JP2002157240A - Form document editing device, facsimile cover sheet editing device, form document editing method, facsimile cover sheet editing method and computer readable information recording medium with recorded program for executing the same method on computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a form document editing device capable of easily preparing the document of a desired form. SOLUTION: A document editing device 1 has a form document/image converting part 2 for converting the contents of a selected form document file J to form image data P2 as formatted in the case of printing the document file J and a synthetic editing part 3 provided with an input/editing screen 13 for form completion for displaying the form image data P2 converted by this converting part 2 as a background form image P3 of characters to be inputted/ edited and a character data input/editing part 20 for accepting the input/editing of character data at a position selected to fill the form of the background image P3 displayed on this screen 13. The generation of the background form image P3 by means of this document editing device 1 is performed typically by dragging and dropping the form document file J on the screen 13 of the editing part 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a document editing apparatus and method, and more particularly to a document editing apparatus and method suitable for editing a facsimile cover sheet or the like using a computer and the program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A form document (that is, the contents of a form document file) created by a document processing program such as word processing software having a format editing function is printed (printed) on paper by a printer in a designated format. The contents of the form document printed on paper are taken in as image data by an image scanner or the like, and the image data is displayed as a background or background image, and character data is placed in a portion of the displayed background image where the form is to be filled. Document editing apparatuses that enable the user to input a document are known (for example, JP-A-5-61858, JP-A-5-73564, JP-A-5-258050, JP-A-6-274591). etc).

A facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus in which the technology of the document editing apparatus is applied to the preparation of a facsimile cover sheet is also disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-2293.
7 is proposed.

[0004]

However, in the document editing apparatus and the facsimile / cover sheet editing apparatus proposed in the prior art, the contents of a form document created by word processing software are temporarily printed on paper by a printer. It is necessary to generate the image data of the form document by taking in the contents of the form document printed on the paper as image (image) data by an image scanner or the like, which is troublesome. When using the image data of a form document in a fixed format at all times, it is sufficient to repeatedly use the image data of the form document that has been created in advance. However, it is possible to flexibly meet the needs of changing the form as needed. hard.

On the other hand, the contents of a so-called text file are converted into image data and used as a background image or background image constituting a background pattern or design. It is known that character data is input so as to overlap, so that the design of the background image and the document of the character data input thereon can be simultaneously printed (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-51647). However, this is intended to use the background text as a background image for mere design or "confidential" display, with the background imaged text and the text entered on it It does not take into account the content relationship with the data.

When a document editor or a document creator is not skilled in using a document processing program or the like that has created a form document, a predetermined blank of the form document is directly used by using the document processing program or the like. When trying to complete the document by editing the document by inputting characters in the area (that is, filling in blanks), there is a possibility that the form itself of the form document may be broken.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a form document editing apparatus and a form document which can easily create a desired form document. To provide an editing method.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus and a facsimile cover sheet editing method which can easily create a desired facsimile cover sheet.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an information recording medium in which a program for executing these methods on a computer is recorded in a computer-readable manner.

In order to achieve the above object, a document editing apparatus according to the present invention converts form document image data into form image data according to a format used when the document file is printed. And a form completion input for displaying the form image data converted by the form document / image conversion means as a background form image of characters to be input / edited.
A synthesizing / editing means having an editing screen, and a character data input / editing unit for receiving input / editing of character data at a position selected to fill the form of the background form image displayed on the form completion input / edit screen; and Having.

In the document editing apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a form document / image conversion means for converting the contents of the selected form document file into form image data according to the format at the time of printing the document file.
Only by selecting the form document file and performing the conversion process by the form document / image conversion means, the contents of the form document file can be converted into image data in the format at the time of printing. Further, in the document editing apparatus of the present invention, the composition editing means having a form completion input / edit screen for displaying the form image data converted by the form document / image conversion means as a background form image of characters to be input / edited Is provided, the format in the form of an image can be always visually recognized on the input / edit screen for form completion. Further, in the document editing apparatus according to the present invention, the character editing means receives the character data input / edit at a position selected to fill the form of the background form image displayed on the form completion input / edit screen.・ Equipped with an editing unit, so the format of the image format is always always input for completing the form.
A composite or composite document using a form by inputting and editing desired character data in a desired portion or area of the form of the form image while viewing the image on the editing screen without fear of breaking the format because of the form of the image. Can be edited or created.

That is, since the document editing apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is only necessary to select a form document file and instruct that it should be sent to the synthesizing / editing means. And converted into image data in a form according to the format described above, and can be displayed as a background image on a display screen of the synthesis / editing means where characters can be input. Therefore, it is not only possible to create or complete a document in which a form is filled using the format of an existing form document created by a document editing program such as word processing software, but also to use a document editing program such as word processing software. Unlike the case of using directly, there is no risk that the form of the form document will be disrupted when entering characters, so even people who are not used to using a document editing program can use a form document in the form of a background image A form document is printed on paper by a printer by directly or indirectly inputting a character at a selected position where the form is to be filled, or by editing an entered word or sentence, or the printed form or a copier. Complete the document using the form in the same way as filling the content by hand in the copy obtained by copying with Get.

