File transmitting apparatus, file transmitting method, file receiving apparatus, file receiving method, and file transfer system

A file transmitting method for moving a file to another apparatus, said method comprising:

• storing the file;
• receiving, from the other apparatus, a file acquisition request, which is an acquisition request for requesting transfer of the file and which specifies, from among data included in the file, data within a range in which the data is neither deleted nor made unusable;
• dividing the file stored in said storage unit into first data and second data;
• transmitting, to the other apparatus, only the first data from the first and second data, the first data being data within the range specified in the file acquisition request and the second data being data not within the range specified in the file acquisition request;
• deleting or making unusable the first data being within the range transmitted, from among the data included in the stored file;
• and
• notifying the other apparatus of a usable range which indicates the second data and which is a range in which the data included in the file is neither deleted nor made unusable, from among the data included in the stored file.

A non-transitory computer readable recording medium on which a program for moving a file to another apparatus is recorded, said program causing a computer to execute the steps of:

• storing the file;
• receiving, from the other apparatus, a file acquisition request, which is an acquisition request for requesting transfer of the file and which specifies, from among data included in the file, data within a range in which the data is neither deleted nor made unusable;
• dividing the file stored in said storage unit into first data and second data;
• transmitting, to the other apparatus, only the first data from the first and second data, the first data being data within the range specified in the file acquisition request and the second data being data not within the range specified in the file acquisition request;
• deleting or making unusable the first data being within the range transmitted, from among the data included in the stored file;
• and
• notifying the other apparatus of a usable range which indicates the second data and which is a range in which the data included in the file is neither deleted nor made unusable, from among the data included in the stored file.

A file transfer system which transfers a file from a file transmitting apparatus that moves the file to a file receiving apparatus that receives the file,

• wherein the file transmitting apparatus includes:
• a storage unit which stores the file;
• a receiving unit operable to receive, from the other apparatus, a file acquisition request, which is an acquisition request for requesting transfer of the file and which specifies, from among data included in the file, data within a range in which the data is neither deleted nor made unusable;
• a transmitting unit operable to, when the file acquisition request has been received, divide the file stored in said storage unit into first data and second data, and transmit, to the other apparatus, only the first data from the first and second data, the first data being data within the range specified in the file acquisition request received by said receiving unit and the second data being data not within the range specified in the file acquisition request received by said receiving unit;
• a limitation unit operable to delete or make unusable the first data being within the range transmitted by said transmitting unit, from among the data included in the file stored in said storage unit;
• and
• a notification unit operable to notify the other apparatus of a usable range which indicates the second data and which is a range in which the data included in the file is neither deleted nor made unusable by said limitation unit, from among the data included in the file stored in said storage unit, and
• the file receiving apparatus includes:
• an acceptance unit operable to accept, from the other apparatus, a notification of a usable range which indicates second data that is part or all of data included in the file and which is a range in which the data included in the file is neither deleted nor made unusable by the other apparatus;
• a transmitting unit operable to specify an arbitrary range included in the usable range indicated by the notification accepted by said acceptance unit and transmit, to the other apparatus, a file acquisition request, which is an acquisition request for requesting transfer of the file and is used to acquire first data that is data within a specified range of the second data;
• a receiving unit operable to receive, from the other apparatus, the first data indicated by the range specified in the file acquisition request;
• and
• a storage unit which stores the first data received by said receiving unit.