JP2000331014A - Dictionary retrieval method, recording medium for recording program for inplementing this retrieval method, and arithmetic processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid repeat of the input work of a character string to improve the work efficiency. SOLUTION: When an operation to select a conversion candidate by a user is performed in the stage of character input processing with a Japanese-language input system (IME) 2 under the control of an operation system (OS) 1, a message to report a character string of the selected conversion candidate is sent from the IME 2 to the OS 1. A message hook processing part 4 intercepts this message to extract the character string. A dictionary retrieval and display processing part 5 uses the extracted character string as a keyword to retrieve a dictionary file 7 and outputs a message, which reports information representing the retrieval result, to the OS 1. The OS 1 controls a driver for display in accordance with each message to display information related to the selected conversion candidate on a monitor picture together with a list of conversion candidates.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for searching a dictionary file storing predetermined information while operating an application such as a word processor or a spreadsheet under the control of an operation system. When a character converted by a system is input to an application, a method for searching the dictionary file using a conversion candidate of the input character as a keyword, and a recording medium on which a program for performing the method is recorded, and The present invention relates to an arithmetic processing device incorporating such a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a computer in which an operation system (hereinafter abbreviated as "OS") such as Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) is incorporated, a plurality of applications are started simultaneously to perform work, or a certain application is executed. Multi-dimensional processing is possible, such as inputting data extracted from to other applications.

[0003] In order to input characters that involve conversion processing such as Japanese kana-kanji conversion to an application using this type of computer, a program for a character input system called "IME" is required. The IME receives a character string input by the user from the OS, performs processing such as segmenting the character string for each clause, searching for conversion candidates, and executes the processing on the OS side in conjunction with the processing. Tell the contents of the process to be performed. This information for communication exchanged between the OS and the IME is called a "message", and is input by exchanging a message between the two systems and performing a process according to the message from the other party. The converted character string can be converted into a character string according to a conversion operation or a determination operation by the user, and input to the application.

In recent years, a large number of “electronic dictionaries” have been created in which information such as a Japanese language dictionary, an English-Japanese dictionary, and an encyclopedia is stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in an electronic form. By setting the medium in a drive for reading or installing the medium in a memory such as a hard disk device, a dictionary search operation by a computer is performed.

In a conventional general dictionary search application, a keyword input window is appropriately set on a monitor screen, and a dictionary file is searched based on words input in the window, and the search result is displayed on the monitor screen. It is displayed above. When inputting, IM
In addition to the method of inputting the word itself converted by E, there is a method of narrowing down the search target by inputting the kana of the word "kana" and using a candidate selection function incorporated in the dictionary search application.

[0006]

The above dictionary search application can be used alone, but in many cases, it is extracted as a conversion candidate when an application such as word processing software is activated. It is used for purposes such as confirming the meaning of a word or pasting a search result of a dictionary as related information of an input word to an application. However, in the above-described conventional method, the same input operation must be repeated many times since the search target word must be input also in the keyword input window separately from the character input to the main application side. Becoming inefficient.

In the case of a language having a large number of homonyms, such as Japanese, in the conventional method, each conversion candidate to be searched is sequentially converted and input. It is necessary to repeat the operation of selecting the search target from the list, and there is a problem that the operation efficiency is further deteriorated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and automatically searches a dictionary file in conjunction with a character input process by an IME, thereby avoiding repetition of input work and greatly improving work efficiency. The purpose is to:

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for searching a dictionary file storing predetermined information in conjunction with the operation of a character input system under the control of an operation system, When a message indicating a character string to be displayed on a monitor screen is transmitted from the character input system to the operation system as a conversion candidate of a character string input from the outside, the message is read, and the conversion candidate indicated by the message is read. After searching the dictionary file using the character string as a keyword, the search result is displayed on the monitor screen.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium on which a dictionary search program for performing the above method is recorded, wherein the character input system sends a character string input from the outside to the operation system. When a message indicating a character string to be displayed on the monitor screen is sent as a conversion candidate, a procedure for reading the message, a dictionary file storing predetermined information using the conversion candidate character string indicated by the read message as a keyword , And a procedure for sending to the operation system a message notifying information to be displayed on the monitor screen as a search result for the dictionary file. Further, in the recording medium according to the third aspect of the present invention, a dictionary file to be searched is recorded together with the program.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation system, a program for an application operating under the control of the operation system, a character input system for inputting characters to the application, and an application to the application by the character input system. In cooperation with the character input processing operation, a dictionary search program for searching for a dictionary file in which predetermined information is stored is an arithmetic processing device that is incorporated in a memory, and as the dictionary search program, A program similar to that of the second aspect is incorporated in the memory. Claim 5
In the arithmetic processing device according to the invention, a dictionary file to be searched is stored in the memory.

