JP2001266171A - Plotting device and computer-readable recording medium with plotting program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily change the attribute value of an object. SOLUTION: A plotting editor part 70 is provided with a plotting area managing part 12 for displaying a plotting area where an object can be edited graphically, on a display screen, an attribute value editing area managing part 13 for always displaying an attribute value editing area for list-displaying the attribute value of the object which is selected as an editing object, in an editable state on the display screen, and an editing control part 11 for reflecting the result of editing in the attribute value editing area to the plotting area with a prescribed timing. Thus, by the selecting operation of an editing objective object, all the attribute values are displayed in the attribute value editing area in an editable state and the attribute values can be edited soon after the selection of the object. Thus, operation procedures are reduced and the attribute of the object can easily be changed without disturbing thinking of a user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drawing apparatus capable of easily changing an attribute value of an object and a computer-readable recording medium storing a drawing program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An industrial control apparatus called a programmable logic controller (hereinafter, referred to as "PLC") mainly includes a CPU and a memory in order to realize various controls including a sequence control. It has a hardware part and a software part for controlling.

The programmable display has an operation display having a dot display screen, an operation input switch, an interface with a host controller (PLC), a program memory for control such as operation input on the screen, and the like. It is a vessel. Generally, a programmable display is
Graphical display allows functions such as operation panel, switch, and indicator light to be provided, as well as various monitors for management such as operation status of control target devices (devices) and work instructions, and set values for devices. It has a function as a terminal for inputting. Furthermore, in recent years, a programmable display device equipped with an input / output unit or the like for connecting a device to be controlled and having a PLC control function has appeared.

A control screen (display content program) displayed on such a programmable display can be created by a user using screen creation software (drawing editor). When creating a screen, the user configures a desired control screen using parts (marks) such as switches, lamps, numeric keys, a meter display, a graph display, and drawing functions provided by a drawing editor on a personal computer or the like. I do.

[0005] The created control screen is transferred to and stored in the programmable display as screen data. PLC
During the operation of, the programmable display displays each component or graphic on the control screen according to the operation state of the control target device based on data exchanged with the PLC.

[0006] Next, regarding the conventional drawing editor,
This will be described with reference to the screen display example of FIG. Conventional drawing editors include parts such as switches, lamps, numeric keys, meter displays, and graph displays as objects 111a.
The control screen is created by expressing these objects in the drawing area 110 corresponding to the control screen. Then, group objects 111 and 113 including the objects 111a and 113a to 113d as constituent elements can be created and used as parts. That is, the screen data is created by arranging an object having an object and a group object as constituent elements.

Here, when the above-mentioned objects and group objects are arranged in the drawing area 110, specific attribute values are set for attributes defined in advance. And by changing this attribute value,
Settings such as the shape of an object or a group object can be changed.

[0008]

However, in a conventional drawing editor, attribute values are edited in the following procedure. Note that here, the group object 111
A case in which the attribute value of the object 111a (Rectangle01) which is a component of (GroupObject07) is changed will be described.

First, an object 111 to be edited in a group by a screen data list tool (not shown)
By selecting a, an object to be edited is selected. Second, a dialog box 120 is displayed by pressing an edit button provided in the screen data list tool or double-clicking a right button. Third, the editing area 12 of the dialog box 120
A new attribute value is set using the button or box 1. Fourth, an OK button 122 is displayed when the attribute values have been set.
Click the left button of the dialog box 120
Close. Thereby, the drawing of the drawing area 110 is updated so as to reflect the editing of the attribute value in the dialog box 120.

As described above, in the conventional drawing editor,
Since it is necessary to open the dialog box 120 and close the attribute value after editing it, the operation procedure is many and cumbersome. Note that, contrary to the above procedure, there is also a method of selecting an object to be edited after activating a tool for changing the attribute value, but there is no difference in the number of operation procedures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a drawing apparatus capable of easily changing an attribute value of an object and a computer-readable recording medium storing a drawing program. Is to do.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a drawing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a drawing area management means for displaying a drawing area in which an object can be graphically edited on a display screen; An attribute value editing area management means for constantly displaying, on the display screen, an attribute value editing area for displaying, in an editable manner, an attribute value of an object to be edited selected as an object to be edited among the arranged objects; And editing control means for reflecting the result of editing in the drawing area at a predetermined timing.

