JP2001075704A - Information processor, method and medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily check whether an object stuck to a label is sound or a moving image, to suppress an increase in the number of buttons displayed on the label, to effectively utilize a display area of the label and to simplify a graphic user interface(GUI). SOLUTION: A label L capable of sticking a sound object and an image object is displayed, and when the sound object is stuck to the label L, a reproducing button PB is displayed on the label L. When a pointer MC is moved to the button PB, meaning of the button PB, a condition that the object to be allocated is sound and length of the sound are displayed as a balloon help BH.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method, and medium, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus capable of displaying a label pasted and displayed as a virtual sticky note on a desktop screen of a personal computer. And a method, and a medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, it has been common practice to attach a sticky note as a mark to a paper document or write a memo on the sticky note and attach it to a desired place to use it as a reminder. The present applicant has proposed an application program that reproduces the same thing on a desktop screen of a personal computer, and a personal computer in which the application program is actually preinstalled is also sold. Hereinafter, one virtual sticky note displayed on the desktop screen is called a label, and an application program for displaying the label on the desktop screen is called label software. This label handles (pastes) not only text such as characters, but also images including sound and moving images, using the fact that the label software is an application program on a personal computer.
It has become possible. That is, according to an application program (label software) that allows a label to be attached on the desktop screen, label creation,
In addition to the operations of moving and deleting, it is also possible to change the text of the label, change the image, and record the sound. It is needless to say that sound and images (for example, moving images) cannot be handled with paper sticky notes.

FIG. 26 shows a display example of labels on the desktop screen. In FIG. 26, not only text such as characters, but also images including sound and moving images can be attached to the label L. The label L at the bottom of FIG. 26 shows the state when the image is pasted. Here, when a moving image is pasted on the label L, for example, when the reproduction button PB is clicked with a mouse or the like, the moving image can be reproduced. During the reproduction of the moving image, the stop button SB is pressed with the mouse or the like. When clicked, it becomes possible to stop the reproduction of the moving image. When a sound or the like is attached to these labels L, for example, by clicking the play button PB with a mouse or the like, the sound can be played. By clicking on, the reproduction of the sound can be stopped.

[0004]

According to the above-described label software for displaying a label on a desktop screen, not only text but also an image including a sound or a moving image can be pasted and displayed on the label. By clicking the play button or stop button that is being operated, operations such as playing / stopping the sound and the moving image can be performed. For example, if the sound and the moving image can be pasted to one label at the same time, A play button and stop button for audio, and a play button and stop button for video must be provided on one label. In this case, it is not preferable to provide a plurality of buttons on a label having a limited display area.
hical user interface) is also a problem.

[0005] Incidentally, it is conceivable that the sound and the moving image can be attached to one label at the same time and, for example, one play button is shared by the sound and the moving image. It is necessary to select, for example, using a menu screen or the like, for playing back a movie or for playing a movie. It becomes a button that functions as a menu display button for selecting.

[0006] In addition, a moving image usually includes sound in many cases. For this reason, if the sound and the moving image can be pasted on one label at the same time, for example, when a sound reproduction button is clicked. Thus, even the sound accompanying the moving image will be reproduced.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to easily confirm whether information attached to a label is, for example, audio or moving image. To increase the number of buttons displayed on the
An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a method, and a medium that enable simplification of a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for generating a processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information having different attributes which can be operated at least substantially in the same manner can be pasted. Image generation means, operation image generation means for generating an operation image representing the substantially same operation in common, and contents for generating a content image representing the contents of the object information assigned to the operation image Image generation means, by having a display control means for displaying the content image on the display screen when the operation image displayed on the display screen is instructed,
The above-mentioned problem is solved.

According to the information processing method of the present invention, a processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information having different attributes which can perform at least substantially the same operation is pasted is generated, and the substantially same operation is performed. Generating an operation image representing in common, generating a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image, when the operation image displayed on the display screen is instructed,
The above-described problem is solved by displaying the content image on a display screen.

[0010] The medium of the present invention includes a step of generating a processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information of different attributes capable of performing at least substantially the same operation can be pasted; Generating a common operation image, generating a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image, and specifying the operation image displayed on the display screen And a step of displaying the content image on a display screen when the program is executed, thereby causing the information processing apparatus to execute the program.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show the appearance of a notebook personal computer as an example to which the information processing apparatus and method and the medium according to the present invention are applied. This notebook personal computer 1 basically includes a main body 2 and
The main body 2 comprises a display unit 3 which can be opened and closed freely. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state where the display unit 3 is opened with respect to the main body 2. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main body 2,
FIG. 3 shows a jog dial 4 described later provided on the main body 2.
It is an enlarged view of the vicinity. FIG. 4 is a side view of the main body 2 on the jog dial 4 side.

The main body 2 includes a keyboard 5 operated when inputting various characters and symbols, a touch pad 6 operated as a pointing device when moving a pointer (mouse cursor), and a power switch 8.
Is provided on the upper surface, and the jog dial 4
And an IEEE 1394 input / output port 101 are provided on the side surface. Note that a stick-type pointing device can be provided instead of the touch pad 6.

An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 7 for displaying an image is provided in front of the display unit 3. In the upper right part of the display unit 3, a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML as required, and other lamps including LEDs are provided. Further, for example, a CCD (solid-state imaging device)
Video camera 102 with microphone and microphone 10
The shutter button 105 of the video camera 102 is provided at, for example, the upper right end of the main body 2. The CCD video camera 102 is provided on a rotary movement mechanism 103 that allows the camera lens unit to be rotatable with respect to, for example, the display unit 3. The power lamp PL, the battery lamp BL, the message lamp ML
And the like can be provided below the display unit 3.

