Abstract: An information retrieval navigation method permitting either the operator or the customer not equipped with a sufficient knowledge of a given product to obtain a sufficient retrieval result is disclosed, in which at least a retrieval navigation item is generated based on the information on a plurality of cases about the product, the user is caused to select at least selected one of the retrieval navigation items, and a retrieval navigation message constituting a natural language message is generated and output from the selected retrieval navigation item. As a result, even the operator or the customer not fully equipped with the knowledge of the product can obtain a sufficient retrieval result.

Abstract: A workflow managing system includes a workflow server for automatically extracting a next workflow entrance location from an electronic document for management of the next workflow entrance location.

Abstract: A workflow managing system includes a workflow server for automatically extracting a next workflow entrance location from an electronic document for management of the next workflow entrance location.

Abstract: By storing data on text attributes comprising a plurality of attribute items, a text analysis rule, a plurality of text type identification rules, a plurality of text content/domain type identification rules, a plurality of summarization method setting tables, and a summarization rule in a storage, analysing an inputted text in an electronic form on the basis of the text analysis rule and the data on text attributes, generating a text analysis table, determining the text type of the inputted text in an electronic form on the basis of the text type identification rules and the content of the text analysis table, also determining the text content/domain type on the basis of the text content/domain type identification rules, selecting a summarization method setting table corresponding to a combination of the determined text type and text content/domain type, and summarizing the inputted text in an electronic form on the basis of the summarization method setting table and the summarization rule, a text summarizin

Abstract: A workflow managing system includes a workflow server for automatically extracting a next workflow entrance location from an electronic document for management of the next workflow entrance location.

Abstract: A text retrieval method and a text retrieval apparatus for retrieving texts based on a handwritten keyword inputted from an optical character reader are provided. Respective characters of a keyword string are recognized by character recognizing device, and recognized characters of respective characters are stored in a recognized character table. At least one recognized character is extracted as proposed recognized characters of respective characters from recognized characters stored in the recognized character table, and a plurality of character strings are generated by combining one proposed character among proposed recognized characters of respective characters with one another and stored in a keyword string table. A retrieval command string for retrieving texts including at least one character string among generated character strings out of a text database is generated, and the text database is retrieved by the retrieval command, thus obtaining a retrieved result.

Abstract: A system for changing a natural language sentence input by a user. The sentence expresses an operation specification which is translated to an operation specification command in a machine language for an operation specification object such as database. The system has a function to define specific items necessary for changing the natural language input sentence to the operation specification command without forcing the user to decide complicated definitions related to the operation specification object. The system refers to an operation specification object information table which stores at least one of the following acquired from the user:(1) A unit word or an interrogative word (phrase) with respect to each of the items in the database;(2) An explanatory sentence with respect to each of the items in the database; and(3) An item pair which is specifiable as a join condition of each of the items in the database.