In this specification, a "document" refers to a document that includes at least characters, and may or may not include graphics (visible patterns other than characters). Regarding a document, a "form" means that if a document consists of only characters, two-dimensional characters in a two-dimensional plane differ according to the type of font and character modification (character size, thickness, spacing, etc.). The facsimile cover sheet typically corresponds to the original form of a facsimile cover sheet that fills a blank space (blank area) to become a facsimile cover sheet. When one or a plurality of figures are included, the figures are arranged at predetermined positions in the two-dimensional plane. Therefore, with respect to a document, a “form” refers to a form in which characters and graphics are arranged at predetermined positions in a two-dimensional plane. In addition,
Of course, in a document form, a series of characters will be arranged to represent significant information. The “form document” is typically created using a document processing program such as word processing software capable of designating the form and hardware for executing the program, and is a document data in the form of a “document file”. As a storage device that can be read. Therefore, a “form document file” refers to a file in which a “document” is formed in a predetermined “form”. "Format"
Is used almost synonymously with "form", but the format is mainly how to set pages, how to set character modification, and how to set paragraphs that can be specified in a document creation / editing program such as word processing software. "Form" is used to indicate the two-dimensional arrangement, etc. obtained according to
Unlike the format, the format does not include the meaning and content of the character string. Therefore, "according to the format" or "according to the format at the time of printing" is the same as the "page setting, character modification and paragraph setting" specified in the document file,
This means that a printed matter obtained when a document is printed by a printer using a document processing program in which the format of a document file is set is displayed.

In this specification, the term "form image data" means that when displayed or printed, the contents of a "form document" are printed according to a format within a range that can be visually recognized normally. Refers to "image data" having a two-dimensional pattern that is substantially the same as the printed material to be printed. The form of the image data, that is, the form of the so-called image file may be arbitrary as desired. That is, for example, an image data file in a so-called bitmap format or an image data file in another compressed form may be used.

[0015] For character data, "input / edit" means not only inputting / editing one or more characters as text data in a text input area (for example, a so-called text box or the like). This includes inserting and inputting a character group or the like from a separately prepared database or table such as a so-called telephone directory or address book, and adjusting the insertion position. That is, character data to be input and edited may be taken into a desired area from a character data storage area prepared in advance, may be directly input into a desired area, or both may be used together. Here, the desired or predetermined area refers to a position or area substantially defined according to the background image. However, in the present invention described above, the background image is not used merely as a background pattern, but at least partially includes a region in which a word composed of a plurality of characters is imaged.

The form document typically consists of a form document for a facsimile cover sheet, for example.
For example, the destination (company name, person in charge, etc.), the number of transmissions, the subject, the subject, the comment column, etc. are included in a predetermined format for each use group or user, and the sender (company name, person in charge, etc.) Are included in a predetermined format for each use group and each user, and for each facsimile, the transmission destination (company name, person in charge, etc.), the sender (company name, person in charge, etc.), the number of transmissions,
The contents to be written in the subject, subject, comment column, etc. are different. In the case of a facsimile cover sheet, when finally sent by facsimile,
Since it is converted to image data, there are few disadvantages that a part is converted to image data in advance in the preparation process, but on the other hand, by fixing the form or format as image data as described above, You can avoid form or formatting collapse. However, the form document is not limited to the facsimile cover sheet, and may be a form document used for another purpose.

In the editing apparatus according to the present invention, typically, the form document / image conversion means responds to an instruction to give the selected form document file to the synthesizing editing means, and It is configured to start converting a file into form image data. The designation of the conversion destination, that is, the instruction to give the converted image data to the synthesizing / editing means, is in the form of a so-called GUI which is most typically used in a current personal computer (hereinafter also referred to as a “personal computer”). The selected file is called a "drag and
This is performed by dropping on the composite editing means by “drop”. Here, the synthesis / editing means is typically started in advance, and its form completion input / edit screen is displayed on the screen of a display device in the form of a CRT or TFT. However, if desired, the synthesizing / editing means can be dragged and dropped onto a so-called icon, such as a so-called shortcut form, of the synthesizing / editing program constituting the synthesizing / editing means in cooperation with a personal computer (computer hardware) or the like. Alternatively, the conversion destination may be specified at the same time as the synthesis editing program is started.

In some cases, instead of activating the form document / image conversion means by designating the conversion destination, at the stage where it is specified that the form document to be converted is to be converted by the form document / image conversion means. Then, the conversion of the contents of the form document into the image file is started, and after the conversion is started, the editing means may be designated as the conversion destination.

