JP2006221581A - Device and method of preparing operation description expression for gui application, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently prepare an operation description expression of an operation manual for a GUI application. <P>SOLUTION: A message, that is event information generated by an operation of an operation component, is acquired on an execution screen for the GUI application 4, by an operation event determination part 12, and an operation component determination part 14 determines a name of the operation component and a fixed form of character sequence, based on a component class name and a type included in the message, referring to a component list 13. A display character sequence inquiring part 15 inquires a character sequence displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen, to the application 4, via an OS2, based on the acquired message. The name of the operation component and the fixed form of character sequence acquired by the operation component determination part 14, and the display character sequence acquired by the display character sequence inquiring part 15 are connected by a prescribed format in a connection part 16 to prepare the one operation description expression. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a GUI application operation explanation word creation device, an operation explanation word creation method, and a program used for creating an operation manual or the like of a GUI application.

  The operation manual of GUI (Graphical User Interface) application calls which screen for each purpose, and which operation component among various operation components (objects) such as menus and buttons provided on the called screen. The sequence of operations is expressed using screen images and explanatory text.

  Creation of the explanatory text in the operation manual of the GUI application is performed manually. In this case, the manual creator starts the GUI application, examines the names of the operation parts such as menus and buttons arranged on the execution screen, and performs operations (clicks, checks, etc.) performed on the respective operation parts. ), And adopt these to create a description of the operation. However, manual operation manual preparation is inefficient, and costs such as human error correction are particularly high.

Therefore, the event information generated by actually operating the operation parts using the mouse or the like on the execution screen of the GUI application is obtained, analyzed, and converted into data that can be incorporated into the manual. There is a known technique for creating a document that is the original form of a manual (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-105444

  However, the format of the information included in the event, particularly the information specifying the operated operation item, is not necessarily a character string displayed in an item such as a menu or button on the application execution screen. That is, the application may identify each operation item by its position or an index assigned to the item. Therefore, after the original document of the manual is created, it is necessary to convert the name of the operation item included in the document into a corresponding character string on the application execution screen.

  In view of the above, the present invention provides a GUI application operation explanation word creation device capable of creating an operation explanation word used for creating an operation manual of a GUI application using a character string displayed on the execution screen of the GUI application. An object of the present invention is to provide an operation explanation text creating method and a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, a GUI application operation explanation word creation apparatus according to the present invention is an application execution screen having an operation component that generates an event for a GUI application, and information on events generated by operation of the operation component. An event information acquisition unit to be acquired, a display character string inquiry unit that inquires the GUI application for a character string displayed in association with the operated operation component based on the acquired event information, and the inquiry character string. A predetermined character string for configuring the operation explanation wording based on the acquired event information, a character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit, and a fixed character string determined by the determination unit are predetermined. A linking unit that creates an operation explanation text by linking in the format of The features.

  Further, in the present invention, the determination unit determines a fixed character string for composing the operation explanation wording in conjunction with the inquired character string based on the acquired event information, and determines the name of the operated operation item. The linking unit creates an operation explanation word by linking the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit, the fixed character string determined by the determination unit, and the name of the operation item in a predetermined format. May be.

  Furthermore, the present invention further includes a list in which elements for identifying the operated operation parts included in the event information, and fixed character strings and names corresponding thereto are registered, and the determination unit acquires A fixed character string and a name corresponding to the operated operation component may be determined by referring to the list based on the event information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to create an operation explanation word used for creating an operation manual of a GUI application using a character string displayed on the execution screen of the GUI application, thereby making the creation of the operation manual more efficient. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a GUI application operation explanation text creating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The GUI application operation explanation word creation device 100 includes an operation explanation word creation application 3 that operates under the control of the computer 1 and an OS (operating system) that is a basic program incorporated in the computer 1, and an OS 2 This is realized by the GUI application 4 that is the target of creating the operation explanation text. The operation explanation word creation application 3 and the operation explanation word creation target GUI application 4 each operate in parallel as separate processes in one computer. The computer 1 has a general computer hardware configuration. That is, it is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a main memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like.

  The display unit 5 connected to the computer 1 displays an execution screen of the GUI application 4 that is a target for creating the operation explanation text, the created operation explanation text, and the like. The user performs operations (character input, click, check, etc.) of various operation parts on the execution screen of the GUI application 4 using the input unit 6 such as the mouse 6a and the keyboard 6b that are also connected to the computer 1. Can do.