[0011]

In the process of inputting characters to an application, if a plurality of conversion candidates are extracted by the IME, a plurality of sets of characters representing each conversion candidate to be displayed in a list on the monitor screen are displayed from the IME to the OS. A message is sent informing which column or which conversion candidate is selected in the list display. Also, when the user performs an operation of confirming the selected conversion candidate in the list display, the IM
From E, to the OS, a message notifying the character string to be fixedly displayed on the display screen of the application is sent as the fixed conversion candidate.

For example, if a setting is made such that a message sent in response to a conversion candidate selection operation is read, a character string serving as a selected conversion candidate is extracted from the message, and a dictionary file is searched using this as a keyword. Each time the user performs a selection operation, information corresponding to the selected conversion candidate is automatically searched and displayed on the monitor screen. Therefore, it is not necessary to input characters again for the search, and even when it is necessary to sequentially search for information on a plurality of conversion candidates, the search operation can be performed efficiently.

A message sent in response to a conversion candidate determination operation is read, a character string which is a conversion candidate determined from the message is extracted, and a dictionary file is searched using the extracted character string as a keyword. Information relating to the input characters can be easily read, and editing work such as document creation can be efficiently advanced.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a document creation system according to the present invention. This system includes an application 3 for creating a document under the control of the OS 1 such as Windows.
(Hereinafter simply referred to as "Application 3"),
The application 3 has a function of editing a document by inputting characters converted by Japanese IME2 (hereinafter simply referred to as “IME2”).

The system further incorporates a dictionary data storage unit 6 storing a plurality of dictionary files 7 in which semantic dictionaries in various languages, such as a Japanese language dictionary, a Japanese-English dictionary, and a Japanese-Chinese dictionary, are stored. Hook processing unit 4,
The IME is processed by each processing unit of the dictionary search / display processing unit 5.
It is possible to search the dictionary file 7 in conjunction with the character input processing by the user 2 and display the search result on a monitor screen.

The above system is realized by a personal computer having a CPU 8, a ROM 9, and a RAM 10 as shown in FIG. In addition to various program files and data files for constructing the dictionary, a program file for realizing the functions of the message hook processing unit 4 and the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 and each dictionary for constructing the dictionary data storage unit 6 File 7 is installed.

In FIG. 2, an input unit 13 is constituted by a keyboard for inputting characters, a mouse for selecting and confirming operations, and a monitor 14 is constituted by a display device such as a CRT and a liquid crystal panel. Is done. In addition, CP
Various peripheral devices such as a printer and a modem are connected to the U8 as needed.

The above-mentioned various program files and data files are all generated by setting package software for installation in the CD-ROM drive 12 and installing necessary files in the hard disk device 11. At least the program for each processing unit of the message hook processing unit 4 and the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 is provided as a single package software for dictionary search.

The various dictionary files 7 are usually provided in the form of being recorded on one to a plurality of CD-ROMs for each dictionary. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be provided as. Furthermore, these dictionary files 7 may be incorporated in the dictionary search package software and installed together with the program on the hard disk device 11. The dictionary files imported from an external database such as the Internet may be stored in the hard disk device 11. May be installed. However, it is not necessary to set a plurality of types of dictionary files 7 in the dictionary data storage unit 6, and it is sufficient that at least one dictionary file 7 is set.
Instead of installing the dictionary file 6 in the hard disk drive 11, a CD-RO storing a dictionary file necessary for the CD-ROM drive 12 at the time of search is used.
M may be set.

