JP2007193701A - Image processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the display accuracy of character data in print preview display. <P>SOLUTION: In the case of generating a print preview image of a document including an image and characters, the size of original image data of the image is varied in accordance with the size of the preview image. About characters, bit map data having printing resolution are temporarily generated and then the size of the characters are varied in accordance with the size of a character area in the preview image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and method for displaying a print image as a preview.

  In recent years, the performance of digital cameras and printers has improved, and it has become possible to take and print high-quality photographs that are not inferior to silver halide photographs. Along with this, digital cameras and printers are being used by both amateurs and professionals. A system for handling captured images generally has a simple configuration in which a printer is connected to a personal computer via a dedicated interface cable or LAN regardless of whether the amateur is a professional. Then, using an application installed in a personal computer, it is possible to freely perform processing such as color correction and size change on an image photographed by a digital camera, and print by adjusting the image quality.

  Particularly in a commercial or professional field, not only high-quality printing performance but also various other functions are required. One of them is a layout printing function that can freely edit the arrangement of images and characters to be printed on a print medium. In general, a program having a print function is provided with a print preview function for a user to check a print result before printing. In this preview function, various contrivances have been made to improve accurate color reproduction and visibility for characters as well as images.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention for the purpose of suppressing the occurrence of artifacts and matching the color and appearance of the print result and the preview display. Specifically, when performing color reduction processing and reduction processing on image data or text data to be printed and displaying a preview, the processing is performed in the order of reduction processing and color reduction processing.

  In addition, when an image including character data is reduced, the visibility may deteriorate, for example, if the image is simply reduced, a thin line portion included in the character disappears. Therefore, it has also been proposed to generate a preview character bitmap different from that for printing and generate a preview image (Patent Document 2). Specifically, when printing, a bitmap image of the print resolution is created using the character logic information for printing and printing is performed, and when previewing, the bitmap of the monitor resolution is created using the character logic information for preview. Create and display an image. That is, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, a font is selected for preview based on the character size and display screen resolution (see paragraph 0027).

  In such a case, the scaling ratio between the printing of the image and the preview, the font size of the character actually printed, and the scaling ratio of the font size selected at the preview are It will be a little different. Therefore, the character size may not match between the actual print result and the preview display. In this specification, the character logical information means font type, font size, character modification, and the like.

JP 2002-208018 A JP 2004-30262 A

  As described above, when previewing the character data (text data) to be printed, many inventions have been made to improve color reproducibility and visibility, but the character size of the print result is accurately displayed as a preview. There was nothing intended to do.

  That is, according to the above-described prior art, it is possible to realize a print preview image in which the occurrence of artifacts such as a lattice pattern is suppressed or the visibility of characters is improved. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that the character size relative to the print area (for example, paper size) does not match between the actual print result and the preview display.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to improve the display accuracy of character data in print preview display.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus for generating a print preview image of a document including images and characters, and includes character logic information acquisition means for acquiring character logic information at the time of printing set in advance, and the document. The image is scaled from the original image size according to the drawing area of the print preview image, and the first generation means for generating the image preview image and the character contained in the document are printed using the character logical information at the time of printing. Second generation means for generating a bitmap image having resolution or higher resolution, and generating a character preview image by scaling according to the character area in the print preview image; and first and second generation means This is achieved by an image processing apparatus comprising display means for generating and displaying a print preview image from the generated preview image.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing method for generating a print preview image of a document including images and characters, a character logical information acquisition step for acquiring character logical information at the time of printing set in advance, A first generation step of scaling an included image from an original image size according to a drawing area of a print preview image to generate an image preview image, and character logical information at the time of printing from characters included in a document A second generation step for generating a character preview image by scaling according to a character area in the print preview image after generating bitmap data of a print resolution or higher resolution; An image processing method comprising: a display step of generating and displaying a print preview image from a preview image generated by a generation unit It is also achieved me.

  With such a configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a print preview image with high accuracy especially with respect to the size of character data to be printed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system as an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a CPU as a control means, which controls the entire system by executing an OS and application programs (including a layout printing program) running on the OS, and realizes functions to be described later. A keyboard 102 is used as an input means to the system together with the mouse 102a. Reference numeral 103 denotes a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display. Reference numeral 104 denotes a ROM, and 105 denotes a RAM, which constitutes a storage device of the system, and stores a program executed by the CPU 101 and various data necessary for executing the program. A hard disk device 106 and a flexible disk device 107 constitute an external storage device used as a file system. Reference numeral 108 denotes a printer.

  The computer system according to the present embodiment having such a configuration can generate and display a print preview image of a document (document) including an image and characters. In particular, the display accuracy of characters (actual print results and preview displays) Can be generated.

<First Embodiment>
First, an outline of a layout printing program that realizes the print preview function in the present embodiment will be described. The layout printing program described in this embodiment has a GUI (Graphical User Interface), and the user operates the GUI using the keyboard 102 and the mouse 102a to give settings and instructions to the program. Specifically, it gives instructions related to print layout editing operations, makes settings such as specifying printers, paper to be printed, and image files to be printed, and instructs execution of print processing based on the edited print layout To do. Furthermore, the layout printing program according to the present embodiment has a function (print preview function) for displaying a set sheet image and a designated print image at the same time, and displaying a printed paper state in advance.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic flow of the operation of the layout printing program (hereinafter, layout printing tool) according to the present embodiment.
In steps S201 to S205, the layout printing tool is initialized.
In step S201, an image file to be printed (hereinafter referred to as a print image) is designated.
In step S202, it is checked whether there is a printer that can be used in the system. This is realized by making an inquiry to the system (OS). If there is a printer that can be used in the system, the process proceeds to step S203. If not, exit.

In step S203, a printer to be used for printing (hereinafter referred to as a print printer) is set from printers that can be used in the system.
In step S204, a sheet used for printing (hereinafter referred to as a printing sheet) is set from the sheets usable in the printing printer selected in step S203.

In step S205, based on the above settings, an image (print preview image) representing the state of the printed paper is generated and displayed on the display device 103 (preview display).
In steps S207 to S214, the presence / absence and type of the print layout editing operation by the user is checked, and processing corresponding to the operation is performed.

In step S207, it is checked whether or not printing execution is instructed by the user. If instructed, the process proceeds to step S215. If printing execution is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S208.
In step S208, it is checked whether or not cancellation is instructed by the user. If cancellation is instructed, the process ends. If cancellation is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S209.

In step S209, it is checked whether or not the character setting has been changed by the user. If changed, the process proceeds to step S210. If the character setting has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S211.
In step S210, a character drawing area is determined. A method of determining a character drawing area will be described later with reference to FIG. Thereafter, the process returns to step S205, and a preview display reflecting the change is performed.