With the above configuration, first, when an object to be edited is selected in the drawing area, the attribute values of the object are displayed in a list in the attribute value editing area so as to be editable. Second, an attribute value to be edited in the attribute value editing area is selected as an object to be edited, and a new attribute value is set. afterwards,
The attribute value edited in the attribute value editing area is determined at a predetermined timing, and the change is reflected in the drawing area. For example,
After the operator edits the attribute value, when the operator selects another attribute value for editing or selects the drawing area for editing or adding another object, the operator edits the attribute value in the attribute value editing area. Determine.

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus of the present invention,
There is no need to open a dialog box and close it after editing an attribute value as in the conventional drawing editor.
Therefore, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention has a small number of operation procedures and does not hinder the thinking of the operator who performs drawing, so that the operation is easy.

[0015] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention is further provided with first object selecting means for setting an object designated in the drawing area as the object to be edited. .

With the above arrangement, the operator can further select an object specified in the drawing area as an object to be edited.

Therefore, an object to be edited can be directly selected in the drawing area. Moreover, by this operation, the attribute values of the object to be edited can be displayed as a list in the attribute value editing area in an editable manner. Therefore, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention has a small number of operation procedures and does not hinder the thinking of the operator who performs drawing, so that the operation is easy.

[0018] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention further specifies, when a group object including a component is specified in the drawing area, the objects included in the group object in order. A second object selecting means for selecting the object to be edited while switching is provided.

According to the above configuration, when a group object including an object to be edited as a component is further designated, the object to be edited is designated as an object to be edited while sequentially switching the objects included as components.

Therefore, when the desired edit target object is included in the group object, the operator can select the edit target object by designating the group object until the desired edit target object is selected.

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus of the present invention, even when it is difficult to directly select an object to be edited in the drawing area, the operation procedure is small and the object to be edited can be selected, so that the operation is easy.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the drawing apparatus of the present invention further displays a list of objects arranged in the drawing area on the display screen, and displays an object selected in the list on the display screen. It is characterized in that it comprises a third object selecting means as an object to be edited.

With the above arrangement, the objects arranged in the drawing area are displayed on the display screen as a list. Then, when an object is selected in the list, the object is selected as an object to be edited.

Therefore, in addition to the graphical display of the drawing area, the objects arranged in the drawing area can be confirmed based on the character display by using the list. Further, an object to be edited can be selected from the list. Furthermore, if the attribute values of the objects are displayed in the list, the object to be edited can be selected after accurately confirming the attribute values, and the process can proceed to the editing of the attribute values.

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to select an object to be edited immediately after confirming the objects arranged in the drawing area in the list and to proceed to the editing of the attribute value. The operation is easy, without interrupting the thinking of the operator who performs drawing.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is further characterized in that the image forming area is provided in the same size as a displayable area of an image display device for displaying the image data thus formed. I have.

With the above arrangement, the image forming area of the image forming apparatus further corresponds to the displayable area of the image display apparatus so that the same display state as that of the image display apparatus displaying the image data created by the image forming apparatus can be obtained. It can be set to the size you want.

Therefore, it is possible to draw an image while checking the state when the image data is used. Further, if an image is created by a drawing device having a displayable area larger than the image display device, an attribute value editing area and a list of objects can always be displayed around the drawing area.

A computer-readable recording medium storing the drawing program according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium storing a drawing program for operating the drawing apparatus in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

According to the above configuration, the image forming apparatus can be realized by the image forming program read from the recording medium.

[0031]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The drawing apparatus according to the present embodiment is, for example,
It is realized as one function of the control host computer (drawing apparatus) 7 (FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2, the control system 1 including the control host computer 7 includes a programmable logic controller (hereinafter, referred to as “PLC”) 3 for controlling the target system 2 and a serial cable. 4 and is connected to the PLC 3 through a programmable display 5 operated by an operator of the target system 2 in the vicinity of the target system 2 in many cases, and is connected between the control host computer 7 and each programmable display 5. A network 6 is provided.

The target system 2 is, for example, a device to be controlled, such as a valve or a motor, which performs an operation in accordance with an instruction, or a flow sensor, a temperature sensor, or the like.
The target system 2 includes a device 8 such as a sensor for detecting a state of each part. And the PLC3 is:
While communicating with each device 8, each device 8 is controlled according to a control program stored in advance.
The control program is transmitted to each PLC 3 by, for example, distributing it from the control host computer 7 via the program display 5.

