Abstract: A system which processes special characters used in a dynamic document in real time to make them viewable at a remote computer system. A special character image management unit is employed in a general purpose computer to manage the special characters used in its database. Inside this management unit, a special character definition unit determines which special characters to convert into graphic images, thus creating a special character database file. Graphic images of those special characters are produced by a special character image generator, based on a character pattern dictionary containing character patterns. The produced special character image files form a special character image dictionary, which is transferred to a document conversion unit in a server machine, together with the special character database file.