JP2003202949A - Method and device for displaying list chart of tree structure with identification icon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display method for visually and easily recognizing which function the information of a window has. <P>SOLUTION: A hierarchical structure between windows operating on a multi- window system is displayed by a list tree structure by using an identification icon expressing the function of a window with a simplified image. The information indicating the function or attribute set for every window to be displayed is associated with the identification icon. A hierarchical relation between the window and another window arranged in the window is displayed by a tree structure diagram by using the identification icon. Also, the information indicating the function or attribute set for every window is also displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying a tree-structured list with identification icons related to windows, and more particularly to a method for developing a program for a multi-window system on a graphical user interface. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying a tree-structured list with identification icons related to windows when displaying what a displayed window is indexing.

[0002] In detail, each window of the multi-window system has a parent and child relation of upper and lower sides, and it is necessary to make the parent-child relation easier to recognize when developing a window system. Therefore, there is a demand for an apparatus that allows a program developer to easily overlook the entire system when developing a multi-window system.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional system for displaying a list of windows, there is a system shown below.

A first conventional system is shown in FIG. (A) of the figure is a display window on the current display, and (B) of the figure shows a display display for displaying the parent-child relationship of the specified window. When the window “List1” shown in FIG.
To search the level of the window, click the level search window "List1" with the mouse. As a result, as shown in FIG.
The contents indicating the relationship of "1" are displayed.

A second conventional system is shown in FIG. FIG. 6B is an example in which a list of windows is displayed by clicking on the window displayed in FIG.

Further, as a first conventional system for grasping the parent-child relationship between windows, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-171917 has been proposed.
There is a "multi-window control system" disclosed in the publication. This system is a system that automatically manages hierarchical information consisting of parent-child relations of windows and uses the hierarchical information to display a list of a plurality of windows. To manage the parent-child relationship, a title, hierarchical information, and an identifier are provided for each window, the identifiers of all windows are displayed, and the window selected from these is displayed as shown in FIG. In the example of the figure, the uppermost window is "a", and the windows corresponding to the titles are sequentially displayed in the lower direction.

Further, as a second system for grasping the parent-child relationship between windows, there is a "multi-window display system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-276194.
As shown in FIG. 17, this system visually connects a window focused on from a plurality of currently displayed multi-windows with a child window that displays dependent information on the display by a line, and visually In addition to representing the parent-child relationship, the function of the window is displayed as a character string.

[0008]

However, each of the above conventional systems has the following problems.

First, the first conventional system displays information about the window of interest at present, and the name of the parent of the window is displayed, but the relationship with other windows is understood. hard. Therefore, it is necessary to click all the windows with the mouse in order to grasp the dependency relations with respect to all the windows, and it takes a considerable time to grasp the dependency relations with respect to the entire windows.
Furthermore, it is not possible to recognize what function each window has, and there is no other way than to actually execute each window.

The second conventional system merely displays the windows of interest in a list format, and cannot recognize the parent-child relationship between the windows.

Further, the first system capable of grasping the parent-child relation between windows only shows the hierarchical relation for each title, and grasps what function a window having a parent-child relation has. Can not.

The second system capable of grasping the parent-child relationship between windows visually shows the parent-child relationship and displays the information of the window, but the window information is described by a character string. There is a problem that it is difficult to recognize what kind of function the information has.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the parent-child relationship of windows can be recognized at a glance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tree-structured list display method and device with window-related identification icons, which makes it possible to easily recognize what function the window has by using the identification icons.

[0014]

A method for displaying a list of tree-structured tree structures with identification icons according to the present invention provides a hierarchical structure between windows operating on a multi-window system.
A list is displayed in a tree structure using icons that represent the functions of the window with a simplified image.

That is, the method for displaying a list of tree-structured tree-structured icons according to the present invention recognizes another window arranged in the window displayed on the display device,
Information indicating a function or attribute set for each displayed window is associated with an identification icon, and a hierarchical relationship between the window and other windows arranged in the window is defined using the identification icon in a tree structure. The information is displayed in the figure and is displayed together with the information indicating the function or attribute set for each window.

