Apparatus, method and computer program product for transferring an electronic file

Abstract

A system for providing products to a customer operates with an open purchase order having an acceptable inventory range bounded by a lower and an upper limit for each product supplied to the customer. The system includes a storage unit, a first processing unit that maintains a product inventory count, and a second processing unit that monitors the product inventory count. A system for transferring electronic files includes a first processing unit that stores and transfers the electronic file, generates a pointer associated with the transferred electronic file, generates a reference electronic file and thereafter includes the pointer in the reference electronic file. A second processing unit then displays the reference electronic file. A system for generating composite electronic files includes a first processing unit having composite locations including component electronic files, and generating the composite electronic files when the respective composite location is accessed from a second processing unit.

1 . A method for transferring at least one electronic file from a first location, the method comprising:
 selecting or receiving selection of the at least one electronic file;   transferring the at least one electronic file from the first location to a second location that is remote from the first location;   generating at least one pointer associated with the at least one electronic file and the second location;   including the at least one pointer in a displayable reference electronic file; and   transferring the reference electronic file including the at least one pointer to a display location for display of the reference electronic file at the display location, the reference electronic file being displayed to enable a user located at the display location to locate the at least one electronic file at the second location based upon the at least one pointer,   wherein at least one of generating at least one pointer or including the at least one pointer in a displayable electronic reference file is performed by processor configured to at least one of generate at least one pointer or include the at least one pointer in a displayable electronic reference file.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file comprises including the at least one pointer for a predefined period of time. 
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein transferring the at least one electronic file comprises transferring the at least one electronic file according to a protocol selected from a group consisting of a file transfer protocol (FTP), a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP), and a secured HTTP (HTTPS). 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 1  further comprising generating a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein generating the reference electronic file comprises generating the reference electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1  further comprising generating a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein generating the reference electronic file comprises generating the reference electronic file in a extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus for transferring at least one electronic file from a first location, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor configured to select or receive selection of the at least one electronic file,   wherein the processor is configured to transfer the at least one electronic file from the first location to a second location that is remote from the first location,   wherein the processor is configured to generate at least one pointer associated with the at least one electronic file and the second location,   wherein the processor is configured to include the at least one pointer in a displayable reference electronic file, and   wherein the processor is configured to transfer the reference electronic file including the at least one pointer to a display location for display of the reference electronic file at the display location, the reference electronic file being displayed to enable a user located at the display location to locate the at least one electronic file at the second location based upon the at least one pointer.   
     
     
         7 . An apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the processor being configured to include the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file comprises includes being configured to include the at least one pointer for a predefined period of time. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the processor being configured to transfer the at least one electronic file includes being configured to transfer the at least one electronic file according to a protocol selected from a group consisting of a file transfer protocol (FTP), a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP), and a secured HTTP (HTTPS). 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein the processor being configured to generate the reference electronic file includes being configured to generate the reference electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein the processor being configured to generate the reference electronic file includes being configured to generate the reference electronic file in a extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         11 . A computer program product for transferring at least one electronic file from a first location, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied in said medium, the computer-readable program code comprising:
 a first executable portion configured to select or receive selection of the at least one electronic file;   a second executable portion configured to transfer the at least one electronic file from the first location to a second location that is remote from the first location;   a third executable portion configured to generate at least one pointer associated with the at least one electronic file and the second location;   a fourth executable portion configured to include the at least one pointer in a displayable reference electronic file; and   a fifth executable portion configured to transfer the reference electronic file including the at least one pointer to a display location for display of the reference electronic file at the display location, the reference electronic file being displayed to enable a user located at the display location to locate the at least one electronic file at the second location based upon the at least one pointer.   
     
     
         12 . A computer program product according to  claim 11 , wherein the fourth executable portion being configured to include the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file comprises includes being configured to include the at least one pointer for a predefined period of time. 
     
     
         13 . A computer program product according to  claim 11 , wherein the second executable portion being configured to transfer the at least one electronic file includes being configured to transfer the at least one electronic file according to a protocol selected from a group consisting of a file transfer protocol (FTP), a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP), and a secured HTTP (HTTPS). 
     
     
         14 . A computer program product according to  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable program code further comprises a sixth executable portion configured to generate a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein the sixth executable portion being configured to generate the reference electronic file includes being configured to generate the reference electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         15 . A computer program product according to  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable program code further comprises a sixth executable portion configured to generate a displayable reference electronic file before including the at least one pointer in the reference electronic file, wherein the sixth executable portion being configured to generate the reference electronic file includes being configured to generate the reference electronic file in a extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to locate and access the at least one electronic file at the second location. 
     