In the above configuration, the user operates the input unit 1
When a character string to be input to the application 3 is input in Romaji or Kana from 3, the input character string is transmitted to the IME 2 after being recognized by the OS 1. IME2
Performs a process of cutting out the input character string for each phrase or word and assigning kana or kanji conversion candidates,
A message for transmitting the processing result is sent to OS1. Thereafter, a message informing the user of the operation content from the OS1 to the IME2, and a message informing the processing result corresponding to the operation content are output from the IME2 to the OS1. By performing processing according to the received message, the input character string is converted in accordance with the operation of the user, and is input to the application 3.

FIG. 3 shows a procedure of a character input process by the IME2. Note that the procedure shown here assumes that the user has input a character string of one word for the sake of simplicity. Hereinafter, a series of operation procedures by the IME 2 will be described along the flow of FIG. 3, and the contents of processing performed on the OS 1 side in response to the operation will also be mentioned.

When the kana character string to be converted is input from the input unit 13, the OS 1 recognizes the character string and displays it on the document creation window of the application 3, and also sends the input character string to the IME2. Send a message informing you of the contents of When the input character string is received by the message in ST1 of FIG. 3, the IME 2 searches the internal dictionary using the character string as a key, and extracts the character string of each conversion candidate having the character string as "reading". (ST2).
Furthermore, when a plurality of sets of character strings are extracted, for example, the character string selected at the time of the latest input processing is set to the first character string.
The message is extracted as a candidate, and a message notifying the character string of the first candidate is output to OS1 (ST3).

In response to the message, the OS1 erases the input character string on the document creation window, and instead, the character string of the first candidate transmitted by the message is not determined by underlining or a specific display color. indicate.

When the first candidate is not a candidate intended by the user, a re-conversion operation is performed. Thereby, ST4 becomes "YES", and IME2 outputs a second message to OS1 (ST5). Specifically, this message is obtained by adding a parameter indicating a candidate selected at the present time (first candidate at an initial stage) to data indicating a plurality of sets of character strings corresponding to each conversion candidate. In response to this message, the OS 1 opens a window for displaying a list of candidates at a predetermined position on the monitor screen, and displays each character string included in the message in association with the number indicating the arrangement order, and displays it in order. The selected conversion candidate is displayed in a form that can be identified from other candidates, such as hollow characters.

When the user selects another conversion candidate for this list display, ST6 becomes "YES", and the IME 2 instructs the OS 1 to newly select each conversion candidate character string as described above. A message to which a parameter for notifying the candidate is added is output (ST8). OS
In response to this message, 1 switches the candidate for identification display in the candidate display window, and replaces the content of the undetermined display in the document creation window with the character string of the newly selected conversion candidate.

Similarly, each time the user performs a selection operation, the undetermined display of the document creation window on the monitor screen and the identification display in the candidate display window are switched in conjunction with each other, and one of the candidates is selected. If the confirmation operation is performed in the state of “YES”, ST9 becomes “YES”, and in the next ST10, a message notifying the OS1 of the character string of the decided conversion candidate is output.

If a confirming operation is performed at the stage when the first candidate character string is not confirmed, ST11 becomes "YES" and the process immediately proceeds to ST10. If the user performs a selection operation and a confirmation operation simultaneously on the candidate list display by inputting a number indicating the arrangement order of a specific conversion candidate, for example, from ST7 to ST
Proceeding to 10, a message notifying the determined character string of the conversion candidate is output to OS1.

When the OS 1 receives the message output in ST 10, it outputs the conversion candidates included in the message to the application 3, and switches the undetermined display of the conversion candidates in the document creation window to the fixed display. . If the user inputs a character string for a plurality of phrases, the IME 2 divides the input character string into phrases and extracts conversion candidates for each phrase.
The process according to the procedure after T4 is repeatedly executed.

In this embodiment, the message hook processing unit 4 and the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 are activated in conjunction with the above-described character input processing, and information on the conversion candidate selected in the character input processing is stored. It is extracted from one of the dictionary files 7 and displayed on the monitor screen.

This search process is specifically executed when a plurality of conversion candidates are displayed in a list. The contents of the message output from the IME 2 in ST5 and ST8 in FIG. This is realized by the hook processing unit 4 reading from the side and transmitting the selected conversion candidate indicated in the message to the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 (hereinafter, the conversion candidate reading process by the message hook processing unit 4 is referred to as “ Hook processing ”).