In step S211, it is checked whether the layout of the image has been changed by the user. If the image layout has been changed, the process proceeds to step S212. If the layout of the image has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S213.
In step S212, the drawing area of the print image is determined. If the size of the drawing area is changed as a result of the determination process, the aspect ratio of the print image is maintained. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S213, it is checked whether the printer or paper setting has been changed by the user, and if it has been changed, the process proceeds to step S214. If the printer or paper setting has not been changed, the process returns to step S207 to detect the user operation and perform an operation corresponding to the operation.

In step S214, the printer and paper set in step S213 are set as a printing printer and printing paper, respectively. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S212.
In step S215, using the print printer, the printing process is executed based on the layout edited in steps S207 to S214 (or the default layout if not edited).

Hereinafter, an implementation example of the operation in each step will be described with reference to the drawings.
3 to 9 are diagrams showing an outline of the GUI of the layout printing tool. 3 shows an outline of a basic GUI 300, FIG. 4 shows a preview screen 306, and FIGS. 5 to 9 show details of a setting dialog 301. FIG. The user performs operations of editing the print layout, executing printing, canceling, and saving the settings through the GUI shown in FIG.

  10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating an example of a GUI for specifying a print image that the layout printing tool of the present embodiment presents in step S201 in FIG. 2, and a method for specifying a print image in each GUI. The print image can be designated by any one or combination of FIGS. 10A to 10C.

  The GUI shown in FIG. 10A has a configuration in which a folder tree window 1001, a file list display window 1002, a print target file list window 1003, a file addition button 1004, and a file deletion button 1005 are added to the GUI 300 of FIG.

  A folder tree window 1001 visually represents a hierarchical directory structure built in a file system (for example, the HDD 106). The user can select a directory (volume or folder) in which desired data is stored by tracing this tree by a known method. When an image file is included in the selected directory, the file name is displayed in a list in the file list display window 1002 so that it can be selected. Whether or not a certain file is an image file can be determined, for example, by analyzing the extension or header of the file.

  When a file addition button 1004 is pressed while a file is selected on the file list display window 1002, the selected file is selected as a print image, and the file name is added to the print image list window 1003. At the same time, the print image data is read and displayed in accordance with the preview screen 306.

  When the file deletion button 1005 is pressed while the file name is selected on the print image list window 1003 (actually, clicking with the mouse 102a or pressing the corresponding key), the selected print image is displayed in the print image list. Delete from the window 1003. At the same time, the corresponding image on the preview screen 306 is also deleted.

  In the example of FIG. 10B, the folder tree window 1001 and the file list display window 1002 are provided not by the layout printing tool of this embodiment but by the file management tool of the operating system. Therefore, the user searches and selects a print image using the function of the operating system. However, as is clear from a comparison between FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, the directory selection operation is common.

  In the example of FIG. 10B, since the application for selecting the print image and the layout print tool are different applications, it is necessary to transmit the print image information between the applications. Here, the information transmission by the drag and drop operation generally adopted in the GUI-based application is adopted. That is, the user first selects a directory in which necessary data is stored, and causes the file list display window 1002 to display the names of files included in the directory. Then, an icon corresponding to a desired file displayed in the file list display window 1002 is selected using the mouse 102a. Further, the selected file icon is dragged and dropped on the GUI 300 of the layout printing tool. By this operation, information of the dropped file is given to the layout printing tool, and the layout printing tool selects the dropped file as a print image. At the same time, the print image data is read and the image is displayed on the preview screen 306.

  FIG. 10C illustrates an example in which the layout printing tool operates in cooperation with an application other than the OS. The cooperative application 1007 provides functions equivalent to the folder tree window 1001 and the file list display window 1002 shown in FIG. 10A. A tool activation button 1008 is provided at the lower right of the GUI. When the tool activation button 1008 is pressed, the layout printing tool is activated. When the layout printing tool is activated, the layout printing tool selects the file selected in the file list display window 1002 of the cooperative application 1007 as a print image, and simultaneously displays the image of the print image on the preview screen 306.

Layout editing using the layout printing tool in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
The layout printing tool in the present embodiment can edit the position and size of a print image and characters on a print sheet while checking a printable area. Hereinafter, the position and size of the print image, characters, and printable area are expressed in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system with the upper left point of the printing paper as the origin, + X in the right direction and + Y in the down direction. To do. Unless otherwise specified, the “position” refers to the X and Y coordinates of the print image, character, and printable area with the upper left end point of the drawing area as the origin. The unit of position and size is expressed in millimeters or inches.

FIG. 3 shows a basic GUI of the layout printing tool in the present embodiment.
The setting dialog 301 is provided with tabs 302 to 305 that can be exclusively selected, and the GUI displayed on the setting dialog 301 can be switched. FIG. 3 shows a state where the printer tab 302 is selected. The layout printing tool displays the GUI shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 9 in the setting dialog 301 by selecting the printer tab 302, the image tab 303, the character tab 304, and the setting tab 305.

By selecting the tabs 302 to 305, the user can edit the print layout through the respective GUIs while switching the GUIs shown in FIGS.
On the preview screen 306, the preview display in step S205 described in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is performed. Details of the preview display will be described later.

  When the print execution button 307 is pressed (step S207, yes), print data is generated on the basis of the editing state at that time, and the printing process to be output by the printer 108 is executed (step S215). At the same time, the printer 106 stores information about the printer and printing paper, and the setting value items in the HDD 106.

When the cancel button 308 is pressed (step S208, yes), the layout printing tool is terminated without performing the printing process.
When the apply button 309 is pressed, information about the printer and printing paper, and items of setting values are stored in the HDD 106.

Next, the GUI displayed in the setting dialog 301 according to the selection of each tab 302 to 305 and the contents that can be set will be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI (printer setting screen) displayed in the setting dialog 301 when the printer tab 302 is pressed.

  The printer setting screen includes a printer selection menu 501, a property display button 502, a paper selection menu 503, and a paper direction selection menu 504. When any of the menus and buttons 501 to 504 is operated, steps S213, S214, S212, and S210 in FIG. 2 are performed. In step S205, a preview image is generated and displayed based on the changed information. I do.

  The printer selection menu 501 is a pull-down menu, and the names of printers that can be used in the system are registered in the list. A list of printers that can be used in the system can be acquired by the layout printing tool inquiring of the OS. The layout printing tool sets a printer selected from the pull-down menu as a print printer. At the same time, the list of the paper selection menu 503 is updated.

  When the printer property display button 502 is pressed, print printer properties (information) are displayed in a separate window (not shown), for example, so that they can be set. This is realized by displaying information obtained by making an inquiry to the driver program of the print printer. When the printer property window is closed, the contents and selection state of the paper selection menu 503 and the paper direction selection menu 504 are changed based on the information set in the printer properties.

  A paper selection menu 503 is a pull-down menu, in which paper names of paper that can be used by the print printer are registered in the list. A list of sheets usable by the print printer is acquired by inquiring of the print printer. The layout printing tool sets the paper selected from the pull-down menu as the printing paper.