The editing apparatus of the present invention typically converts the entirety of a background form image and character data into image data as they are displayed on the form completion input / edit screen in an overlapping manner. It further has image conversion means. In this case, since the entire image will eventually be image data, it is not necessary to treat the part that retains the original shape as a text-editable document, so imaging a form document in advance has disadvantages. In effect, only benefits are given. Such a typical use case occurs when the form document is a facsimile cover sheet. That is, when the editing device is for the purpose of finally generating image data, for example, as in a facsimile cover sheet editor, the above-described operation not only enhances convenience but also enhances convenience. It is particularly suitable in that it does not have disadvantages due to imaging.

However, the present invention is not limited to a facsimile cover sheet editor or similar imaging means as long as the advantages of using a form document without breaking the format of an existing form document can be enjoyed. Absent.

In view of the method, the form document editing method of the present invention converts the contents of the selected form document file to the form document file in response to the selection of the form document file and the designation of the conversion destination of the form document file. A form document / image conversion step for converting the file contents into form image data according to the format at the time of printing, and displaying the converted form image data on the form completion input / edit screen with the form of the form image as a background image And a combining / editing step of receiving input / edit of character data at a selected position where the form of the background form image displayed on the form completion input / edit screen is to be filled.

Further, the form document editing method of the present invention
Typically, a completed document / image conversion is performed by converting the entire background form image and character data into image data and generating a completed document / image as displayed on the input / edit screen for form completion. It further comprises a step, typically the form document file is a facsimile cover sheet form document file.

Also, the apparatus and method described above actually
This is achieved by a computer program that executes the above means or steps in cooperation with hardware of the personal computer by being executed on a normal personal computer. Here, when a part of processing for realizing the function of this program is provided by a so-called operating system (OS), the program executes the remaining means for completing or completing the above-described means or steps. Needless to say, it is sufficient if interpolation can be performed.

Therefore, for example, in relation to the method, the information recording medium on which the program according to the present invention is recorded in a computer readable form, when executed on a computer, achieves the above-mentioned object. In cooperation with the selection of the form document file and the designation of the conversion destination of the form document file, the contents of the selected form document file are converted into form image data according to the format at the time of printing the document file. The form document / image conversion step to be converted and the converted form image data are displayed on the form completion input / edit screen with the form of the form image as a background image, and displayed on the form completion input / edit screen. To the selected position to fill the form with the background form image Program for realizing a document editing method and a synthesis editing step of accepting the input and editing of text data is the information recording medium which is recorded in a computer-readable.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus 1 comprises a form document / image conversion section 2 and a facsimile cover sheet as shown in FIG. An editing device main body 3. Here, the cover sheet editing device main body 3
Is a facsimile cover sheet editor that is executed under the control of computer hardware such as a personal computer and a control program such as an OS, and realizes related functions in cooperation with the computer hardware and the OS. (Program).

In FIG. 1, a general-purpose control unit 4 typically indicates functions related to computer hardware and an OS, and a form document processing (creation / editing) unit 5 as a synthesizing / editing unit is substantially Indicates a form document processing (creation / editing) program such as word processing software that operates under the control of computer hardware and an OS.
The form document / image conversion unit 2 as a form document / image conversion unit is a form document / image conversion such as a so-called image conversion driver (program) that operates under the control of a control program such as computer hardware and an OS. In this example, for example, a driver for facsimile (program)
Point to.

As described above, the individual functional parts 2, 3, 5
Is, of course, based on a computer (hardware) and a control program (OS). In the following, unless otherwise noted, for the sake of simplicity, this premise is not Without mentioning
Although the program or its related functions are described or expressed as these parts 2, 3 and 5 as programs, these functions are actually implemented in cooperation with a computer (hardware) or a control program (OS). Needless to say, this is realized.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the editing apparatus main unit 3 has an input / edit control unit 11, and selection B of a form document A is performed (step S2 in a flowchart of FIG. 2 described later). When the editing device main unit 3 is designated C as the output destination of the image of the form document A (corresponding to steps S3-1 and S3-2-1 in FIG. 2), the input / edit control unit 11 File specifying information (for example, file name and storage location information) As for specifying the file of the selected form document A, and designated output destination information D
Receive 1 The input / edit control unit 11 transmits the information A1 of the selected form document A via the general-purpose control unit 4 to a form document processing unit or a program capable of controlling the editing of the form document A (the word processing software for form document processing). 5), the form document processing unit or the program 5 receives the format information-added data A1 of the form document A specified by the document specifying information As by the document editing control unit 5a under the control of the general-purpose control unit 4. Then, the form document A is edited according to the format to generate edited document data or information A2 according to the format, and the edited document information A
2 is stored in, for example, a so-called display memory (not shown) under the control of the general-purpose control unit 4. The document information A2 stored in the display memory may or may not be displayed on the display screen of the document processing program 5, and the operation itself of the document processing program 5 can be viewed on the screen of the display device. Also need not be visible.

