service offerings 345 for the
particular business. In constructing an initial document 250, the
builder 125 may reference these potential service offerings 345 and
present them to a user for selection (e.g., using a user
interface). If the user then selects the web hosting service, the
builder 125 may insert a corresponding service component 330 into
the initial document, based on the user's selection.
[0048] The content creation component 245 may also use templates in
constructing the final document 145. In the depicted example, the
templates 350 contain notify templates 355 and table templates 360.
The notify templates 355 generally relate to the presentation of
any notifications associated with the document creation component
245. For instance, once a final document 145 is created, the
document creation component 245 may submit the final document 145
to a customer for approval. As discussed above, in one embodiment,
the document creation component 245 sends a reference to a single,
centralized copy of the final document 145 to the customer for
approval, rather than a separate instance of the final document
145. Upon approval of the document 145 by the customer, the
document creation component 245 may generate a notification using a
notify template 355 to notify the document administrators of the
customer approval.
[0049] In one embodiment, the document creation component 245 may
submit the final document 145 to the customer using electronic
correspondence, such as email. In such an embodiment, a document
administrator may specify a particular notify template 355 during
the creation of the document, and once the final document 145 is
complete, the document creation component 245 may generate an email
to the customer using a specified notify template 355 and
containing a reference to the final document 145. As a second
example, once the customer either rejects or approves the final
document 145, the document creation component 245 may generate a
corresponding notification to the document administrator using a
notify template 355.
[0050] The table templates 360 may be used for generating tables
related to the final document 145. Generally, a table template 360
may contain formatting information for use in the creation of a
table. Without limitation, such formatting information may include
fonts, margins, borders, shading, and so on. Additionally,
different tables in the final document 145 may be generated using
different table templates 360. Furthermore, although the table
templates 360 may be used for the creation of tables in the final
document 145, the table templates 360 may also be used for other
tables, such as a table included in a notification. For example, a
notification sent to a customer upon completion of the final
document may contain a table including information on the service
agreement (e.g., a response data, contact information, etc.), and
such a table may be generated using a particular table template
360.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of creating a
master document, according to one embodiment of the present
invention. As shown, the method 400 begins at step 420, where the
document creation component 245 generates an interface for display
to a user (e.g., using an I/O device 212, such as a monitor). The
displayed interface may generally contain component documents 120
that may be inserted into an initial document 250. For example, the
interface may contain a listing of available content offerings 340
and service offerings 345. The document creation component 245 then
receives a user selection of a component document 120 for
incorporation into the initial document 250 (step 422).
[0052] Once the document creation component 245 receives the user
selection of a component document 120, the document creation
component 245 populates the selected component document with data
(step 424). As discussed above, the document creation component 245
may populate the component document with data retrieved from an
external source (e.g., a database). Additionally, the document
creation component 245 may further prompt the user for additional
information, and may populate the component document 120 using the
additional information specified by the user.
[0053] The document creation component 245 then determines whether
the user wishes to add more components to the initial document 250
(step 426). In one embodiment, the document creation component 245
assumes that the user wishes to continue adding component documents
to the initial document 250 until the user indicates otherwise
(e.g., clicking a "Done" button). In another embodiment, the
document creation component 245 may prompt the user to determine
whether the user wishes to add another component document 120. If
the user indicates he wishes to add another component document 120,
the method begins again at step 420, where the document creation
component 245 displays an interface containing component documents
120 that may be inserted into the initial document 250.
[0054] If, instead, the user indicates he does not wish to add any
more component documents, the document creation component 245
generates the final document 145 based on the initial document 250
(step 428). Additionally, the final document 145 may be generated
using one or more templates 350. For example, the document creation
component 245 may determine the formatting for a particular table
in the final document 145 using a table template 360 specified in
the corresponding initial document 250. In one embodiment, the
document creation component 245 may use a default table template
360 for creating tables in the final document 145, if no table
template 360 is specified in the initial document 250. One the
final document is generated, the method 400 ends.
