JP2003044287A - Data processor, file preparation method, program and recording medium having the program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To activate an application program for using a file by a simple operation at converting processing data into the file. SOLUTION: For instance, at reading images, preparing image data, processing the images and preparing the file of the processing data, a code identifying the application program for a user of the file is incorporated in the file.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a file creating method, a program therefor, and a recording medium, and more particularly to a method for creating a data file of images and sounds.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is scanner utility software that reads an image with a scanner, prints out the read image, attaches it to an e-mail sent by e-mail software, and passes it to various application programs (hereinafter referred to as applications). When passing data to various applications, files such as BMP, TIFF, and JPEG are passed to the applications. In this case, when the OS is Windows (trademark), the file format could be identified by the file extension. Further, when the file is double-clicked, which application has the function of opening the file is a function of the OS, and the extension and the application can be associated with each other. However, since the application is determined by the file format, a large-sized image editing application may be started even if only simple display is used.

When the OS is Macintosh (trademark),
A resource called creator code can be added to the file. When you double-click the file, the application corresponding to the creator code starts. When double-clicking a file without a creator code, the user had to choose which application to open the file with.

The scanner driver software and utility software have at least a function of reading an image and creating an image file, but do not necessarily have a function of opening and displaying the image file. For this reason, even if the file to which the creator code is added cannot be displayed even when double-clicked, the user may have to select an application that can be displayed.

[0005]

With the driver software and utility software of the image reading apparatus as described above, it is not possible to select the destination application that uses the image file created by reading the image.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to specify a destination application that uses a file when creating the file.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following constitution.

[Claim 1] In a method of saving data to be processed as a file, a use destination setting step of setting an application program that uses the save file, and a use destination setting step when creating a file of the data And a file creating step of incorporating data indicating the set application program of the use destination into the file.

[Claim 2] The file creating method according to claim 1 further comprises an image data generating step of converting an image into an electric signal and generating the data of the electric signal.
It is characterized in that the generated image data is processed and stored in a file.

[Claim 3] The file creating method according to claim 1 has a format setting step of setting a format of a file to be saved, and the file creating step includes the file format set by the format setting step. Is used to create a file of the data.

[Claim 4] The file creating method according to claim 1 has an application program starting step of starting the application program set in the use destination setting step and opening the file created in the file creating step. Is characterized by.

[Claim 5] According to the file creating method of claim 1, the creator code of the application program of the use destination is incorporated into the file as data indicating the application program of the use destination set in the use destination setting step. Is characterized by.

[Claim 6] A computer-executable program for realizing the file creation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by controlling the computer.

[Claim 7] A recording medium on which the program according to claim 6 is recorded.

[Claim 8] In a data processing device for storing data to be processed as a file, a use destination setting means for setting an application program that uses the save file, and a use destination setting when creating a file of the data. And a file creating means for incorporating data indicating an application program of the use destination set by the means into the file.

[Claim 9] The data processing apparatus according to claim 8 further includes image data generating means for converting an image into an electric signal and generating data of the electric signal, and the generated image data. Is processed and saved in a file.

[Claim 10] The data processing apparatus according to claim 8 has format setting means for setting a format of a file to be saved, and the file creating means has a file format set by the format setting means. Is used to create a file of the data.

[0018]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration according to the present invention. 101 is a flatbed scanner, which can be used by disconnecting the USB cable from Macintosh
It is connected to a personal computer 102 whose OS is h. 10
A printer 2 is connected to the PC 102 with a USB cable. Reference numeral 104 is a modem, and the modem cable is unplugged from the PC
It is connected to 102. The modem 104 uses the telephone line 10
6 is connected to the public network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the personal computer 102 according to the present invention. 201 is an operating system (MacOS). A port driver 202 manages connection with the scanner 101, printer 103, and modem 104 connected to the PC 102. Reference numeral 203 denotes a TWAIN driver for fetching an image from the scanner 101, which controls the scanner 101 via a device driver. A printer driver 204 outputs the designated file to the printer 103. A scanner utility 205 is an embodiment of the present invention. More on this later. 206 is electronic mail software. Reference numeral 207 is album management software for managing a plurality of images read by the scanner 101.
Reference numeral 208 denotes image editing software for editing the image read by the scanner 101. 209 is a scanner 101
It is an OCR application that converts the black and white image read from the text into text.

