1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data transmission apparatus, method and program for the transmission of image data over a network, and to a computer-readable recording medium on which such program is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional methods of information transmission using paper, i.e., relay viewing, distribution and posting, are being replaced by methods based on electronic data. For example, a scanner that sends to each user as an attached file to an e-mail over a network image data obtained through the reading of a paper original document is known.
However, in such a scanner having the network function described above, the transmission parameters such as the resolution, the color or monochrome mode, and the file format regarding the image data to be sent, are normally specified by the sender of the image data when such data is sent. Therefore, there have been situations in which the recipient of the image data cannot receive the image data subject to the transmission parameters that the recipient desires.
In order to resolve this problem, the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H10-233860, for example, discloses an apparatus that obtains and stores multiple image data sets each having a different image quality, e.g., those used for display and confirmation and those used for printing, in a Web server, wherein such apparatus also provides a notification that image data has been stored by including an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that indicates the location of the image data in an e-mail. Therefore, based on the URL that indicates the location of the image data, each user can download image data of a desired image quality using a Web browser on the user's client personal computer, enabling the image data to be displayed or stored on the personal computer.
However, in the technology described above, due to security considerations, the Web server on which the image data is stored is not normally accessible outside the intranet to which the Web server is connected. Consequently, the problem arises that a user using a device outside that intranet, i.e., a user who is not an employee of the company, or a user who is an employee but is on a business trip or is stationed overseas, for example, cannot view or obtain the image data stored on the Web server.