  Here, taking the case where the OS 2 is Windows (registered trademark) as an example, when an operation component on the application execution screen is operated with the mouse 6a or the keyboard 6b, an event corresponding to the operation is notified to the GUI application 4. Explain the mechanism.

  When an operation on the operation component of the application execution screen by the input unit 6 such as the mouse 6a or the keyboard 6b occurs, a hardware event corresponding to the operation is generated in the input unit 6 and accumulated in the device queue 7. A device driver such as a keyboard device driver or a mouse device driver calls Windows (registered trademark), converts a hardware event stored in the device queue 7 into a message corresponding to the operation content, and sends the message to the system queue 8. The message sent to the system queue 8 is sent to and stored in the thread queue 9 associated with each window that is an application execution screen. On the other hand, the GUI application 4 makes a message acquisition request to Windows (registered trademark) in a message loop process in order to process a message sent to itself. As a result, Windows (registered trademark) transmits the message stored in the thread queue 9 to the GUI application 4.

  The operation explanation word creation application 3 acquires a message sent from Windows (registered trademark) to the GUI application 4 by using a hook function of Windows (registered trademark). This hook function is a function for monitoring a message sent from Windows (registered trademark) to an application.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the function of the operation explanation word creation application 3 of FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the operation explanation text creating application 3 includes a target application designating unit 11 that designates a GUI application 4 that is a target of operation explanation text generation, and a message transmitted from the OS 2 to the target GUI application 4. Among them, the operation event determination unit 12 that determines messages related to operations on various operation components on the application execution screen, and the name of the operation component that has been operated based on the messages related to operations determined by the operation event determination unit 12 ( And a fixed character string corresponding to the operation component with reference to an operation component list 13 to be described later, and an operation GUI determined by the operation event determination unit 12 and a target GUI. For application 4, application The display character string inquiry unit 15 that inquires through the OS 2 the character string that is added to the operation component and displayed on the operation execution screen, and the display character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit 15 and the operation component determination unit 14 The operation part list 13 includes a connection part 16 that connects the names of the operation parts and the fixed character strings in a predetermined format, an output part 17 that outputs the character strings connected by the connection part 16, and an operation part list 13.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation component list 13 includes component class names such as “menu”, “button”, and “ComboBox” indicating the operation component classification included in the message notified to the GUI application 4, and the operation component type. The name (common name) of the operation component and the fixed character string used for the operation component are registered in association with each other.

  For example, if the part class name is “menu”, the type of the operation part is a type with a submenu below it (MF_POPUP), or there is no submenu and the operation part is a command input. Indicates whether the type is to perform (MF_COMMAND). Further, when the part class name is “button”, it indicates which type of the check box (BS_CHECKBOX), push button (BS_PUSHBUTTON), or option button (BS_RADIOBUTTON) is. The names (common names) of the operation parts are “menu”, “check box”, “button”, “option button”, and the like. These do not necessarily match the character string displayed in addition to the operation component on the application execution screen. A fixed character string is a symbol or character string that is linked to an operation item to create a sentence that is meaningful as an explanation of the operation. For example, in the case of a menu whose type is MF_POPUP, the lower menu is subsequently selected, and therefore “→” meaning this is registered in the fixed character string. Further, in the case of a menu whose type is MF_COMMAND, a certain command is subsequently selected and executed, so “execute” is registered in the fixed character string.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the execution screen 21 of the GUI application 4. The execution screen 21 of the GUI application 4 is provided with operation components that cause an event, such as menus and buttons. Here, the menu 22 includes a plurality of operation components such as “file”, “edit”, and “format”. Here, each character string of “file”, “edit”, and “format” is the display character string. Each of the “file”, “edit”, and “format” operation parts has a submenu. For example, when “file” is designated, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, subordinates configured by command input operation parts such as “open”, “print”, and “end” are displayed below the operation items of the file. Menu 24 opens. These character strings “open”, “print”, and “end” are the display character strings. The buttons include an option button 23a, a check box 23b, and a push button 23c. Character strings such as “Option 1” and “Option 2” are displayed next to the option button 23a, and character strings such as “Check 1” and “Check 2” are displayed next to the check box 23b. Is displayed. The push button 23c displays “Apply” as a display character string.