  The paper direction selection menu 504 is a radio button that can be exclusively selected, and the user can select the paper direction. When portrait is selected, the print paper is set to be used vertically. When landscape is selected, the printing paper is set to be used in the landscape direction.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI (image setting screen) displayed on the setting dialog 301 in response to selection of the image tab 303.
The image size setting unit 601 includes four edit boxes corresponding to the X coordinate, Y coordinate, width, and height of the drawing area of the print image. By directly entering numerical values in each edit box, the position and size of the print image on the print paper can be changed. When the width of the print image is changed, the height is calculated so that the aspect ratio of the print image is maintained, and the value of the edit box corresponding to the height is updated. Similarly, when the height of the print image is changed, the width is calculated so that the aspect ratio of the print image is maintained, and the value of the edit box corresponding to the width is updated.

  When the center placement button 602 is pressed, the position of the print image is set so that the center of the print image matches the center of the print paper. Details of processing when the center placement button 602 is pressed will be described later.

  When the left / right center placement button 603 is pressed, the position of the print image is set so that the horizontal center of the print image matches the horizontal center of the print paper. Details of processing when the left-right center placement button 603 is pressed will be described later.

  When the vertical center placement button 604 is pressed, the position of the print image is set so that the vertical center of the print image matches the vertical center of the print paper. Details of processing when the vertical center arrangement button 604 is pressed will be described later.

  When the circumscribing fit button 605 is pressed, the position and size of the print image are adjusted so that the print image circumscribes the printable area of the print paper and the aspect ratio of the print image is maintained. Details of processing when the circumscribing fit button 605 is pressed will be described later.

  When the inscribed fit button 606 is pressed, the position and size of the print image are adjusted so that the print image is inscribed in the printable area of the print paper and the aspect ratio of the print image is maintained. Details of processing when the inscribed fit button 606 is pressed will be described later.

  With the layout printing tool in the present embodiment, characters can be printed in the same manner as an image. Specifically, characters can be arranged in four types of locations, and are called a header, a footer, a title, and a caption depending on the location of the character drawing area. The header is located at the upper end of the printable area of the printing paper, the footer is located at the lower end of the printable area of the printing paper, the title is located above the print image, and the caption is located below the print image. Details of each drawing area will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI (character setting screen) displayed on the setting dialog 301 in response to selection of the character tab 304.
The user can set characters to be displayed in the header, footer, title, and caption through the GUI shown in FIG. When any of the buttons 701 to 706 or the text box is operated, the preview display shown in S205 in the present embodiment is performed using the changed information in steps S209 and S210.

  The character alignment switching button 701 is composed of three buttons that can be selected exclusively, and the character alignment of characters to be displayed can be selected from left alignment, center alignment, and right alignment. The character alignment switching button 701 is prepared for each of the header, footer, title, and caption.

  When the font selection button 702 is pressed, a font selection dialog prepared by the system is displayed. On the dialog, the font type, style, and size can be set. Font selection buttons 702 are prepared for each of the header, footer, title, and caption.

In the header input text box 703, a character string to be drawn in the header part can be set. The character string is set by entering it directly in the text box.
In the footer input text box 704, a character string to be drawn in the footer can be set. The character string is set by entering it directly in the text box.

In the title input text box 705, a character string to be drawn on the title can be set. The character string is set by entering it directly in the text box.
In the caption input text box 706, a character string to be drawn in the caption can be set. The character string is set by entering it directly in the text box.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a font selection dialog provided by the OS displayed when the font selection button 702 is pressed. In the system in which the layout printing tool according to the present embodiment operates, the user can set the font type, style, and size using the dialog.

  A font selection menu 801 displays a list of fonts that can be used in the system, and the user can set the type of font to be used. When a font is selected from the font selection menu 801, the layout printing tool displays a list of styles and sizes applicable to the selected font in the font style selection menu 802 and the font size selection menu 803, respectively.

  In the font style selection menu 802, the font style to be used can be set. The user selects a style to be applied to the font from the font style menu 802. In general, font styles include standard, italic, and bold.

  In the font size selection menu 803, the font size to be used can be set. The user selects a size to be used from a list of sizes applicable to the font selected in the font selection menu 801.

When the OK button 804 is pressed, the font type, style, and size selected in 801 to 803 are set, and the font selection dialog is terminated.
When the cancel button 805 is pressed, the font selection dialog is terminated without setting the font type, style, and size selected in 801 to 803.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI (other setting screen) displayed in the setting dialog 301 when the setting tab 305 is pressed.
Through the GUI shown in FIG. 9, the position / size designation unit and the background color of the paper can be set.

  In the unit selection menu 901, a unit for designating the position and size of the print image can be set. The unit selection menu 901 is a pull-down menu, and for example, either “mm” or “inch” can be selected. If “mm” is selected, the unit is set to millimeters. At the same time, the value displayed in the image size setting unit 601 is updated to a value in millimeters. If “inch” is selected, the unit is set to inches. At the same time, the value displayed in the image size setting unit 601 is updated to a value in inches.

  In the background color switching check box 902, the background color of the print area can be set. If the check box 902 is checked, the background is set to black, and the printable area other than the print image and the character drawing area is printed in black. If the check box is not checked, the background is set to paper white, and nothing is done in the printable area other than the print image and character drawing area. When the background color switching check box 902 is operated, the preview display shown in S205 in the present embodiment is performed using the changed information.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when one of the center placement button 602, the left and right center placement button 603, and the top and bottom center placement button 604 is pressed in the GUI shown in FIG.

In step S1101, the width W _{P, mm} and height H _{P, mm} of the printing paper are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

  In step S1102, the currently set unit is checked. If the unit is set to inches in the unit selection menu 901, the process proceeds to step S1103. If the unit is set to millimeters, the process proceeds to step S1104.

In step S1103, W _P , H _P , W _{P, mm} , H _{P, mm} , each unit is converted from millimeters to inches and substituted. Conversion from millimeters to inches is accomplished by multiplying the value in millimeters by 0.04.

In step S1104, the values of W _{P, mm} , H _{P, mm} are substituted into W _P , H _P.
In step S1105, the width W _I and height H _I of the print image are acquired. As the size of the print image, a value set in a corresponding text box of the image size setting unit 601 is used.

  In step S1106, it is checked whether center placement is instructed. If the center placement button 602 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1108. If not, the process proceeds to step S1107.

  In step S1107, it is checked whether left-right center placement is instructed. If the left / right center placement button 603 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S1110. If not pressed, it is determined that the vertical center placement button 604 has been pressed, and the process proceeds to step S1111.

In step S1108, the position of the print image is calculated and set so that the horizontal center of the print image matches the horizontal center of the print paper. The X coordinate X _I of the position of the print image on the printing paper is calculated as X _I = W _P / 2−W _I / 2. At the same time, the image size setting unit 601 updates the value of the text box corresponding to the X coordinate of the position of the print image to X _I.