[0055] Advantageously, the method 400 may create the document of
understanding more efficiently than known solutions. For example,
rather than recreating the existing component documents 120, the
document creation component 245 creates the initial document 250
using a selection of existing component documents 120. The method
400 also improves the efficiency of the document creation by
automatically formatting content in the final document 145 based on
the templates 350. For example, a particular pricing structure in
the final document 145 may include a table containing various
pricing information. The appearance of such a table may be modified
by adjusting formatting elements such as borders, cell shading,
font style, font size, text alignment, and so on. However, rather
than having the user manually adjust each of these elements for the
table, the method 400 allows the user to simply specify a table
template 360 for use in the creation of the table. As such, the
method 400 more efficiently creates the final document 145.
Furthermore, the component documents 120 may be automatically
populated with information from an external source (e.g., a
database). This may result in a substantial time savings for the
user, as the user may avoid manually locating and retrieving the
external information.
[0056] As an additional advantage, by automatically populating the
components 120 with up-to-date information from an external source,
the method 400 improves the quality of the document of
understanding by ensuring that current information is used in the
creation of the document. For example, the prices of particular
services and hardware offered by a business may be frequently
updated based on current market value. By automatically retrieving
the most up-to-date prices when the final document is created 145,
the method 400 ensures that the final document 145 contains
accurate pricing information.
[0057] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of approving
a document, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
For the purposes of this example, assume that the final document is
created by a business, and that the final document represents a
document of understanding between the business and a customer. As
shown, the method 500 begins at step 520, where the document
creation component 245 creates a final document 145. In one
embodiment of the invention, the document creation component 245
creates the final document 145 by using the method 400, as
discussed above. Once the final document 145 is created, the
document creation component 245 submits a reference to the final
document 145 to the customer for approval (step 522). That is, in
the method 500, the document creation component 245 maintains a
single, centralized copy of the final document 145, and rather than
sending a separate instance of the final document 145 to the
customer, the document creation component 245 sends a reference to
the single instance of the final document 145.
[0058] Upon receiving the reference to the final document 145, the
customer may take one of several courses of action. For instance,
the customer may reject the final document 145, whereby a document
administrator from the business works with the customer to make
acceptable changes to the final document 145 (step 530). For
example, a first draft of the final document 145 may specify that
the business will provide computer hardware with 12 gigabytes of
memory. However, after reviewing the pricing information in the
final document 145, the customer may reject the first draft of the
final document 145 and request only 8 gigabytes of memory (along
with a corresponding reduced price). Once the document
administrator for the business updates the final document 145, the
method returns to step 522, where the document is again submitted
to the customer for approval.
[0059] Additionally, upon receiving reference to the final document
145 from the business, the customer may approve of the final
document 145. In one embodiment, upon receiving the approval from
the customer, the document creation component 245 may generate a
notification to a document administrator. For instance, such a
notification may be generated based on a particular notify template
355. Once the customer approves of the final document 145, the
document administrator is prompted for a final signoff on the final
document 145 (step 532). If the administrator rejects the final
document 145, the administrator may revise the final document 145.
For example, when reviewing the final document 145 for a final
approval, the document administrator may notice an oversight in the
document, and accordingly reject the final document 145 to correct
the oversight. The method then returns to step 522, where the
document is again submitted to the customer for approval.
[0060] If instead the administrator approves the final document
145, the final document 145 is marked as an active document of
understanding between the business and the customer (step 534).
Additionally, any previously active document of understanding for
the same service agreement is marked as an inactive historical
document at this point. That is, because the final document 145
replaces the previously active document of understanding, the
previously active document is marked as inactive. Once the final
document is marked as active, the document creation component 245
notifies the document administrator accordingly (step 536). As
discussed above, such a notification may be generated using a
notify template 355. For instance, the document creation component
245 may contain settings that allow document administrator to
configure default notify templates 355 for use in notifications the
document creation component 245 sends. As an example, a document
administrator may configure the document creation component 245 so
that notifications sent when a customer rejects a document use a
first template, and notifications sent when a customer accepts a
document use a second, different template. Additionally, in such an
embodiment, the settings may allow the document administrator to
configure a specific notify template 355 for use with particular
notifications the document creation component 245 sends.