  Next, the operation of the GUI application operation explanation text creating device 100 of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating an operation explanation text by the GUI application operation explanation text creation device 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the target application designating unit 11 designates the target GUI application 4 for generating the operation explanation text by the user (step S601). The specified content of the target GUI application 4 is given to the operation event determination unit 12. Thereafter, the operation event determination unit 12 acquires a message for the target GUI application 4 from the corresponding thread queue 9 of the OS 2 (step S602), and determines a message related to an operation on the operation component of the application execution screen from the message (step S603). ).

  When the operation event determination unit 12 determines that the message is related to an operation (YES in step S603), the operation event determination unit 12 sends the component class name and type included in the acquired message to the operation component determination unit 14 and the display character string inquiry unit 15 The acquisition message is sent to (step S604).

  When receiving the component class name and type, the operation component determination unit 14 refers to the operation component list 13 using these as keys and determines the name and fixed character string of the corresponding operation component (step S605). Further, when the display character string inquiry unit 15 acquires the message, based on this message, the display character string inquiry unit 15 inquires the target GUI application 4 for the character string displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen through the OS 2. A display character string is acquired (step S606). This is possible by using an API (Application Program Interface) function such as “GetWindowText” that is provided in Windows (registered trademark), for example, to obtain a character string of the title bar of the window.

  Thereafter, the connecting unit 16 connects the name and fixed character string of the operation component acquired by the operation component determining unit 14 and the display character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit 15 in a predetermined format. Two sentences are created (step S607). The connected sentence created in this way is displayed on the display unit, for example, by the output unit 17 (step S608), and discharged to the text file in response to a command from the user.

  Next, a specific example of creating the operation explanation text of the GUI application 4 will be described.

  On the execution screen 21 of the GUI application 4 shown in FIG. 4, the operation item displayed as “file” in the menu 22 is clicked, and as a result, as shown in FIG. For example, a case where a submenu 24 including operation parts for command input such as “Open”, “Print”, and “End” is opened and a “Print” command is clicked is taken as an example.

  First, when “file” in the menu 22 is clicked with the mouse 6a, the operation explanation word creation application 3 uses the operation event determination unit 12 to obtain a message related to the operation from the thread queue 9 of the OS2. Judge that. The operation event determination unit 12 notifies the component class name “menu” and type (MF_POPUP) included in the message related to the operation to the component determination unit 14 and notifies the display character string inquiry unit 15 of the message. The component determination unit 14 determines the “menu” that is the name of the corresponding operation component and the “→” that is the fixed character string from the operation component list 13 using the component class name “menu” and the type (MF_POPUP) as a key, and connects them. Send to part 16. On the other hand, based on the message, the display character string inquiry unit 15 inquires the target GUI application 4 for a character string displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen through the OS 2 and receives a response. The received display character string “file” is sent to the linking unit 16. The linking unit 16 receives the operation component name “menu” and the fixed character string “→” received from the component determination unit 14 and the “file” that is the display character string received from the display character string inquiry unit 15 in a predetermined format. Link. For example, concatenate with the format “File Menu →”. This connection result is displayed on the display unit 5 through the output unit 17.

  Subsequently, when the command displayed as “print” in the submenu 24 is clicked, the operation explanation text creating application 3 operates the message acquired from the thread queue 9 of the OS 2 by the operation event determination unit 12. It is determined that the message is related to. The operation event determination unit 12 notifies the component determination unit 14 of the component class name “menu” and the type (MF_COMMAND) included in the message related to the operation, and notifies the display character string inquiry unit 15 of the message. The part determination unit 14 determines the name of the corresponding operation part and the fixed character string “execute” from the operation part list 13 by using the part class name “menu” and the type (MF_COMMAND) as a key, and the connection part. 16 Since the name of the operation component corresponding to the component class name “menu” and the type (MF_COMMAND) is blank in the operation component list 13, the name of the operation component is none. On the other hand, based on the message, the display character string inquiry unit 15 inquires the target GUI application 4 for a character string displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen through the OS 2 and receives a response. The received display character string “print” is sent to the linking unit 16. The concatenating unit 16 concatenates the standard character string “execute” received from the component determination unit 14 and “print”, which is the display character string received from the display character string inquiry unit 15, in a predetermined format. For example, concatenate in the format “Print is executed”. This connection result is displayed on the display unit 5 through the output unit 17. For example, it is displayed after the previously created operation explanation word or after a line feed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, in the execution screen 21 of the GUI application 4, a check is inserted into a button (check box) 23 b 1 displayed as “Check 1”, and subsequently a button displayed as “Apply”. The operation for creating the operation explanation text will be described by taking as an example a case where the (push button) 23c is clicked.

