JP2002051317A - Conference screen display control method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Objective] To improve the operability of a user in a conference system including a telephone and a workstation for supporting collaborative work. A conference window 200 is displayed on a work station screen 20 during execution of a conference, and the conference window is displayed from a conference desk area 220 which is a shared space and a personal area 210 which is invisible to other participants. The material object 280 corresponding to the material AP used in the conference is arranged on these areas, and the material can be distributed, the information can be referenced, and the AP can be executed by the moving operation with the mouse 182. [Effect] In the meeting window, the operation of the material object can be performed in both the joint place and the personal place, and the operation during the meeting is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screen display control method for a data processing apparatus having a multi-window function, and more particularly, to a method in which a plurality of terminal devices (workstations) are connected via a network and displayed on a screen by a remote user. The present invention relates to a screen table control method suitable for application to an electronic dialogue system in which a collaborative work such as a meeting or a meeting is performed while referring to a common material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a system in which a plurality of terminal devices or workstations are connected by a communication network so that a plurality of users can participate in a conference via a terminal screen, the status and information of the conference are displayed in one window. The information processing technology is IPSJ 44th (early 1992)
There is a national convention "Proposal of Dialogue Monitoring Function in Multi-party Electronic Dialogue System ASSOCIA", and this technology focuses on obtaining information on the progress of a conference by participants and objects of materials.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned technology, information on the dialog monitor window representing the meeting place is viewed by all participants in common, and a window for preparing materials for personal work is provided separately. Required. It is considered that the material used in the conference needs to be registered in the dialog monitor window in advance. Here, the operation when the user suddenly needs materials during the meeting and wants to bring it to the meeting is not detailed.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to make it possible to use materials (application programs) used in an electronic conference operation with more flexibility.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a shared space, that is, a joint work space and a personal space, that is, a personal work space, are displayed on a work station screen during a conference. Is provided, and an object corresponding to the material AP is arbitrarily arranged in each space. When an operation is input to the material object to perform movement or the like, a means for freely moving between the shared space and the personal space is provided.

Another feature of the present invention resides in that types representing objects representing materials are provided for more flexible collaboration.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the operation of bringing in, exercising, distributing, etc., a material assuming an application program from a personal work place to a joint work place can be performed by directly operating the object with the mouse. Also, by providing the type of the object of the material, the other participant can flexibly operate such as obtaining simple information of the material being prepared for the joint work and issuing an execution request.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, as one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic dialogue system having a dialogue monitor will be described with reference to the drawings. As an example of the joint work performed in the electronic dialogue system, a “meeting” is taken as an example here.

FIG. 1 shows a plurality of workstations 40 (40-A, 40-A,
FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an electronic dialogue system composed of 40-B and 40-C). As the communication network 30, a LAN (L
ocal Area Network) or ISDN (I
integrated Services Digita
1 Network) can be applied. The display screen 20 of the workstation 40 (20-A, 20-B, 20-
-C) includes a window for displaying meeting materials,
A dialog monitor window or the like is generated by the multi-window function.

A state in which the conference window 200 is displayed on the workstation screen 20C during the execution of the electronic conference is shown in an enlarged manner. The workstation screen 20 displays a window 240 for a personal use AP used for personal work, a window 250 for a shared use AP used for joint work, and a desktop window 245. The upper part 252 of the window 250 for the shared use AP is changed in color to distinguish it from the window for personal use.
182 is a mouse cursor.

The conference window 200 is a virtual representation of the entire conference, in which participants (A, B,
D) representing the participant object 230 (230A, 2
30B, 230D), a conference desk area 220 for arranging materials used in a conference, a participant C looking at this screen,
In other words, the personal area 2 where you place your personal information
There are ten. The meeting table area 220 and the personal area 210 each include a material object 2 representing an AP shared for use in a meeting.
An arbitrary number 80 are arranged.

