JP2000267778A - Operating manual preparing tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make easily preparable a manual unique to a user by using an operation screen and a help file. SOLUTION: A display control means 4 displays designated instruction in a help file 11 on a display 1. An editing means 5 edits the displayed instructions according to the instruction of an input device. A printing control means 6 outputs an operation screen being operated and displayed on the display 1 as a print and the instructions edited by the editing means 5 on printing paper 13. A help file updating means 7 updates the contents of the help file 11 stored in a memory 8 on the basis of the instructions edited by the editing means 5 in response to a request.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation manual creation tool that can edit an operation screen and the contents of a help file thereof to create an original operation manual.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When executing application software, an operation screen (window) is displayed, and a user inputs necessary items to the operation screen according to a predetermined procedure using a keyboard or a mouse. For example, when using an application for merchandise transaction management, it is necessary to input information on a business partner. When inputting information on a supplier, an operation screen for operating a database called a supplier master is displayed. When the user opens the operation screen, for example, the name, address, telephone number, E
You are required to enter items such as your email address.
Here, due to the nature of the database, for example, an input rule or the like may be provided such that a space is not inserted in the name or address of the business partner, or a hyphen "-" is not inserted in the telephone number. In order to confirm the detailed rules of the operation, the user refers to an operation manual or a help file.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems to be solved. Operation manuals and help files are created by application production companies for very standard users, and are often difficult to understand for those unfamiliar with computer operations. In addition, there are many applications in which operability can be improved by setting unique settings for each user. In this case, it is necessary for the user to create a unique operation manual and distribute it to related parties.

[0004] However, the operation of creating such an operation manual requires a lot of trouble and time. Also, if there is a problem after actually using it, you have to fix it. Further, if the setting is changed in accordance with a change in the usage environment of the application, the content of the operation manual needs to be updated. Even when the application is upgraded, inconsistencies may occur in the operation unless the operation manual is updated each time. Creating and updating the operation manual places a heavy burden on the system administrator of the user.

[0005]

The present invention employs the following structure to solve the above problems. <Structure 1> Display control means for displaying the operation description specified in the help file on the display, editing means for editing the displayed operation description in accordance with the instruction of the input device, and display of the operation description displayed on the display An operation screen, print control means for printing out the operation explanation edited by the editing means, and help file updating means for updating the contents of the help file with the operation explanation edited by the editing means. An operation manual creation tool characterized by the following.

<Structure 2> In the operation manual creation tool described in Structure 1, the help file is characterized in that the help file is constituted by a database in which operation explanations are stored for each operation item on each operation screen. Operation manual creation tool.

<Structure 3> In the operation manual creation tool described in Structure 1, the printing control means converts the operation screen displayed on the display during operation and the operation explanation edited by the editing means into: An operation manual creation tool for printing on a printing paper in a layout specified by an input device.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using specific examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an operation manual creation tool of the present invention. This figure shows a personal computer including a display 1, a mouse 2, and a keyboard 3, and functional blocks of an operation manual creation tool according to the present invention stored therein. The personal computer is provided with a memory 8 composed of a hard disk or the like, and further connected to a printer 9 for printing an operation manual (hereinafter, referred to as “manual”) described later. The present invention
Although it can be carried out using such a generally well-known personal computer, various devices such as a workstation and a word processor may be used.

The operation manual creation tool of the present invention includes a display control unit 4, an editing unit 5, a print control unit 6, and a help file updating unit 7. These blocks are
Each of them is composed of a program module incorporated in an application of a personal computer, for example. Therefore, each block has a function to be described later.
It is constituted by an object of a computer program or the like, and is stored and executed in a computer-readable storage medium. It goes without saying that the operation of each functional block is performed by a processor (not shown) reading and executing the corresponding program.

[0010] The display control means 4 has a function of controlling an operation screen or an instruction specified in a help file to be displayed on the display 1. Help files are stored on hard disks, floppy disks and CDs.
-Stored in various memories such as ROM and MD. In this example, a help file 11 is stored in a memory 8 composed of a hard disk.

The editing means 5 has a function of editing the operation explanation displayed on the display 1 by the display control means 4 in accordance with an instruction from an input device. The input device is, for example, the keyboard 3 and the mouse 2 here.
That is. Note that various other well-known man-machine interfaces may be used as the input device.

The printing control means 6 has a function of printing out the operation screen 12 displayed on the display 1 and the operation explanation edited by the editing means 5 on a printing paper 13. This is realized by, for example, a printer driver. The editing means 5 may have a function of editing the entire print output screen including the operation screen 12 and the operation explanation, or may have a function of editing only the operation explanation.