  First, when a check is inserted into a button (check box) 23b1 displayed as “Check 1”, the operation explanation text creation application 3 receives a message acquired from the thread queue 9 of the OS 2 by the operation event determination unit 12. It is determined that the message is related to the operation. The operation event determination unit 12 notifies the component determination unit 14 of the component class name “button” and type (BS_CHECKBOX) included in the message related to the operation, and notifies the display character string inquiry unit 15 of the message. The part determination unit 14 checks the “check box” that is the name of the corresponding operation part and the standard character string “from the operation part list 13 by using the part class name“ button ”and the type (BS_CHECKBOX) as keys. Is sent to the connecting unit 16. On the other hand, based on the message, the display character string inquiry unit 15 inquires the target GUI application 4 for a character string displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen through the OS 2 and receives a response. The received display character string “Check 1” is sent to the linking unit 16. The linking unit 16 checks the name “check box” and the fixed character string “check box” of the operation component received from the component determination unit 14, and “Check 1” is the display character string received from the display character string inquiry unit 15. ”In a predetermined format. For example, concatenate in the format of “Check 1 check box”. This connection result is displayed on the display unit through the output unit 17.

  Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when the button (push button) 23 c displayed as “Apply” is clicked on the execution screen 21 of the GUI application 4, the operation explanation word creation application 3 displays the operation event determination unit 12. Then, it is determined that the message acquired from the thread queue 9 of the OS 2 is a message related to the operation. The operation event determination unit 12 notifies the component determination unit 14 of the component class name “button” and type (BS_PUSHBUTTON) included in the message related to the operation, and notifies the display character string inquiry unit 15 of the message. As a result, the component determination unit 14 clicks the “button” that is the name of the corresponding operation component and the standard character string “” from the operation component list 13 using the component class name “button” and the type (BS_PUSHBUTTON) as keys. Is sent to the connecting unit 16. On the other hand, based on the message, the display character string inquiry unit 15 inquires the target GUI application 4 for a character string displayed in association with the corresponding operation component on the application execution screen through the OS 2 and receives a response. “Apply” which is the received display character string is sent to the linking unit 16. The connection unit 16 clicks the name “button” and the fixed character string “click” of the operation component received from the component determination unit 14, and “apply” which is the display character string received from the display character string inquiry unit 15. Are linked in a predetermined format. For example, concatenate in the format “Click Apply Button”. This connection result is displayed on the display unit 5 through the output unit 17. For example, it is displayed after the previously created operation explanation word or after a line feed.

  Next, update of the operation component list 13 will be described.

  The contents of the operation component list 13 can be displayed as a list on the display unit 5. In this displayed state, the user selects an arbitrary item in the operation component list 13 with the mouse 6a or the like, and the keyboard 6b or the like. The contents can be updated by inputting characters. For example, the names of operation parts, fixed character strings, etc. are highly useful for modification (customization). More specifically, the fixed character string can be changed from “Dashun key” to “Don key”, or “→” in the menu can be changed to a conjunction “no” or the like.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 9, by moving the mouse 6a cursor to an arbitrary item and clicking on the update screen of the operation component list 13, a list 25 of data that can be registered in that item is displayed. By selecting arbitrary data among them, the contents of the operation component list 13 may be updated without inputting characters from the keyboard 6b.

  Furthermore, the contents updated in the operation component list 13 are automatically reflected in the data stored in the memory or the like as the operation explanations that have been created so far. Operation descriptions can be created efficiently and with a high degree of freedom of change.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to efficiently create an operation explanation wording that serves as a base for creating an operation manual of the GUI application 4 using a character string displayed on the execution screen of the GUI application 4. Can do.

  Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be expanded and modified. The expanded and modified embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the operation description word creation apparatus of the GUI application 4 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which made the function of the operation description word creation application of FIG. 1 into a block. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation components list | wrist of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the execution screen of the GUI application. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a “file” submenu is displayed on the execution screen of the GUI application 4 of FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the operation description word creation apparatus of the GUI application 4 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state by which the check box was operated in the execution screen of the GUI application. It is a figure which shows the state by which the button of application was operated in the execution screen of the GUI application. It is a figure which shows the update screen of an operation component list.