In the present invention, a window identifier for each window and whether or not it has a window at an upper level or a lower level are registered as information, and a level number and an icon are registered based on the information of each registered window. It is also possible to set and display the tree structure hierarchical diagram by the icon and the window identifier based on the set level number.

When the window at the lowest level in the displayed tree structure hierarchy is selected, at least one window higher than the window level may be displayed together. Further, the display size of the icons and window identifiers in the tree structure hierarchy and the display size of the windows can be displayed in arbitrary sizes. Also,
A mark indicating a subordinate relationship may be added to the window of the hierarchical tree structure. It is also possible to display only the icons as a tree structure hierarchical diagram.

Further, the tree-structured list display device with window-related identification icons of the present invention includes means for adding identification icons related to information indicating a function or attribute set for each displayed window, and the window and The hierarchical relationship between other windows placed in that window,
And a means for displaying with a tree structure diagram using the identification icon, and displaying with information indicating the function or attribute set for each window.

In the present invention, a tree structure is generated by using icons that represent the functions of each window by a simplified image, so that the coded window name and the function display of the window can be represented by a character string. Without looking
Since the symbolized icon that remarkably expresses the function is displayed, the comprehension of the relationship between the windows as a whole is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the window identifier for each window and whether or not there is a window of an upper or lower level is registered as information, and the level number is based on the information of each registered window. Is added, the level numbers are sorted, and the tree structure is formed by reading and displaying the level numbers in that order.

Further, when the user selects the window at the lowest level in the displayed hierarchical tree structure,
Dependencies and data relationships are obscured at the lowest level windows, so the window relationships are made clear by displaying at least one window higher than the window level, that is, the parent window. become.

Further, since it is possible to display the display size of the icons and window identifiers of the tree structure hierarchy and the display size of the windows in any size, it is possible to display a plurality of windows on the same display screen. It is possible to display only one window and to change the font arbitrarily in each case.

Further, by adding a mark indicating a subordinate relationship to the window of the tree structure hierarchical diagram, it can be determined whether or not the window has child windows, which is useful for grasping the subordinate relationship. Furthermore, since it is possible to use an identification icon having a simplified window function, it is possible to recognize the window function even if only the identification icon is displayed on the tree structure hierarchical diagram.

[0024]

1 shows the configuration of a window tree structure list display device of the present invention. The device shown in the figure has a window relation file 10 showing the dependency relation between windows.
0, an icon storage file 200 that stores a hierarchy level and an identification icon for each window, a display control unit 300 that controls the display of a window index (identifier) in a hierarchical structure, an index of a hierarchically structured window, a window, and a message. Etc., a mouse 500 for inputting a user's instruction, and an icon generation unit 60 for generating an identification icon corresponding to the window when the user generates the window.
0 and the icon master file 700 for registering the identification icon generated by the icon generation unit 600 and the window identifier.

The window-related file 100 is a file secured in a predetermined storage area on the workstation. Positioning files having the same parent window name as sibling windows, the parent window of its own window,
A sibling window next to the current window and a child window of the current window are associated with each other, and they are arranged so that they can be accessed at the beginning of each window relation information.

The window-related information includes a window name, parent window information, sibling window information, and child window information for each individual window. Figure 2
An example of the contents of the window relation file 100 of the present invention is shown, and FIG. 3 shows an example in which the window information of the window relation file 100 is displayed on the display device 400.

In the example of FIG. 2, the parent windows (uppermost windows) are "F1" and "F2". The child windows of the parent window "F1" are "B1", "B2", and "S".
There are three windows of "1". This child window "B
1 ”,“ B2 ”, and“ S1 ”are called sibling windows because they have a parallel relationship with each other. Also, these child windows "B1", "B2", and "S1" do not have child windows.