Next, the jog dial 4 is, for example,
It is incorporated between the keys A and B (the rightmost key) of the upper keyboard 5 and is mounted so as to be almost the same height as the keys A and B. Jog dial 4
A predetermined process is executed in response to a rotation operation indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 3, and a process corresponding to a movement operation indicated by an arrow b in FIG. The jog dial 4 may be arranged on the left side of the main body 2. The jog dial 4 may be arranged on the left side or right side of the display unit 3 provided with the LCD 7, or the G key and the H key of the keyboard unit 5.
It may be arranged vertically between the keys. The jog dial 4 may be arranged at the center of the front surface so that the touch pad 6 can be operated with the thumb while operating the touch pad with the index finger, or the jog dial 4 may be arranged in the horizontal direction along the upper edge or the lower edge of the touch pad 6. , Or between the right and left buttons of the touch pad 6 in the vertical direction. further,
The jog dial 4 is not limited to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and may be arranged at a predetermined angle in an oblique direction that is easy to operate with each finger. In addition, the jog dial 4 can be arranged at a position operable with the thumb on the side of the mouse as a pointing device. A jog dial is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-108 filed by the present applicant and a joint applicant.
It is possible to use a rotary operation type electronic component with a push switch disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 203387.

Next, an example of the electrical configuration of the notebook personal computer 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The central processing unit (CPU) 51 includes, for example,
It is composed of a Pentium (trademark) processor manufactured by Intel Corporation and connected to a host bus 52. A north bridge (AGP Host Bridge Controller) 53 is further connected to the host bus 52. The north bridge 53 is connected to an AGP (Accelerated Graph).
phics Port) 50 and a PCI bus 56. The north bridge 53 is, for example, an Intel 4
00BX and the like, and controls around the CPU 51 and the main memory 54. Further, the north bridge 53 is connected to the video controller 57 via the AGP 50. The north bridge 53 and the south bridge (PCI-ISA Bridge) 58
Thus, a so-called chipset is configured.

The north bridge 53 is further connected to a main memory 54 and a cache memory 55. The cache memory 55 caches data used by the CPU 51. Although not shown, the CPU 51 also includes a primary cache memory.

The main memory 54 is, for example, a DRAM
(Dynamic Read Only Memory).
Are stored, and data necessary for the operation of the CPU 51 are stored. Specifically, the main memory 54 stores, for example, an e-mail program 54A, an auto-pilot program 54B, a jog dial status monitoring program 54
C, a jog dial driver 54D, an operating program (OS) 54E, and a label software 54 according to the embodiment of the present invention, which will be described later as an application program.
F, the capture program 54G, and other application programs 54H1 to 54Hn are transferred from the HDD 67 and stored.

The e-mail program 54A is connected to the modem 7
5 is a program for exchanging messages via a network from a communication line such as a telephone line 76 via the network 5. The electronic mail program 54A has an incoming mail acquisition function as a specific function. This incoming mail acquisition function checks whether a mail addressed to the user (user) has arrived in the mailbox 79 with respect to the mail server 78 provided in the provider 77, and if there is mail addressed to the user, Execute the acquisition process.

The autopilot program 54B includes a plurality of processes (or programs) set in advance.
This is a program that is started and processed sequentially in a preset order.

OS (basic program software) 54
E controls the basic operation of a computer represented by, for example, so-called Windows 95 and 98 (both trademarks) of Microsoft Corporation and so-called Mac OS (trademark) of Apple Computer Corporation.

Jog dial status monitoring program 54C
Receives notification from the application programs as to whether or not it is compatible with the jog dial, and operates, for example, to display what can be performed by operating the jog dial 4 if it is compatible. The jog dial status monitoring program 54C is usually waiting for an event of the jog dial 4, and also has a list for receiving a notification from the application program. The jog dial driver 54D executes various functions in response to the operation of the jog dial 4.

The video controller 57 is connected to the PCI bus 5
6 to control the display of the LCD 7 on the display unit 3 based on the data supplied via the PCI bus 56, and to send the video data from the CCD video camera 102 to the PCI bus. Has been made.

A sound controller 64 is connected to the PCI bus 56 to receive an audio input from a microphone 66 or to supply an audio signal to a speaker 65. A modem 75 is also connected to the PCI bus 56.

The modem 75 can be connected to a communication network 80 such as the Internet, a mail server 78, and the like via a public telephone line 76 and an Internet service provider 77.

A south bridge 58 is also connected to the PCI bus 56. The south bridge 58 is composed of, for example, PIIX4E manufactured by Intel Corporation, and controls various I / Os (Input / Output). That is, the south bridge 58
(Integrated Drive Electronics) A device that includes a controller / configuration register 59, a timer circuit 60, an IDE interface 61, and is connected to the IDE bus 62, and an ISA / EIO (Indu
stry Standard Architecture / Extended Input Outpu
t) Control of devices connected via the bus 63 and the embedded controller 68 is performed.

The IDE controller / configuration register 59 has two IDs, a so-called primary IDE controller and a secondary IDE controller.
It is composed of an E controller, a configuration register and the like (both not shown).