Explanation of symbols

    DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer, 2 ... OS, 3 ... Operation explanation word creation application, 4 ... GUI application, 5 ... Display part, 6 ... Input part, 7 ... Device queue, 8 ... System queue, 9 ... Thread queue, 11 ... Target application Designation part, 12 ... Operation event determination part, 13 ... Operation part list, 14 ... Operation part judgment part, 15 ... Display character string inquiry part, 16 ... Connection part, 17 ... Output part, 21 ... Application execution screen, 22 ... Menu , 23a ... Option button, 23b ... Check box, 23c ... Push button, 24 ... Submenu, 100 ... GUI application operation explanation word creation device

Claims (10)

An event information acquisition unit for acquiring information on an event generated by an operation of the operation component on an application execution screen having an operation component for generating an event for the GUI application;
A display character string inquiry unit that inquires the GUI application for a character string displayed in association with the operated operation component based on the acquired event information;
A determination unit that determines a fixed character string for configuring an operation explanation wording in conjunction with the inquired character string, based on the acquired event information;
A GUI application comprising: a connection unit that connects the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit and the fixed character string determined by the determination unit in a predetermined format to create an operation explanation wording. Operation explanation word creation device. The determination unit determines a fixed character string for constructing an operation explanation word by concatenating with the queried character string based on the acquired event information, and determines a name of the operated operation item. ,
The concatenation unit concatenates the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit, the fixed character string determined by the determination unit and the name of the operation item in a predetermined format, and creates an operation explanation wording. The operation explanation word creation device for a GUI application according to claim 1. An element for identifying the operated operation component included in the event information, and a list of registered standard character strings and names corresponding thereto are further included;
The GUI application according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines a fixed character string and a name corresponding to the operated operation component with reference to the list based on the acquired event information. Operation explanation word creation device.   4. The operation explanation text creating apparatus for a GUI application according to claim 3, wherein the list is updateable. A step of acquiring event information generated by an operation of the operation component on an application execution screen having an operation component that generates an event for a GUI application by an event information acquisition unit;
Inquiring the GUI application for a character string displayed in association with the operated operation component based on the acquired event information by a display character string inquiry unit;
A step of determining a fixed character string for configuring an operation explanation word by connecting with the inquired character string based on the acquired event information by the determination unit;
A step of connecting the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit and the fixed character string determined by the determination unit in a predetermined format by a connection unit, and creating an operation explanation wording, A method for creating an operation explanation for a GUI application. Based on the acquired event information, the determination unit determines a fixed character string that is connected to the inquired character string to form an operation explanation wording, and determines the name of the operated operation item. ,
Creating an operation explanation word by connecting the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit, the fixed character string determined by the determination unit, and the name of the operation item in a predetermined format by the connecting unit. The method for creating an operation explanation text of a GUI application according to claim 5. There is provided a list in which elements for identifying the operated operation parts included in the event information, and fixed character strings and names corresponding thereto are registered,
7. The GUI application according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit determines a fixed character string and a name corresponding to the operated operation component with reference to the list based on the acquired event information. How to create operation explanation text. An event information acquisition means for acquiring information of an event generated by an operation of the operation component on an application execution screen having an operation component for generating an event for the GUI application on the computer;
Display character string inquiry means for inquiring of the GUI application a character string displayed in association with the operated operation component based on the acquired event information;
A determination means for determining a fixed character string for constructing an operation explanation wording linked to the inquired character string based on information of the acquired event;
A program which functions as a connecting means for connecting the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry means and the fixed character string determined by the determining means in a predetermined format to create an operation explanation text. The determination means determines a fixed character string for constructing an operation explanation word by concatenating with the queried character string based on the acquired event information, and determines a name of the operated operation item. ,
The connecting means connects the character string acquired by the display character string inquiry unit, the fixed character string determined by the determination unit, and the name of the operation item in a predetermined format to create an operation explanation wording. The program according to claim 8.   The determination means is based on the acquired event information, and includes a list in which elements that specify the operated operation component and a fixed character string and a name corresponding to the elements are included in the event information. The program according to claim 9, wherein a fixed character string and a name corresponding to the operated operation component are determined with reference to the program.

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