Iconic access to remote electronic monochrome raster data format document repository

An apparatus for storing and retrieving electronic documents, comprising:

• (a) a document repository comprising a first programmable computer, a non-volatile storage device accessible by said programmable computer, a storage program executing on said first computer which stores said documents on, and retrieves said documents from said non-volatile storage device;
• (b) a plurality of remote access systems, each comprising a second programmable computer and an access and display program executing on said second computer for displaying said documents to the user of said remote system;
• (c) a general purpose, wide area data network connecting said first computer and said second computer, whereby said documents can be transferred from said storage program to said display program;
• (d) means for searching said stored electronic documents for documents which match criteria specified by said remote system user;
• (e) means for on-demand generation of user interface screens containing plural user selectable elements linked to said documents located by said query, said screens displayed by said remote access systems;
• (f) means for remote data entry which accepts control and document data from plural facsimile machines connected to said document repository by a data link, wherein said control information specifies where said document data is to be stored within said document repository;
• (g) means for transmitting interactive communication between said users over said general purpose data network;
• wherein said electronic documents are encoded in a monochrome, raster data format selected from the Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) family of formats.

An apparatus for storing and retrieving electronic documents, comprising:

• (a) a document repository comprising a first programmable computer, a non-volatile storage device accessible by said programmable computer, and a storage program executing on said first computer which stores said documents on and retrieves said documents from said non-volatile storage device;
• (b) a plurality of remote access systems, each comprising a second programmable computer and an access and display program executing on said second computer for displaying said documents to the user of said remote system;
• (c) a general purpose, wide area data network connecting said first computer and said second computer, whereby said documents can be transferred from said storage program to said display program;
• (d) means for searching said stored electronic documents for documents which match criteria specified by said remote system user;
• (e) means for on-demand generation of user interface screens containing plural user selectable graphic icons linked to said documents located by said means for searching, said screens displayed by said remote access systems;
• wherein said electronic documents are encoded in a monochrome, raster data format.

An apparatus for storing and retrieving electronic documents, comprising:

• (a) a document repository comprising a first programmable computer, a non-volatile storage device accessible by said programmable computer, and a storage program executing on said first computer which stores said documents on and retrieves said documents from said non-volatile storage device;
• (b) a plurality of remote access systems, each comprising a second programmable computer and an access and display program executing on said second computer for displaying said documents to the user of said remote system;
• (c) a general purpose, wide area data network connecting said first computer and said second computer, whereby said documents can be transferred from said storage program to said display program;
• and
• (d) means for remote data entry which accepts control and document data from plural facsimile machines connected to said first programmable computer by a data link;
• wherein said control information specifies where said document data is to be stored within said document repository,
• wherein said electronic documents are encoded in a monochrome, raster data format.

An apparatus for storing and retrieving electronic documents, comprising:

• (a) a document repository comprising a first programmable computer, a non-volatile storage device accessible by said programmable computer, and a storage program executing on said first computer which stores said documents on and retrieves said documents from said non-volatile storage device;
• (b) a plurality of remote access systems, each comprising a second programmable computer and an access and display program executing on said second computer for displaying said documents to the user of said remote system;
• (c) a general purpose, wide area data network connecting said first computer and said second computer, whereby said documents can be transferred from said storage program to said display program;
• and
• (d) means for transmitting interactive audio communication between said users over said general purpose data network;
• wherein said electronic documents are encoded in a monochrome, raster data format.

An apparatus for storing and retrieving electronic documents, comprising:

• (a) a document repository comprising a first programmable computer, a non-volatile storage device accessible by said programmable computer, and a storage program executing on said first computer which stores said documents on and retrieves said documents from said non-volatile storage device, said document repository being segmented into plural virtual repositories;
• (b) a plurality of remote access systems, each comprising a second programmable computer and an access and display program executing on said second computer for displaying said documents to the user of said remote system;
• (c) a general purpose, wide area data network connecting said first computer and said second computer, whereby said documents can be transferred from said storage program to said display program;
• wherein said electronic documents are encoded in a monochrome, raster data format.