DocMan: a document management system for cooperation support

Describes DocMan, an interactive document management system which supports cooperative preparation, exchange and distribution of documents. Document folders are shared among people, allowing for collaboration on the basis of a common information space. Access to document folders is provided transparently. Each folder contains a set of document revisions and a set of drafts currently in preparation. Meta-information concerning what is going on with folders, revisions, drafts and users is distributed. DocMan's revision concept is based on a soft-locking scheme, avoiding both loss of work done simultaneously and access restrictions, thereby allowing users to be mobile while being periodically disconnected from any network.