The programmable display device 5 is a display device capable of controlling input and screen display based on image data, and is connected to the PLC side communication processing section 51 connected to the serial cable 4 and the network 6. In addition to a network-side communication processing unit 52 and a protocol conversion unit 53 for relaying communication between them, a storage device 54 for storing screen data and the like, and a display (image) based on screen data, operator operations, communication results, etc. And a display processing unit 55 that performs display processing on a display device 56.

Here, the PLC 3 is connected to the programmable display 5 via the serial cable 4 and communicates with the program display 5 using a dedicated protocol that allows the PLC 3 to communicate. On the other hand, the network 6
Is a LAN (Local Area Network) such as Ethernet (trademark: Xerox Corporation), for example.
The programmable displays 5 and the control host computer 7 communicate with each other by a TCP / IP protocol which is a common protocol. Therefore, when the dedicated protocol and the common protocol are different from each other, the protocol conversion unit 53 converts the two protocols into each other.

The display 56 is constituted by a flat display element such as a liquid crystal panel or an EL panel. In addition, on the display screen of the display 56, a touch panel for inputting is provided.

On the other hand, the control host computer 7
Is a display processing unit 7 for monitoring and controlling the entire control system 1.
1, a common protocol interface unit (hereinafter, referred to as a “common protocol IF unit”) 74 connected to the network 6, and communicates with each programmable display 5 via the common protocol IF unit 74 and the network 6. A server unit 73 that responds to requests from the display processing unit 71 and the like. In many cases, the target system 2 and the PLC 3
Alternatively, the state of the programmable display 5 can be displayed on the display (display screen) 72 or controlled.

The control host computer 7 is provided with a drawing editor section 70 for creating screen data of the programmable display 5 and a storage device 75 for storing the created screen data and the like. The screen data defining the display / control operation of the display unit 5 is created and corrected (corrected) by the drawing editor unit 70, and thereafter, is programmed via the server unit 73, the common protocol IF unit 74 and the network 6 to each programmable display. Distributed to the container 5.

In the above configuration, first, the user of the control system 1 operates the drawing editor unit 70 of the control host computer 7 to adjust the actual situation of the target system 2 and the proficiency and preference of the operator of the programmable display 5. In addition, create and modify screen data. Next, the created screen data is delivered to the programmable display 5 after being confirmed to operate normally by, for example, a simulation or a connection test.
Starts display according to the screen data.

As described above, since the screen data displayed on the programmable display device 5 can be collectively managed by the control host computer 7, the screen data management can be performed as compared with the case where the screen data is managed in many places in parallel. Is easy.

Next, an image forming apparatus realized by the control host computer 7 will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 shows a drawing editor unit 70 for realizing the functions of the drawing device in the control host computer 7.
3 is a functional block diagram of FIG. The control host computer 7 can be constituted by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer. Therefore, the control host computer 7 realizes various functions by causing the CPU to operate various application programs including the drawing editor unit 70 using a memory such as a RAM or a ROM. Note that the application program can be stored in the storage device 75 in advance.

The drawing editor section 70 is such that the programmable display 5 has a function as a terminal for inputting set values for various monitors and devices for management such as the operating status of the devices 8 and work instructions. Second, screen creation software for creating screen data to be displayed on the display 56. Generally, the drawing editor unit 70 includes components such as switches, lamps, numeric keys, and various displays (for example, a numerical display, a meter display, and a graph display) so that a user's own screen (user screen) can be created. Mark), a drawing function, a text input function, and the like. Then, the drawing editor unit 70 executes the GUI (graphi
Under the environment of cal user interface), screen data can be created by arranging objects such as the above parts in the screen drawing area 20 (FIG. 3). Note that the drawing editor unit 70
An input / output number (address) is assigned to each device 8 of the objects arranged on the created screen.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drawing editor unit 7
0 denotes an edit control unit (edit control unit) 11, a drawing area management unit (drawing area management unit) 12, an attribute value editing area management unit (attribute value editing area management unit) 13, and an object selection unit (first (Object selecting means / second object selecting means / third object selecting means) 14.