The input / edit control unit 11 also controls the form document processing program 5 to print the form document A to the image conversion driver 2 in the form edited according to the format via the general-purpose control unit 4. The print processing unit 5b of the form document processing program 5 causes the contents A2 of the display memory (not shown) to be converted into the print image P1, and an image conversion driver (form document) as output destination information D1 of the print image P1.・ Image conversion unit) 2 is designated.

As a result, the print image P 1 of the content A 2 in the format of the document A is given to the image conversion driver 2. Upon receiving the print image P1 from the print processing unit 5b, the image conversion driver 2 receives the image P1.
Is converted into image data P2 that can be processed by the editing device main unit 3 and is provided to the image display control unit 12 of the editing device main unit 3.

The image display control unit 12 displays the received image data P2 on the display unit 13 as a background image P3.

The cover sheet editing apparatus main body 3 further includes:
A text data input / edit / display processing unit 20 is provided so that text can be input and displayed over the background image P3. This text data input / edit / display processing unit 2
0 indicates a text data input unit 21, a plug-in component input selecting unit 22, a plug-in component editing unit 23, a data management table 24,
It has a text data management unit 25 that manages the data management table 24, an insertion input unit 26 associated with the database 7 such as an address book or a telephone directory, and a text display control unit 27. The data Tf generated by the text data input / edit / display processing unit 20 is displayed on the display unit 13 as being superimposed on the background image data P3 of the background or the background layer as the content of the text layer, or is subjected to layer composition control. The image data P3 is combined with the image data P3 at the display unit 13 and displayed on the display unit 13 or sent to a facsimile transmission unit (not shown) as a fax image file Pf.

More specifically, under the control of the input / edit control unit 11, the text input unit 21 enables text input in a form such as a text box on the display screen or display area of the display unit 13. This is a text input accepting processing unit that receives a text input position and area size specified by a mouse or the like via the position / size specifying unit 21a, and is directly input from a keyboard or the like via the text data input unit 21b. Text data (characters such as words, font type and size, and other character modification information). This text data is stored in a predetermined format in the data management table 24 under the control of the text data management unit 25.

On the other hand, on the display screen or display area of the display unit 13, the insertion part input selection unit 22 moves the position specified by the mouse or the like to the position specification input unit 23a of the insertion part editing unit 23, as shown in FIG. From the plug-in component table Q as shown in (a), the type of plug-in component (company name a3, name or person in charge d3, fax number f3)
And a subject or a subject) for specifying or selecting the plug-in selection information. The type of the specified plug-in component and its layout position information are controlled by the text data management unit 25. It is stored in the data management table 24. As can be seen from FIG. 4A, for example, the insertion part table Q includes a name d3, a company name a3, a department (affiliation) b3, a post c3, a telephone number (TEL) e3, and a facsimile number (FAX) f3. And the like, and a table for associating the type of the inserted part with the column number of the address book 7.
Therefore, the plug-in part x3 (where x is a, b, c,...)
4) can be specified in FIG.
This is equivalent to designating the column number of the address book 7 described with reference to FIG.

The plug-in input section 26 is a plug-in component input selecting section 2
2, the type of the component x3 is specified, and the insertion component editing unit 23 specifies the position and the like of the insertion component x3 (x is a, b, c,
.. Etc.), information for specifying insertion data to be actually inserted (for example, a proper noun of a person in charge) from a database such as an address book or a data table 7 is accepted, and the specific information is written in text. The data is stored in the data management table 24 under the control of the data management unit 25. As shown in FIG. 4B, the address book 7 includes, for example, one line of attribute data such as company name, affiliation, post, address, TEL, FAX, address, etc. in a predetermined order for each personal name. It consists of a table arranged in one record. When a row is specified, all data relating to a specific individual is extracted in a predetermined order, and when a column is specified, for all persons, for example, `` company A specific attribute such as "name" will be specified.

For example, a group of corresponding plug-in parts x3 related to the company name a, department b, post c, name d, etc. of the transmission destination F
When a person is specified by opening the address book 7 and specifying a specific line in a state in which is selected or specified, the insertion input unit 26 takes in the address book data of the line in order, and the data management unit Give 25. The data management unit 25
Based on the data of the column number of the address book 7 stored in the data management table 24 corresponding to the plug-in part x3, the address book data corresponding to the column number is extracted from the address book data from the plug-in input unit 26. Then, it is registered at the corresponding position in the data management table 24.

