JP2000305686A - User interface system and computer readable storage medium recording program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a user interface system which allows a user to continue processing without any disturbance even when a modal dialog box is displayed. SOLUTION: When a modal dialog is displayed (S15), the background color of a master screen is changed (S14) to visually notify a user that the master screen is not in a state where input can be made. When the modal dialog box is erased (S16), the background color of the master screen is returned to the original background color (S17 and S18).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a user who can operate without confusion when a modal dialog box is displayed on a parent screen by clearly indicating that input cannot be made on the parent screen. It concerns the interface method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some programs on a personal computer (personal computer) at present, a dialog box (child screen) for setting may be displayed on a main processing screen (parent screen).

[0003] Regarding the following dialog box, "Vi
"Sual Basic" (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Programming Guide (published by Microsoft Corporation on November 1, 1995, first edition, first edition) 362-
This will be described using the description on page 363.

There are two types of dialog boxes: modal dialog boxes and modeless dialog boxes. A "modal" dialog box is a dialog box that cannot proceed to the next operation until it is closed (hidden or unloaded). For example, [OK]
A dialog box that cannot move to another form or dialog box until the user clicks the button or Cancel button is called a modal dialog box. When displaying important messages,
Use a modal dialog box so that the user does not proceed until the user closes the dialog box or responds to the message displayed in the dialog box. A "modeless" dialog box is a dialog box that allows you to focus on another form while keeping the dialog box open. That is, it is possible to move to another part in the application and perform the operation while the dialog box is displayed. Modeless dialog boxes are not used for normal processing.

[0005] To display a form as a modal dialog box, Sh with 1 specified in the argument style is specified.
Use the ow method. The following is an example. Display as a modal dialog box. frmAbout. Show 1

[0006] To display a form as a modeless dialog box, specify Sh without specifying the style argument.
Use the ow method. The following is an example. Displays as a modeless dialog box. frmAbout. Show

When a form is displayed as a modal dialog box, S until the dialog box is closed.
The code following the how method is not executed. On the other hand, if the form is displayed as a modeless dialog box, Show immediately after the form is displayed.
The next code in the method is executed.

The above is the description quoted from the above-mentioned programming guide. In many cases, a dialog box is displayed as a modal dialog box (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a modal dialog).

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for displaying a conventional modal dialog. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the operation. When displaying a modal dialog, FIG.
The following procedure is used to display the parent screen, then display the modal dialog, and then delete the modal dialog after input to the modal dialog. When the modal dialog is displayed as shown in FIG.
Processing such as input of the main processing screen originally displayed in the lower layer is prohibited and cannot be input. However, a person unfamiliar with a personal computer or the like may be confused in such a case without knowing the reason why the main screen cannot be input. In particular, if the modal dialog moves to the corner of the screen and disappears, there is a risk of misunderstanding that the application has become abnormal.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an input processing method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-95615. In this processing method, an input prohibition mark X for prohibiting input from the menu screen is displayed prior to execution of the processing, and the input prohibition mark X is deleted after the processing is executed.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an hourglass indicating a waiting state when the cursor selects an icon and the icon is in an activated state.

FIG. 20 shows a case where a menu button displayed on a menu bar is selected to display a pull-down menu, and buttons that can be selected from the pull-down menu and buttons that cannot be selected are displayed in a distinguished manner.

[0013]

When a modal dialog is displayed as shown in FIG. 17, there is a problem that the reason why input on the main screen is disabled cannot be understood and a novice user may be confused. Was. In particular, when the modal dialog is behind the main screen (when the modal dialog is displayed in the lower layer of the main screen and becomes invisible), or when the modal dialog moves to the corner of the screen and becomes invisible In such a case, the user may not be able to continue the operation.