FIG. 3 shows a display example on the display 72 by the drawing editor unit 70. As shown in FIG. 3, the drawing editor unit 70 displays the drawing area 20, the attribute value editing area 30, and the data list (list) 40 as interfaces. FIG. 4 shows the attribute value editing area 30
Is a specific display example. FIG. 5 shows the data list 4 described above.
It is a specific display example of 0.

The drawing area management unit 12 manages the drawing area 20. In other words, the drawing area management unit 12 manages input to the drawing area 20, input / output with other tools, and drawing of the drawing area 20, thereby providing a graphical drawing environment using a pointing device such as a mouse. I will provide a.

More specifically, parts such as switches, lamps, numeric keys, a meter display, and a graph display to be displayed on the programmable display 5 are replaced with the objects 21a, 22.2.
By expressing the objects as 3a to 23d and arranging this object in the drawing area 20 corresponding to the control screen of the display 56, screen data of the control screen can be created. Here, the objects 21a and 23a to 23a
It is also possible to create group objects 21 and 23 having d as a constituent element and use these as parts. That is, the screen data is created by arranging objects that are configured by nesting object and group objects as elements.

When the above-mentioned objects and group objects are arranged in the drawing area 20, specific attribute values are set for attributes defined in advance. By changing this attribute value, it is possible to change settings such as the shape, position, color, and motion of an object or a group object.

The drawing area 20 displayed on the display 72 corresponds to the display 5 of the programmable display 5.
6 so as to obtain the same display state as the display in FIG. Thus, the operator can draw on the display 72 while checking the state of the image data when it is used on the display 56.

Since the display 56 is mounted on the programmable display 5 operated by the operator of the target system 2, its displayable area is generally larger than the displayable area of the display 72 provided in the control host computer 7. Is often small. In such a case, even if the drawing area 20 is provided in the same size as the displayable area of the display 56, an unused area remains on the display screen of the display 72. Therefore, the attribute value editing area 30 can be always displayed by using this unused area. If the unused area is large, the data list 40 can always be displayed in addition to the attribute value editing area 30. As described above, the attribute value editing area 30 is displayed in the remaining area where the drawing area 20 of the display 72 is displayed.
And, if possible, always displaying the data list 40, thereby realizing excellent operability.

The attribute value editing area management section 13 manages the attribute value editing area 30. That is, the attribute value editing area 30 stores all the attributes and attribute values of the object to be edited selected in the drawing area 20, the data list 40, and the like.
Attribute name column 31 and attribute value column 32 of attribute value editing area 30
By displaying the attribute value in an editable manner, a means for modifying the object is provided. Attribute value editing area 3
0 can be always displayed on the display 72 when the image data is created.

Here, data included in objects and group objects handled by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. For the object and the group object, attribute values are set for attributes defined in advance for each type of object. That is, the objects 21a, 22, and 23 have the object types "Rectangle" and "Circl," respectively.
e), with attributes defined for “GroupObject”,
Attribute value is set.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in the attribute name column 31 and the attribute value column 32 of the object 21a, the name of the group object (GropuName: GroupObject07) to which the object belongs (Rectangle),
The object name (Name: Rectangle01) is displayed.

Next, as position-related attributes, position information (vertical (Top: 90), horizontal (Left: 150)) and size information (horizontal (Width: 100), vertical (Height: 100)) of the object
Is displayed. Note that the object 21a is "Rectangl
e ”, the size information is represented by (horizontal (Width: 100), vertical (Height: 100)).

Next, as attributes related to color,
The attributes and attribute values of the outline (Line Setting) and the internal filling (filling) are displayed.
First, for the outline, the line color (LineColor: Blac
k), blinking (LineBlink: No), line type (LineStyle: S
olid) and line width (LineWidth: 4) are displayed. For the filling of the interior, the color of the foreground (ForeColor: Blac
k), blinking foreground (ForeBlink: No), background color (B
ackColor: Black), blinking background (BackBlink: N
o), pattern (Pattern: Normal) is displayed.

Next, the type of animation (Animation: Color) is displayed as an attribute of the operation information of the object.

On the other hand, in the group object, in addition to the above-described position information / size information, operation information, and the like, pointer information to objects included as constituent elements and group objects is set. By following this pointer information, it is possible to access specific data of the objects included in the hierarchical group object.

