JP2008186280A - Information processor, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily obtain the order of a plurality of overlapped objects disposed in a layout area. <P>SOLUTION: A first layout area 503 displaying the plurality of objects in consideration of the overlap is displayed. A second layout area sequentially displaying a graphic expressing each of the plurality of objects disposed in the first layout area 503 vertically according to the order of the plurality of overlapped objects. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for a user to lay out an object such as an image or text.

For example, in a desktop publishing application, a graphic application, a draw application, and the like, images and text can be managed as objects, and editing such as movement and deletion can be performed in units of objects.
In addition, when an object is laid out in an editing area, it is known that an arrangement can be made in consideration of how to overlap with other objects.

  When a plurality of objects are overlapped and arranged, it is preferable that the order of overlapping or the vertical relationship is clearly shown to the user.

  As a prior art, in Patent Document 1, in a graphic display device that displays a two-dimensional graphic showing a multi-layer structure such as wiring of a printed circuit board, by changing the color and shade width for each layer and displaying, It is disclosed that it is easy to determine the overlap.

  Non-Patent Document 1 discloses an application that allows a user to arbitrarily change the order of overlapping objects. For example, the user selects an object and specifies one of “move to the front”, “move to the back”, “move to the front”, and “move to the back”. The superposition order relationship can be changed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-282357 "Easy" commuting decryption "PowerPoint slides that are useful for creating and giving presentations [Carefully selected] (PowerPoint 2003/2002) compatible", Technical Review, Inc., April 10, 2005, pages 94, 95

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the number of objects that are overlapped increases, it becomes difficult to determine the order of overlap of the objects at a glance. For this reason, the user has to grasp the overlapping order by moving the overlapping objects to another area or by temporarily changing the order of each object. Further, when the order of overlap is changed, another object may be selected by mistake.

  In the technique of Non-Patent Document 1, in an application having a user interface for instructing movement to the back / front, an image object is placed in the middle of a plurality of image objects arranged in the layout area with overlapping. Suppose you want to insert. At this time, the user grasps the order of overlapping of the arranged image objects, arranges the image object to be inserted in the layout area, and selects “move to front” “move to back” “move to front” It was necessary to give instructions such as “Move to back”.

  Further, when display is performed in consideration of overlapping, an object that is completely hidden by an object in the foreground becomes invisible. In this case, the completely hidden object cannot be visually recognized on the screen unless the hidden object is moved, deleted, or set to the invisible attribute.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to easily grasp the overlapping order of a plurality of objects arranged in a layout area.

  The above-described object is to display a first layout area for arranging a plurality of objects on a display device, an overlapping order of the plurality of objects arranged in the first layout area, and a plurality of objects. Each having an object arrangement information acquisition means for acquiring object arrangement information, which is information relating to the position and size, and a storage means for storing the object arrangement information in a storage device. The display control means includes a plurality of objects. A second layout area in which a plurality of figures to be represented are arranged in the vertical direction of the second layout area in accordance with the overlapping order of the plurality of objects in the object arrangement information stored in the storage device; This is achieved by the information processing apparatus of the present invention.

  In addition, the above-described object is to display a first layout area for arranging a plurality of objects on a display device, an overlapping order of a plurality of objects arranged in the first layout area, and a plurality of objects. An object placement information acquisition step for obtaining object placement information, which is information relating to the position and size of each of the objects, and a storage step for storing the object placement information in a storage device. A second layout area in which a plurality of figures representing objects are arranged in the vertical direction of the second layout area in accordance with the overlapping order of the plurality of objects in the object arrangement information stored in the storage device is further displayed. This is also achieved by the information processing method of the present invention.

  With such a configuration, according to the present invention, the user can easily grasp the overlapping order of a plurality of objects arranged in the layout area.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a usage state of a host computer as an example of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, a host computer 100 and a printer 101 are connected via a communication interface 102. Software (driver software) for using the printer 101 is installed in the host computer 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the host computer 100.
The host computer 100 can be realized using a general-purpose computer device that is commercially available as a personal computer.