Also, each workstation 40 has a telephone 10 interconnected by a telephone switching network to assist in a conference conducted via a display screen by conversation.
(10-A, 10-B, 10-C).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of the workstation 40. As shown in FIG. In the figure, 140
Is a storage device for storing various programs such as the conference window program 330 and data. 90 is a central processing unit (CPU) for executing data processing in accordance with the program instructions read from the storage device 140;
Indicates a bitmap processor BMP that writes contents to be output to the display screen as image data in the frame memory 110 in accordance with the instruction from the CPU 90. The contents of the frame memory 110 are stored in the display controller 1
The data is read out by the device 20 and displayed on the display screen (output device) 20. A keyboard 180-A is one of the input devices 180, and a keyboard driver 160 stores a code input from the keyboard in the register 150-A. 180-B denotes a mouse which is one of the input devices, and 170 denotes a mouse driver 170 which stores a code input from the mouse in the register 150-B.
Each workstation 40 is connected via a communication interface device 80 to a communication network such as a LAN or ISDN.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of the conference window program 330 for realizing the present invention. The conference window program 330 includes a communication control unit 340, a user interface unit 350, a material transmitting / receiving unit 360, and tables 400 and 410 holding various information.

The communication control unit 340 exchanges data with the communication control unit 340 of another site. When a new participant increases or when an abandoned person occurs on the way, the communication path is changed, or data to the AP generated at the own site is transmitted to others. User interface unit 35
0 indicates that the user analyzes the input using the mouse 180-B or the keyboard 180-A, which is an input device, to change the display on the conference window 200, or changes the data received from another site via the communication control unit 340. Analysis is performed, and processing such as display change of the conference window 200 is performed.
The material transmitting / receiving unit 360 operates by operating the material object.
The corresponding material AP is transmitted to another site or receives the material AP from another site. A plurality of documents AP370 can be activated simultaneously.

FIG. 4 shows a process for starting a conference window. This activation process is performed only when the device is first activated, and thereafter, the process always enters a waiting state. First, an initial process of the user interface unit is performed (331).
The setting is made for the conference information table (332). Based on the results, the conference desk area 220 and the personal area 210
Is displayed (333). In addition, query for information about other participants in the meeting,
The information is received (334), and the participant information table is set (335). Then, a participant object is displayed on the conference window 200 corresponding to the participant (336).
Perform Next, the conference desk area 220 and the personal area 21
The display process (337) of the material object on the object No. 0 is performed.

FIG. 5 shows the conference window 20 shown in FIG.
0 shows the details of the conference table area 220. The conference desk area 220 includes a plurality of partner areas 270 and a central common area 260. There is one partner area for each participant object 230 corresponding to each participant (A, B, D), and they are associated with each other. The partner area in front of the participant object 230 is an area corresponding to the person, and the material object 280 provided by the participant to the shared area on his or her site is displayed in the partner area in the figure. That is, the material object 280 that the participant object 230-D arranges in the shared area 260 at its own site is displayed as 270-4 in FIG.

The material object is an entity object 280 indicating that all the members have an AP corresponding to the material object, and a case where a participant provides the shared area 260 but other participants do not have a corresponding AP. And a dummy object 282 representing This 2
The two types of objects are distinguished by changing the design of the display. In the example of FIG. 5, one real object 280 and one dummy object 282 exist in the partner area 270-2 of the participant 230-A. Entity object 28
The AP corresponding to 0 also has other participants. The AP corresponding to the dummy object 282 is provided by the participant 230-A to the shared area 260 of its own site, but the AP corresponding to this object has only the participant 230-A, AP indicates that it has not passed. This AP has not been passed on to other participants, but a dummy object is added to the other participant 230-A to indicate that the participant 230-A has provided the shared area 260, that is, that the participant 230-A is available for collaborative work. Conference window 200
To be displayed.

FIG. 6 shows a conference window program 330.
2 shows an area information table 400 managed by. The area information table 400 includes an area identifier field 402,
It comprises a material list field 404, a corresponding participant identifier field 406, and other information fields 408. The area identifier 402 stores an identifier for identifying the personal area 210, the shared area 260, and the plurality of partner areas 270. Document list field 4
04 stores a list of material object identifiers in the area indicated by the area identifier 402. If the area identifier 402 is the partner area, the corresponding participant identifier field 406 stores the identifier of the corresponding participant. The other information field 408 stores other information.