In step S1109, the position of the print image is calculated and set so that the vertical center of the print image matches the vertical center of the print paper. The Y coordinate Y _I of the position of the print image on the printing paper is calculated as Y _I = H _P / 2−H _I / 2. At the same time, in the image size setting unit 601. The value of the text box corresponding to the Y coordinate of the position of the printed image, and updates the Y _I.
In step S1110, processing similar to that in step S1108 is performed.
In step S1111, the same processing as in step S1109 is performed.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when one of the circumscribing fit button 605 and the inscribed fitting button 606 is pressed.
In step S1201, the printable area position X _{R, mm} , Y _{R, mm} and the size W _{R, mm} , H _{R, mm} are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

  In step S1202, the currently set unit is checked. If the unit is set to inches in the unit selection menu 901, the process proceeds to step S1203. If the unit is set to millimeters, the process proceeds to step S1204.

In step S1203, X _R , Y _R , W _R , and H _R are converted from X _{R, mm} , Y _{R, mm} , W _{R, mm} , H _{R, mm} and the units are converted from millimeters to inches and substituted. To do. Conversion from millimeters to inches is accomplished by multiplying the value in millimeters by 0.04.

In step S1204, the values of X _{R, mm} , Y _{R, inch} , W _{R, mm} , H _{R, mm} are substituted into X _R , Y _R , W _R , H _R.
In step S1205, the positions X _I and Y _I of the print image on the printing paper are acquired. As the position of the print image, a value set in a corresponding text box of the image size setting unit 601 is used.

In step S1206, the width W _I and height H _I of the print image are acquired. As the size of the print image, a value set in a corresponding text box of the image size setting unit 601 is used.

  In step S1207, it is checked whether circumscription is instructed. If the circumscribing fit button 605 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S1208. If not pressed, it is determined that the inscribed fit button 606 has been pressed, and the process advances to step S1209.

In step S1208, the value of W _R / H _R is compared with the value of W _I / H _I. If (W _R / H _R )> (W _I / H _I ), the process proceeds to step S1210. If (W _R / H _R ) <(W _I / H _I ), the process proceeds to step S1211.

In step S1209, the value of W _R / H _R is compared with the value of W _I / H _I. If (W _R / H _R )> (W _I / H _I ), the process proceeds to step S1211. If (W _R / H _R ) <(W _I / H _I ), the process proceeds to step S1210.

In step S1210, the width and height of the print image after fitting are calculated. The height H _I of the printed image after the fit is calculated as H _I = (H _I / W _I ) × W _R. The W _I of the printed image after fitting is set to be the same as W _R. At the same time, the image size setting section 601 updates the text box values corresponding to the width and height of the print image to W _I and H _I , respectively.

In step S1211, the width and height of the print image after fitting are calculated. The height H _I of the print image after fitting is calculated as W _I = (W _I / H _I ) × H _R. The H _I of the printed image after the fitting is the same as H _R. At the same time, the image size setting section 601 updates the text box values corresponding to the width and height of the print image to W _I and H _I , respectively.

In step S1212, the width and height of the print image after fitting are calculated. The horizontal position X _I at the upper left end of the printed image after the fit is calculated as X _I = W _R / 2−W _I / 2. The vertical position Y _I at the upper left end of the printed image after the fit is calculated as Y _I = H _R / 2−H _I / 2. At the same time, the image size setting unit 601 updates the text box values corresponding to the X and Y coordinates of the position of the print image to X _I and Y _I , respectively.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for calculating the character drawing area on the printing paper in millimeter units in step S210 in the present embodiment. The drawing area of header, footer, title, or caption is calculated.

  In step S1301, it is checked whether a character to be calculated for the drawing area is input through the GUI of FIG. 7 in the header, footer, title, and caption. If it has been input, the process proceeds to step S1302. If not entered, the process is terminated.

In step S1302, the printable area position X _{R, mm} , Y _{R, mm} and the size W _{R, mm} , H _{R, mm} are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

In step S1303, the positions X _I and Y _I and the sizes W _I and H _I of the print image are acquired. As these values, the values set in the corresponding text boxes of the image size setting unit 601 are acquired.

  In step S1304, the currently set unit is checked. If the unit is set to inches in the unit selection menu 901, the process proceeds to step S1304. If the unit is set to millimeters, the process proceeds to step S1305.

In step S1304, the units of X _I , Y _I , W _I , H _I and the respective units are converted from inches to millimeters and substituted into X _{I, mm} , Y _{I, mm} , W _{I, mm} , H _{I, mm} . To do. Conversion from inches to millimeters is accomplished by multiplying the value in inches by 25.4.

In step S1305, the values of X _I , Y _I , W _I , H _I are substituted into X _{I, mm} , Y _{I, mm} , W _{I, mm} , H _{I, mm} .

  In step S1307, it is checked whether or not the drawing area calculation target is a header character string. If it is a character string in the header, the process proceeds to step S1310. If it is not a header character string, the process advances to step S1308.

  In step S1308, it is checked whether the calculation target of the drawing area is a footer character string. If it is a footer character string, the process advances to step S1313. If it is not a footer character string, the process advances to step S1309.

  In step S1309, it is checked whether the calculation target of the drawing area is a title character string. If it is a character string of the title, the process proceeds to step S1316. If it is not the title character string, it is determined that the calculation target of the drawing area is the caption character string, and the process advances to step S1319.

In step S1310, W _{R, mm} is substituted for the width W _{S, mm} of the character drawing area.
In step S1311, acquires the width of the string W _S, the height H _S of the rectangle required when drawing a rectangular _mm, the _mm. This is realized by making an inquiry to the system (OS).

In step S1312, the position of the character drawing area is calculated. The positions X _{S, mm} and Y _{S, mm} of the character drawing area are respectively
X _{S, mm} = X _{R, mm}
Y _{S, mm} = Y _{R, mm}
Is calculated.

In step S1313, W _{R, mm} is substituted for the width W _{S, mm} of the character drawing area.
In step S1314, acquires the width of the string W _S, the height H _S of the rectangle required when drawing a rectangular _mm, the _mm. This is realized by making an inquiry to the system (OS).

In step S1315, the position of the character drawing area is calculated. The positions X _{S, mm} and Y _{S, mm} of the character drawing area are respectively
X _{S, mm} = X _{R, mm}
Y _{S, mm} = Y _{R, mm} + H _{R, mm} −H _{S, mm}
Is calculated.

In step S1316, W _{I, mm} is substituted for the width W _{S, mm} of the character drawing area.
In step S1317, acquires the width of the string W _S, the height H _S of the rectangle required when drawing a rectangular _mm, the _mm. This is realized by making an inquiry to the system (OS).

In step S1318, the position of the character drawing area is calculated. The positions X _{S, mm} and Y _{S, mm} of the character drawing area are respectively
X _{S, mm} = X _{I, mm}
Y _{S, mm} = Y _{I, mm} -H _{S, mm}
Is calculated.