The primary IDE controller is an IDE
It is connected to a connector (not shown) via a bus 62, and an HDD 67 is connected to the connector. Also, the secondary IDE controller can be connected to a CD-ROM drive (not shown) via another IDE bus or the like,
When a bay device, which is a so-called IDE device, such as a second HDD or FDD, is mounted, a connector of the mounted bay device is electrically connected.

The HDD 67 has an electronic mail program 67A, an autopilot program 67B, a jog dial status monitoring program 67C, a jog dial driver 67D, and an OS (basic program software).
67E, label software 67F of the present embodiment as an application program, capture program 67
G, other plural application programs 67H
1 to 67Hn are stored. Each of the programs 67A, 67B, 67C, 67D, 67E in the HDD 67,
67F, 67G, 67H1 to 67Hn, etc. are sequentially transferred into the RAM 54 during the boot-up process,
Is stored.

The ISA / EIO bus 63 is further connected to an embedded controller 68. The embedded controller 68 comprises a microcontroller and is used as an I / O controller. That is, the embedded controller 68 is configured by connecting the I / O interface 69, the ROM 70, the RAM 71, and the CPU 72 to each other.

The ROM 70 includes an LED control program 70A, a touch pad input monitoring program 70B, a key input monitoring program 70C, a wake-up program 70D, a jog dial status monitoring program 70E,
The IEEE 1394 I / F program 70G and the like are stored in advance.

The LED control program 70A is a program for controlling lighting of a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML as required, and other lamps including LEDs. The touchpad input monitoring program 70B is a program that monitors a user input from the touchpad 6. Key input monitoring program 7
0C is a program for monitoring inputs from the keyboard 5 and other key switches. The wake-up program 70D is connected to the timer circuit 60 in the south bridge 58.
It checks whether or not a preset time is reached based on the current time data supplied from the server. When the preset time comes, the management of each chip power supply to start a predetermined process (or program) or the like is performed. Is a program that performs IEEE 1394 I / F program 70G is IEEE
I transmitted / received via E1394 input / output port 101
This is a program for I / F of data conforming to EEE1394. The jog dial status monitoring program 70E
This is a program for constantly monitoring whether the rotary encoder unit 12 of the jog dial 4 has been rotated or pressed.

The BIOS 70F is further written in the ROM 70. BIOS (Basic Input / Output Sys
The term “tem” refers to a basic input / output system, and is a software program that controls data transfer (input / output) between an OS or application program and peripheral devices (display, keyboard, HDD, etc.).

The RAM 71 includes registers for LED control, touch pad input status, key input status, and set time, an I / O register for monitoring a jog dial state, an IEEE 1394 I / F register, and the like.
1A to 71F. For example, the LED control register controls lighting of a message lamp ML that displays the instantaneous start-up state of an e-mail when the jog dial 4 is pressed. The key input status register stores an operation key flag when the jog dial 4 is pressed (pushed). The set time register can arbitrarily set a certain time.

The embedded controller 68
Are connected to a jog dial 4, a touch pad 6, a keyboard 5, an IEEE 139 via a connector (not shown).
4 input / output port 101, shutter button 105, etc., are connected to each other, and output signals corresponding to the respective operations of the jog dial 4, touch pad 6, keyboard 5, and shutter button 105 to the ISA / EIO bus 63. Also, IEEE 1394 input / output port 1
01, data is transmitted to and received from the outside. Further, the embedded controller 68 includes a power lamp P
L, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML, a power control circuit 73, and other lamps including LEDs are connected.

The power supply control circuit 73 is connected to the built-in battery 74 or the AC power supply, supplies necessary power to each block, and controls the charging of the built-in battery 74 and a second battery of a peripheral device. Has been made to do. Also, the embedded controller 68
Power switch 8 operated when turning power on or off
Is monitoring.

The embedded controller 68 includes a power supply 8
, The above programs 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, 70G can always be executed by the internal power supply. That is, each of the above programs
Even if no window is open on the LCD 7 of the display unit 3, it is always working. That is, the embedded controller 68 has the power switch 8 turned off and the OS 54E
1, the jog dial state monitoring program 70E is always executed, and the notebook personal computer 1 is provided with a programmable power key (PPK) function without providing a dedicated key. Jog dial 4 when power is off or power is off
It allows users to launch their favorite software or script files simply by pressing.

Next, an example of an application program stored in the HDD 67 will be described below.

As a first specific example of an application program, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-10 proposed earlier by the present applicant.
There is an application program disclosed in the specification and drawings related to Japanese Patent Application No. 8535 (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-321772) that displays a label as a tag on a desktop and realizes a desktop environment that can be moved over time. FIG. 6 shows an example of a display screen when a time-based cooperation is performed between an application program for realizing a desktop environment that can be moved over time and an application program for an image browser. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that a search is first performed on the desktop by an application program for realizing the desktop environment capable of moving in time, for example, and the character is moved in time until a certain character string or icon appears on the desktop. In this example, for example, a character string “wearable” is input to the search character input space 125, and the character string “wearable” is searched by an application program that realizes a desktop environment that can be moved over time.
It is assumed that an icon, a character string, and the like used at the time of the meeting related to the character string “able” are displayed on the time-movable desktop window 200. In this example, as can be seen from the display contents of the date and time display section 127, the desktop environment at the time of the meeting held at 15:00 on Friday, November 20, 1998 (Fri) is displayed on the window 200. . As described above, by the application program for realizing the desktop environment capable of moving in time,
When the “time of the application” is determined, the time information is notified to a capture program having a function as an image browser. The capture program that received the time information sets the time (during the meeting)
, An image taken by the CCD video camera 102 or an image taken by a video camera or the like externally connected through the IEEE 1394 input / output port 101 is displayed on the window 201. In this example, the creation time display unit 203 of the image file
As can be seen from the display contents, a photographic image taken at 16:00 on November 20, 1998 is displayed in the window 201. Conversely, when the capture program is operated, the state of the desktop at the time when the photographic image was taken is reproduced. Therefore, even if the photographic image has no special caption (description),
It will be possible to understand under what circumstances the picture was taken. If, for example, the event operation of the jog dial 4 is associated with such an application program, the time movement direction and amount of the time movable desktop 200 can be operated with the jog dial 4. That is, for example, the jog dial window 90 is displayed at the lower right of the time-movable desktop 200, and the time movement operation to the past and the future can be performed in response to the scroll of the jog dial 4.