[0061] On the other hand, upon receiving the reference to the final
145 document, the customer may decide to cancel the service
agreement altogether. In this scenario, the document creation
component 245 marks the final document as cancelled (step 524). If
a prior document of understanding exists and is already active, the
prior document of understanding remains active (step 526), and the
method 500 ends. For example, the final document 145 in the method
500 may represent a revised version of an existing service
agreement between the business and the customer and the final
document 145, if approved, would replace the existing, active
service agreement between the two. In such an example, upon
cancelling the final document 145 (i.e., the revised version of the
service agreement), the previous existing service agreement between
the business and the customer would remain in effect. If instead no
prior document of understanding exists, or if the existing prior
document was not active, then no document will remain active
between the business and the customer (step 528), and the method
ends.
Template Creation and Processing
[0062] As discussed above, in one embodiment of the invention, the
documentation creation component 245 may dynamically generate
content using one or mote templates 350. For instance, the document
creation component 245 may generate a notification using a notify
template 355 in response to the occurrence of a particular event.
For example, upon receiving an approval from a customer for a
created document of understanding, the document creation component
245 may generate a notification to the document administrators
using a particular notify template 355 that contains information
such as an ID number for the document of understanding, a name of
the project associated with the document, a version number of the
approved document, and so on. As a second example, the document
creation component 245 may also dynamically generate tables using a
template 355, such as a table template 360. Continuing the above
example, the generated notification may further include a table
that is dynamically populated with information related to the
particular document of understanding, and the table and the
information contained therein may be formatted according to a
particular table template 360.
[0063] Referring now to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a screenshot of an
exemplary notify template, according to one embodiment of the
present invention. As shown, the screenshot 600 includes a header
portion 610, which generally contains metadata about the template.
For example, in the depicted embodiment, the header portion 612
contains information such as the name 610 of the template (i.e.,
"Notify Template: 2. Notification on Customer Approval"), the
creator of the document (i.e., "Jeff"), and a date of creation for
the document (i.e., "15 Dec. 2009 12:30 PM"). Of course, the
depicted embodiment is for illustrative purposes only, and more
generally any data or metadata associated a template may be
included in a header portion 610.
[0064] Additionally, the screenshot 600 includes a notification
information portion 614, which contains a listing of variables that
may be used in the notification. The variables are generic entities
that may be populated with document-specific information when a
notification is generated using the notification template. As
shown, the variables are designated by a variable name encapsulated
by "$" characters. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will
quickly understand that variable fields may be designated by any
number of other different naming techniques.
[0065] The screenshot 600 also includes a name 616 for the
notification template. In the depicted embodiment, the name 616 of
the notification template in the body of the template corresponds
to the name 610 of the template in the header portion 612.
Additionally, the screenshot 600 includes a current state 618 of
the document of understanding which will trigger the notification
template (i.e., "Customer Approved"). Thus, in the depicted
embodiment, the document creation component 245 is configured to
generate a notification using the depicted notification template
upon customer approval of the associated document of
understanding.
[0066] As an example, in response to the document creation
component 245 receiving an approval for a submitted document, the
document creation component 245 may generate an email notification
using the depicted notification template. Continuing this example,
the document creation component 245 may then populate the generated
email notification with data relating to the approved document, and
then send the email notification to the document administrators to
inform them of the approval. Of course, other types of
notifications may be generated using the depicted template, with
examples including, without limitation, instant messaging
applications, browser pop-up windows, SMS messages, voice messages
(e.g., using a text-to-speech synthesizer), and so on.