In step S1319, W _{I, mm} is substituted for the width W _{S, mm} of the character drawing area.
In step S1320, acquires the width of the string W _S, the height H _S of the rectangle required when drawing a rectangular _mm, the _mm. This is realized by making an inquiry to the system (OS).

In step S1321, the position of the character drawing area is calculated. The positions X _{S, mm} and Y _{S, mm} of the character drawing area are respectively
X _{S, mm} = X _{I, mm}
Y _{S, mm} = Y _{I, mm} + H _{I, mm} + H _{S, mm}
Is calculated.

The details of the preview display process performed in step S205 of FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 and FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the preview screen 306 in the GUI of FIG. The preview screen represents the arrangement of the print image on the print paper, and displays the print image and the print paper image simultaneously.

The background image 401 is the base of the preview screen 306.
The paper preview image 402 displays an image so that the type and orientation of the set printing paper can be understood. When the settings of the print printer and print paper are changed through the GUI shown in FIG. 5, the paper preview image 402 is updated according to the settings.
The printable area line 403 is a line that represents the boundary line of the printable area on the set print paper and is displayed on the paper preview image 402.

  The image preview image 404 is an image of the print image on the print paper displayed in the preview screen 306. The image preview image 404 is displayed so as to be superimposed on the paper preview image 402 and below the printable area line 403 (not to hide the line). When the layout of the print image is changed through the GUI shown in FIG. 6, the display of the image preview image 404 is updated according to the change.

  The character preview image 405 is an image of characters on the printing paper displayed in the preview screen 306. When the character string of the print character, font type, font size, and character modification information (style) are changed through the GUI shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the display of the character preview image 405 is updated.

  The drawing objects 401 to 405 in this embodiment are images to be displayed on the preview screen 306. In the following, for each drawing object shown in 401 to 405, the position and size are expressed in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system with the upper left point of the preview screen 306 as the origin, + X in the right direction and + Y in the down direction. Shall. Further, the “position” of the drawing objects 401 to 405 indicates the X and Y coordinates of the upper left end point of the drawing area of each object unless otherwise specified. The unit of both the position and size is a pixel.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the basic flow of processing when the preview display of S205 in the present embodiment is performed.
In step S1401, the background image 401 is drawn.
In step S1402, the paper preview image 402 is drawn.
In step S1403, the image preview image 404 is drawn.
In step S1404, a character preview image 405 is drawn.
In step S1405, the printable area line 403 is drawn.

Figure 15 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for obtaining the drawing area X _P of the paper preview image _{402, px, Y P, px} , W P, px, H P, the _px.
In step S1501, the width W _{Bk, px} and the height H _{Bk, px} of the pixel size of the preview screen 306 are acquired. This is realized by inquiring the system (OS) by a general method.

In step S1502, the width W _{P, mm} and height H _{P, mm} of the printing paper are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

  In step S1503, a distance d from each end of the preview screen 306 to the paper preview image 402 is set in units of pixels. In this embodiment, d = 30 (pixels), but any other value may be set.

In step S1504, the value of W _{P, mm} / H _{P, mm} is compared with the value of W _{Bk, px} / H _{Bk, px} . If (W _{P, mm} / H _{P, mm} )> (W _{Bk, px} / H _{Bk, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1505. If (W _{P, mm} / H _{P, mm} ) <(W _{Bk, px} / H _{Bk, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1506.

In step S1505, the width W _{P, px} and height H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are calculated. The width W _{P, px} and height H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are respectively
W _{P, px} = W _{Bk, px} -2d
H _{P, px} = (H _{P, mm} / W _{P, mm} ) × (W _{Bk, px} -2d)
Is calculated.

In step S1506, the width W _{P, px} and height H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are calculated. The width W _{P, px} and height H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are respectively
W _{P, px} = (W _{P, mm} / H _{P, mm} ) × (H _{Bk, px} -2d)
H _{P, px} = H _{Bk, px} -2d
Is calculated.

In step S1507, it calculates the position X _P of the paper preview image _{402, px,} Y _P, and _px. The X coordinate X _{P, px} and Y coordinate Y _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are respectively
X _{P, px} = (W _{Bk, px} -W _{P, px} ) / 2
YP _{, px} = ( _{HBk, px-} Hp _{, px} ) / 2
Is calculated.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when acquiring the drawing areas X _{R, px} , Y _{R, px} , W _{R, px} , H _{R, px} of the printable area line 403. It is assumed that the printable area exists inside the printing paper.
Steps S1601 to S1607 are the same as those described using steps S1501 to S1507 described with reference to FIG.

In step S1608, the position and size X _{R, mm} , Y _{R, mm} , W _{R, mm} , H _{R, mm} of the printable area are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

In step S1609, the drawing areas X _{R, px} , Y _{R, px} , W _{R, px} , H _{R, px} of the printable area line 403 are calculated. The drawing areas X _{R, px} , Y _{R, px} , W _{R, px} , H _{R, px} of the printable area line 403 are respectively
X _{R, px} = X _{R, mm} × (W _{P, px} / W _{P, mm} ) + X _{P, px}
Y _{R, px} = Y _{R, mm} × (H _{P, px} / H _{P, mm} ) + Y _{P, px}
W _{R, px} = W _{R, mm} × (W _{P, px} / W _{P, mm} )
H _{R, px} = H _{R, mm} × (H _{P, px} / H _{P, mm} )
Is calculated.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when drawing the background image 401 in S1401 in the present embodiment. In the following, the variables i and j represent the positions x and y in the coordinate system with the upper left end point of the preview screen 306 as the origin.

In step S1701, the width W _{Bk, px} and the height H _{Bk, px} of the pixel size of the preview screen 306 are acquired. This is realized by inquiring the system (OS) by a general method.
In step S1702, 0 is substituted for variable j.
In step S1703, 0 is substituted into the variable i.

In step S1704, the background color is assigned to the R, G, B values R _{(i, j)} , G _{(i, j)} , B _{(i, j)} of the pixel at the position (x, y) = (i, j). Set. In this embodiment, the background colors are (R _{(i, j)} , G _{(i, j)} , B _{(i, j)} ) = (255 × 0.2, 255 × 0.2, 255 × 0.2). ). Any other R, G, and B values may be set as the background color.

In step S1705, 1 is added to the variable i.
In step S1706, the variable i is compared with W _{Bk, px} . If i = W _{Bk, px} , the process proceeds to step S1707. If i ≠ W _{Bk, px} , the process proceeds to step S1704.

In step S1707, 1 is added to the variable j.
In step S1708, the variable j is compared with H _{Bk, px} . If j = H _{Bk, px} , the process ends. If j ≠ H _{Bk, px} , the process proceeds to step S1703.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when drawing the paper preview image 402 in S1402 in the present embodiment. It is assumed that the printable area exists inside the printing paper. In the following, variables i and j represent positions x and y in the coordinate system with the upper left end point of preview screen 306 as the origin.