The parent window "F2" has "G1" as a child window, and the window "G1" further has a child window "P1". The window "G1" is
I don't have a sibling window. When such a relationship is displayed on the display device 400, as shown in FIG. 3, three child windows "B1", "B2", and "S1" are displayed in the parent window "F1". A child window "G1" is displayed in the parent window "F2", and a child window "P1" is displayed in the child window "G1".

Next, the icon storage file 200 acquires the window information from the window relation file 100, assigns the hierarchy level number, and assigns the identification icon corresponding to the window to the icon master file 7
It is read from 00 and added. For example, for the hierarchy level number, the highest (parent window) window is "0",
The next level is given as "1". A tree structure can be generated from this hierarchy level number. FIG. 4 shows an example of the icon storage file of the present invention, and FIG.
5 shows a state in which the contents of the icon storage file 200 shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, the level number of the parent window is “0”, the level number of the child window of the parent window is “1”,
The child window of level number 1 has the level number "2", and the child window of level number 2 has the level number "3".

The window number "entire system" has a level number "0" and an identification icon "R". The identification icon R means an icon that is an image of the entire system, and for example, a window that performs an operation related to homework is provided with a mark that represents a house. Also, the level number of the window name "F1" is
It is “1” and the identification icon is “F”. As described above, when the information stored in the defined icon storage file 200 is displayed on the display device 400, it is displayed together with the identification icon as a tree structure based on the level number.

The display control unit 300 reads the window-related file 100, the icon storage file 200, and the icon master file 700, assembles the windows in the display device 400 into a tree structure, and
An identification icon is added to each window. The display control unit 300 also controls the scroll function of the display device 400, the control of the display window, the font of display characters, and the like according to an instruction from the mouse 500.

The display device 400 includes a display controller 3
Various windows are displayed under the control of 00, and various windows, messages, etc. are displayed according to the selection input from the mouse 500.

The mouse 500 moves the cursor to the position of the window name of interest and clicks to open or close the desired window. When the name of a parent window having a child window is clicked, the child window is opened / closed.

The icon generation unit 600 generates an identification icon to be registered in the icon master file 700 according to the input from the mouse 500. For example, when the identification icon is generated, the icon sample provided in advance on the workstation is taken out, and the icon sample is variously changed and the size is designated.

Next, a series of operations of the present invention will be described.

6 and 7 are flow charts showing the outline of the operation of the present invention.

Step 101) First, when the areas for the window-related file 100 and the icon storage file 200 are secured in the storage area on the workstation, the display control section 300 reads the information for each window from the window-related file 100 and Acquiring information on the parent, sibling, child, etc. of the window, determining the level number, acquiring the icon corresponding to each window name from the icon master file 700, assigning the window name, and storing the icon File 200.

Step 102) The data of the icon storage file 200 set in the storage area on the workstation is loaded.

Step 103) Icon storage file 2
Sorting is performed based on the level number assigned to each window of 00.

Step 104) The display control section 300 sequentially reads the contents of the icon storage file 200 and constructs a tree structure for displaying on the display device 400.

Step 105) Icon storage file 2
It is determined whether the window read from 00 is the parent window (level number = 0). If it is the parent window, the process proceeds to step 106, and if it is other than the parent window (level number> 0). Moves to step 109.

Step 106) It is judged whether or not the information of the child window is displayed. If the child window is to be displayed (the child window exists), the process proceeds to step 107, and the child window is displayed. If not performed (no child window), the process proceeds to step 109.

Step 107) Add "-" as a mark to the window name, and move to Step 109.

Step 108) Add "+" as a mark to the window name and move to step 109.

Step 109) Display device 400
Determines the size of the resolution of the icon displayed in. When displaying with a large icon, the process proceeds to step 110, and when displaying with a small icon, step 111.
Move to.

Step 110) Display device 400
A large icon is selected from the icon types displayed above, and the process proceeds to step 112.

Step 111) Display device 400
The small icon is selected from the icon types displayed above, and the process proceeds to step 112.