The position information is a display position of the object and the group object in the drawing area 20. Specifically, it is represented by the position of the upper left corner of the image of the object and the group object on a coordinate plane with the upper left corner of the drawing area 20 (that is, the display 56) as a base point (0, 0). The objects included in the group object and the position information of the group object may be represented as a position on a coordinate plane having the upper left corner of the group object including the group object as a base point (0, 0).

The above-mentioned operation information includes the type of animation set for the object. Here, the object and the group object can define an operation for temporally changing a position, a shape, a color, and the like on the screen. Then, an attribute value is set using this temporal action as an attribute of the type of animation. In addition, display / non-display of the object and the group object can be set by the animation attribute.

The object selector 14 provides the following three methods for selecting an object to be edited.

[1] Directly specify in the drawing area.

First, when an image of an object or a group object is clicked in the drawing area 20, the object selecting section 14 selects the object or the group object as an object to be edited.

[2] The parent group object is continuously clicked in the drawing area.

Second, when the group object selected as the object to be edited is further selected, the object selecting section 14 sequentially switches the object included in the group object as a constituent element and the group object to be edited. Select as object.

That is, when the object to be edited (object or group object) desired by the operator is included in another group object (parent group object), the parent group object is selected until the desired object to be edited is selected. Can be clicked continuously. For example, when the outer periphery of the group object 23 is clicked once, the group object 23 is selected as the object to be edited, and when the user clicks continuously, the object 23a is displayed each time.
The object to be edited is selected while sequentially switching through to 23d. If the user clicks further after selecting the object 23d, the state may return to the selection state of the group object 23.

When an area of the drawing area 20 where no object is arranged is clicked, the object to be edited may be selected while sequentially switching the top layer object and the group object.

Further, switching may be performed so that lower-level objects and group objects that are indirectly included in the parent group object can also be selected. In this way, if the parent group object contains group objects (child group objects), clicking the parent group object continuously will
You can select objects and group objects that are included in the child group object.

[3] Select from the data list.

Third, the object selector 14 displays the data list 40 (FIG. 5). In the data list 40, all objects and group objects arranged in the drawing area 20 can be displayed as a list in a hierarchical structure expressed in a tree format. The data list 40
May be always displayed on the display 72 when the image data is created, or may be displayed as appropriate according to an operator's instruction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the data list 40
It comprises an attribute name section 41 for displaying attribute names of objects and group objects, and a list section 42 for displaying attribute values of objects and group objects.

The list section 42 displays the attribute values of one object or group object in one line. Then, by selecting a row, the object or group object in that row can be selected as the object to be edited.

Each row of the list section 42 displays, for example, the display order of one object or group object, the object name, the position, and the attribute values of animation. Of course, the attributes to be displayed can be set arbitrarily.

The display order indicates the order in which the objects or group objects are arranged in the drawing area 20. The above object name indicates the name of an object or a group object. The above position is
The coordinates of the object or the group object in the drawing area 20 are shown.

The above animation indicates the type of animation set for the object or group object. In the drawing area 20, since the drawing is mainly performed in a still state, it is difficult to confirm the operation information such as the animation set for the object. In this regard, by displaying the attribute value of the operation information in the data list 40, it can be easily confirmed.

In the row of the group object, an icon for switching the display / non-display of the object included in the group object or the row of the group object is provided at the left end of the column of the object name.

The attribute names displayed in the attribute name section 41 are buttons 41a, respectively. Then, by clicking the button 41a, the list section 41 can be sorted for the attribute. Note that, based on the sorting result, the object and the group object may be switched when the parent group object in the above [2] is continuously clicked.

Here, the procedure of editing the attribute value by the drawing editor unit 70 is as follows. Here, the object 21a (Rectangle0) which is a component of the group object 21 (GroupObject07)
The case where the attribute value of 1) is changed will be described.

First, after the group object 21 in the drawing area 20 is clicked with the left mouse button to select the group object 21, the object 21a is clicked with the left mouse button to change the object 21a to the object to be edited. Select as As a result, all the attributes and attribute values of the object 21a are displayed in the attribute name column 31 and the attribute value column 32 of the attribute value editing area 30, respectively. At this time, the attribute value column 32 is in a state where each attribute value can be edited. Second, the user clicks on the attribute value column 32 in which the attribute value to be changed is displayed, selects it for editing, and sets a new attribute value using a button or box. For example, when changing the color of the outline of the object 21a from black to red, the attribute value column of "LineColor" is selected, the rightmost button is pressed to display a list, and "Red" is selected.