In step S1801, the position X _{P, px} , Y _{P, px} and size W _{P, px} , H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are acquired. This is realized by the method described above with reference to FIG.

In step S1802, the position X _{R, px} , Y _{R, px} and size W _{R, px} , H _{R, px} of the printable area line 403 on the preview screen 306 are acquired. This is realized by the method described above with reference to FIG.

In step S1803, Y _{P, px} is substituted for variable j.
In step S1804, XP, _px is substituted for variable i.
In step S1805, the current background color setting is checked. If the background color switching check box 902 sets the background color to black, the process advances to step S1806. If the background color is not set to black, the process proceeds to step S1809.

In step S1806, the range of values of variables i and j is checked. If X _{R, px} + W _{R, px} ≧ i ≧ X _{R, px} and Y _{R, px} + H _{R, px} ≧ j ≧ Y _{R, px} , the process proceeds to step S1808. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1809.

In step S1808, the R, G, and B values of the pixel at the position (x, y) = (i, j) are
(R _{(i, j)} , G _{(i, j)} , B _{(i, j)} ) = (0, 0, 0)
And

In step S1809, the R, G, and B values of the pixel at the position (x, y) = (i, j) are
(R _{(i, j)} , G _{(i, j)} , B _{(i, j)} ) = (255, 255, 255)
And

In step S1810, 1 is added to the variable i.
In step S1811, the variable i is compared with (X _{P, px} + W _{P, px} ). If i = (X _{P, px} + W _{P, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1812. If i ≠ (X _{P, px} + W _{P, px} ), the process proceeds to step 1805.

In step S1812, 1 is added to the variable j.
In step S1813, the variable j is compared with (Y _{P, px} + H _{P, px} ). If j = (Y _{P, px} + H _{P, px} ), the process ends. If j ≠ (Y _{P, px} + H _{P, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1804.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when rendering the image preview image 404 in S1403 in the present embodiment. An image preview image 404 is created from the print image, and is superimposed and drawn on the preview screen 306. It is assumed that the printable area exists inside the printing paper.

In the following, variables i and j respectively represent positions in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system that increase rightward and downward with the upper left end point of preview screen 306 as the origin (0, 0). Further, the R, G, and B values of the pixel at an arbitrary position on the preview screen 306 are expressed as R _{prv (i, j)} , G _{prv (i, j)} , and B _{prv (i, j)} , respectively.

Variables m and n represent positions in the coordinate system with the upper left end point of the image preview image 404 as the origin. Further, the R, G, and B values of the pixel at an arbitrary position on the image preview image 404 are expressed as R _{img (i, j)} , G _{img (i, j)} , and B _{img (i, j)} , respectively.

In step S1901, the positions X _I and Y _I and the sizes W _I and H _I of the print image are acquired. As these values, the values set in the corresponding text boxes of the image size setting unit 601 are acquired.

  In step S1902, the currently set unit is checked. If the unit is set to inches in the unit selection menu 901, the process proceeds to step S1903. If the unit is set to millimeters, the process proceeds to step S1904.

In step S1903, the units of X _I , Y _I , W _I , and H _I are converted from inches to millimeters and substituted into X _{I, mm} , Y _{I, mm} , W _{I, mm} , H _{I, mm} . To do. Conversion from inches to millimeters is accomplished by multiplying the value in inches by 25.4.

In step S1904, the values of X _I , Y _I , W _I , H _I are substituted into X _{I, mm} , Y _{I, mm} , W _{I, mm} , H _{I, mm} .
In step S1905, the width W _{P, mm} and height H _{P, mm} of the printing paper are acquired. This is realized by making an inquiry to the printer driver. In the system according to this embodiment, a value in millimeters is obtained by the above method.

In step S1906, the position X _{P, px} , Y _{P, px} and size W _{P, px} , H _{P, px} of the paper preview image 402 are acquired. This is realized by the method described above with reference to FIG.

In step S1907, the drawing areas X _{I, px} , Y _{I, px} , W _{I, px} , H _{I, px} of the image preview image 404 are calculated. The drawing areas X _{I, px} , Y _{I, px} , W _{I, px} , H _{I, px} of the image preview image 404 are respectively
X _{I, px} = X _{I, mm} × (W _{P, px} / W _{P, mm} ) + X _{P, px}
Y _{I, px} = Y _{I, mm} × (H _{P, px} / H _{P, mm} ) + Y _{P, px}
W _{I, px} = W _{I, mm} × (W _{P, px} / W _{P, mm} )
H _{I, px} = H _{I, mm} × (H _{P, px} / H _{P, mm} )
Is calculated.

In step S1908, an area for storing an image preview image of W _{I, px} × H _{I, px} is secured in the RAM 105.
In step S1909, the print image is scaled from the original image size to W _{I, px} × H _{I, px} to create an image preview image. The scaling of the printed image is performed using a known method such as a bilinear method or a bicubic method. A print image stored in the HDD 106 is read.

In step S1910, the position X _{R, px} , Y _{R, px} and size W _{R, px} , H _{R, px} of the printable area line 403 on the preview screen 306 are acquired. This is realized by the method described above with reference to FIG.
In step S1911, Y _{I, px} is substituted for variable j.
In step S1912, X _{I, px} is substituted for variable i.

In step S1913, (i−X _{I, px} ) is substituted for the variable m. Further, (j−Y _{I, px} ) is substituted for the variable n.
In step S1914, the R, G, B values of the pixel at the position (m, n) on the image preview image 404 are copied to the pixel at the position (i, j) on the preview screen 306.

In step S1915, 1 is added to the variable i.
In step S1916, the variable i is compared with (X _{I, px} + W _{I, px} ). If i = (X _{I, px} + W _{I, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1917. If i ≠ (X _{I, px} + W _{I, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1913.
In step S1917, 1 is added to the variable j.

In step S1918, the variable j is compared with (Y _{I, px} + H _{I, px} ). If j = (Y _{I, px} + H _{I, px} ), the process ends. If j ≠ (Y _{I, px} + H _{I, px} ), the process proceeds to step S1912.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when drawing a character preview image in S1404 of FIG. 4 in the present embodiment. With the layout printing tool of this embodiment, it is possible to input and print and preview the four character information of header, footer, title, and caption. Here, a process for creating and drawing a character preview image of a header will be described first.

In step S2001, the character string input in the header input text box 703 is acquired.
In step S2002, the type (font name) of the font (at the time of printing) set in the font selection menu 801 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.

  In step S2003, the font size (at the time of printing) set in the font size selection menu 803 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.

  In step S2004, character modification information (style) (at the time of printing) set in the font style selection menu 802 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.

In step S2005, the character alignment setting (during printing) set by the character alignment switching button 701 for the header is acquired.
As described above, in this embodiment, when generating a character preview image, character logical information at the time of printing is acquired.