Further, as a second specific example, there is a smart capture (trademark) as the capture program, which is a still image / movie capture tool of a digital video camera.

A third specific example is a media bar (MediaBar) (trademark) which is a music-related operation tool. In this media bar, for example, an operation of selecting reproduction of the next music or the previous music or temporarily stopping the reproduction by scrolling with a jog dial or a keyboard is performed. In the case of the present embodiment, the label software also has a function of recording (recording) audio data.

As a fourth specific example, there is a Smart Pad (trademark) which is a handwritten memo tool using the touch pad 6, for example. In this handwritten memo tool, a touchpad 6 is used as an absolute coordinate detecting means, and a handwritten memo input from the touchpad 6 is processed by a drawing application program and displayed.

Further, as a fifth specific example, a schedule management tool or the like can be considered.

As a sixth specific example, a document creation program (word processor program) can be considered. As an example of this document creation program, along with document creation,
A Smart Write (trademark) that can also create an HTML file is also conceivable.

Next, the label software according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The label software according to the present embodiment is a personal computer that allows a user to write a memo on a sticky note as a mark on a paper document and write a memo on the sticky note and paste it somewhere and use it as a reminder. An application program that is reproduced on the desktop screen of a computer. In the present embodiment, one sticky note displayed on the desktop screen is called a label, and an application program for displaying the label on the desktop is called the label software.

The label software according to the present embodiment includes, as objects that can be pasted on the label, which is one sticky note displayed on the desktop, text such as characters and symbols, and still images and moving images. A function to handle sounds such as images, voices and musical sounds, a function to edit text to be pasted on a label, and a sound recording /
It has a playback function, a function of capturing / displaying an image including a moving image to be attached to a label, and a function of linking an application program (capture program) for capturing an image from a CCD camera added to a digital camera or a personal computer. Further, as a time management function, a function of managing a schedule and creating a label having a change history, a function of fully supporting a jog dial for the time management function, a function of handling a link as an object to be attached to the label, and the like are provided. .

The data structure handled by the label software of this embodiment having these functions includes the following three items: project, label, and object. FIG. 7 shows the mutual relationship between these data.

The above-mentioned project is a set of all label data. Usually, only one project is created. In one project, past, present,
It has all future label information. However, in order to provide, for example, sample contents and exchange of project information via the Internet, the label software of the present embodiment supports switching and addition of projects.

The label corresponds to one sticky note on the desktop. The label has information from generation to destruction. This information includes all actions performed by the user on the label from the time the label was created to the time it was destroyed, including label resizing, color changing, text modification, image modification, sound modification, etc. Information. However, the position information of the label on the screen always has an attribute for displaying the near side, but does not hold information on the vertical relationship between labels, between windows, or between labels and windows. Further, the labels can be divided into three types: a current label, a past label, and a future label. The current label is a label whose label creation time is before the current time and has not been deleted at the current time. The relationship between the creation time, the current time, and the end (deletion) time in this current label is
(Creation time ≦ current time <end (deletion) time). The past label is a label that has already been deleted at the current time. Creation time in this past label,
The relationship between the end (delete) time and the current time is (creation time <end (delete) time ≦ current time). What is a future label?
This is a label that has not yet been created at the current time, and has a future set for the creation time.
The relationship between the current time, the creation time, and the end (deletion) time in this future label is (current time <creation time <end (deletion) time). Details of the label will be described later.

The above-mentioned object is data to be pasted into a label, and specifically includes a text object, an image object, a sound object, a link object and the like. Details of the object will be described later.

Next, main components of the desktop screen when the label software of this embodiment is executed will be described. First, the overall configuration of the screen will be described.

The state of the label software (the state of the application) according to the present embodiment is roughly classified into the following two modes: a normal mode and a time view mode.

The normal mode is a state in which the label is pasted on the desktop in a state where the time view mode is not set. FIG. 8 shows an example of the desktop screen in the normal mode. The label indicated by the reference symbol L in FIG. 8 is a label. In the normal mode, the icon IL of the label software of the present embodiment is displayed on the task tray TT of the task bar TB on the desktop screen, and the icon IL is accessed (clicked) with a pointing device such as a mouse. )
It is possible to control all functions of the label software application according to the present embodiment.