[0067] The screenshot 600 additionally shows a subject line 620 for
notifications generated using the template. As shown, the subject
line 620 contains a number of static fields, such as the text
"Customer APPROVED the DST DOU." Generally, the static fields may
remain unchanged when notifications are generated using the
notification template. The subject line 620 also includes a
plurality of different variable fields, which may be populated with
information when a notification is generated using the template.
For example, the depicted subject line 620 contains the "$Project$"
variable field, which may be populated with a project name when a
notification is generated using the template.
[0068] Advantageously, embodiments provide a more efficient
approval process for created documents of understanding by allowing
the use of variables in the subject line of the notification. That
is, because the notification templates 355 may be reused across
multiple different projects and service agreements, document
administrator may save the time and effort of recreating the
notifications for each separate project and service agreement.
Additionally, as discussed above, although the templates 350 are
described herein in conjunction with a document creation component
245, such a description is for illustrative purposes only, and one
of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the templates 350
may be used in numerous other contexts as well.
[0069] Furthermore, the screenshot 600 also shows a body section
622 of the notification template. Generally, the body section 622
includes the content of the notification, and may include static
content or variable content. Additionally, similar to the
notification subject 620, the body section 622 may contain variable
fields that may later be populated with one or more data values.
For example, the depicted body section 622 contains the variable
field "$Project$", which reflects a project name associated with a
project the template is used with. By including variable fields in
the notification template 600, embodiments of the invention enable
the notification template to be used with multiple different
projects. For example, the depicted notification template 600 may
generally be used for the creation of a notification whenever any
document of understanding is approved by a customer.
[0070] In addition, content in the body section 622 of the notify
template may include various formatting styles and options. For
example, in the depicted embodiment, the variable field "$Project$"
in the body section 622 of the template is formatted using bold,
underlined text. As discussed above, when a notification is
generated using the depicted notify template 600, the "$Project$"
variable field may be populated with the name of a project
associated with the generated notification. Additionally, according
to embodiments of the invention, the populated project name may
also be formatted according to the formatting specified for the
variable field in the notify template 600. As an example, assume
the name of a particular project is "Web Hosting Services." In this
example, when a notification is generated using the depicted
template, the "$Project$" variable may be replaced in the
notification with the text "Web Hosting Services," and this text
may be bolded and underline, based on the formatting in the
template.
[0071] Advantageously, embodiments of the invention allow users to
create visually appealing notify templates by specifying the
formatting of the generated notification in the associated
template. Furthermore, because such formatting is visually depicted
in the template (e.g., the variable name is shown as bolded and
underlined), embodiments allow less sophisticated users to still
create intricate and visually appealing templates. Additionally, by
populating the variable fields with contextual data associated with
the notification, embodiments enable the notify templates to be
used and re-used in a number of different contexts. As an example,
a single notification template may be used with a number of
different projects, as the variable fields within the template may
be populated with project-specific data. By doing this, embodiments
of the invention provide a more efficient content generation
process.
[0072] FIG. 7 is a screenshot of notification generated using the
notify template of FIG. 6, according to one embodiment of the
present invention. More specifically, FIG. 7 shows an exemplary
email message 700, generated according to the notification template
described above and depicted in FIG. 6. Additionally, for purposes
of this example, assume that the notification email message 700 is
generated responsive to customer approval of an associated document
of understanding. Here, the email notification 700 contains a
header portion 710, which includes a sender (i.e., "Document
Creation Component") and a recipient (i.e., "Document
Administrator"). Additionally, as discussed above, although aspects
of the invention are described using an email notification as an
example, embodiments may be configured to use other types of
messaging and communication systems as well.
[0073] The email notification 700 also contains a subject line 712,
which corresponds to the notification subject 620 shown in FIG. 6.
As shown here, the variable fields in the subject line 712 have
been populated using data and metadata relating to the associated
document of understanding. For example, the "$DOUID$" field of the
notification subject 620 has been populated with the document ID
number "DOU-ID-12345" for the associated document of understanding.