FIG. 4 shows a series of procedures relating to the dictionary search process. Here, in order to distinguish from the procedure of FIG. 3, the steps of each processing are indicated by small letters “st”. IM
When E2 operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 3 and outputs a message informing the OS1 of each character string displayed in the list or the currently selected conversion candidate to the OS 1 in ST5 or ST8, st1 in FIG. Becomes “YES”. In response, the message hook processing unit 4 hooks the output message, extracts a character string indicating the selected conversion candidate, and transfers it to the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 (st2, st2).
3).

The dictionary search / display processing unit 5 searches a predetermined dictionary file 7 using the conversion candidates received from the message hook processing unit 4 as keywords (st4). When the relevant information is extracted, the information is extracted from the dictionary file 7, and a message notifying the contents of the information is output to the OS 1 (st5). The OS 1 processes this message in the same manner as the message from the IME 2, thereby opening a window for displaying the search result at a predetermined position on the monitor screen, and displaying the content of the message in the window. . Note that, even when this search does not find a hit, the dictionary search / display processing unit 5 outputs a message notifying that there is no information corresponding to the OS 1. In response to this, the OS 1 displays a message such as “No dictionary data” in the window for displaying search results.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of a monitor screen when a dictionary search process is performed in conjunction with a character input process. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a document creation window of the application 3, and 16 denotes a window for displaying a list of conversion candidates. The illustrated example is a display screen when ten conversion candidates are extracted in response to the input of the kana character string “Kino”, and the second conversion candidate character string “air sac” is selected, Based on the message sent in ST8 of FIG. 3, the second conversion candidate in the candidate display window 16 is identified and displayed, and the character string "air sac" corresponding to the identified conversion candidate is displayed in the document creation window 15. Is underlined to indicate an undetermined state. Further, a window 17 for displaying search results is opened near the candidate display window 16, and the window 17 is displayed.
The information obtained by searching the dictionary file 7 of the Japanese-English dictionary by the selected conversion candidate is displayed in the table. Note that the search result display window 17 can be set at an arbitrary position, and can be automatically arranged at an easy-to-view position corresponding to the selected candidate in the candidate display window 16.

In the dictionary search processing system, the user can freely set operating conditions in advance similarly to a general application.
You can always search in conjunction with the character input process by
A search can be performed at any time according to a user's instruction. The dictionary file 7 to be searched is also set in advance, but when a plurality of types of dictionary files 7 are set, the search object can be switched as appropriate. Further, at the stage when the search is performed using one dictionary file 7, the search target is switched to another dictionary file 7, and
It is also possible to set to search again with the same conversion candidate.

Further, the timing at which the message from the IME 2 is hooked for the search is not limited to the above, and the message output at another time may be hooked to perform the search processing. For example, when the message output in ST3 of FIG. 3 is hooked, it is possible to display the search result of the information related to the first candidate at the same time as the first candidate is not determined and displayed.

Further, when the message output in ST10 is hooked in response to the operation of deciding a candidate, the input character string is fixedly displayed as a predetermined conversion candidate, and at the same time, information relating to the decided conversion candidate is displayed. Becomes possible.
Furthermore, when the list of each candidate is displayed, if the character strings of all the candidates included in the message are extracted and the search processing is performed, it is possible to perform a dictionary lookup of all the candidates displayed in the list at once. Become.

As described above, according to the document creation system of this embodiment, the dictionary file is automatically searched in conjunction with the character input to the application, and the search result is displayed. Therefore, it is not necessary to repeat character input for searching, and necessary information can be easily read and confirmed for the input word and the conversion candidate before confirmation.

When it is desired to sequentially confirm the meaning of each conversion candidate displayed in a list for words having many homonyms,
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the candidate display window 16
The information can be obtained only by sequentially selecting the conversion candidates listed in the list. If the dictionary file 7 is searched by hooking the message at the stage when the conversion candidate is determined, for example, English notation may be added to Japanese notation, or grandchild information from the dictionary may be added to the created document. Work such as pasting can be easily performed, and the efficiency of document editing work can be greatly improved.

Further, since the format of the message exchanged between the OS 1 and the IME 2 is the same regardless of the type of the IME, the search process can be performed without any problem regardless of the type of the IME used by the user. It is possible to provide a highly versatile dictionary search application. Further, when using not only Japanese IME but also Korean or Chinese IME, similar search processing can be performed if a dictionary file to be searched is set.