Under the control of the input / edit control unit 11, the text display control unit 27 extracts text data to be displayed in a predetermined layout on the text layer from the data management table 24, and causes the display unit 13 to display the text data. Here, with respect to the part using the plug-in part, the text display control unit 27, for example, displays the content itself taken from the address book 7 at the plug-in part on the display unit 13 so as to display the content itself. From the data management table 24 and a mode for extracting the plug-in part name from the data management table 24 so that the plug-in part name is displayed on the display unit 13 instead of the content. You.

The operation and operation of the facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus 1 constructed as described above, that is, the facsimile cover sheet editing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Flowchart and the form document of FIG. 3, the table of FIG. 4,
A detailed description will be given based on the screen information shown in FIGS.

The form document A of the facsimile cover sheet has, for example, a form as shown in FIG. That is, the form document A displays a facsimile cover sheet in large letters at the top as “FAX transmission guide”, has relatively thick horizontal lines above and below it, and further, under the title. In the upper left part, information such as the destination company name Fa, the department in charge Fb, the position of the person in charge Fc, the name of the person in charge Fd, the telephone number Fe, the facsimile number Ff, etc. can be entered without omission as necessary. Indication Fa1, Fb1, Fc1, Fd1, Fe1, Ff1 indicating each
And a blank or blank space Fa2, Fb for entering the content corresponding to each display Fa1 to Ff1 after the colon (:).
2, Fc2, Fd2, Fe2, and Ff2. In the lower right part, display Ga1 and Gb1 indicating the number of transmissions Ga and transmission date and time Gb and a margin Ga for content entry are provided.
2, Gb2, and below, the company name H of the transmission source
a, address Hg, sender's department Hb, title Hc, name H
d, the telephone numbers He, the facsimile numbers Hf, etc., so that they can be entered without omission as necessary, so that the respective display Ha1,
After Hg1, Hb1, Hc1, Hd1, He1, Hf1, blank spaces Ha2, Hg2, Hb2, Hc2 for content entry.
Hd2, He2, and Hf2 are provided. In the lower half of the form of the form document A, input fields Gc2 and Gd2 for the subject Gc and the comment Gd are shown with four outer corners surrounded by a round and thick frame. Such a form document A is
Typically, a word processing program (word processing software) 5
It has been created in. Therefore, it is possible to open the file of the form document A with the word processing software 5 and fill in the blanks. However, for example, when the character is input, the format of the corners is broken, or the necessary input lines or There is a risk that characters may be deleted. On the other hand, the form document A has been printed on paper by a printer, and characters have been input by hand in the blanks. However, the appearance is not always good.

In the editing method using the facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
First, the cover sheet editor (program) 3 is started as shown by the reference numeral S1. Thereby, as shown in steps S1-1 and S1-2 in FIG. 2, the startup processing of the cover sheet editor is performed (step S1-1), and the display screen 13 of the cover sheet editor 3 is opened. (Step S1-2). The state where the cover sheet editor 3 is executed and the display screen 13 is opened on the screen of the display device (not shown) is shown on the right side of FIG. In this state, nothing is displayed on the display screen 13 of the cover sheet editor 3.

Next, a file (document file) J of the facsimile cover sheet form document A is selected (step S2). In the selection step S2 of the form document file J (reference numeral B in FIG. 1), the form document file J itself or a file (for example, a so-called “shortcut (file)”) corresponding to the document file J one-to-one is selected. In the left part of FIG. 5, the folder or directory Temp is opened and the folder Te is opened.
The state where the file J of the form document A stored in the mp is selected is shown. File J is a cover sheet
It can be located anywhere as long as it can be accessed from the computer on which the editor 3 is open.

Next, the file J of the facsimile cover sheet form document A is dragged and dropped into the frame of the display screen 13 of the cover sheet editor 3 as indicated by an arrow M in FIG. The operation of this “drag and drop M” includes (1) selecting a specific form document file J as a form document file to be processed by the cover sheet editor 3 (determination of step S2), and (2) form The document processing program (word processing software) 5 associated with the document file J causes the document editing processing unit 5a to edit the document file J according to the format and print processing unit 5b of the document processing program 5
(Step S3-1)
-2), (3) The image processing unit (facsimile driver) 2 is selected as the output destination of the print image P1 by the print processing unit 5a (step S3-
1-1) and (4) Designating the cover sheet editor 3 as the output destination of the converted data P2 by the facsimile driver 2 (step S3-2-1)
This means that four processing operations are to be performed in a predetermined order at the same time. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the temporal order is partially ignored so that the flow of the process can be easily understood at the level of this flow.
That is, in FIG. 2, although the designation step of step S3-2-1 is after S3-1-2 and S3-1-3, as long as the designation information is held, the designation operation itself is naturally performed in advance. You may keep it. Therefore, the flowchart of FIG. 2 does not strictly define the temporal order unless the causal relationship of the processing is broken.