Thereafter, the edited attribute value is determined at a predetermined timing, and the change is reflected in the drawing area 20 and the data list 40. Here, the predetermined timing is, for example, when any one attribute value is selected from given selection items,
Alternatively, it is necessary to input a value from the keyboard when a carriage return is input.

Here, the editing control section 11 has three regions (a drawing region 20 and an attribute value editing region 30) of the drawing editor.
The drawing area management unit 12; the attribute value editing area management unit 13;
Control between the object selection units 14 is performed. For example, when an object to be edited is selected in the drawing area 20 or the data list 40 as described above, the processing for displaying the attribute / attribute value of the object in the attribute value editing area 30 or the processing in the attribute value editing area 30 The processing of finalizing the value editing result and simultaneously reflecting the result in the drawing area 20 and the data list 40 are performed by the editing control unit 1.
1 is executed according to the control.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, all the attribute values are displayed in the attribute value editing area 30 in an editable state by selecting the object to be edited. Further, the editing result is automatically determined at the time of changing the attribute value or the object to be edited, and is reflected in the drawing of the drawing area 20 and the list display of the data list 40.

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus of the present invention,
Dialog box 12 like a conventional drawing editor
It is not necessary to open 0 (FIG. 6) and close it after editing the attribute value. Therefore, the operation is easy because the operation procedure is small and does not hinder the thinking of the user who performs the drawing. Further, since the attribute value of each object can be changed in a state where the objects are grouped, that is, without canceling the group, the handling of the composite component is easy.

Finally, each of the above embodiments does not limit the scope of the present invention, and various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, the following configurations can be adopted.

The present invention is applicable to a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, a terminal computer, an interface device,
The present invention may be applied to a system including a network device, a reader, a printer, or the like, or may be applied to a device including a single device (a personal computer, for example).

An object of the present invention is to provide a program code (executable program, intermediate code program,
A recording medium storing a computer readable source program is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and the computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus is provided.
Or MPU) reads and executes the program code recorded on the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the above-described function, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

A recording medium for supplying the program code can be configured to be separable from a system or an apparatus. Further, the recording medium may be a medium that fixedly carries the program code so that the program code can be supplied. Even if the recording medium is mounted on a system or an apparatus so that a computer can directly read the recorded program code, the recording medium may be connected to a system or apparatus as an external storage device via a program reading apparatus connected to the system or the apparatus. It may be mounted so that it can be read.

For example, the recording medium may be a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, or a CD.
A disk system including an optical disk such as ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a mask ROM /
A semiconductor memory system such as an EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM can be used.

Further, the program code may be recorded so that the computer can read out from the recording medium and directly execute the program code, or the program code is transferred from the recording medium to the program storage area of the main storage and read out from the main storage by the computer. It may be recorded so that it can be executed.

Further, the recording medium may be a medium that carries the program code in a fluid manner so that the program code can be supplied via a communication network or the like. In this case, the system or device can be configured to be connectable to a communication network (including the Internet or the like), and the program code can be supplied by downloading from the communication network.

A program for reading the program code from the recording medium and storing the program code in the main memory;
It is assumed that the program for downloading the program code from the communication network is stored in a system or an apparatus in advance so as to be executable by a computer.

The functions described above are realized not only by the computer executing the above-described program code read out, but also by the OS or the like running on the computer performing one of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. It is also realized by performing part or all.

Further, the above-described function is realized after the above-mentioned program code read from the above-mentioned recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board mounted on a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Based on the instructions of the program code, the functions are also realized by the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performing part or all of the actual processing.

[0094]

As described above, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a drawing area management means for displaying a drawing area in which objects can be graphically edited on a display screen, and an object to be edited among the objects arranged in the drawing area. Attribute value editing area management means for constantly displaying an attribute value editing area for displaying an attribute value of an object to be edited selected as an editable list on the display screen; and a predetermined timing for editing results in the attribute value editing area. And an edit control unit for reflecting the result in the drawing area.

Therefore, like a conventional drawing editor,
You do not need to open a dialog box and close it after editing the attribute value. Therefore, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention has an effect that the operation is easy because the operation procedure is small and the thinking of the operator who draws is not hindered.