FIG. 7 shows a material object information table 410. Material object information table 410
Is composed of a material identifier field 412, an area identifier field 414, a type identifier field 416, a material name field 418, and other information fields 420. In this table, one record is created for each material object. The material identifier 412 is an identifier assigned each time a material object is created. The area identifier 414 stores the identifier of the area in which the material object specified by this record is displayed. The type is “entity” if the material object is a substance object, and “type” if the material object is a dummy object.
Dummy "is stored. The material name field 418 stores the material name, and the other information field 420 stores other information.

FIG. 8 shows a conference window program 33.
5 shows a processing flow of the communication control unit 340 of No. 0. The communication control unit 340 performs the initial processing 500 only at the time of activation, and then enters a waiting state. That is, the communication control unit 3 of the other site
It waits for input of data from the user interface 40, data from the user interface unit 350 of the own site, and data from other parts (step 510). It is determined whether the received data is data from another communication control unit (step 520). If the data is from another communication control unit, it is next determined whether or not the data is for the data AP (step 530). If the data is for the material AP in this determination, the data is passed to the corresponding material AP (step 540).

If it is determined in the above determination that the data is not for the document AP, it is next determined whether or not the report is a report of participation / leaving from another site (step 580).
If it is a report of participation / leaving here, participation / leaving processing in the communication control unit, that is, processing such as connection or disconnection of a communication path with another site or assignment of a participant identifier to a new participant is performed. (Step 590). Then, the input data is passed to the user interface unit 350 (step 350). If the data is not a participation / exit report, the data is used as is in the user interface unit 35.
0 (step 350). If it is determined in step 520 that the input data is not from another communication control unit, then the user interface unit 3 of its own site
It is determined whether the data is from data 50 (step 55).
0). If the data is stored in the user interface unit 350
If so, the data is provided with necessary headers such as an issuer, a transmission destination, and a data type, and is passed to the communication control unit 340 of another site (step 560). If the input data is not from the user interface unit 350 in the above determination, other necessary processing is performed according to the contents of the data (step 570).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the user interface unit 350 in the conference window program. When the user interface unit 350 is first activated, it performs this initial processing (600), and then enters a waiting state. In the initial process 600, a connection is made with the communication control unit started at the own site, and preparation for data transfer is made.

The system waits for an input by the user and an input of data from the communication control unit 340 (step 610). Upon receiving the input, it is determined whether or not the input data is an operation input of the material object by the user using the input device 180 such as a mouse to the conference window (step 6).
20). If the input operation is to the material object,
Referring to the material object table 410 (step 630), a corresponding material object identifier is obtained (step 640). Next, the area identifier where the material object is displayed and arranged is determined from the table 410 (step 650). Next, it is monitored whether or not there is a movement operation with the mouse 180 on the material object (step 660). If the moving operation has been performed, the process proceeds to the moving process 670, but if the input is not the moving operation, the material information window 32
It is determined whether the display operation is 0 (step 72).
0). If it is a display operation of the material information window 320,
The material information window 320 is displayed with reference to the material object table 410 (step 730). If the input is not a display operation of the material information window, other necessary processing according to the input is performed (step 760).

In step 620, if the input is not for a material object, it is determined whether the data is a material reception report received from another site via the communication control unit 340 (step 690). If it is a material reception report, the material object table 410 is updated (step 700), the display of the conference window is changed, and a new material object corresponding to the received material is displayed in the form of the real object 280 (step 700). Step 7
10). If it is determined in step 690 that the input is not a material reception report, then the communication control unit 340 from another site is used.
(Step 740). If you ’re a participant / exit report,
A participant object process is performed (step 750). If the input is not a participation / exit report, it is determined whether there is a material information reception report (step 770). If the material information is received, the material information processing is performed next (step 780). If the material information is not received, other processing according to the input content is performed (step 790).

