JP4713098B2 - Selection item display device, selection item display method, and selection item display program - Google Patents

Description

  This invention is a selection item that displays on the screen an item (hereinafter referred to as a “selection item”) that can be arbitrarily selected / deselected by the user by checking or unchecking a check box on the screen, for example. The present invention relates to a display device, a selection item display method, and a selection item display program.

  In a keyword search of an electronic document, if the search target document is a table document such as a spreadsheet, the conformance / nonconformity of the document may differ depending on the appearance position of the keyword (where it appears in the document). is there. For example, if you try to narrow down only the list of customers including customers residing in Tokyo from multiple customer lists (assuming they are all table documents), a search for the keyword "Tokyo" will result in the office in Tokyo A directory containing as many customers as possible is also regarded as a relevant document.

  In order to avoid this, there is a conventional technique in which a keyword and its appearance position can be specified together as a search condition. In this technology, the keyword “Tokyo” is designated as the keyword, and “address”, which is the name of the column (field) of the table in the search target document, is specified as the appearance position. Only documents containing "" can be searched. That is, for example, a document that only includes the keyword “Tokyo” in the “work place” column will not be hit, and search noise can be reduced.

  However, particularly when there are a large number of documents to be searched, it is not easy to specify column names accurately and comprehensively. For example, the column name that stores the customer ’s address may have various variations such as “address” as well as “current address” and “address / location” (the column names are not necessarily unified between documents) If only the “address” column is designated as the appearance position of “Tokyo”, for example, a document including “Tokyo” in the “current address” column will be omitted from the search.

  Therefore, the present applicant automatically extracts the names of the columns constituting the table (hereinafter referred to as “attribute names”) from the search target document, and classifies the extracted attribute names into those that are semantically the same or similar. By presenting it to the user, the user is supported so that the user can accurately and comprehensively specify the appearance position (specifically, attribute name) of the keyword (for example, Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2003-374275 and 2003-374276). ). In these inventions, the user displays a list of all the attribute names extracted from the search target document, selects a desired attribute name from this list, and presses the “Add” button to select the attribute name. Can be added to search conditions.

  However, the ability to specify attribute names comprehensively means that the number of specified attribute names tends to increase. As the number increases, there is a problem that it is difficult for the user to know which attribute name is currently specified as a search condition and which attribute name is not specified. In particular, in document search, the target document is often reached as a result of trial and error while making subtle changes to the search conditions, so if you do not know the current search conditions accurately, the same search can be performed without noticing. The waste such as repetition increases.

  In order to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, when the user selects a plurality of items from a large number of selection items, which item is currently selected and which item is not selected It is an object of the present invention to provide a selection item display device, a selection item display method, and a selection item display program capable of presenting (ie, a combination of currently selected items) to a user in an easy-to-understand manner.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a selection item display device according to the present invention is a selection item display device used for searching an electronic document including a specified item, and the search item display device uses the search method from the electronic document. Extraction means for extracting candidate items (hereinafter referred to as “candidate items”), display means for displaying a plurality of candidate items extracted by the extraction means in a predetermined order, and the display Detecting means for detecting that at least one of the plurality of candidate items displayed by the means is selected, and the plurality of candidate items displayed by the display means when the selection is detected by the detecting means Determining means for determining the order on the display screen, and redisplay means for redisplaying the plurality of candidate items on the display screen in the order determined by the determining means. The determining means determines the order so that a group consisting of the selected items among the plurality of candidate items and a group consisting of other items are displayed separately on the display screen, The display order of the candidate items in each group is determined based on the number of appearances of the candidate items in the electronic document.

  In the selection item display device according to the present invention as set forth in the invention described above, the determination means preferentially displays the group consisting of the selected item among the plurality of candidate items over the group consisting of the other items. The order is determined so as to be displayed on the screen.

  The selection item display device according to the present invention is the selection item display device according to the above invention, wherein the determination means is configured to display the candidate items in the group preferentially displayed on the display screen from the candidate items with a large number of appearances. The display order is determined.