Step 112) The display control unit 300 reads the data from the icon storage file 200 and displays a tree structure of each icon and window name on the display device 400 according to the level.

Step 113) In step 112, the user waits until the user makes a selection input with the mouse 500 by looking at the list display of the icons and window names showing the window functions for each level displayed on the display device 400. .

Step 114) If the user selects to add a window, the process proceeds to step 102.

Step 115) When the user changes the window information, the process proceeds to step 112.

Step 116) When a request to display the back stage (child window at a stage lower than the displayed level) is input, the process proceeds to step 105.

Step 117) It is judged whether the selection input from the user is completed, and if it is completed, Step 118
If the end is not selected yet, the process proceeds to step 113.

Step 118) When the user inputs the end of selection input, the storage area on the workstation is released.

[0055]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 8 shows a window display example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Assume that the parent window of the window "form1" shown in the figure is "FAMILY1", and the child window of the window "form1" is "ComboBox".
1 ”,“ Push1 ”,“ HSroll1 ”,“ Li
There are "stBox1" and "CheckBox1".

Here, the following contents are registered in the window-related file 100. <Window-related file> -Window name: FAMILY Parent window information: None Brother window information: None Child window information: form1-Window name: form1 Parent window information: Yes Brother window information: None Therefore, the icon master file 700 is generated when the window-related file 100 is set. In the icon master file 700, at the same time that each of the above windows is defined, an icon in which the function of the window is simply image-processed corresponding to the window is generated and registered. The simple image may use image data such as an illustration provided in advance in the system, or may be created by the user himself.

The icon storage file 200 is defined as shown in FIG. 9 and is sorted in the order shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 9, levels with level numbers “0” to “2” are set. Window "FAMIL
Y1 ”is the parent window, and the window“ form ”
1 "is a child window of" FAMILY1 ". The windows" ComboBox1 "," Push1 ",
"HSroll1", "ListBox1", "Ch
eckBox1 ”is a child window of the window“ FAMILY1 ”, and is also a sibling window.The identification icon of the icon storage file 200 stores a mark indicating the function of each window as shown in FIG. There is.

As a result, the display control section 300 reads the icon storage file 200 and displays it as shown in FIG. Here, "CheckBox" in FIG.
When the user selects "1", the window corresponding to the window name is opened.

As shown in FIG. 10, by adding a mark such as "+" or "-" before each window name, the window is a parent window of another window or a child window. Show whether it is a single window without. In FIG. 10, the child window "form1" of the window name "FAMILY" is 5
"-" Is added in front of the window name to indicate that the two child windows exist below the own window. Further, when the parent window exists in its own window, “+” may be added to the window name.

In this way, by displaying the icon, which symbolizes the function of the window corresponding to each window name, according to the tree structure, the window name "FAMILY1" is displayed.
It is possible to easily recognize what kind of function a window has inside.

In the above embodiment, "-" and "+" are used as marks indicating whether the window is a single window or a parent window having child windows, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Instead, it may be any display as long as it is possible to grasp the dependency of windows.

[Second Embodiment] Next, as a second embodiment, an example of changing the display size of the icon and window name displayed in the first embodiment will be described.
In this case, a window for selecting the size of the control list is displayed on the activation screen shown in FIG. 11, and an arbitrary size is selected from the window. In the example of the figure, only "Large" and "Small" are displayed as selection items, but the number of display fonts and the like may be appropriately displayed so that selection can be made. Also, the size of the window of the control list displayed on the display device 400 may be selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the control list may be displayed on a part of the display device 400 and the window clicked by the user may be displayed on the other part.