FIG. 10 shows an operation of selecting a material object in the partner area 270 with a mouse to display a material information window 320 attached to the material object. The material information window 320 displays a material name 322, a creator 324 of the material, a holder 326 of the material, and other information 328.

FIG. 11 shows a user interface section 350.
5 shows the flow of the participant object processing in FIG. The participant object process 750 is a process for changing the display of the participant object 230 in the conference window 200 when a new participant or an absent person occurs.

First, when an input is received, it is determined whether or not it is a participation report (step 752). If it is a participation report, a vacant area of the partner area 270 on the conference window 200 is allocated to a new participant (step 754). The participant object 230 is newly displayed in the partner area 270 (step 756), one record is generated in the area information table 400, and the content is updated (step 758). In the determination in step 752,
If the input is not a participation report, it is next determined whether or not it is a leaving report (step 760). If the input is an exit report, the corresponding participant object 230 is deleted from the conference window 200 (step 762), and the partner area 270 reserved for the participant is opened (step 7).
64). The record of the participant is released from the area information table 400 and the content is updated (step 76).
6). If it is determined in step 760 that the input is not a leaving report, error processing is performed (step 768).

FIG. 12 shows a user interface section 350.
9 shows a processing flow of the material information processing 780 in FIG. When only the material information is received instead of the material AP, the area information table 400 is referred to (step 782). Since the received material information has passed through the communication control unit 340, a header is attached to the data. From this header,
The participant who has issued the material information is determined and compared with the area information table 400 to determine the area identifier 4 of the participant.
Get 02. From this, the partner area 270 of the material holding participant is determined (step 784). A new dummy object of the material is displayed on the partner area 270 (step 786). For this material, one new record is generated in the material object table 410,
The contents are updated (step 788).

FIG. 13 shows a user interface section 350.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of a movement process 670 of the material object 280 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the movement of the document object 280 is performed from the personal area 210, that is, the source is the personal area, the OHP object 300 is the destination, and the shared area 26 is the destination.
0, the partner area 270, and the like.

FIG. 14 shows that a material AP corresponding to the material object can be distributed to another participant by moving operation 290 of the material object in the personal area 210 with the mouse 180-B. In the figure, by continuously moving the opponent's area with the mouse, all other participants corresponding to the opponent's area are collectively referred to as the material AP.
Is shown. As a result, even when distributing the document AP, the operation of designating the address, name, and the like of the other participant becomes unnecessary, and can be performed by the direct operation of moving the document object.

In FIG. 13, when a material object is moved from the personal area 210 on the conference window 200, the destination of the material object 280 is determined (step 672). The following processing is performed according to the destination. It is determined whether the destination of the document object 280 is an OHP object (step 674). If the destination is the OHP object 300, an OHP process 790 is performed. If the destination is not an OHP object, it is determined whether the destination is the shared area 260 (step 676). If it is the shared area 260, the display of the material object 280 is changed in the conference window (step 678), and the contents of the area information table 400 and the material object table 410 are updated (step 682). Then, in order to inform another participant that the material object 280 has been newly provided to the sharing place, the material information of the material is passed to the communication control unit 340 (step 68).
2). If it is determined in step 676 that the destination of the material object 280 is not the shared area, then it is determined whether the destination is the partner area 270 (step 6).
84). If the destination is the destination area 270, the area information table 400 is referred to (step 68).
6) It is checked whether or not there is a participant corresponding to the destination area 270 as the destination (step 688). If there is a participant corresponding to the partner area 270, a request for material transmission is issued to the material transmitting / receiving unit (step 360). If the destination of the material object 280 is not the other party area, other processing according to the destination is performed (step 692).

FIG. 15 shows a change in the conference window of the participants of the distributed site as a result of performing the communication processing 360 of the material AP. The material object corresponding to the distributed material AP is displayed as a real object 280 on the shared area 260.

FIG. 16 shows a user interface section 350.
5 shows the flow of the OHP processing 790 in FIG. In the OHP processing 790, as shown in FIG. 17, the processing when the dummy object 282 is moved to the OHP object 300 is performed.