The help file updating means 7 includes an editing means 5
Help file 1 according to the operation description edited by
1 has the function of updating the contents of In general, the help file 11 is created by a developer of an application using hypertext or the like, and the user has used the help file 11 exclusively for selecting and displaying the content. On the other hand, in the present invention, for example, the help file 11 is created in a database format, and a portion corresponding to the operation description can be rewritten.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the help file. In FIG. 2, for example, the help file 11 has a configuration in which the operation description of each operation item is stored in association with each operation screen. For example, "input operation" of the supplier master
In the case of, an operation description such as "enter the name of the supplier within 256 characters including Chinese characters" is stored in association with "input of the supplier name". For example, if the user
If the user wants to restrict the supplier name to 64 characters or less in order to reduce the data amount of the "supplier master", the user displays the operation explanation of this part on the screen, and displays the " Enter within characters. "

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the editing and printing operations.
On the display 1 shown in the figure, an editing screen 15 on which the user operates to create his own manual is displayed. In this example, for example, when an arbitrary operation screen 12 is displayed on the display 1 shown in FIG. 1, it is displayed by clicking a manual creation button 10 (FIG. 1) provided in the operation screen 12. In other words, the editing means 5 is activated by the manual creation button 10, and the editing process of the currently displayed operation screen 12 is started.

An editing screen 15 shown in FIG. 3 displays an operation screen image 16 and an operation explanation 14 including the help file operation items described with reference to FIG. The user changes the operation explanation while viewing this screen. When the editing operation is completed, a print button 17 provided on the editing screen 15 is clicked. Thus, the image 16 of the operation screen and the edited operation explanation 18 are printed on the printing paper 13 shown on the right side of the drawing.

The display control means 4 reads out the operation description 14 specified from the help file 11 and displays the operation description 14 on the display 1. The editing means 5 converts the operation description 14 displayed on the display 1 into The control is replaced with a new operation description input by the keyboard 3 or the like. The editing unit 5 controls the user so that the operation explanation can be printed out in an arbitrary layout. The print control unit 6 stores, for example, an image 16 of an operation screen on the designated print paper 13 in the layout edited by the edit unit 5.
And the edited operation description 14 are printed. As a result, the user can easily create his own manual using the help file 11.

Further, according to the present invention, the edited operation description can be updated by overwriting the corresponding part of the help file 11. In this way, the user customizes the help file and creates an easy-to-read help file together with an easy-to-read manual. It should be noted that the update of the help file includes not only the partial modification of the existing operation description, but also the addition of a new operation description and the deletion of the existing operation description.

Next, a procedure for creating an operation manual will be described with reference to a specific flowchart. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a procedure for creating an operation manual. First, step S1
Then, as shown in FIG.
2 is displayed. This operation screen is a screen on which the user intends to create a manual.

Next, at step S2, a manual creation button 10 is clicked. The manual creation button may be displayed as a command button on the operation screen of the application program, or may be selected from a pull-down menu and displayed.

When the manual creation button 10 is clicked, a manual editing screen 15 is displayed (step S).
3). The image 16 of the operation screen 12 displayed immediately before is displayed in the editing screen. If the operation screen is the size of one print sheet, an operation explanation editing screen is displayed on the next page. When the editing operation (step S4) such as correction, addition, or deletion of the operation description is completed, for example, the print button 17 displayed in the editing screen is clicked (step S5).

By this operation, as shown in FIG.
For example, an operation screen is printed on the upper half of one sheet of paper, and a manual with operation instructions printed on the lower half is created (step S6). If the update of the help file 11 is instructed in advance as an optional operation, the help file 11 is updated with the edited contents at the same time when the print button is clicked (step S7, step S8).
Of course, it is possible to select not to update the help file 11. That is, as in this example, the updated help file may be stored under another name (step S9), and may be read as needed.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The user can easily create an original operation manual by using the display of the operation screen and the help file. In addition, since the data displayed on the display and being input by the user is printed as it is, a manual including actual examples is completed. The present invention can be widely used for creating operation manuals for any application.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operation manual creation tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a help file.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an editing and printing operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a procedure for creating an operation manual.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display 2 Mouse 3 Keyboard 4 Display control means 5 Editing means 6 Printing control means 7 Help file updating means 8 Memory 9 Printer 10 Manual creation button 11 Help file 12 Operation screen 13 Printing paper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A display control means for displaying a description of an operation specified in a help file on a display; an editing means for editing the displayed description of the operation in accordance with an instruction of an input device; And a print control unit that prints out the operation description edited by the editing unit and a help file updating unit that updates the content of the help file with the operation description edited by the editing unit. An operation manual creation tool characterized by the following. 2. The operation manual creation tool according to claim 1, wherein the help file is configured by a database storing operation descriptions corresponding to respective operation items of each operation screen. Operation manual creation tool. 3. The operation manual creation tool according to claim 1, wherein the print control unit inputs an operation screen during operation displayed on the display and an operation description edited by the edit unit. An operation manual creation tool for printing on a print sheet in a layout specified by a device.