In addition, the selection item display method according to the present invention includes an extraction unit, a detection unit, a display unit, a determination unit, and a redisplay unit, and is a selection item used for searching an electronic document including a designated item. A selection item display method of a display device , wherein the extraction unit extracts a candidate for the item (hereinafter referred to as “candidate item”) to be searched from the electronic document by the extraction unit, and the detection unit a display step of displaying a plurality of candidate items extracted in said extracting step on a display screen in a predetermined order, by the display means, at least one of said plurality of candidate items displayed in the display step is selected a detection step of detecting that was, by the determination means, the detection process by the selection on the display screen of said plurality of candidate items displayed by the display means when it is detected A determination step of determining a mechanism, by the re-display means, anda re-displaying step of re-displaying the plurality of candidate items on the display screen in the order determined in the determination step, in the determination step, the The order is determined so that a group consisting of a plurality of candidate items being selected and a group consisting of other items are displayed separately on the display screen, and the candidate items within each group are displayed. Is displayed based on the number of appearances of the candidate item in the electronic document.

  Further, in the selection item display method according to the present invention, in the above invention, in the determination step, a group including a selected item among the plurality of candidate items is preferentially displayed over a group including the other items. The order is determined so as to be displayed on the screen.

  Further, in the selection item display method according to the present invention, in the above invention, in the determination step, the candidate item in the group is preferentially displayed on the display screen from the candidate item having a large number of appearances. The display order is determined.

  Moreover, according to the selection item display program concerning this invention, a computer can be made to perform said method.

  According to the selection item display device, the selection item display method, and the selection item display program according to the present invention, when a user selects a plurality of items from a large number of selection items, which item is currently selected. There is an effect that it is possible to easily present to the user which item is not selected (that is, a combination of items being selected).

  Exemplary embodiments of a selection item display device, a selection item display method, and a selection item display program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a selection item display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 101 indicates a CPU that controls the entire apparatus, 102 indicates a ROM that stores basic input / output programs, and 103 indicates a RAM that is used as a work area of the CPU 101.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an HDD (hard disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the HD (hard disk) 105 according to the control of the CPU 101, and 105 denotes an HD that stores data written according to the control of the HDD 104. Yes. Reference numeral 106 denotes an FDD (flexible disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the FD (flexible disk) 107 according to the control of the CPU 101, and 107 denotes a detachable FD that stores data written according to the control of the FDD 106. Respectively.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes a CD-RW drive that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the CD-RW, CD-R, or CD-ROM 109 according to the control of the CPU 101, and 109 is read / written according to the control of the CD-RW drive 108. A removable CD-RW, CD-R, or CD-ROM for storing data is shown.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes a cursor, menu, window, or display for displaying various data such as characters and images, 111 denotes a keyboard having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like, and 112 denotes various types. A mouse for selecting and executing instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a mouse pointer, and the like is shown.

  Reference numeral 113 denotes a network I / F that is connected to a LAN or WAN via a communication cable 114, and functions as an interface between the network and the CPU 101. Reference numeral 100 denotes a bus for connecting the above units.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram functionally showing the configuration of the selection item display device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a document storage unit, which is a functional unit that holds a plurality of search target documents. These documents are table documents, that is, documents including at least one table in the document. Specifically, in addition to a file created by a so-called spreadsheet software, an HTML file including a <table> tag is more generally used. An XML file containing a predetermined tag representing a table, a file created by word processing software and containing a table area (ruled line table) divided by ruled lines, or a GIF file or PDF file containing a table image And

  An attribute name list storage unit 201 is a functional unit that holds an “attribute name list” created by the inventions described in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2003-374275 and 2003-374276. As described in the above invention, the “attribute name list” is the source of all attribute names extracted from the search target document (table) in the document storage unit 200 and the source of each attribute name. The document name and the number of appearances of each attribute name (the number of appearing documents) are held in association with each other.

  A value list storage unit 202 is a functional unit that holds a “value list” created by the inventions described in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2003-374275 and 2003-374276. As described in the above-described invention, the “value list” includes all values extracted from (table) in the document to be searched in the document storage unit 200, and the document name and attribute from which each value is extracted. The name and the number of appearances of each value (number of appearing documents) are held in association with each other.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a document search unit, which is a functional unit that searches for documents that meet the input search conditions among the search target documents in the document storage unit 200. The document search unit 203 has a function of searching for a document including an attribute specified in a table in the document and a document including a value specified in an attribute specified in the table.