As a second example, the "$Project$" field of the notification
subject 620 has been populated with the project name for the
associated document of understanding, and which in the depicted
example is "Exemplary Service Agreement." Advantageously, by
including variable fields in the subject line of the notification
template, embodiments of the invention enable the notification
template to be used for generating notifications in any number of
different contexts. In turn, this improves the efficiency of the
notification process, since a single notification template may be
created and then repeatedly reused for different projects, as
opposed to creating a separate notification messages for each
individual project.
[0074] Additionally, the exemplary email notification 700 contains
a body section 714, which corresponds to the body section 622 of
the notification template 600 shown in FIG. 6. As shown, the
variable fields in the body section 622 have been populated with
data relating to the document the notification is generated for.
For instance, the "$Project$" variable field has been populated
with the value "Exemplary Service Agreement." In one embodiment of
the invention, a variable field may be populated with a plurality
of data values. For example, a $PricingTable$ variable field may be
populated with a table containing up-to-date pricing information
that is associated with the document. In one embodiment, such a
table may further be generated according to one or more table
templates 360.
[0075] The body section 714 in the depicted embodiment also
contains interactive content, such as the button labeled "Open DOU
Document," which a recipient of the notification may use to view
the document associated with the notification. When creating a
notification based on a notify template, the document creation
component 245 may configure any interactive content in the
notification (e.g., a button) with contextual information related
to the notification. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the
button labeled "Open DOU Document" may be configured to, when
accessed, redirect the user to the specific document of
understanding that has been approved by the customer. The body
section 714 may include multimedia content as well (not shown).
Examples of such multimedia content include, without limitation,
images, animations, sounds, videos, and so on. In one embodiment,
the multimedia content may also be interactive content. For
example, such an embodiment may include an image of a document,
rather than a button labeled "Open DOU Document," that when
accessed by the recipient of the notification, directs the
recipient to the associated document.
[0076] FIG. 8 is a screenshot of an exemplary table template,
according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown, the table
template 800 includes a header portion 810. Similar to the header
portion 610 shown in FIG. 6 and discussed above, the header portion
810 generally contains metadata about the table template. The table
template 800 also contains a template name 812. In the depicted
embodiment, the template name 812 is "General Line Item (No
Charges)."
[0077] The table template 800 also includes template content 814.
Generally, a user (e.g., a document administrator) may create a
table template using various formatting parameters and options for
fields within the table. These formatting parameters may then be
applied to any table generated using the table template. Exemplary
formatting parameters may include, without limitation, a number of
columns for a table, a number of rows for a table, a width for each
column in the table, and a length of each row in the table.
Additionally, in one embodiment, a table template may specify
dimensions for the generated table. For example, a table template
may specify that tables generated using the template should be 500
pixels wide by 1000 pixels tall. The document creation component
245 may then adjust the width of the columns within the table and
the length of the rows within the table accordingly.
Advantageously, by specifying table dimensions in a table template,
document creation component 245 may use the table template to
generate more uniform tables, and thus may improve the visual
appearance of the generated content. In one embodiment, the table
template may specify minimum and/or maximum dimensions for the
generated tables. As an example, a table template may specify that
generated tables should be no smaller than 500 pixels wide by 300
pixels tall. By doing this, embodiments may create more visually
appealing content, by ensuring that tables within the generated
content are more uniform in dimensions, but such tables may also
scale to properly encapsulate larger amounts of data.
[0078] As shown, the template content 814 is represented by a table
containing three columns with column headers (i.e., "#", "Item",
and "Description"). Additionally, each of these columns is shown as
having a different column width. For instance, the first column
(with header "#") is narrower than the third column (with header
"Description"). As such, the user creating the table template 800
may format the template 800 according to how the user wishes tables
generated using the template to appear. The template content 814
also includes formatting for the fields in the table. For example,
the field 816 is shown as shaded. Accordingly, when a table is
generated using the table template 800, the fields in the generated
table corresponding to field 816 may be shaded as well. Although
the current example is given in the context of shading table cells,
more generally the generated table and values within the generated
table may inherit any type of formatting from the table
template.