As a method for indicating to the user the state in which input is not possible, as shown in FIG. 18, a technique is disclosed in which a prohibition mark is displayed before execution of the program processing and the prohibition mark is erased after execution, or FIG. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a technique of displaying an hourglass beside a cursor to indicate a waiting state as shown. However, the cases shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 are both for notifying the user of the time during which the user cannot perform processing, that is, the time during which the program is being executed or the time during which the program or the icon is being activated. Further, as shown in FIG. 20, there is already a technique for displaying a button that can be selected from a menu bar or a pull-down menu and a button that cannot be selected, but it is necessary to simply distinguish a button that can be selected from a menu and a button that cannot be selected. I was just there.

[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a user interface system that allows a user to continue processing without any confusion even when a modal dialog box is displayed.

[0016]

According to a user interface method of the present invention, a main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device and background information such as a background color and a background texture of the main screen are obtained. By using the parent screen background information backup step of backing up to memory, the parent screen change background information reading step of reading the parent screen background information stored in advance from the memory, and the read parent screen changed background information, A main screen background information change step of changing background information of the main screen, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the display device, and a modal dialog erasing step of deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device. Read the background information of the parent screen backed up to memory from the memory. A reading step, characterized in that a parent screen background information recovery process to restore the background information of the parent screen using the parent screen backup background information read.

According to the user interface method of the present invention, there is provided a main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a graphic drawing step of drawing a graphic on the main screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode, A modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the device, a modal dialog deletion step of deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device, and a figure drawn on the main screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode And a graphic erasing step.

According to the user interface method of the present invention, a main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on a display screen of the display device, An iconifying step of iconifying the parent screen displayed on the display screen of the display device with the display, a modal dialog erasing step of erasing the display screen from the display device, and displaying the parent screen from the icon as the modal dialog is erased And restoring the main screen.

According to the user interface method of the present invention, there is provided a main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on a display screen of the display device. A full-screen display step of displaying a modal dialog in full screen when there is no input, and a modal dialog erasing step of erasing the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device when there is input in the modal dialog. It is characterized by.

A computer-readable recording medium storing a program according to the present invention includes a main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, and background information such as a background color and a background texture of the main screen. The main screen background information backup process of acquiring and backing up to the memory, the main screen change background information reading process of reading the changed background information of the main screen stored in advance from the memory, and the changed background information of the read main screen. A parent screen background information changing step of changing background information of the parent screen, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the display device, and a modal dialog erasing of deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device Read process and background information of parent screen backed up in memory from memory Characterized by comprising a screen backup background information reading step, a parent screen background information recovery process to restore the background information of the parent screen using the parent screen backup background information read.

A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program according to the present invention includes a parent screen display step of displaying a parent screen on a display screen of a display device, and a graphic on the parent screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode. A drawing process for drawing, a modal dialog display process for displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the display device, a modal dialog deletion process for deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device, and a parental control in the exclusive OR drawing mode. A graphic erasing step of erasing a graphic drawn on the screen.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a computer 10 on which the user interface system of the present invention operates. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the computer 10. The computer 10 is a CRT 1
1 (an example of a display device), a system unit 12, a keyboard 13, a mouse 14, and a printer 19. A flexible disk 15 and a fixed disk 16 are installed inside the system unit 12. The CPU 2 is provided inside the system unit 12.
0, a bus 21, a RAM 22, a ROM 23, a timer 24, and a communication board 18 are installed. The user interface system of the present invention provides a user interface system by inputting and outputting data to and from each hardware shown in FIGS. The user interface method of the present invention may be configured by hardware, may be configured by software, or may be configured by a combination of hardware and software. Preferably, the user interface system of the present invention is created by a programming module operating on the computer 10.
These programming modules are stored on the flexible disk 15 or the fixed disk 16 and
The program is executed by the CPU 20 by being supplied to the AM 22. The data used in the program module is data or a file recorded on the RAM 22 or the ROM 23, the fixed disk 16 or the flexible disk 15.