In the above embodiment, the dictionary search process is performed while the document creation application is operating. However, the actual personal computer includes not only the document creation application but also the table creation application. It goes without saying that a plurality of applications such as calculations and databases are incorporated, and similar dictionary search and display processing can be performed when inputting characters converted by IME into these applications. No.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the course of the character input operation by the IME, when a message for notifying the OS of a character string to be displayed on the monitor screen as a conversion candidate of a character string input from the outside is transmitted. Since this message is read, the dictionary file is searched using the character string indicated by the message as a keyword, and the search result is displayed, the dictionary file can be automatically searched in conjunction with the character input processing. . This eliminates the need to repeat character string input work for searching, improving work efficiency, selecting conversion candidates to be input while sequentially checking the meaning of each conversion candidate, and applying information related to the input word to the application. The time required for operations such as sticking to a device can be greatly reduced.

The keyword for the search is extracted from the message sent from the IME to the OS.
The dictionary search process can be performed irrespective of the type of application for which E is to be input. And OS and I
The format of the message exchanged with the ME is the same regardless of the type of the character input system, so that the dictionary search process can be performed without any problem, no matter what IME the user uses.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, dedicated package software for performing the above dictionary search method is provided, so that the program of the package software can be installed in an existing arithmetic processing device in which an OS, an IME, and an application are incorporated. Is installed, and a dictionary file to be searched is prepared, the above dictionary search processing can be realized. Also, as described above, since the dictionary search process can be performed regardless of the type of IME incorporated, the package can be installed regardless of the type of IME used, and is a very versatile package. We can provide software.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the package software in which the dictionary file to be searched is recorded together with the dictionary search program is provided. Dictionary search processing can be performed immediately.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arithmetic processing device in which the above-mentioned dictionary search program is incorporated. By setting a dictionary file desired by the user in this device, the dictionary search process can be performed. It can be carried out. Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arithmetic processing device incorporating up to the dictionary file to be searched,
Immediately after purchasing the device, the dictionary search process can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document creation system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific device configuration for realizing the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a character input process by the IME.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a dictionary search process performed in association with the processes of ST5 and ST8 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a monitor screen when a dictionary search process is performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 OS 2 IME 3 Application 4 Message hook processing part 5 Dictionary search / display processing part 6 Dictionary data storage part 7 Dictionary file 8 CPU 11 Hard disk drive 14 Monitor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for retrieving a dictionary file in which predetermined information is stored in conjunction with an operation of a character input system under the control of an operation system, wherein the character input system sends an external file to an operation system. When a message indicating a character string to be displayed on the monitor screen is transmitted as a conversion candidate of the input character string, the message is read, and the dictionary file is searched using the conversion candidate character string indicated by the message as a keyword. And displaying a search result on the monitor screen after the search. 2. A dictionary search program linked to the operation of a character input system under the control of an operation system, wherein the character input system is used as a conversion candidate for a character string input from the outside to the operation system. When a message indicating a character string to be displayed on the monitor screen is sent, a procedure for reading the message, and a dictionary file storing predetermined information is searched by using a character string of a conversion candidate indicated by the read message as a keyword. And a step of sending a message notifying information to be displayed on the monitor screen as a search result for the dictionary file to an operation system. Recording medium. 3. The recording medium according to claim 2, wherein a dictionary file to be searched is recorded together with a program for executing each of the procedures. 4. An operation system, a program for an application operating under the control of the operation system, a character input system for inputting characters to the application, and a character input processing operation for the application by the character input system. An arithmetic processing device comprising a dictionary search program for searching a dictionary file in which predetermined information is stored in cooperation with a memory, wherein the dictionary search program is operated from a character input system. For the system,
When a message indicating a character string to be displayed on the monitor screen is sent as a conversion candidate of a character string input from the outside, a procedure for reading the message, using a conversion candidate character string indicated by the read message as a keyword, An arithmetic processing device comprising a program for executing a procedure of searching for the dictionary file, and a procedure of transmitting a message notifying information to be displayed on a monitor screen as the search result to an operation system. 5. The arithmetic processing device according to claim 4, wherein said memory further stores a dictionary file to be searched.