The time view mode is a mode in which time operation can be performed by the label software of the present embodiment, and is divided into the following three modes: a current mode, a past mode, and a future mode. FIG. 9 shows an example of a desktop screen in a present mode, FIG. 10 shows an example of a desktop screen in a past mode, and FIG. 11 shows an example of a desktop screen in a future mode. An example of the configuration is shown. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, in each of the current mode, past mode, and future mode, the current state, past state, and future state of the label included in the project are displayed. 9 to 11, the characters “Present” indicating the current mode, the characters “Past” indicating the past mode, and the characters “Past” indicating the future mode are displayed on the desktop screens of FIGS. “Future” is displayed near the center and at the four corners, respectively, so that the user can visually recognize whether the current mode, the past mode, or the future mode is in. Also, in the time view mode, the task bar T on the desktop screen is displayed.
On the task tray TT of B, an icon IL of the label software of the present embodiment is displayed.

When the mode is switched to the time view mode, all areas on the desktop (if there are a plurality of monitors, on all monitors) are covered with the image by the label software, and the labels are displayed thereon. At this time, a time view console TVC for displaying / changing the currently operated time is displayed on the screen. Note that the time view console TVC is displayed at the upper part of the screen by default, but FIGS. 9 to 11 show an example displayed at the lower part of the screen. Hereinafter, the time during which the desktop is displayed in the time view mode is referred to as operation time.

Next, the window screen of the label displayed on the desktop includes a play button, a stop button, a link button, a menu button, and an object (text, text, It is composed of components such as images and sounds) and icons (alarms and repetitions).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the window screen of the label L. In the example of the label L shown in FIG. 12, a play button PB, a stop button SB, a link button LB, a menu button MB are displayed, and a text, a sound, an image, and a link are pasted in the label L. Is represented. Note that the example in FIG. 12 particularly shows a state when an image is displayed.

When the label L includes a sound object, the play button PB is a button for instructing the reproduction start and pause of the reproduction of the sound. On the other hand, the label L includes an image (moving image) object. If it is, it is a button for instructing the reproduction start and pause of the reproduction of the moving image. That is, when the play button PB is pressed (for example, clicked with a mouse or the like) while the label L includes a sound object, the sound is played, and the play button PB is pressed during the play of the sound. When pressed (clicked), playback of the sound is paused. When the play button PB is pressed (for example, clicked with a mouse or the like) while the label L includes an image (moving image) object, the moving image is reproduced, and further, the reproduction is performed during reproduction of the moving image. When the button PB is pressed (clicked), the reproduction of the moving image is paused.

The stop button SB is a button for stopping the reproduction of the sound or the moving image being reproduced. When the stop button SB is pressed (clicked) during the reproduction of the sound, the reproduction of the sound is stopped. Then, the stop button SB is pressed (clicked) during the reproduction of the moving image.
And the playback of the video stops.

Here, according to the label software of the present embodiment, a balloon image (so-called balloon help BH) as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is associated with the play button PB.

That is, when the label L includes, for example, a sound object, the label software according to the present embodiment uses, for example, a pointer M on the play button PB.
If C has moved, as shown in FIG. 13, it indicates that the object currently attached to the label L is a sound object, and the time of the sound object (the time of the recorded sound, FIG.
3 in the example of 4.256 seconds) and the button P at this time
The fact that the function of playing and pausing the sound is assigned to B indicates that “play / pause (sound: 4.2
56 seconds) "is displayed.

The label software according to the present embodiment is arranged as shown in FIG. 14 if the pointer MC moves on the play button PB when the label L contains, for example, an image (moving image) object. 14 shows that the object currently attached to the label L is an image (moving image) object, and the time of the image object (the time of the recorded moving image, 3 in the example of FIG. 14).
5.001 seconds) and that the button PB at this time is assigned with the function of playing and pausing the moving image with characters of “play / pause (moving image: 35.001 seconds)”. Display balloon help BH.

That is, in the label software according to the embodiment of the present invention, objects such as text, still image, sound, moving image, and link can be pasted to one label L. By implementing such that a moving image and a sound cannot be pasted to one label L at the same time, and using a common play button PB for playing and pausing the sound and for playing and pausing the moving image, one Eliminate the display of multiple play and pause buttons for sound and video on the label, and further determine whether the object affixed to the label L is a sound or a video, How long an object is
The pointer M is associated with the common play button LB.
The balloon help can be displayed according to the movement of C, so that the user can easily grasp the contents of the object attached to the label L.

Thereafter, when the play button PB is pressed (for example, clicked with a mouse or the like), the label software according to the present embodiment determines whether the object attached to the label L is a sound or a moving image. It is automatically determined whether or not there is, and reproduction of a sound or a moving image is started according to the determination.

The label software according to the present embodiment indicates, on the label L during reproduction of the sound or the moving image, the time at which the currently reproduced sound or the moving image is recorded or recorded and the time from the start of the reproduction. Display a tooltip TC.

More specifically, for example, an example in which a moving image is pasted on a label L will be described. As shown in FIG. 15, a moving image currently being reproduced is recorded on a label L where the moving image is being reproduced. 15 (35.001 in the example of FIG. 15).
Second) and the time from the start of reproduction (9.066 in the example of FIG. 15).
Seconds) are displayed on the tooltip TC with the characters “9.066 / 35.001 sec”.

When neither a sound object nor an image (moving image) object is pasted on the label L, the play button PB on the label L is disabled as shown in FIG.

Further, in the label software of this embodiment, among the buttons on the label L, in particular, the reproduction button P
B does not make sense when recording a sound or a moving image. That is, it is hard to imagine pressing the play button during recording or recording in normal use.

Therefore, according to the label software of this embodiment, during recording or during recording, FIG.
As shown in the figure, instead of the play button PB, the record button R
By displaying B or the recording button RB, the display area on the label L can be used effectively.