The scanner utility software 205 is T
When scanning is performed from the scanner 101 via the WAIN driver 203, there is a mode in which the user interface screen of the TWAIN driver 203 is displayed and a mode in which it is not displayed. When displaying the user interface screen of the TWAIN driver 203 (TWAIN driver UI
ON) indicates the image type such as color / gray / black and white, the area to scan, and the reading resolution is TWAIN driver 2
03 user interface screen. TWAI
When the user interface screen of the N driver 203 is not displayed (TWAIN driver UI off), color /
The image type such as gray / black and white, the area to be scanned, and the reading resolution are set on the user interface screen of the scanner utility software 205.

FIG. 3 is a main screen of the scanner utility. A copy button 301 is a button for outputting an image read by the scanner 101 via the TWAIN driver 203 to the printer 103. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 4 is displayed.

A mail button 302 is a button for attaching an image read by the scanner 101 via the TWAIN driver 203 to a transmission mail of the electronic mail 206. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 5 is displayed. An OCR button 303 is a button for passing an image read from the scanner 101 via the TWAIN driver 203 to the OCR software 209. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 6 is displayed. 304
Is a save button, and is a button for saving an image read from the scanner 101 via the TWAIN driver 203 in the hard disk of the PC 102. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 7 is displayed. 305-30
A scan button 7 is a TWAIN driver 203.
It is a button for passing an image read from the scanner 101 via an arbitrary application. The icon of the registered application is displayed in the button icon. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 8 is displayed. A setting button 408 is used to make various settings. When this button is clicked, the screen shown in Fig. 9 is displayed.

FIG. 4 shows a screen displayed when the copy button 301 is pressed. An image type pull-down list 401 is used to select the type of image to be scanned such as monochrome / color / grayscale. Reference numeral 402 denotes a document size pull-down list, which is A4 / A5 / B5 / Lette.
Select the size of the image to be scanned, such as r. 403 is a reading resolution pull-down list, which is 75 dpi /
150 dpi / 300 dpi / 400 dpi / 600 d
Set the brightness of the image to be scanned, such as pi. 404
Is a brightness scroll bar that sets the resolution of the image to be scanned. An enlargement / reduction radio button 405 is used to set the size of printout. Reference numeral 406 is “perform detailed setting with the scanner driver”
It is a check box, and if checked, it is 401-40
Control 4 is grayed out. In this case, the user interface of the TWAIN driver 203 is displayed at the time of scanning, and various scan settings are made on this user interface. A copy number spin box 407 sets the number of copies to be output to the printer. Four
Reference numeral 08 denotes a printer selection button, which sets which printer to output to when a plurality of printers are connected. A paper setting button 409 is used to set the kind of paper to be output. Reference numeral 410 denotes a copy button. When the copy button is pressed, scanning is started under the conditions set by the above controls, and the scanned image is output to the printer 103. Scan is TWAIN driver 2
It is done via 03.

FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed when the button 302 is clicked.

Reference numeral 501 is an upper limit pull-down list of the attached file size, which is 150 KB / 300 KB / 600K.
Set the maximum number of image files attached to outgoing mail, such as B / 900KB.

A file name edit box 502 is used to set a file name for saving a scanned image. Reference numeral 503 is an edit box for displaying a folder for saving the scanned image, and the save destination folder can be changed by the reference button on the right side. Reference numeral 504 is an edit box for displaying an electronic mail software for delivering a scanned image, and a browse screen can be displayed by the setting button on the right side to select the software. 505 is a scan button. When this button is pressed, scanning is started under the conditions set by the above controls, and the scanned image is saved in the folder specified by 503 with the file name specified by 502. The saved image is attached to the transmission mail of the mail software designated by 504. Scan is TWAI
This is performed via the N driver 203. The file format is JPEG when color and gray are designated in the image type 501, and PNG when monochrome is selected.

FIG. 6 shows a screen displayed when the button 303 is clicked. A file type pull-down list 601 sets file types such as PICT, TIFF, and JPEG. The functions of the other controls are the same as those of the controls shown in FIGS. When you press the scan button of 602, scanning starts under the conditions set in each control, the scanned image is saved in the specified folder with the file name specified in the file name edit box, and the saved image Is passed to the designated OCR software. In that case, the OCR software is automatically started.

FIG. 7 shows a screen displayed when the button 304 is clicked. The function of each control is the same as that of the control shown in FIGS. 7
When the scan button 01 is pressed, scanning is started under the conditions set by each control, and the scanned image is saved in the specified folder with the file name specified in the file name edit box.