In step S2006, the state of the background color switching check box 902 is acquired, and the color of the print area is acquired.
In step S2007, it is determined whether the color of the print area is black. If the color of the print area is black, the process proceeds to step S2008. Otherwise, the print area is assumed to be white, and the process proceeds to step S2016.

In step S2008, the background color of the character drawing area is set to black.
In step S2009, the character color to be drawn is set to white.
In step S2010, the width and height (print resolution) of the character drawing area at the time of printing are acquired using the method described in FIG. The width of the header drawing area at the time of printing is assumed to be equal to the width of the printable area at the time of printing. The height is calculated from the width of the drawing area, the character string, the font type, the font size, and the character modification information using a character drawing command of a programming language. In this embodiment, since the header is defined as one line, a character string that does not fit in the drawing area is displayed using an ellipsis.

  In step S2011, the character logical information (font type, font size, character modification information, and character alignment setting) obtained during printing obtained in steps S2002 to S2005 and the character string obtained in step S2001 are used, and obtained in step S2010. Create a character bitmap image with the width and height of the character drawing area.

  In step S2012, the width and height of the character drawing area at the time of preview are calculated. The width of the header drawing area at the time of preview is equal to the width of the printable area at the time of preview. The height is calculated by dividing the width of the drawing area at the time of preview by the width of the drawing area at the time of printing acquired in step S2010, and the conversion coefficient is obtained by dividing the height of the drawing area at the time of printing acquired in step S2010. It is calculated by multiplying the size.

  In step S2013, the character bitmap image for preview is created by scaling the character bitmap image created in step S2011 to the size of the character drawing area at the time of preview calculated in step S2012. Here, a bilinear method, which is a known method, is used for the scaling process.

  In step S2014, the character drawing position at the time of preview is acquired. It is assumed that the drawing position of the header at the time of preview is equal to the upper left end point of the drawing area of the printable area.

In step S2015, the character bitmap image for preview created in step S2013 is drawn at the character drawing position acquired in step S2014 on the paper preview image, and the process ends.
In step S2016, the background color of the character drawing area is set to white.
In step S2017, the character color to be drawn is set to black, and the process proceeds to step S2010.

  Through the processing described above, a character preview image of the header can be created and drawn. The basic processing flow for footers, titles, and captions is the same as for headers. A different point is a character drawing area and a drawing position at the time of preview.

  Specifically, in the case of a footer, the drawing position is determined so that the lower left corner point of the character drawing area matches the lower left corner point of the printable area at the time of preview. The drawing area is the same as the header, the width is equal to the width of the printable area, and the height is calculated using a character drawing command or the like of a programming language. Further, since the footer is defined as one line like the header, a character string that does not fit in the drawing area is displayed using an ellipsis.

  In the case of a title, the drawing position is determined so that the lower left corner point of the character drawing area matches the upper left corner point of the image preview image 404. For the drawing area, the width is equal to the width of the preview image, and the height is calculated using a character drawing command or the like of a programming language. However, since the title is defined as a plurality of lines, unlike the header, when the image is drawn from the paper preview image at the time of drawing, the protruding portion is not drawn. Of course, the processing of the protruding portion is not limited to this, and it may be configured to draw up to the protruding portion.

  In the case of captions, the drawing position is determined so that the upper left corner point of the character drawing area matches the lower left corner point of the image preview image 404. For the drawing area, the width is equal to the width of the preview image, and the height is calculated using a character drawing command or the like of a programming language. In addition, since the caption is defined as a plurality of lines like the title, when the image is drawn from the paper preview image at the time of drawing, the protruding portion is not drawn. Of course, like the title, it may be configured to draw up to the protruding portion.

  With the above processing, according to the present embodiment, when character data is previewed, a character bitmap image having a preview size is obtained by performing scaling processing on the character bitmap image for printing created at the printing resolution. Is created and a preview is displayed using this. Therefore, the character size with respect to the print area (for example, paper size) can be matched between the print result and the preview display, and an accurate preview display of the print result can be performed.

<Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, description will be made using the layout printing tool described in the first embodiment. Since the configuration and basic operation of the layout printing tool are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted. A difference from the first embodiment is a process of drawing a character preview image.

  The character preview image drawing process in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. With the layout printing tool of this embodiment, it is possible to input and print and preview the four character information of header, footer, title, and caption. Here, a process for creating and drawing a character preview image of a header will be described first.

In step S2101, the character string input in the header input text box 703 is acquired.
In step S2102, the type (font name) of the font (at the time of printing) set in the font selection menu 801 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.

In step S2103, the font size (at the time of printing) set in the font size selection menu 803 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.
In step S2104, the character modification information (style) (at the time of printing) set in the font style selection menu 802 on the font selection dialog in FIG. 8 for the header is acquired.

In step S2105, the character alignment setting set by the character alignment switching button 701 for the header (during printing) is acquired.
In step S2106, the state of the background color switching check box 902 is acquired, and the color of the print area is acquired.

In step S2107, it is determined whether the color of the print area is black. If the color of the print area is black, the process proceeds to step S2108; otherwise, the print area is assumed to be white and the process proceeds to step S2118.
In step S2108, the background color of the character drawing area is set to black.
In step S2109, the character color to be drawn is set to white.

  In step S2110, the width and height (printing resolution) of the character drawing area at the time of printing are acquired using the method described with reference to FIG. The width of the header drawing area at the time of printing is assumed to be equal to the width of the printable area at the time of printing. The height is calculated from the width of the drawing area, the character string, the font type, the font size, and the character modification information using a character drawing command of a programming language. In this embodiment, since the header is defined as one line, a character string that does not fit in the drawing area is displayed using an ellipsis.

In step S2111,
Character logical information at the time of printing (font type, font size, character modification information, character alignment setting) acquired in steps S2002 to S2005,
Using the character string acquired in step S2101, an attempt is made to secure in the RAM 105 a memory area for creating a character bitmap image having the width and height of the character drawing area acquired in step S2110.

  In step S2112, it is determined whether the memory area has been successfully secured. If the memory area has been successfully secured, the process proceeds to step S2113. If the memory area has failed, the process proceeds to step S2120.

In step S2113,
Character logical information at the time of printing (font type, font size, character modification information, character alignment setting) acquired in steps S2002 to S2005,
Use the character string acquired in step S2101 to create a character bitmap image having the width and height of the character drawing area set for the reserved memory area.

  In step S2114, the width and height of the character drawing area at the time of preview are calculated. The width of the header drawing area at the time of preview is equal to the width of the printable area at the time of preview. First, the conversion coefficient is obtained by dividing the width of the drawing area at the time of preview by the width of the drawing area at the time of printing set in step S2110 or step S2120. Then, the conversion coefficient is calculated by multiplying the height of the drawing area at the time of printing set in step S2110 or step S2120.

  In step S2115, a character bitmap image for preview is created by scaling the character bitmap image created in step S2113 to the size of the character drawing area at the time of preview calculated in step S2114. Here, a bilinear method, which is a known method, is used for the scaling process.