FIG. 17 shows that a material object on the other party area 270, that is, a dummy object 282 is moved to an OHP object with a mouse on the conference window 200 on the conference window 200, thereby concentrating the material AP under other participants. An operation of issuing a request to be executed to the participant is shown. In this way, even if the material AP is not under one's own, the output of the material AP is displayed on the workstation screen of the own site by inviting the other participants to centrally execute the material AP possessed only by the participant. Can be displayed.

First, the type of the material object 280 overlapping the OHP object is checked with reference to the material object table 410 (step 792). Next, it is determined whether or not the material object 280 is a real object (step 794). If the material object 280 is a real object, the material AP corresponding to the material object is at its own site, and the material AP is centrally executed (step 794). Step 796). If it is determined in step 794 that the material object 280 is not a real object, then it is determined whether it is a dummy object (step 7).
98). The material object is a dummy object 28
If it is 2, the material object is not at its own site. Therefore, the material object table 410
With reference to the material A corresponding to the material object 282.
The site owned by P is determined (step 800), and a request is issued to the owned site to perform AP concentration with the AP name via the communication control unit (step 80).
2). If it is determined in step 798 that the material object is not a dummy object, other processing is performed (step 804).

FIG. 18 shows a conference window program 33.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a material transmitting / receiving unit 360 at 0.

Upon receiving the input, the material transmitting / receiving unit 360 determines whether the input is a material transmission request issued by a user input operation from the user interface unit 350 (step 810). If it is a material transmission request, the name of the material to be transmitted is first transmitted to the corresponding participant with an appropriate communication header (step 8).
12) Then, the file of the material AP is transmitted (81).
4). If it is determined in step 810 that the received input is not a material transmission request, it is determined whether the received input is a material reception report from another site (step 816). In the case of a material reception report, first, a material name to be received is received (step 818), and then a file of the material AP is received (step 820). Then, the reception of the material is reported to the user interface unit together with information such as the material name (step 822). If it is not a material reception report in step 816, other processing is performed according to the content of the received input (step 824).

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a conference window is provided with a personal area and a conference desk area which is a conference space, and a conference desk corresponding to a plurality of participants is provided. By setting the area, it is possible to visually operate the distribution and reference of the document AP in an electronic dialogue with another station or in a collaborative work, thereby improving the operability of the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conference system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a workstation configuring the conference system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a software configuration of a conference window program shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing a process of activating a conference window in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view showing details of a conference table area which is a part of the conference window 200;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an area information table managed by a conference window program.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a material object table managed by a conference window program.

FIG. 8 is a processing flow diagram of a communication control unit that exchanges data with another site in the conference window program.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a user interface unit in the conference window program.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation of displaying a material information window attached to a material from a dummy object in a partner area.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a process of changing a display of a participant object according to an increase or decrease in the number of participants in the conference in the user interface unit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a processing flow for changing the display of a material object in the user interface unit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow of processing according to a movement operation of a material object in a conference window.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state in which a material AP corresponding to a material is collectively distributed to the other participants by moving the material object in the conference window.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a conference window of a participant to whom the document AP has been distributed in FIG. 5;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing processing when a material object 280 is overlaid on an OHP object 300.

FIG. 17 shows a dummy object in an opponent area set to OH
Material AP that the other party has by overlapping the P object
The figure which shows the operation | movement which makes concentrated execution.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing processing of a material transmitting / receiving unit in a conference window program.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Telephone, 20: Workstation screen, 30 ...
Network, 40 ... workstation body, 200
... Conference window, 210 personal area, 220 conference table area, 230 participant object, 240 AP window for personal use, 250 AP window for joint use, 260 common area, 270 partner area, 28
0: Material object, 290: Dummy object,
300: OHP object, 320: material information window, 330: conference window program, 340: communication control unit, 350: user interface unit, 360 ...
Material transmitting / receiving unit, 370: Material AP, 400 area information table, 410 material object table, 460: Move processing, 480: OHP processing