That is, the input / edit control unit 11 of the cover sheet editor 3 sends a notification to the effect that the document file J has been dragged and dropped M into the frame of the display screen 13 of the cover sheet editor 3. When received via the control unit 4, a lower-level decryption program associated with the input / edit control unit 11
Is interpreted as the above instructions (1) to (4),
An operation command or request is issued via the general-purpose control unit 4.

That is, the input / edit control unit 11 causes the document processing program 5 for the document file J to perform a printing operation to the facsimile driver 2 via the general-purpose control unit 4 (step S3-1). On the one hand, the fact that the output destination of the printing operation is the facsimile driver 2 is notified (step S3-1-1), and on the other hand, the document processing program 5 for the document file J is caused to perform the printing operation (step S3-1-1). S3-1-2) First, the document processing program 5 opens the form document file J (step S3-1-2-1). At this time, the document processing program 5 for the document file J edits the contents A1 of the document file J in the document editing processing section 5a in accordance with the unique rules of the program 5 according to the format, and sends the editing result A2 to the general-purpose control section 4. return. The edited result A2 according to the format is temporarily stored in the display memory under the control of the general-purpose control unit 4. Next, the input / edit control unit 11 transmits the
The document processing program 5 for the document file J performs the print processing according to the format (step S3-1-2-2).
2). At this time, the general-purpose control unit 4 sends the edit result A2 in the format of the document file J stored in the display memory to the print processing unit 5b of the document processing program 5 in step S3.
The print operation is performed so as to output to the facsimile driver 2 notified in advance in step S1-1 (step S).
3-1-2-2). In this printing operation, the print processing unit 5b of the document processing program 5 converts the document content information A2 in the format given from the general-purpose control unit 4 into first-stage image data P1 such as a general-purpose print image, and outputs it. (Step S3-1-2-2). The output data P1 is typically temporarily stored in a buffer memory. However, the output data P1 may be directly supplied to the facsimile driver 2.

Next, the print image P1 output from the print processing unit 5b of the document processing program 5 is converted into editing image data P2 by a facsimile / image conversion driver 2 as a form document / image conversion unit.
(Step S3-1-3). This step S
3-1-3 is, for example, the general-purpose control unit 4 receives the completion information of the print processing in the buffer area from the print processing unit 5b of the document processing program 5, and receives the facsimile driver 2
Is started by issuing an instruction K for image conversion processing. When the process of converting the print image data P1 into the editing image data P2 is completed, the facsimile driver 2 notifies the general-purpose control unit 4 of the completion. In addition,
The converted image data for editing P2 according to the format is typically stored in a predetermined buffer or work area. Instead of storing the image data P2 in the work area, information indicating that the output destination of the image data P2 is the cover sheet editor 3 is given to the driver 2 in advance, and the converted output P2 is directly transmitted to the cover sheet. It may be provided to the editor 3. The image conversion driver 2 changes the color state (typically, for example, changes from color data to monochrome data) and changes the image size (typically) during the conversion processing from the image data P1 to the editing image data P2. In general, change the width of the image according to the facsimile format), etc.
The image data is converted into a state suitable for the processing of the cover sheet editor 3. In this example, the document / image conversion means is strictly comprised of both the print processing unit 5b and the image conversion driver 2, but the print processing unit 5b is provided by the form document creation program 5 for the form document file J. In a typical situation where the print processing unit 5b is provided in advance as a part and the print processing unit 5b is used as it is, the document / image conversion unit performs the print processing (as a result of specifying the image conversion driver as the output destination of the print processing unit 5b). It can be considered that the image conversion driver 5b is associated with the unit 5b.

Next, the cover sheet editor 3 is designated as the output destination of the image P2 (step S3-2-).
1). Here, for example, upon receiving an image conversion completion signal from the driver 2, the general-purpose control unit 4 issues an instruction L indicating that the converted image data P2 should be fetched from the work area.
To the input / edit control unit 11 of the cover sheet editor 3. The input / edit control unit 11 includes an image display control unit 12
The image display control unit 12 fetches the image data P2 from the work area and sends it to the display unit 13 via the layer composition control unit 31 under the control of the layer composition control unit 31. Then, the image is displayed as a background layer image or a background image P3 on the display unit 13 (step S3-2-2). Step S3
Processing step S3-2 including -2-1 and S3-2-2
Is a display process for displaying the converted image P2 as the background image P3. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the content A1 of the form document A is captured and displayed as an image P3 in a format and as a background in the frame of the display screen 13 of the cover sheet editor 3 in this manner. ing. In FIG. 6, the lower portion of the display screen 13 is omitted.