FIG. 17 shows a label L during sound recording.
FIG. 18 shows a display example on the label L during recording of a moving image. In the example of the present embodiment, when the sound recording function provided in the label software is used, the recording time is limited, so that the label L during the sound recording has a maximum value. Characters of “3.807 / 60.000 sec” indicating the recordable time (60.000 seconds in the example of FIG. 17) and the time from the start of recording (3.807 seconds in the example of FIG. 17) are displayed on the tool tip TCr. Is displayed. Also, in the example of the present embodiment, the moving image is captured by the capture program, and the captured moving image can be recorded for a time corresponding to, for example, the capacity of the HDD. The time information is not displayed in the tool tip TCr on the label L at the time as shown in the example of FIG. 18, but only the character "recording" is displayed, for example. Of course, the sound can also be recorded on an HDD or the like by using a sound capturing program other than the label software. In this case, there is no limit on the recordable time, and the HD
Recording for a time corresponding to the capacity of D becomes possible.

The label software according to the present embodiment moves the pointer MC to an area where the play button PB is displayed as shown in FIG. When an instruction to display the menu window W (for example, clicking the right button of the mouse) is made at that position, the menu window W is displayed in response to the instruction, and further, “sound recording (R)” or “ When the item “video recording (R)” is selected, the playback button PB is changed to the recording / recording button RB.

Hereinafter, the flow of processing in the CPU 51 in the case where the above is realized by a personal computer using the label software of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 20 shows the overall flow of the processing related to the play button PB.

In FIG. 20, for example, the play button P
When the pointer MC moves on B, the CPU 51
Performs the process of displaying the balloon help BH as the process of step S1 based on the label software of the present embodiment.

Next, when the reproduction button PB is clicked in a state where the pointer MC is positioned on the reproduction button PB, the CPU 51 executes a process of step S2 to execute the object pasted on the label L. Automatically determines whether the is a sound or a moving image, and starts the reproduction process according to the result of the determination.

While the pointer MC is positioned on the play button PB, an instruction to display the menu window W (for example, a right button click on a mouse) is issued. When the item “(R)” or “video recording (R)” is selected, the CPU 51 changes the play button PB to the recording / recording button RB as the process of step S3, and performs the recording or recording process.

FIG. 21 shows a detailed flow of the balloon help process in step S1 in the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 21, for example, the play button P
When the pointer MC moves on B, the CPU 51
First, as a process of step S11, it is determined whether or not the pointer MC is on the play button PB for a fixed time or more. In the process of step S11, if the pointer MC is not on the play button PB for a certain period of time or longer, the CP
U51 ends the balloon help process. on the other hand,
If it is determined in step S11 that the pointer MC has been on the play button PB for a certain period of time, the CPU
51 proceeds to the process of step S12.

When the process proceeds to step S12, the CPU 5
1 checks whether data (object) assigned to the play button PB exists. In the process of step S12, when it is determined that there is no assigned data, the CPU 51 ends the balloon help process. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that there is data assigned to the play button PB, the CPU 51 proceeds to step S13.

When the process proceeds to step S13, the CPU 5
1 determines the type of data (the type of object) assigned to the play button PB. This step S
In the process of step S13, if it is determined that the type of the allocated data is a sound (sound object), the CPU 51 proceeds to the process of step S14, and determines that the object is a sound and that the sound is recorded. Set the character string to display the length (time) that is. On the other hand, if the CPU 51 determines in step S13 that the type of the allocated data is a moving image (image object), the CPU 51 proceeds to step S13.
Proceeding to the process of 15, the character string for displaying that the object is a moving image and the length (time) of recording the moving image is set. After the processing of steps S14 and S15, the processing of the CPU 51 proceeds to step S1.
Proceed to 6.

When the process proceeds to step S16, the CPU 5
1 indicates that the character string set in step S14 or step S15 and the character string indicating that the function of the play button PB is set to play / pause are transmitted to the balloon help B.
Display in H.

Thereafter, the CPU 51 proceeds to the process in step S17, and determines whether or not the pointer MC is on the reproduction button PB. In the process of step S17, while determining that the pointer MC is on the play button PB, the CPU 51 returns to the process of step S16 to continue the display process of the balloon help BH. Thus, the balloon help BH is kept displayed while the pointer MC is on the play button PB. On the other hand, step S
When it is determined that the pointer MC is not on the play button PB (moved) in the process of 17, the CPU 51 ends the balloon help BH process.

Next, FIG. 22 shows a detailed flow of the reproduction processing in step S2 in the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 22, when the pointer MC is on the play button PB, the CPU 51
Determines whether the play button PB has been pressed (clicked) as the process of step S21. In the process of step S21, the CPU 51 sets the playback button PB
Is determined to have not been pressed, the play button PB
Is completed, and if it is determined that the play button PB has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S22.

When the process proceeds to step S22, the CPU 5
1 judges whether data (object) is assigned to the play button PB. In the process of step S22, when the CPU 51 determines that data is not assigned to the play button PB, the CPU 51 ends the playback process of the play button, and determines that data is assigned to the play button PB. If so, step S23
Proceed to processing.

When the process proceeds to step S23, the CPU 5
1 determines the type of data (the type of object) assigned to the play button PB. This step S
If it is determined in step 23 that the type of the allocated data is a sound (sound object), the CPU 51 proceeds to step S24 to prepare for reproduction of the sound. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that the type of the allocated data is a moving image (image object), the CPU 5
1 proceeds to the process of step S25, and prepares for reproduction of the moving image. After the processing of steps S24 and S25, the processing of the CPU 51 proceeds to step S26.