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G09G 5/00 510 G09G 5/00 510B 5/14 5/14 C (72) Inventor Shigeaki Kinoshita Kokubunji, Tokyo 1-280, Higashi-Koigakubo, Hitachi, Ltd. Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor, Toshimitsu Hayashi 1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Ltd.System Development Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. 5030 Totsuka-cho, Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd.Software Development Division (72) Inventor Tomomine Suzuki 5030, Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan Hitachi, Ltd.Software Development Division (72) 1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City Hitachi, Ltd.System Development Research (72) Inventor Kenjiro Mori 1099 Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term (reference) 5B069 AA02 BB16 CA13 CA14 LA03 5B085 BA07 BE07 CA07 CC01 CE03 CE07 5C064 AA00 AA02 AB03 AB06 AC06 AC08 AC12 AC16 AC20 AD07 AD14 5C082 AA03 AA34 BA02 BA12 BB01 BB42 CA63 CB06 DA87 MM09 MM10 5E501 AA02 AB20 BA05 EA34 FA06 FA45 FA46 FB22

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A data processing device having a multi-window function, a plurality of terminal devices having an input device and a display screen are connected via a network, and a remote user refers to a common document displayed on the display screen. In the screen display control method in the electronic dialogue system for performing a collaborative work, a state of the collaborative work executed under a specific program is visually represented by a plurality of objects in one of the multi-windows A meeting window for displaying a joint work place and a personal work place where an individual works without being seen by another participant, and input performed on any object in the meeting window In response to the operation, a command input to the data processing device and a work state display by a change in display of the object are performed in an interlocked manner. Conference screen display control method being characterized in that as. 2. The conference screen display control method according to claim 1, wherein said data processing apparatus has an application program, and said data processing apparatus has an input operation performed on a material object corresponding to said application program. ,
A conference screen display control method, wherein the material object is moved between the joint work place and the personal work place. 3. The screen display control method according to claim 2, wherein said application program is in a state of being held by all participants, or is to be provided from a specific participant to said joint work place. A conference screen display control method characterized in that a state of a conference is distinguished by changing a display method of the material object according to the state. 4. The screen display control method according to claim 3, wherein one of the multi-windows is a material information window, and the multi-window is a material information window for a material object provided to the joint work place by a specific participant. A conference screen display control method, wherein information of the application program corresponding to the material object is displayed in the material information window by an acquisition operation by another participant. 5. The screen display control method according to claim 3, wherein a specific participant obtains the material object provided to the joint work place by another participant and obtains the application object. A conference screen display control method, wherein a participant holding the application program can be requested to execute the application program. 6. A data processing device having a multi-window function, a plurality of terminal devices provided with an input device and a display screen are connected via a network, and a remote user refers to a common document displayed on the display screen. In an electronic dialogue system for performing a collaborative work, a joint work place where the state of the collaborative work executed under a specific program is visually represented by a plurality of objects in one of the multi-windows. Means for displaying a conference window displaying a personal work place where an individual works without being seen by other participants, and an input operation performed on any object in the conference window In response to a command input to the data processing device, and a work state display based on a change in display of the object. Electronic interactive system, characterized in that. 7. The electronic dialogue system according to claim 6, wherein said data processing device includes an application program, and in response to an input operation for a material object corresponding to said application program, said data processing device converts said material object into an electronic program. An electronic dialogue system comprising: means for moving between the joint work place and the personal work place. 8. The electronic dialogue system according to claim 6, wherein said application program is in a state of being held by all participants, or is being provided from a specific participant to said joint work place. An electronic dialogue system comprising a display control means for distinguishing and displaying the information. 9. The electronic dialogue system according to claim 6, further comprising: a material information window as one of the multi-windows, wherein a specific participant provides a material information window for the material object provided to the joint work place. A display control means for displaying information of an application program corresponding to the material object in the material information window by an acquisition operation by a participant. 10. The electronic dialogue system according to claim 7, wherein a specific participant obtains the material object provided to the joint work place by another participant and obtains the application. An electronic dialogue system comprising means for enabling a participant holding a program to request execution of the application program.