[Third Embodiment] Next, as a third embodiment, when the user clicks on a window name from the control list displayed on the display device 400, the window is at the minimum level. In the above, the window is controlled to be displayed up to one level higher than the minimum level. When the user selects "C1" which is the lowest child window of the window name "Graph21" having the graph display function in the control list shown in FIG. 13, only the value of "C1" is displayed in the graph. It will be. In this case, the graph is meaningless unless it can be compared with other numerical values. Therefore, even if the user specifies the window of the lowest level, the display control unit 300 determines that at least one of the specified windows is displayed.
Display the next higher level window.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, the contents of the window at the level of the window "Graph 21" are displayed.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, a case will be described in which, when a new window is generated, the icon generating section 600 generates an identification icon which can easily express the function of the window. At this time, if the image data whose window function is simplified is registered in the system, the image data is read and appropriately changed and registered in the icon master file 700. Alternatively, the user himself / herself generates an icon illustration on the display device 400 using the mouse 500 and registers it in the icon master file 700 together with the window name.

For example, when this system is applied to home security, two parent windows of "fireproof" and "disaster prevention" are generated as parent windows corresponding to level 0, and fire is made as an icon of the window "fireproof". Icon storage file 200
Register as a child window of "Fire prevention" and generate and register icons that mean digestive organs and notifications. Accordingly, when displaying on the display device 400, it is possible to determine what is shown by the illustration of the icon even if only the icon is displayed without displaying the window name, and by clicking the icon, For example, a window showing the installation position of the digestive system can be displayed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, a hierarchical relationship is registered for each window in a multi-window system, and a hierarchical level can be recognized when a window name is displayed on a display device. By using a tree structure, it is easy to understand which higher-order window a window is dependent on and the overall window configuration.

Further, since it is possible to change the display size of the icons and window names displayed on the display device in various ways, when there are few types of registered windows, the displayed icons and windows Names, etc. are displayed in a large font, and a list of controls is displayed on the same screen, while other windows are displayed in a small font when the window specified by clicking is also displayed. It can be changed in various ways.

By displaying not only each window name but also a symbol representing the function of the window as an icon, it is easy to understand what function the window has. In particular, when used as a teaching material for young children, it is possible to display only icons and select them without displaying the window name, so that it can be applied to users who do not have the ability to recognize characters. .

Further, even if the user clicks the window at the lowest level, the contents of the displayed window can be easily recognized by automatically displaying the parent window of the window.

As described above, according to the present invention, the dependency relationship in the hierarchical structure of windows can be seen at a glance, and the entire system can be overlooked.

Further, it is possible to select the work to be executed by the icon including the educational system for children.
Even a person who does not have specialized knowledge can easily handle the multi-window system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a window tree structure list display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a window-related file of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which window information of the window-related file of FIG. 2 of the present invention is displayed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of contents of an icon storage file of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of displaying the contents of an icon file of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (No. 1) showing the outline operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart (No. 2) showing the outline operation of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a window according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an icon storage file according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a hierarchical view (control list) of a list tree structure with identifying icons for window relationships according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a method of designating a display size of an icon and a window name according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a window display according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a first conventional system.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a second conventional system.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a first example of displaying a parent-child relationship between conventional windows.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a second example of displaying a conventional parent-child relationship between windows simultaneously.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 window related files 200 icon storage file 300 Display control unit 400 display device 500 mice 600 Icon generator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of displaying a tree structure list with identification icons for displaying a hierarchical relationship between a window and other windows arranged in the window, the method being arranged in a window displayed on a display device. Recognizing a window, associating information indicating a function or attribute set for each displayed window with an identification icon, and identifying a hierarchical relationship between the window and other windows arranged in the window by the identification icon The method for displaying a tree structure list with identification icons, characterized in that it has a step of displaying a tree structure diagram using, and displaying together with information indicating a function or attribute set for each window. 2. The method for displaying a tree structure list with identification icons according to claim 1, wherein a mark indicating a subordinate relationship is added when the tree structure is displayed. 3. A tree structure list display device with identification icons for displaying a hierarchical relationship between a window and other windows arranged in the window, the function or attribute being set for each displayed window. A means for adding an identification icon related to the information shown, and a hierarchical relationship between the window and other windows arranged in the window are displayed in a tree structure diagram using the identification icon, and each window is displayed. A tree structure display device with an identification icon, which is configured to display together with information indicating a function or attribute set in the.