When the process proceeds to step S26, the CPU 5
1 starts reproduction of the sound or moving image prepared in step S24 or step S25. After that, CP
The process of U51 proceeds to step S27.

When the process proceeds to step S27, the CPU 5
1 determines whether or not the reproduction has been completed. If it is determined that the reproduction has not been completed, the process returns to step S26 to continue the reproduction. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reproduction has been completed, the reproduction button Ends the reproduction process.

Although not shown in FIG. 22,
After step S26, a process of determining whether or not the stop button SB has been pressed may be inserted. In this case, C
When determining that the stop button SB has been pressed, the PU 51 ends the playback processing of the play button PB. On the other hand, when determining that the play button SB has not been pressed, the PU 51 proceeds to the processing of step S27.

Next, FIG. 23 shows a detailed flow of the recording / recording process in step S3 in the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 23, when the pointer MC is positioned on the reproduction button PB, the CPU 51
Indicates that the play button PB
Is determined (for example, a right button click on a mouse or the like) is displayed. In the process of step S31, the CPU 51
When it is determined that the instruction to display the menu window W has not been made, the recording / recording process ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the instruction to display the menu window W has been made, the menu window W is displayed. Proceed to step S32.

When the process proceeds to step S32, the CPU 5
1 judges whether the menu item “sound recording (R)” or “video recording (R)” is selected from the menu items in the menu window W.
In the process of step S32, when determining that the menu item “sound recording (R)” or “video recording (R)” has been selected, the CPU 51 proceeds to step S32.
It proceeds to the process of 33.

When the process proceeds to step S33, the CPU 5
In step 1, it is determined whether the selection operation in step S32 is an operation in which one of the menu items “sound recording (R)” and “moving image recording (R)” is selected. This step S33
If it is determined that the operation is to select the menu item “Sound recording (R)” in the processing of
Prepares for sound recording in step S34.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S33 that the operation is to select the menu item “video recording (R)”, the CPU 51 prepares for video recording in step S35. That is, when the CPU 51 starts recording or preparing for recording in these steps S34 and S35, the CPU 51 sets the playback button PB to the recording / recording button RB.
And the process proceeds to step S36.

When the process proceeds to step S36, the CPU 5
In step 1, recording of the sound or recording of the moving image prepared in step S34 or step S35 is started. In addition,
This recording or recording may be started when any one of the menu items “sound recording (R)” or “moving image recording (R)” is selected, or may be changed from the play button PB. It may be started at the time when the record / record button RB is pressed. After the recording is started in step S36, the process of the CPU 51 proceeds to step S37.

When the process proceeds to step S37, the CPU 5
1 judges whether the recording or the recording has been completed,
If it is determined that the recording is not completed, the process returns to step S36 to continue the recording or recording, while if it is determined that the recording is completed, step S3 is performed.
Proceed to step 8.

When the recording or recording is completed in step S37 and the process proceeds to step S38, the CPU 51 changes the recording / recording button RB to the play button PB, and simultaneously sets the recorded sound data (sound object) or recording. After the assigned moving image data (image object) is assigned to the play button PB, the recording / recording process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by sharing the play button PB on the label L with the sound object and the image object including the moving image, the number of buttons displayed on the label L Control the increase in
The effective use of the display area of the label L and simplification of the GUI are achieved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the same display area on the label L (the present embodiment) is used for operations that do not occur at the same time, for example, a reproduction operation and a recording / recording operation. By assigning a common area to the label L in which the playback button PB is displayed), the number of buttons displayed on the label L is suppressed from increasing, and the display area of the label L is effectively used and the GUI is simplified. I have.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the label L
When the user moves the pointer MC over the play button PB, a balloon help BH is displayed to facilitate confirmation of the contents of the object assigned to the play button PB. By displaying the type of object (moving image, sound) and the length of the object, even when the play button PB is shared, it is possible to check the content without reproducing the large frame.

Returning to FIG. 12, the link button LB
Opens a file at the link destination associated with the label L, or uses HTML (HyperText Markup Language).
This button is used to display a format window. That is, when a file path is set as the link destination address in the label L, when the link button LB in the label window of FIG. 12 is pressed (clicked), the file set in the file path is set. The label L is opened, and the label L
When an RL (Uniform Resource Locator) is specified, an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format window is displayed when the link button LB is pressed (clicked). Further, the link button LB
In addition to displaying an HTML-format window, this F is also used according to an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site (for example, ftp://ftp.sony.co.jp) set for the label L.
A window for accessing the TP site is displayed, and a window for sending an e-mail according to the e-mail destination address set in the label L (for example, mailto: hana@sony.co.jp) is displayed. It can be displayed. Further, the link button LB is used to display the link content (the file path of the link destination or the UR as shown in FIG. 24).
L) is associated with the tooltip TCl indicating
For example, when the pointer MC moves on the link button LB, a tool tip TC indicating the link content
l is displayed.

The menu button MB arranged at the upper right of the label window is a button for displaying a menu of all operations related to the label (for example, file, addition of new label, time, label, help, etc.). It is. When the menu button MB is pressed (clicked), the menu items (file, addition of new label, time, label, help, etc.) are displayed as a pull-down menu near the menu button MB, for example. In addition, in each part on the label L, for example, when the right button of the mouse is clicked, or when the application key is pressed with the focus,
Menu (context menu) items are displayed in the same manner as when the menu button MB is clicked.