FIG. 8 shows a screen displayed when the buttons 305 to 307 are clicked. The function of each control is the same as that of the control shown in FIGS.

When the scan button 801 is pressed, scanning is started under the conditions set by each control, and the scanned image is saved in the specified folder with the file name specified in the file name edit box.
The saved image is passed to the software specified by the destination of the scanned image. In that case, the specified software will start automatically.

FIG. 9 shows a screen displayed when the button 308 is clicked. Reference numeral 901 is a pull-down list for selecting a TWAIN driver. Reference numeral 902 is a pull-down list for setting a function when the SCAN button of the scanner body is pressed. The contents displayed in the list are scan 1, scan 2, scan 3, copy, OCR, save, and Toolbox display (main UI of the scanner utility). SCA of the scanner body with the scanner utility closed
When the N button is pressed, the scanner utility 205
Starts and the screen corresponding to the item selected in the list opens.

Reference numeral 903 is a pull-down list for setting a function when the COPY button of the scanner body is pressed. Reference numeral 904 is a pull-down list for setting a function when the E-MAIL button on the scanner body is pressed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of adding a creator code at the time of file creation on the OCR screen, save screen, scan screen, and mail screen. If the mail screen is displayed in S1, the process proceeds to S3, and if not, the process proceeds to S2. In S3, the creator code of PictureViewer is added. PictureViewer is OS
It is an application included in. Pictur
If you double-click the file by adding the creator code of eViewer, the picture
The viewer is automatically activated and the image is displayed. S2
Check if it is a save screen. If it is a save screen, proceed to S4.
If it is not a save screen, it is OCR or scan screen, so S
Go to 5. In S4, if the retouching software included in the scanner is installed, the creator code of the retouching software is added to the file. PictureVi if retouching software is not installed
Add ewer creator code to the file. S
In step 5, the application set as the destination of the scanned image is searched, and the creator code of the application is added to the file.

In the above description of the embodiment, the driver software and the utility software of the image reading apparatus are taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this when creating a file. It is also applicable when converting voice into an electric signal and creating a voice file from the voice signal converted into the electric signal. Also, when creating a text file, display with a small memo display application,
It is possible to create a file by selectively using the display in the DTP book editing application.

Also, the description has been made by taking the Creator code of Macintosh as an example, but from the code data corresponding to the application of the use destination, the application of the use destination is started by a simple operation such as double-clicking the icon of the file, If it is an OS that has the function of opening the file, Macintosh
The OS is not limited to osh. Also, the code of the application to be used can be added as a file attribute, or a tag can be provided and described in the file.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A code according to the usage destination of the file can be added to the file, and further, the file can be displayed by activating a desired application with a simple operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of configurations of an image reading apparatus and a host computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of control software of the image reading apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a main screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 4 is a copy screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 5 is a mail screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 6 is an OCR screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 7 is a save screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 8 is a scan screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 9 is a setting screen of a scanner utility.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of adding a creator code mail to a file.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method of saving data to be processed as a file, wherein a use destination setting step of setting an application program that uses the save file, and a use destination setting step set when the file of the data is created And a file creating step of incorporating data indicating an application program of a use destination into the file. 2. The file creating method according to claim 1,
Further, the method is characterized by including an image data generating step of converting an image into an electric signal and generating data of the electric signal, and processing the generated image data and storing the image data in a file. 3. The file creating method according to claim 1,
It has a format setting step of setting a format of a file to be stored, and the file creating step creates a file of the data in the file format set by the format setting step. 4. The file creating method according to claim 1,
It is characterized by having an application program starting step of starting the application program set in the use destination setting step and opening the file created in the file creating step. 5. The file creating method according to claim 1,
It is characterized in that the creator code of the application program of the use destination is incorporated into the file as data indicating the application program of the use destination set in the use destination setting step. 6. A computer-executable program for realizing the file creation method according to claim 1 by controlling the computer. 7. A recording medium on which the program according to claim 6 is recorded. 8. A data processing device for storing data to be processed as a file, a destination setting means for setting an application program that uses the file to be stored, and a destination setting means for creating a file of the data. And a file creating means for incorporating data indicating the used application program of the used destination into the file. 9. The data processing device according to claim 8, further comprising image data generating means for converting an image into an electric signal and generating data of the electric signal, and processing the generated image data. It is characterized by saving in a file. 10. The data processing apparatus according to claim 8,
It has a format setting means for setting the format of the file to be stored, and the file creating means creates a file of the data in the file format set by the format setting means.