Next, the image data of the form document A is set as a background image or a background image P3, and the blank area Fa
, Fb2, ..., Ff2 and Ga2, ..., Gd2
, Hf2,..., Hf2, Hg2, character data (text data) is input directly or by insertion (step S4 in FIG. 2). FIG. 7 shows a state in which the input processing has been completed and the name of the plug-in component is displayed in the plug-in input portion. Note that a part of the background image P3 may be used as graphic data or character data for background design, and character data may be input so as to overlap the graphic data or character data for design. In that case, the graphic data and the design character data located below the character data can be regarded as the above-mentioned blank area.

Here, the direct input of the text is performed by designating the input position and area of the text by operating the mouse or the like under the control of the text input unit 21 in FIG. 1 and further inputting the text content with the keyboard. The result is stored in the data management table 24 under the control of the text data management unit 25, and overlaps with the background image P3 in the frame of the display unit or the display area 13 under the control of the text display control unit 27. Is displayed. In FIG. 7, the result of the direct text input overlaps with the blank area Gd2 of the background image P3 like the bold and large font “Caution !!” written and displayed in the comment blank area Gd2. It is always displayed as it is.

On the other hand, the plug-in input is performed by the plug-in
2 is associated with the insertion part table Q shown in FIG.
This is performed by taking in data from the address book 7 of (b). In addition, the result of the insertion input is stored in the data management table 24 under the control of the text data management unit 25, and the insertion part name display mode or the insertion part content display mode is controlled under the control of the text display control unit 27. Selected
The inserted component name or its contents are displayed overlapping the background image P3 within the frame of the display area 13. In FIG. 7, the plug-in component name is displayed in the plug-in component name display mode. Even in this case, directly input character (text) data is displayed as it is. That is, in FIG. 7, the company name Fa3 of the transmission destination, the affiliation Fb3, the position Fc3, the name of the person in charge Fd3, the TEL (telephone number) Fe3, the FAX (facsimile number) Ff3, the number of transmissions Ga3, and the transmission date and time Gb
3, and the source company name Ha3, affiliation Hb3, and post Hc
3, Name Hd3, TEL (telephone number) He3, FAX
In addition to the (facsimile number) Hf3, a fixed-form sentence of a comment (for example, "I will send a fax, so please consider it.") Is input as a comment. In addition,
The comment fixed sentence is selected and taken in from a fixed sentence table provided separately instead of the address book 7, and the number of sheets is similarly calculated from the number table provided separately. What is necessary is just to select and take in the number. For the date and time, for example, a designation related to the column number column of the address book associated with the plug-in component type may be set so that the output of the predetermined date and time function is taken in.

In this example, although no plug-in part is specified in the source address blank area Hg2 or the subject blank area Gc2, if desired, an address or a general-purpose as a plug-in part is similarly used. May be specified.
In some cases, some of the parts to which the plug-in parts are applied in this example may be left blank. Further, when data such as an address book is not updated or stored in the address book, text data may be directly input. In addition, in this example, although the information of the transmission source is blank in the background image P3, some information of the transmission source, for example, a company name or the like is formed in a form such that it is displayed in the background image in advance. Document A may be created in advance.

In this way, one or a plurality of text layers in which text is entered directly or by insertion into a predetermined area of the form defined by the background or the background image P3 formed on the background layer are displayed. When it is formed, by giving a combination instruction to the layer combination control unit 31, the text layer is combined with the background layer to generate a single image Pf. This image file Pf is sent to a facsimile transmission unit (not shown) and transmitted as a facsimile image.

In the above, an example in which only one facsimile cover sheet is prepared has been described.
For example, there may be a plurality of cover sheets, and in that case, the processing after the print processing unit 5b is performed one by one similarly to the print processing. If another document to be transmitted by facsimile is included after the facsimile cover sheet, the cover sheet composite image file is placed before the facsimile transmission data of the transmitted document, and Subsequent processing may be performed. In addition, the cover sheet editor program may include the image conversion driver 2, the address book 7, the insertion component type table Q, and the like as a part in addition to the main body 3. Further, the cover sheet editor may be stored in a computer-readable information storage medium such as a compact disk or a flexible disk. The cover sheet editors 3, 2, 7, and Q may be incorporated in the processing program as a part of the facsimile transmission processing program, or the cover sheet editor may include a facsimile transmission processing function. And, of course,
The above-described document editing apparatus, program, and document editing method may be used for editing a form document other than the facsimile cover sheet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cover sheet editing apparatus as a form document editing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation and operation of the cover sheet editing apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a flowchart of a cover sheet editing method as a form document editing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of a facsimile cover sheet form used in the apparatus of FIG. 1 and the flow or method of FIG. 2;

4A and 4B show an example of a table used in the apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram of an example of a plug-in component table, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram of an example of an address book (address table).