  204 is a condition input screen display unit, and 205 is a search result screen display unit, each of which is a functional unit that displays a condition input screen / search result screen described later. The condition input screen display unit 204 includes an attribute name reading unit 204a, a value reading unit 204b, and a display order determination unit 204c. Details of functions of the respective units will be sequentially described in the following flowcharts.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the document search process in the selection item display device according to the embodiment of the present invention. When there is a document search request from the user, the condition input screen display unit 204 and the search result screen display unit 205 display the condition input screen 400 / search result screen 401 as shown in FIG. 4 (step S301).

  In FIG. 4, the condition input screen 400 on the left side displays a list of attribute names read from the attribute name list storage unit 201 by the attribute name reading unit 204 a of the condition input screen display unit 204. The numerical value in parentheses is the number of appearances of each attribute name, and in the initial state, the order of attribute names is the descending order of the number of appearances. The descending order of the number of appearances here is based on the rule of thumb that attributes that appear frequently in the search target document are often emphasized by the user, but the order of attribute names in the initial state is not limited to this Instead, it may be in any order such as a dictionary order. On the other hand, in the search result screen 401 on the right side, all search target documents (names) in the document storage unit 200 are displayed in a list in an initial state (a state in which the search condition is not narrowed down).

  When it is detected that one of the attribute names is selected on the condition input screen 400, for example, that the check box of “product name” in the drawing is checked (step S302: Yes), the condition input screen display unit 204 displays The display order determination unit 204c obtains the order of attribute names in the screen (step S303) and redisplays the condition input screen 400 of FIG. 4 as shown in FIG. 5 based on this order (step S304). ).

  As shown in the figure, in the condition input screen 400 of FIG. 5, the “product name” selected in FIG. 4 is moved to the top. When “region name” is further selected in FIG. 5, the order of attribute names is as shown in FIG. 6, and when “quantity” is further selected in FIG. 6, the order of attribute names is as shown in FIG. So that each changes. Thus, in the condition input screen 400, the selected attribute name group and the unselected attribute name group are displayed separately, and the order of the attribute names in each group is the same as the initial state ( Here, the number of appearances is descending). In other words, the display order determination unit 204c determines the display order of the attribute names so that the attribute name being selected is higher, and the attribute name being selected is higher in appearance.

  In addition to the above, as a method of determining the arrangement order, for example, it is conceivable that the attribute name selected most recently is always placed at the top. In this case, the arrangement order of the attribute names immediately after selecting “region name” in FIG. 5 is the same as that in FIG. 6, but the state immediately after selecting “quantity” in FIG. In order from the top, “quantity”, “region name”, “product name”, “store name”, “unit price”, “sales date”,...

  Returning to the description of FIG. 3, the condition input screen display unit 204 rearranges the attribute names in steps S303 to S304 to display them again, and instructs the document search unit 203 to include the attribute names selected in step S302. Search for documents. Upon receiving this, the document search unit 203 refers to the attribute name list storage unit 201 to search for all documents including the selected attribute name (step S305), and further refers to the value list storage unit 202, All the values of the selected attribute names in the document are extracted (step S306). Thereafter, the document name of the document and the value extracted from each document are associated with each other and delivered to the search result screen display unit 205 as a search result.

  Upon receiving this, the search result screen display unit 205 redisplays the search result screen 401 in FIG. 4 as shown in FIG. 5 (step S307). In the search result screen 401 of FIG. 5, only the documents including the attribute name “product name” being selected on the condition input screen 400 among the search target documents in the document storage unit 200 are narrowed down. Further, a column of “product name” is added next to “document name”, and a specific value of “product name” extracted from each document is displayed here. Here, the display order of this value is the descending order of the number of appearances in each document, but it may be an arbitrary order such as a dictionary order.

  The search result screen 401 when the “region name” is further selected on the condition input screen 400 of FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 6, and the search result screen 401 when “quantity” is further selected on the condition input screen 400 of FIG. Only the documents that include all the attribute names that are currently selected are listed. In this example, the selected attribute names are combined with AND, but it is of course possible to search for documents that combine with OR, that is, include any one of the selected attribute names (AND connection). Whether or not to connect with OR can be switched by option setting separately). Also, a column corresponding to each attribute name being selected is added, and values extracted from each document are listed therein.