Hereinafter, the background color will be described as an example of the background information. The background information is not limited to the background color, but may be a background texture. The background information may be both the background information and the background texture. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the user interface method according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation. In the method of the present invention, the parent screen change background color 41 is stored in the fixed disk 16 in advance. The parent screen change background color 41 is a color for rejecting input. For example, it is desirable to use red or black.

As shown in FIG. 3, the parent screen is displayed on the display screen 17 of the CRT 11 in S11. The parent screen display is instructed by the parent screen display unit 48, and the parent screen is displayed on the display screen 17 of the CRT 11 by the screen control unit 44 and the screen display processing unit 43. Main screen display section 48
Specifies the background color of the parent screen. For example, Visual
When Basic is used, the value of the background color is specified in the attribute called the back color of the property.

When the modal dialog box 93 is displayed on the main screen 91 in such a state, the background color of the main screen 91 is backed up in S12. In this operation, the screen control unit 44 reads the value of the back color of the property of the main screen 91 and stores it in the background color storage area 45.
The background color storage area 45 is a part of the RAM 22. Then S
At 13, the parent screen change background color reading processing unit 47 reads the parent screen change background color 41 from the fixed disk 16. Next, the background color change processing unit 46 changes the parent screen change background color read processing unit 4.
The parent screen 9 is read using the parent screen change background color 41 read by the parent screen 9.
Change the background color of 1. Specifically, the background color change processing unit 4
6 overwrites the value of the back color of the property of the parent screen 91 with the value of the parent screen change background color 41. By this overwriting, the screen control unit 44 instructs the screen display processing unit 43 to display the color of the parent screen change background color 41, and the display screen 1
7, the changed background color is displayed. Next, a modal dialog box 93 is displayed in S15.

If there is an input to the modal dialog box 93, the modal dialog box 93 is deleted in S16. When the modal dialog box 93 is erased, the background color change processing unit 46 reads the background color stored in the background color storage area 45 in S17. In S18, the background color change processing unit 46 stores the back color of the property of the main screen 91 in the background color storage area 4
5 is overwritten with the background color stored. As a result, the operation of the screen control unit 44 and the screen display processing unit 43 causes the display screen 17 to operate.
Is restored to the original color of the background color of the main screen 91 displayed on the screen.

As described above, the background color of the main screen 91 is changed to the background color indicating that the input has been rejected. The confusion of a novice user can be prevented.

The conventional input prohibition mark shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 and the display of the hourglass indicating an input waiting state are marks indicating that a computer or a program is in the process of executing an operation. That is, the mark indicates that input for a certain time is prohibited. On the other hand, the user interface method of the present invention prevents the user from losing which of the screens to input when the parent screen and the child screen are simultaneously displayed on the screen. That is, it does not indicate a time zone in which input is prohibited, but indicates a place in which input is prohibited. In this regard, the present application differs from the present invention in the input prohibition mark and the hourglass mark shown in FIGS. Also, the one shown in FIG. 20 is one in which the selectability of the menu button is displayed in a distinguished manner. However, as in the present invention, the parent screen and the child screen are displayed in an overlapping manner, and at a glance, any screen can be selected. It is different from the distinction display in a simple situation. In the case shown in FIG. 20, only characters are blurred, whereas the present invention is different in that the background color is changed and the entire main screen is changed.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another flowchart of the user interface system of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram thereof. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation.

As shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that an exclusive OR pattern 51 is stored in the fixed disk 16 in advance. The exclusive OR pattern 51 is a pattern that indicates that the user cannot input. For example, a road sign prohibition mark is desirable.

The feature of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that the exclusive OR pattern 51 is displayed on the main screen 91 instead of changing the background information such as the background color of the main screen 91. It is. This display corresponds to S shown in FIG.
21. In S21, the graphic drawing processing unit 55 reads the exclusive OR pattern 51 from the fixed disk 16 and draws the exclusive OR pattern 51 on the parent screen 91 by using the exclusive OR processing. As a result, the exclusive OR pattern 51 is superimposed on the parent screen 91 and displayed.

