Office automation system wherein files in a database are available to electronic mail services

摘要

An office automation includes a plurality of terminals (14) and is provided with a database service and an electronic mail service. A file storage section (12) is arranged to store a plurality of files which are available to both the database service and the electronic mail service. A file management information storage section (21) stores file retrieval data required for retrieving the plurality of files from the file storage section. An electronic mail management information storage section (24) is arranged to store file dispatch data of files to be mailed. One of two controllers (18, 20) is operatively coupled to the terminals and the file storage section and the file management information storage section. The one (18) of the two controllers sets the file retrieval data in the file management information storage section, and retrieves a given file from the file storage section using the file retrieval data. The other controller (20) is operatively coupled to the terminals and the above mentioned two information storage sections. The other controller (20) stores the file dispatch data in response to a mail request inputted to the system via one of the terminals. The other controller (20) specifies a given portion of the file retrieval data using the file dispatch data and applying the given portion of the file retrieval data to the one (18) of the two controllers.