In step S2116, the character drawing position at the time of preview is acquired. It is assumed that the drawing position of the header at the time of preview is equal to the upper left end point of the drawing area of the printable area.
In step S2117, the preview character bitmap image created in step S2115 is drawn at the character drawing position acquired in step S2116 on the paper preview image, and the process ends.

In step S2118, the background color of the character drawing area is set to white.
In step S2119, the character color to be drawn is set to black, and the process proceeds to step S2110.
If securing of the memory area fails in step S2112, in step S2120, the width and height of the character drawing area at the time of printing currently set are halved to set the width and height of the new character drawing area. To do.

  In step S2121, an attempt is made to secure a memory area for creating a character bitmap image having the width and height of the character drawing area newly set in step S2120, and the process advances to step S2112.

  Through the above processing, in the present embodiment, when previewing character data, a character bitmap image for printing is created with a resolution as close as possible to the printing resolution within a range where memory can be secured. Then, a scaling process is performed on the character bitmap image to create a character bitmap image having a preview size, and a preview display is performed using the image. This makes it possible to approximate the character size relative to the print area (for example, paper size) between the print result and the preview display while taking into account the memory usage of the system in which the layout printing tool according to the present embodiment is used. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, for character data, a bit resolution image of printing resolution is first created using character logical information at the time of printing. During printing, printing is performed using the bitmap image at the print resolution as it is. During preview, the bitmap image at the print resolution is scaled to create a bitmap image of the preview size. By performing display using this, the character size with respect to the print region (for example, paper size) can be matched between the print result and the preview display, and an accurate preview display of the print result can be performed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a layout printing tool has been described. However, any image processing apparatus, image processing method, or the like for accurately displaying a print result of character data and image data can be used. Needless to say, the present invention is applicable.

  In the above-described embodiment, for ease of explanation, when previewing character data, a bitmap image having a resolution equal to the print resolution is created and subjected to scaling processing to generate a preview-sized bit. Described the case of creating a map image. However, the resolution of the bitmap image that is the source of the preview bitmap image may be at least the print resolution. That is, if a bitmap image having a printing resolution or higher resolution is created, and a scaling process is performed on the bitmap image to create a preview bitmap image, the effect of the present invention can be achieved.

  For example, the resolution is dynamically changed according to some conditions, such as creating a high-resolution data bitmap image within the capacity of the memory capacity, or increasing the resolution so that the preview size is large and display accuracy is required. It is also possible. For example, in the second embodiment, on the premise that a preview bitmap image having a resolution higher than the print resolution is created, the resolution may be decreased stepwise according to the memory capacity.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the system or apparatus is implemented as software by a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) has been described.

  In addition, in order to realize the above-described embodiment by a computer, the computer program itself supplied to the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is also one aspect of the present invention.

  The computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment may be in any form as long as it can be read by a computer and converted into an executable format. For example, it can be composed of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, but is not limited thereto.

  A computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment is supplied to a computer via a storage medium or wired / wireless communication. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program include a magnetic storage medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium such as an MO, CD, and DVD, and a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

  As a computer program supply method using wired / wireless communication, there is a method of using a server on a computer network. In this case, a data file (program file) that can be a computer program forming the present invention is stored in the server. The program file may be an executable format or a source code.

  Then, the program file is supplied by downloading to a client computer that has accessed the server. In this case, the program file can be divided into a plurality of segment files, and the segment files can be distributed and arranged on different servers.

  That is, a server apparatus that provides a client computer with a program file for realizing the above-described embodiment is also one aspect of the present invention.

  In addition, a storage medium in which a computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment is encrypted and stored is distributed to the user, and key information for decrypting is supplied to the user who satisfies a predetermined condition, and the user's computer It is also possible to enable installation on Windows. The key information can be supplied by being downloaded from a homepage via the Internet, for example.

  Further, the computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment may use an OS function already running on the computer.

  Further, a part of the computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment may be configured by firmware such as an expansion board attached to the computer, or may be executed by a CPU provided in the expansion board. Good.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer system as an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic flow of operation | movement of the layout printing tool which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of GUI of the layout printing tool which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the preview screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of a printer setting tab according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the image setting tab which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the character setting tab which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the font setting dialog which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the setting tab which concerns on embodiment of this invention. , , FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print image designation GUI presented by the layout printing tool of the present embodiment in step S201 of FIG. 2 and a print image designation method in each GUI. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when the center arrangement | positioning button in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process when the circumscribed fit button and the inscribed fit button in FIG. 6 are pressed down. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which calculates the drawing area | region of the character which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic flow of the preview display which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when acquiring the size of a preview image of a printing paper according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of acquiring the magnitude | size on the preview screen of the printable area which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of drawing the background of the preview screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when previewing an image of a printing paper according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of carrying out the preview display of the image of the printing image which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of drawing the character preview image of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of drawing the character preview image of 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (8)

An image processing apparatus for generating a print preview image of a document including an image and characters,
Character logical information acquisition means for acquiring character logical information at the time of printing set in advance;
A first generation unit configured to generate an image preview image by scaling an image included in the document according to a drawing area of the print preview image from an original image size;
After generating bitmap data with a print resolution or higher resolution using character logical information at the time of printing from the characters included in the document, the character preview is scaled according to the character area in the print preview image. A second generating means for generating an image;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a display unit configured to generate and display a print preview image from the preview images generated by the first and second generation units. Furthermore, it has the 3rd production | generation means which acquires the information of printing paper, and produces | generates the preview image of printing paper,
2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the display unit generates the print preview image by arranging the preview images generated by the first and second generation units on the preview image of the printing paper. Processing equipment. Furthermore, it has the 4th production | generation means which produces | generates the boundary preview image showing the printable area | region with respect to printing paper,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit generates the print preview image by drawing so that the boundary preview image is at the top.   When the second generation unit cannot secure a memory area for generating the bitmap data of the print resolution, the second generation unit generates bitmap data having a resolution close to the print resolution within a range in which the memory area can be secured. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the character preview image is generated by scaling the bitmap data.   If the memory area for generating the print resolution bitmap data cannot be secured by the second generation means, the operation for reducing the print resolution to ½ is repeated so that the memory area can be secured. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein bitmap data having a resolution close to the print resolution is generated. An image processing method for generating a print preview image of a document including an image and characters,
A character logic information acquisition step of acquiring character logic information at the time of printing set in advance;
A first generation step of generating an image preview image by scaling an image included in the document according to a drawing area of a print preview image from an original image size;
After generating bitmap data with a print resolution or higher resolution using character logical information at the time of printing from the characters included in the document, the character preview is scaled according to the character area in the print preview image. A second generation step for generating an image;
An image processing method comprising: a display step of generating and displaying a print preview image from the preview images generated by the first and second generation means.   A program that causes a computer to function as the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 7.

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