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a drag and drop operation of a form document file to a carver sheet editor performed in the apparatus of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG. 2 as a display on a screen of a computer display device.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which a background image of a document file is generated on the display screen of the cover sheet editing apparatus main body (cover sheet editor) in the process of operating the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the flowchart of FIG. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a computer display showing a state in which text is written on a background image of a document file displayed on the display screen of the cover sheet editing apparatus main body (cover sheet editor) in the operation process of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing shown as a display in the screen of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 facsimile / cover sheet editing device (form document editing device) 2 image conversion driver 3 cover sheet editor (form document editing device body) 4 general-purpose control unit (OS (operating system) and related hardware) 5 document creation program (actually Is a document creation program and related hardware) 5a Document edit processing unit 5b Print processing unit 7 Address book 11 Control unit of cover sheet editing device main unit 12 Image display control unit 13 Display unit (display screen) 20 Character (text) data Input / edit / display processing unit 21 text input unit 22 plug-in component input selection unit 23 plug-in component editing unit 24 data management table 25 text data management unit 26 plug-in input unit 27 text display control unit 31 layer composition control unit A Form document A2 Edited according to the format Contents of collected form documents B Form document selection (step S2) C Output destination designation (steps S3-1-1, S3-2-)
1) J form document file M Drag and drop operation (step S3) P1, P2, P3 File in which form document is imaged according to format (image data) Pf Composite image data (image data for facsimile transmission) S1, S2 S3, S4 Each step of facsimile cover sheet editing method

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/387 H04N 1/387 F-term (Reference) 5B009 ND04 5B050 AA08 AA10 BA06 BA16 BA20 EA20 FA02 FA03 FA09 FA13 FA17 5C076 AA13 AA16 AA17 BA06 CA02 CA08 5C082 AA01 BA02 CA55 CB03 DA87 MM02 (54) [Title of the Invention] Form document editing device, facsimile cover sheet editing device, form document editing method, facsimile cover sheet editing method, and these methods Recording medium in which a program for executing the program on a computer is recorded in a computer-readable manner.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A form document / image converting means for converting the contents of a selected form document file into form image data according to a format at the time of printing the document file, and a form converted by the form document / image converting means. A form completion input / edit screen that displays image data as a background form image of characters to be entered / edited, and a background form image displayed on the form completion input / edit screen at a position selected to fill the form. A form document editing device comprising: synthesizing and editing means having a character data input / editing unit for receiving input / editing of character data. 2. A completed document or image which converts the entire background form image and character data into image data as displayed on the form completion input / edit screen in an overlapping manner.
2. The form document editing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image conversion unit. 3. The form document / image conversion means starts conversion of the selected form document file into form image data in response to an instruction to give the selected form document file to the synthesizing / editing means. The form document editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the form document editing apparatus is configured to perform the processing. 4. A facsimile / cover sheet / form document / image converting means for converting the contents of a selected form document file of a facsimile / cover sheet into cover sheet / form image data according to a format at the time of printing the document file. Input / edit screen for facsimile, cover sheet, form document, cover sheet converted by image conversion means, cover sheet completion to display form image data as background form image of characters to be input and edited, and cover sheet completion Cover sheet synthesizing and editing means having a character data input / editing unit for receiving input / editing of character data including destination specifying information at a position selected to fill the form of the background form image displayed on the input / edit screen for use Facsimile with Bar sheet editing device. 5. The facsimile transmission cover sheet image is displayed as a whole of the cover sheet background form image and the character data including the transmission destination specifying information as displayed on the cover sheet completion input / edit screen. 5. The facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising facsimile cover sheet image conversion means for converting the image data into image data in a form. 6. The facsimile / cover sheet / form document / image conversion means responds to an instruction to give the selected form document file of the facsimile / cover sheet to the cover sheet synthesizing / editing means. 6. The facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the facsimile cover sheet editing apparatus is configured to start converting a form document file into form image data. 7. The character data input / editing unit according to claim 4, wherein the character data input / editing unit has a plug-in input means for facilitating the input of the character data to the selected position. Facsimile cover sheet editing device described. 8. In response to selection of a form document file and designation of a conversion destination of the form document file, the contents of the selected form document file are converted into form image data according to the format when the document file is printed. A form document / image conversion step to be converted; and displaying the converted form image data on a form completion input / edit screen with the form of the form image as a background image.
A compound editing step of receiving input / edit of character data at a selected position where the form of the background form image displayed on the edit screen is to be filled. 9. The entire background form image and character data are converted into image data as they are displayed on the form completion input / edit screen in a superimposed manner to complete the document / text.
9. The form document editing method according to claim 8, further comprising a completed document / image conversion step of generating an image. 10. The form document file of a facsimile cover sheet.
Or the facsimile cover sheet form document editing method according to 9. 11. An information recording medium on which a program for executing the method according to claim 8 when executed on a computer is recorded in a computer readable manner.