  In addition, by clicking the down arrow mark arranged on the right side of each attribute name in the condition input screens 400 of FIGS. 4 to 7, the values of the corresponding attribute names can be displayed as a list. That is, when the condition input screen display unit 204 detects the operation (step S302: No, step S308: Yes), the value reading unit 204b searches the value list storage unit 202 and associates it with the attribute name. All the values are extracted (step S309) and, for example, the condition input screen 400 of FIG. 7 is redisplayed as shown in FIG. 8 (step S310).

  FIG. 8 is an example of a screen immediately after the down arrow mark of “Region name” and “Product name” in FIG. 7 is clicked. The order of the values is the descending order of the number of appearances in the illustrated example, but this is also based on an empirical rule that values that frequently appear in the search target document are often emphasized by the user, and are not limited to the above. For example, any order such as dictionary order may be used. Select any value (check the check box) to narrow down only the documents that have the string “Kinki” in that column, for example, among the table documents that have the “Region Name” column. Can do.

  That is, when the condition input screen display unit 204 detects that any value on the screen has been selected (step S302: No, step S308: No, step S311: Yes), the display order determination unit 204c sets the value. The arrangement order is obtained (step S312), and the condition input screen 400 of FIG. 8 is redisplayed as shown in FIG. 9 based on this order (step S313). The example shown in the figure is an example of a screen immediately after “Kinki” is selected as the value of “Region name”, and “ATOK (registered trademark)” and “Ichitaro (registered trademark)” are selected as the values of “Product name”. is there. As in the case of the attribute name, the display order determination unit 204c determines the display order of the values so that the value being selected and the number of appearances among the values being selected are arranged higher.

  In parallel with the re-display of the condition input screen 400, the document search unit 203 that has received an instruction from the condition input screen display unit 204 refers to the value list storage unit 202 and is currently selecting a selected value. All documents included as attribute name values are searched (step S314). Further, all the values of the attribute name being selected are extracted from each document (step S315), the document name is associated with the value extracted from each document, and is transferred to the search result screen display unit 205 as a search result. Instead of starting the search from the beginning as described above, the search result by the attribute name may be held, and the document including the value as the value of the attribute name may be narrowed down from among the search results.

  The search result screen 401 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed again as shown in FIG. 9 by the search result screen display unit 205 that has received the search result from the document search unit 203 (step S316). In the illustrated search result screen 401, the value currently selected on the condition input screen 400 is displayed in bold. Thereafter, until an instruction to end document search is issued (step S317: No), selection of attribute names / values in steps S302 to S317 and accompanying document re-search are repeated.

  In the condition input screen 400 of the embodiment described above, the checked selection items (specifically, attribute names and values) are always displayed in a higher rank than the unchecked selection items, so there are a large number of selection items. Even in the case, it is clear to the user which one is currently selected and which one is not selected. In addition, a selection item that has not been checked but has a high appearance frequency in the search target document, and therefore is likely to be checked in the future, is displayed preferentially after the selected item, so the user has not selected The item to be selected next can be easily found out of the items.

  Note that the selection items in the above-described embodiment are specifically attribute names and values in the search target document. However, the selection items are not limited to this. For example, the character string used for the search in the past is shown in FIG. In this way, it may be presented to the user as keyword candidates. In the figure, the order of each candidate is in descending order of usage frequency in parentheses in the initial state (no item is selected), that is, in the order of “user” “app” “project”, but “user” and “ By selecting “Project”, “Project” is moved up above “App”.

  In the above-described embodiment, the document search is particularly considered as an example in which the combination of the selection items is likely to be complicated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is for selecting a necessary item from a large number of selection items. Widely applicable to user interfaces. For example, since there are a wide variety of setting items such as Internet security settings, if only the selected items are displayed together as in the present invention, it becomes easier for the user to understand the current setting.

  In the above-described embodiment, the selected check box is moved to the upper level of the unselected check box. However, for example, only the selected check box is displayed in another window, and the order of the initial state remains unchanged. In other words, the selected item group and the unselected item group are displayed separately, such as displaying only the selected check box in a separate area on the screen. Any display form may be used as long as the items can be listed. In the above-described embodiment, when the combination of items being selected is changed, the entire condition input screen 400 is displayed again. However, as a result, even if the order of the selected items is changed, local re-input is performed. Of course, it may be a display (for example, redisplaying only the character string corresponding to the check box, redisplaying only the check box in which the order is changed + the character string).

  The selection item display device according to the above-described embodiment has been described as a stand-alone document search device. However, for example, it accepts input of search conditions from a client on the network and conforms to the conditions. Of course, it may be a server that retrieves documents to be executed.