As described above, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention is configured to further include a first object selecting unit that sets an object designated in the drawing area as the object to be edited.

Therefore, the object to be edited can be directly selected in the drawing area. Moreover, by this operation, the attribute values of the object to be edited can be displayed as a list in the attribute value editing area in an editable manner. Therefore, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention has an effect that the operation is easy because the operation procedure is small and the thinking of the operator who draws is not hindered.

As described above, when a group object including constituent elements is specified in the drawing area, the drawing apparatus of the present invention performs the editing while sequentially switching the objects included in the group object. This is a configuration including a second object selecting means for selecting a target object.

Therefore, when the desired object to be edited is included in the group object, the operator can select the object to be edited by designating the group object until the desired object to be edited is selected. .

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus of the present invention, even when it is difficult to directly select an object to be edited in the drawing area, the operation procedure is small and the object to be edited can be selected, so that the operation is easy. It works.

As described above, the drawing apparatus of the present invention further displays a list of objects arranged in the drawing area on the display screen, and sets the object selected in the list as the object to be edited. And a third object selecting means for performing the operation.

Therefore, in addition to the graphical display of the drawing area, the objects arranged in the drawing area can be confirmed based on the character display by the above list. Further, an object to be edited can be selected from the list. Furthermore, if the attribute values of the objects are displayed in the list, the object to be edited can be selected after accurately confirming the attribute values, and the process can proceed to the editing of the attribute values.

Therefore, according to the drawing apparatus according to the present invention, the object arranged in the drawing area is confirmed in the list, and then the object to be edited can be immediately selected and the process proceeds to editing the attribute value. There is an effect that the operation is easy, without hindering the thinking of the operator who performs the drawing.

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that the image forming area is provided in the same size as the displayable area of the image display device for displaying the image data thus formed.

Therefore, the image forming area of the image forming apparatus has a size corresponding to the displayable area of the image display apparatus so that the same display state as that of the image display apparatus displaying the image data created by the image forming apparatus can be obtained. Can be set to

Therefore, there is an effect that the image can be drawn while checking the state when the image data is used. And
If an image is drawn by a drawing device having a displayable area larger than the image display device, there is an effect that an attribute value editing region and a list of objects can always be displayed around the drawing region.

The computer-readable recording medium on which the drawing program of the present invention is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium on which the drawing program for operating the above-described drawing apparatus is recorded.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus can be realized by the image forming program read from the recording medium. Therefore, the effects of the above-described drawing device can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control host computer including the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as one function.

FIG. 3 is a display example of the drawing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is an explanatory diagram showing a drawing area, an attribute value editing area, and a data list.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an attribute value editing area shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the data list shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a display example of an image forming apparatus according to a conventional technique, showing a dialog box for changing an attribute value.

[Explanation of symbols]

7 Control Host Computer (Drawing Device) 11 Editing Control Unit (Editing Control Means) 12 Drawing Area Management Unit (Drawing Area Management Means) 13 Attribute Value Editing Area Management Unit (Attribute Value Editing Area Management Means) 14 Object Selection Unit (No. (1 object selecting means / second object selecting means / third object selecting means) 20 drawing area 21a / 22 / 23a to 23d object 21/23 group object 30 attribute value editing area 40 data list (list) 56 display (image display device) ) 72 Display (display screen)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A drawing area management means for displaying a drawing area in which an object can be graphically edited on a display screen, and editing an attribute value of an editing target object selected as an editing target among objects arranged in the drawing area. Attribute value editing area management means for constantly displaying an attribute value editing area to be displayed as a list on the display screen; and editing control means for reflecting the result of editing in the attribute value editing area to the drawing area at a predetermined timing. A drawing device, comprising: 2. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first object selecting unit that sets an object designated in the drawing area as the object to be edited. 3. A second object selecting means for selecting the object to be edited while sequentially switching the objects included in the group object when a group object including the object as a constituent element is designated in the drawing area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A display device comprising a third object selecting means for displaying a list of objects arranged in the drawing area on the display screen, and using the object selected in the list as the object to be edited. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image forming area is provided in the same size as a displayable area of an image display apparatus for displaying image data generated. . 6. A computer-readable recording medium on which an image forming program for operating the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is recorded.