[0079] Advantageously, embodiments of the invention provide an
improved template creation process by allowing the user to format
the table template 800 using a graphical interface that depicts how
the resulting generated tables will also be formatted.
Additionally, by allowing users to specify an appearance of the
generated table by adjusting the visual characteristics of the
table template 800, embodiments of the invention allow less
sophisticated users to create visually pleasing table templates.
That is, it may be difficult for less sophisticated users to use
solutions that requiring the user to reference a plurality of
different formatting codes. Additionally, these solutions require a
table be generated using the specified formatting codes before the
user may view the final visual appearance of the table. By visually
depicting the formatting in the table template 800, embodiments of
the invention provide an improved template creation process that
may be efficiently utilized even by less sophisticated users.
[0080] FIG. 9 is a screenshot of an exemplary table generated using
the table template of FIG. 8, according to one embodiment of the
present invention. As shown, the screenshot 900 includes a table
910, which includes three columns, similar to the table template
800. The columns of the table 910 contain column headers "#",
"Item", and "Description." Additionally, the formatting of the
table 910 reflects the formatting of the table template 800. For
instance, the column widths of the columns in the table 910
correspond to the column widths of the columns in the table
template 800.
[0081] However, unlike the table template 800, the generated table
910 has been populated with data. In this particular example, the
document creation component 245 has populated the table 910 with
information relating to a particular service agreement. Of note,
the populated data in the table 910 retains the formatting
specified in the associated table template 800. Thus, as shown, the
fields 912 in the table 910 are shaded, similar to the field 816 of
the table template 800. As discussed above, although the formatting
in the depicted embodiment relates to shading particular fields of
the table, more generally, any type of formatting capable of being
used in conjunction with a table or a related entity may be
used.
[0082] FIG. 10 is a screenshot of an exemplary table template,
according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the
depicted table template 1000 includes a header portion, which
generally includes metadata describing the table template 1000. The
table template 1000 further includes a template name, which in the
depicted example is "General Line Item (Service Status)." The table
template 1000 also contains template content 1014. In the depicted
example, the template content 1014 is represented by a table
containing three columns, with column headers "Code", "Status" and
"Description." Furthermore, each of the columns in the template
content 1014 is associated with different formatting parameters.
For instance, the column 1016.sub.1 is formatted with bold text and
a shaded background of a first color. As a second example, the
column 1016.sub.2 is formatted with underlined text and a shaded
background of a second color. As discussed above, embodiments of
the invention enable users to specify particular formatting options
for table templates, and tables created using these table templates
may then be formatting using these same formatting options. By
doing this, embodiments of the invention may provide a graphical
interface that allows users to see the visual appearance that
tables created using the table template will have, and which in
turn allows less sophisticated to create table templates that will
produce visually pleasing tables.
[0083] FIG. 11 is a screenshot of an exemplary notification
including a table generated using the table template of FIG. 10,
according to one embodiment of the present invention. More
specifically, FIG. 10 shows an exemplary email message 1100,
generated according to a notification template and the table
template described above and depicted in FIG. 10. Additionally, for
purposes of this example, assume that the notification email
message 1100 is generated responsive to customer approval of an
associated document of understanding. Here, the email notification
1100 contains a header portion 1110, which includes a sender (i.e.,
"Document Creation Component") and a recipient (i.e., "Document
Administrator"). The notification email message 1100 further
contains a subject line 1112. As discussed above, the subject line
may correspond to a notification subject of a notification template
(e.g., notification subject 620), and may contain static fields
and/or variable fields.