If the modal dialog box 93 is erased in S16, the graphic drawing processing unit 55 performs an exclusive OR process in S23, and
To the original screen.

It is desirable that the size of the exclusive OR pattern 51 be equal to the size of the parent screen 91 as much as possible. For example, it is desirable that the vertical or horizontal size of the exclusive OR pattern 51 match the vertical or horizontal size of the parent screen 91.

The user can recognize that the parent screen 91 cannot be input by recognizing the exclusive OR pattern 51 which is largely displayed on the whole of the parent screen 91, so that the confusion of the novice user is prevented. can do.

Embodiment 3 FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation. In this embodiment, when the modal dialog box 93 is displayed in S31, the parent screen 9 is displayed.
1 becomes an icon. Then, when the modal dialog box 93 is deleted in S33, the parent screen 91 is restored from the iconized icon 94.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of iconification, in which the parent screen 91 is iconified as a button icon of the task bar 95. When the modal dialog box 93 is deleted, the task bar 95 is displayed.
The button icon of the parent screen 91 that has been saved is automatically activated to display the parent screen 91.

According to this embodiment, since the parent screen is converted into an icon, there is an effect that no input from the user to the parent screen can be made at all and confusion is not caused at all. In addition, since the parent screen 91 is iconified, a problem that the modal dialog box 93 is hidden behind the parent screen 91 can be prevented.

Embodiment 4 FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the present invention. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the state. The feature of this embodiment is that the modal dialog box 93 is enlarged to a full screen display. In S41 of FIG. 12, the parent screen 91 is displayed as shown in FIG.
If an input has been made in step, it is determined that the correct input to the modal dialog box 93 has not been made, and in step S43, the modal dialog box 93 is enlarged and displayed on the entire screen. That is, as shown in FIG. 13B, the display screen 17 displays only the modal dialog box 93. In such a state, the user is forced to make an input to the modal dialog box 93, so that correct operation can be continued.

Embodiment 5 FIG. 14 shows a case where the system provides in advance a part of the flowchart shown in FIG. 1 as a modal dialog display function 63 and a modal dialog deletion function 64. That is, the user (programmer) can automatically execute the user interface method of the present invention by using the modal dialog display function 63 or the modal dialog erase function 64. That is, the programmer is S12, S
13, there is no need to program S14 at all.
Also, there is no need to program S17 and S18 at all.

FIG. 15 shows a part of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 converted into a modal dialogue display function 63 and a modal dialogue deletion function 64. Even in this case, the user can use the user interface method of the present invention without any special knowledge or without any special programming.

The modal dialog box 93 in each of the above-described embodiments is an example of a case where the input of the parent screen cannot be performed when the child screen is displayed. Therefore, the present invention is applied to the case where the input to the parent screen is prohibited while the child screen is displayed even if the child screen does not use the name of the modal dialog box. be able to. Therefore, the modal dialog or the modal dialog box of the present invention means a dialog box in which input to the main screen is prohibited or a child screen in which input to the main screen is prohibited, as described above.

In FIG. 3, the processing of S12 to S14 is executed before S15, but the processing of S12 to S14 may be executed after the execution of S15. Also S16
May be executed after S17 and S18.

The process of S15 may be executed between S12 and S13, or may be executed between S13 and S14. Further, the processing of S16 may be executed during S18 of S17. In FIG. 6, S21 and S15
May be reversed. S16 and S23
May be reversed. In FIG. 9, S
The order of the processes of S31 and S15 may be reversed. Also S
The order of the processes of S16 and S33 may be reversed.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the modal dialog box 93 is displayed, the display of the main screen is displayed so as to be understood that the input is prohibited, so that the novice user can perform the operation. It is possible to continue without confusion.

According to the present invention, at the same time that the modal dialog box 93 is displayed, the parent screen 91 is converted into an icon or a button so that input to the parent screen 91 cannot be performed at all. But the process can continue without confusion.