     
         16 . A method for creating at least one composite electronic file including at least one component electronic file, the method comprising:
 providing the at least one component electronic file stored in at least one composite location;   receiving a request to access the at least one composite location; and in response thereto,   automatically generating a composite electronic file including at least one component pointer associated with the at least one component electronic file stored in the respective composite location; and   providing the composite electronic file to enable a user to access the at least one component electronic file from the composite electronic file and the at least one component pointer associated with the respective at least one component electronic file,   wherein automatically generating a composite electronic file is performed by a processor configured to automatically generate a composite electronic file.   
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 16  further comprising providing a master electronic file before providing the at least one component electronic file, wherein the master electronic file comprises at least one composite pointer associated with the at least one composite location, and
 wherein receiving a request to access the at least one composite location comprises receiving a request to access the at least one composite location via the at least one composite pointer of the master electronic file. 
 
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 16 , wherein providing the at least one component electronic file comprises transferring the at least one component electronic file into the at least one composite location. 
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 16 , wherein generating the composite electronic file comprises generating the composite electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one component pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 16 , wherein generating the composite electronic file comprises generating the composite electronic file in an extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         21 . A method according to  claim 16 , wherein when the at least one component file is removed from the at least one composite location, the respective composite electronic file is generated independent of the respective component pointer associated with the respective component electronic file. 
     
     
         22 . An apparatus for creating at least one composite electronic file including at least one component electronic file, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor configured to provide the at least one component electronic file stored in at least one composite location,   wherein the processor is configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location, and in response thereto, automatically generate a composite electronic file including at least one component pointer associated with the at least one component electronic file stored in the respective composite location, and   wherein the processor is configured to provide the composite electronic file to enable a user to access the at least one component electronic file from the composite electronic file and the at least one component pointer associated with the respective at least one component electronic file.   
     
     
         23 . An apparatus according to  claim 22 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide a master electronic file before providing the at least one component electronic file, wherein the master electronic file comprises at least one composite pointer associated with the at least one composite location, and
 wherein the processor being configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location includes being configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location via the at least one composite pointer of the master electronic file.   
     
     
         24 . An apparatus according to  claim 22 , wherein the processor being configured to provide the at least one component electronic file includes being configured to transfer the at least one component electronic file into the at least one composite location. 
     
     
         25 . An apparatus according to  claim 22 , wherein the processor being configured to generate the composite electronic file includes being configured to generate the composite electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one component pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         26 . An apparatus according to  claim 22 , wherein the processor being configured to generate the composite electronic file includes being configured to generate the composite electronic file in an extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus according to  claim 22 , wherein when the at least one component file is removed from the at least one composite location, the respective composite electronic file is generated independent of the respective component pointer associated with the respective component electronic file. 
     
     
         28 . A computer program product for generating at least one composite electronic file, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied in said medium, the computer-readable program code comprising:
 a first executable portion configured to provide the at least one component electronic file stored in at least one composite location;   a second executable portion configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location, and in response thereto, automatically generate a composite electronic file including at least one component pointer associated with the at least one component electronic file stored in the respective composite location; and   a third executable portion configured to provide the composite electronic file to enable a user to access the at least one component electronic file from the composite electronic file and the at least one component pointer associated with the respective at least one component electronic file.   
     
     
         29 . A computer program product according to  claim 28 , wherein the computer-readable program code further comprises a fourth executable portion configured to provide a master electronic file before the first executable portion provides the at least one component electronic file, wherein the master electronic file comprises at least one composite pointer associated with the at least one composite location, and
 wherein the second executable portion being configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location includes being configured to receive a request to access the at least one composite location via the at least one composite pointer of the master electronic file.   
     
     
         30 . A computer program product according to  claim 28 , wherein the first executable portion being configured to provide the at least one component electronic file includes being configured to transfer the at least one component electronic file into the at least one composite location. 
     
     
         31 . A computer program product according to  claim 28 , wherein the second executable portion being configured to generate the composite electronic file includes being configured to generate the composite electronic file in a hypertext markup language including at least one hypertext link associated with the at least one component pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         32 . A computer program product according to  claim 28 , wherein the second executable portion being configured to generate the composite electronic file includes being configured to generate the composite electronic file in an extensible markup language including at least one interactive link associated with the at least one pointer to enable the user to access the at least one component electronic file. 
     
     
         33 . A computer program product according to  claim 28 , wherein when the at least one component file is removed from the at least one composite location, the respective composite electronic file is generated independent of the respective component pointer associated with the respective component electronic file.