Further, depending on the status and settings of the label, an icon indicating the current state is displayed at the upper right of the label L (for example, to the left of the menu button MB). The icons include types such as an alarm icon IA and a repetition icon IR as shown in FIG. The alarm icon IA is an icon that is displayed when an alarm is set for a label, and is a repetitive icon IR.
Is an icon displayed when the repeated display is set.

As a medium used to install a program for realizing the above-described series of processes in a computer and to make it executable by the computer, for example, a floppy disk, a CD-RO
It may be realized not only by package media such as M and DVD, but also by a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which a program is temporarily or permanently stored, and may be realized by a cable such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting. And a wireless communication medium, and various communication interfaces such as a router and a modem for transferring or receiving a program provided through these communication media. Means a broad concept including.

[0106]

As is apparent from the above description, in the information processing apparatus, method, and medium of the present invention, a predetermined processing unit capable of pasting object information of different attributes that can perform at least substantially the same operation. Generates a processing unit image representing the same operation, generates an operation image representing the substantially same operation in common, generates a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image, and displays the content image on the display screen. When the displayed operation image is instructed, by displaying the content image on the display screen, whether the object information attached to the label as the predetermined processing unit image is, for example, a sound or a moving image Can be easily confirmed, the number of buttons as operation images displayed on the label is suppressed from increasing, and the display area on the label is effectively used. Simplified I are possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a notebook personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main body of the notebook personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a jog dial of the notebook personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the jog dial side of the notebook personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram showing an electrical configuration inside the notebook personal computer whose external appearance is shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a window display example of a first specific example of a jog dial application program.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a mutual relationship among three data of a project, a label, and an object handled by the label software of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a desktop screen in a normal mode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a desktop screen in a current (Present) mode.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a desktop screen in a past (Past) mode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a desktop screen in a future mode.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a label window screen according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram used to explain balloon help for displaying the content of a sound object associated with a play button.

FIG. 14 is a diagram used to explain balloon help for displaying the content of an image (moving image) object associated with a play button.

FIG. 15 is a diagram used to explain a display example of a tooltip indicating a state during reproduction of a moving image and a reproduction time when an image (moving image) object is associated with a reproduction button.

FIG. 16 is a diagram used to explain a state in which neither a sound object nor an image (moving image) object is assigned to the play button.

FIG. 17 is a diagram used to explain a display example of a label during recording of a sound and a record / record button changed from a play button.

FIG. 18 is a diagram used to explain a display example of a label during recording of a moving image and a record / record button changed from a play button.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu of a play button.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an overall flow of processing related to a play button.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of balloon help processing.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of a reproduction process.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of a recording / recording process.

FIG. 24 is a diagram used to explain a tooltip indicating the content of a link (a file path or a URL of a link destination) associated with a link button.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alarm icon and a repetition icon.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional sticky note (label) pasted on a desktop.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 notebook personal computer, 2 main unit,
3 display unit, 4 jog dial, 5 keyboard, 6 touch pad, 7 LCD, L label,
TT task tray, IL icon, TVC
Time view console, L label, PB play button, RB record / record button

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B050 EA20 EA24 FA02 FA08 FA10 FA12 FA14 5E501 AA02 CA04 CA06 CB02 CB05 CB07 CB09 CB14 CB15 CC06 EA05 EA10 EA21 FA02 FA05 FA32 FA32

Claims (11)

[Claims] A processing unit image generating unit configured to generate a processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information of different attributes capable of performing at least substantially the same operation can be pasted; An operation image generating means for generating an operation image represented in common, a content image generating means for generating a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image, Display control means for displaying the content image on a display screen when the operation image is instructed. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content image generating means generates, as the content image, at least an image representing a type of the object information assigned to the operation image. . 3. An operation executing means for executing the operation on the object information pasted in the predetermined processing unit when the operation image is instructed on the display screen. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The operation image generating unit generates an operation image representing operations that are not performed simultaneously, and the display control unit generates the operation images representing operations that are not performed simultaneously. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operation image representing the same operation is displayed on a display screen. 5. The object information having the different attributes,
The image information including audio information and moving images, the processing unit image is an image for displaying a sticky note on a display screen, and the content image is a balloon image. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 6. A processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information of different attributes capable of performing at least substantially the same operation can be pasted, and an operation image representing the substantially same operation in common And generating a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image. When the operation image displayed on the display screen is instructed, the content image is displayed on the display screen. An information processing method characterized by being displayed above. 7. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein an image representing at least a type of the object information assigned to the operation image is generated as the content image. 8. The information processing according to claim 6, wherein when the operation image is instructed on the display screen, the operation is performed on the object information attached to the predetermined processing unit. Method. 9. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein operation images representing operations that are not performed simultaneously are displayed instead of the operation images representing substantially the same operations. 10. The object information having the different attributes is audio information and image information including a moving image. The processing unit image is an image for displaying a sticky note on a display screen. 7. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the information is a balloon image. 11. A step of generating a processing unit image representing a predetermined processing unit to which object information of different attributes capable of performing at least substantially the same operation can be pasted, and representing the substantially same operation in common Generating an operation image; generating a content image representing the content of the object information assigned to the operation image; and instructing the operation image displayed on a display screen, Displaying the content image on a display screen. A medium for causing an information processing apparatus to execute a program.