[0084] As shown, the generated notification 1100 also contains a
body section 1114, which contains both content generated from
static fields and variable fields in a template (e.g., the
notification template shown in FIG. 6). As discussed above, content
in the generated notification may inherit the formatting of the
fields in the template. For example, if a variable field in the
template is formatted as centered (i.e., as a font alignment) and
underlined text, the corresponding one or more data values inserted
into the generated content may also be formatted as centered and
underlined. Advantageously, this allows a user to visualize the
formatting that content generated using the template will have,
while the user is creating the template. As such, embodiments of
the invention provide a more intuitive and efficient interface for
creating templates, and one that may be fully utilized even by less
sophisticated users.
[0085] Additionally, the body section 1114 of the depicted
notification 1100 includes a table 1116, generated according to the
table template 1000 shown in FIG. 10. As discussed above, the table
template 1000 specified that the first column 1016.sub.1 is shaded
with a first color and the second column 1016.sub.2 is shaded with
a second color. Accordingly, when the table 1116 is generated
(e.g., by the document creation component 245), values inserted
into the first column 1118.sub.1 are shaded with the first color,
and the values inserted into the second column 1118.sub.2 are
shaded with a second color. Additionally, the values inserted into
the generated table are formatted according to the font style
specified in the template 1000. For instance, the values in the
first column 1118.sub.1 are formatted as bold, whereas the values
in the second column 1118.sub.2 are formatted as underlined.
[0086] As discussed above, such a notification may be generated
using one or more templates, which specify both the content of the
notification and a formatting for the content. In the depicted
example, the notification 1100 is generated using a notification
template (e.g., the template 600) in conjunction with a table
template (e.g., the template 1000). By enabling users to create
templates that may be used in a variety of different contexts,
embodiments of the invention improve the efficiency of the content
generation process. Furthermore, because embodiments provide an
interface for creating templates which reflects the formatting that
content created using the templates will have, embodiments enable
all types of users to create intricate templates that may be used
to create visually appealing content.
[0087] FIG. 12 is a screenshot of an exemplary data import page of
a document creation component, according to one embodiment of the
present invention. Generally, the data import page is used by the
document creation component 245 to import data from an external
data source. For example, in one embodiment, the document creation
component 245 may import data (e.g., up-to-date pricing data) from
an external database. As shown, the screenshot 1200 includes a
header portion 1210 and an import configuration portion 1212. As
discussed above, the header portion 1210 generally contains
metadata describing the associated document of understanding.
[0088] The import configuration portion 1212 of the screenshot 1200
includes a number of different settings for importing the data. For
instance, the import configuration portion 1212 includes an import
type, rounding options for rounding the imported data, and an
import conflict option (i.e., "Append," "Merge+Replace," "Replace,"
"Full Replace"). For example, in one embodiment, the document
creation component 245 may be configured to import data from two or
more external sources. In such a scenario, the document
administrator may specify an action to be taken in the event that
particular imported data records conflict with one another. For
example, the document creation component 245 may be configured to
always give preference to a particular external data source, and to
always replace conflicting existing values when importing from the
particular external data source (e.g., using the "Replace" option).
Of course, the depicted data import page is for illustrative
purposes only, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize
that any interface capable of performing the functions described
herein may be used.
[0089] In one embodiment, the data import page 1200 may be used in
conjunction with a table template to generate and populate a table
of data. For instance, the table template may specify a formatting
style for the generated table, while the import page may specify a
data source (e.g., a database) from which data should be imported.
As an example, the document creation component 245 may generate a
table and populate the table with data retrieved from a database.
The generated table may then be formatted based on a specified
table template. As discussed above, examples of such formatting may
include the width of columns in the table, the length of rows in
the table, the overall dimensions of the table, the shading of
cells within the table, and so on.
[0090] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more
executable instructions for implementing the specified logical
function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative
implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of
the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in
succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or
the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order,
depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted
that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart
illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams
and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special
purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions
or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer
instructions.
[0091] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
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