According to the present invention, even when a modal dialog box 93 is displayed on the full screen when the modal dialog box 93 is displayed, even a novice user can continue processing without confusion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a computer on which a user interface system of the present invention operates.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a user interface method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a user interface method according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a user interface method according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a user interface method according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the user interface system according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a function of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a function of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a display flowchart of a conventional modal dialog box 93.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a conventional operation.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing how to use a conventional input prohibition mark.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a conventional waiting state.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a conventional button selection state.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 computer, 11 CRT, 12 system unit, 13 keyboard, 14 mouse, 15 flexible disk, 16 fixed disk, 17 display screen, 18 communication board, 19 printer, 20 CP
U, 21 bus, 22 RAM, 23 ROM, 24
Timer, 41 Main screen change background color, 43 Screen display processing unit, 44 Screen control unit, 45 Background color storage area, 46
Background color change processing unit, 47 Main screen change background color reading processing unit, 48 Main screen display unit, 51 Exclusive OR pattern, 55 Graphic drawing processing unit, 63 Modal dialog display function, 64 Modal dialog erase function, 91
Main screen, 93 modal dialog box, 94 icons, 95 taskbar, 97 icons, 98 menu bar.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A parent screen display step of displaying a parent screen on a display screen of a display device; a parent screen background information backup step of acquiring background information such as a background color and a background texture of the parent screen and backing it up in a memory; A main screen change background information reading step of reading the background information of the main screen stored in the memory from the memory, and a main screen background information change of changing the main screen background information using the read main screen change background information. Process, a modal dialog display process for displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the display device, a modal dialog deletion process for deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device, and background information of the parent screen backed up in the memory is read from the memory. Use the parent screen backup background information reading process and the read parent screen backup background information The user interface method being characterized in that a parent screen background information recovery process to restore the background information of the parent screen Te. 2. A main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a graphic drawing step of drawing a graphic on the main screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode, a modal dialogue on a display screen of the display device A modal dialogue display step of displaying, a modal dialogue erasing step of erasing the modal dialogue from the display screen of the display device, and a figure erasing step of erasing a figure drawn on the main screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode. User interface method characterized by the following. 3. A main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on a display screen of the display device, and display of the display device in accordance with the display of the modal dialog. An iconifying step of iconifying the parent screen displayed on the screen, a modal dialog erasing step of erasing the display screen from the display device, and a parent screen restoring step of displaying the parent screen from the icon accompanying the erasing of the modal dialog. A user interface method characterized by comprising: 4. A main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a modal dialog display step of displaying a modal dialog on a display screen of the display device, and when there is no input to the modal dialog, A user interface method comprising: a full-screen display step of displaying a modal dialog on a full screen; and a modal dialog erasing step of erasing the modal dialog from a display screen of a display device when an input is made to the modal dialog. . 5. A main screen display step of displaying a main screen on a display screen of a display device, a main screen background information backup step of acquiring background information such as a background color and a background texture of the main screen and backing it up in a memory, A main screen change background information reading step of reading the main screen change background information stored in the memory from the memory, and a main screen background color for changing the main screen background information using the read main screen change background information. A changing process, a modal dialog display process of displaying a modal dialog on the display screen of the display device, a modal dialog erasing process of deleting the modal dialog from the display screen of the display device, and background information of the parent screen backed up in the memory from the memory. Read parent screen backup background information reading process and read parent screen backup background information Parent screen background information recovery process and recording medium readable by a computer which records a program with undo background information of the parent screen are. 6. A parent screen display step of displaying a parent screen on a display screen of a display device, a graphic drawing step of drawing a graphic on the parent screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode, a modal dialogue on a display screen of the display device A modal dialogue display step of displaying, a modal dialogue erasing step of erasing the modal dialogue from the display screen of the display device, and a figure erasing step of erasing a figure drawn on the main screen in an exclusive OR drawing mode. Storage medium readable by a computer that stores the program.