  The selection item display method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as HD, FD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, MO, and DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  As described above, the selection item display device, the selection item display method, and the selection item display program according to the present invention are useful as a user interface for causing a user to select a necessary item from among a large number of selection items. This is particularly suitable when switching between selection / non-selection of individual selection items frequently occurs, making it difficult to grasp what the user is currently selecting.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the selection item display apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows functionally the structure of the selection item display apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the document search process in the selection item display apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the condition input screen 400 and the search result screen 401 in an initial state. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a condition input screen 400 and a search result screen 401 immediately after “product name” is selected in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a condition input screen 400 and a search result screen 401 immediately after “Region name” is selected in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a condition input screen 400 and a search result screen 401 immediately after “Quantity” is selected in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a condition input screen 400 and a search result screen 401 immediately after the display of the values of “region name” and “product name” is instructed in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a condition input screen 400 and a search result screen 401 immediately after “Kinki”, “ATOK (registered trademark)”, and “Ichitaro (registered trademark)” are selected in FIG. 8. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the condition input screen 400 and the search result screen 401 at the time of employ | adopting the character string used for the search in the past other than an attribute name and a value as a selection item.

Explanation of symbols

100 bus 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 HDD
105 HD
106 FDD
107 FD
108 CD-RW drive 109 CD-RW / CD-R / CD-ROM
110 Display 111 Keyboard 112 Mouse 113 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 114 Communication cable 200 Document memory | storage part 201 Attribute name list memory | storage part 202 Value list memory | storage part 203 Document search part 204 Condition input screen display part 204a Attribute name reading part 204b Value reading part 204c Display order determination part 205 Search result screen display part

Claims (7)

A selection item display device used for searching an electronic document including a designated item,
Extraction means for extracting candidate items (hereinafter referred to as “candidate items”) to be searched from the electronic document;
Display means for displaying a plurality of candidate items extracted by the extraction means on a display screen in a predetermined order;
Detecting means for detecting that at least one of the plurality of candidate items displayed by the display means is selected;
Determining means for determining an order on the display screen of the plurality of candidate items displayed by the display means when the selection is detected by the detecting means;
Re-display means for re-displaying the plurality of candidate items on the display screen in the order determined by the determining means,
The determining means determines the order so that a group consisting of a selected item and a group consisting of other items among the plurality of candidate items are displayed separately on the display screen. A selection item display device that determines the display order of the candidate items in a group based on the number of appearances of the candidate items in the electronic document.   The determining means determines the order so that a group composed of selected items among the plurality of candidate items is displayed on the display screen with priority over a group composed of other items. The selection item display device according to claim 1.   The said determination means determines the display order of the said candidate item in the said group so that it may be displayed on the said display screen preferentially from the said candidate item with many appearance frequency. The selection item display device described in 1. A selection item display method for a selection item display device that includes an extraction unit, a detection unit, a display unit, a determination unit, and a re-display unit, and is used for searching an electronic document including a specified item,
By the extraction means, candidates of the item from the electronic document as a target of the search (hereinafter, referred to as "candidate items") and extracting step of extracting,
A display step of displaying a plurality of candidate items extracted in the extraction step on the display screen in a predetermined order by the detection means ;
A detection step of detecting that at least one of the plurality of candidate items displayed in the display step is selected by the display means ;
A determining step of determining an order on the display screen of the plurality of candidate items displayed by the display unit when the selection is detected by the determining unit in the detecting step;
A redisplay step of redisplaying the plurality of candidate items on the display screen in the order determined in the determination step by the redisplay means ,
In the determining step, the order is determined so that a group consisting of a selected item among the plurality of candidate items and a group consisting of other items are displayed separately on the display screen, and A selection item display method, wherein the display order of the candidate items in a group is determined based on the number of appearances of the candidate items in the electronic document.   In the determining step, the order is determined so that a group composed of selected items among the plurality of candidate items is displayed on the display screen with priority over a group composed of other items. The selection item display method according to claim 4.   6. The determination step according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the display order of the candidate items in the group is determined so that the candidate items having a large number of appearances are preferentially displayed on the display screen. The selection item display method described in 1.   The selection item display program which makes a computer perform the method as described in any one of the said Claims 4-6.

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