  The CPU 201 interprets and executes program instructions such as basic software (OS), various device drivers, and application programs, thereby realizing overall control of the host computer 100 including the characteristic operations of the present embodiment described below. To do. The RAM 202 temporarily stores programs executed by the CPU 201 and various data. A hard disk 203 as an example of a storage device stores programs executed by the CPU 201 and various data according to a file system adopted by the OS. The RAM 202 and the hard disk 203 are examples of storage devices.

  A mouse 204 as an example of an input device and a display device 205 as an example of an output device are connected via corresponding interfaces. In addition to the mouse 204, an input device such as a keyboard may be connected simultaneously.

  In the present embodiment, the printer 101 is connected to the host computer 100 via the communication interface 102. Here, the communication interface 102 may be a so-called network interface or a serial interface such as a USB as long as the printer 101 can be communicably connected to the host computer 100.

  The layout application program in the present embodiment generates image data to be printed by the printer 101 when the user interactively operates the GUI displayed on the display device 205 with the mouse 204. The application program is normally stored as a program file in the hard disk 203, and is read by the CPU 201 onto the RAM 202 and executed in response to an activation instruction from the user, for example.

  When a print instruction is input from a menu or the like provided in the layout application, the printer driver receives information about an image to be printed from the layout application. Then, the printer driver converts image data to be printed into an appropriate format for printing by the printer 101, and supplies the converted data to the printer 101 via the communication interface 102.

  In the present embodiment, the image created by the layout application is output to the printer 101. However, if it is merely for display purposes and there is no need to print out, the printer 101 may not be connected to the host computer 100. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the layout application according to the present embodiment. The function of each part shown below is actually realized by the CPU 201 executing an application. In other words, the CPU 201 functions as the following units.

The data control unit 302 displays the layout application layout screen 500 (FIG. 5A) on the display device. Further, the data control unit 302 acquires information (object placement information) related to the position, size, and overlapping order of objects (images, text, etc.) placed in the layout areas 503 and 504 (FIG. 5A) of the layout application. Then, based on the object arrangement information, other layout areas 505 and 506 (FIG. 5A) that represent the object using simple figures such as lines and rectangles and display the overlapping order are generated.
In addition, the data control unit 302 updates the display content of the layout area when the order and position of overlapping lines and rectangles indicating objects are changed.

  The GUI control unit 301 outputs the operation content (the operation target object and the operation) for the layout screen instructed by the user with the mouse 204 or the like to the data control unit 302. The data control unit 302 notifies the data storage control unit 303 of the operation content.

  The data storage control unit 303 stores the information about the overlapping order, position, and display size of objects (images and text) on the layout acquired by the data control unit 302 in the RAM 202 and the hard disk 203 by the storage unit 311. . Also, the object arrangement information is updated according to the user operation notified through the GUI control unit 301 and the data control unit 302.

  It is assumed that a line or a rectangle representing an object included in the screen created by the sequential position display unit 306 of the data control unit 302 is moved by a user operation. In this case, the storage unit 311 updates the object arrangement information stored in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203 to reflect the user operation.

The data control unit 302 uses the order position display unit 306 to generate a layout screen based on the object arrangement information stored by the data storage control unit 303.
When the order or position of lines or rectangles on the screen created by the data control unit 302 is changed, the data storage control unit 303 acquires the change by the storage unit 311 and stores it. The data control unit 302 changes the display of the objects in the layout area by the order change unit 307 and the position change unit 308 based on the information stored by the data storage control unit 303.
Note that the order position display unit 306, the order change unit 307, the position change unit 308, and a mark display unit 310 to be described later function together as a display control unit.
Further, the order acquisition unit 304 and the position information acquisition unit 305 collectively function as an arrangement information acquisition unit.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout screen 500 displayed on the display device 205 by the host computer 100 according to the present embodiment executing a layout application.
A layout screen 500 of the layout application according to the present embodiment includes first layout areas 503 and 504 that display a document layout in units of pages and considering overlapping of objects included in the pages. Furthermore, the layout screen 500 includes second layout areas 505 and 506 for representing the overlapping order of objects included in the pages displayed in the first layout areas 503 and 504.

  Further, the layout screen 500 shown in FIG. 5A includes an object selection button 501. When the object selection button 501 is clicked with the mouse 204, for example, a file selection dialog provided by the OS is displayed as means for designating an object to be arranged.

  The user can select a desired object (for example, an image file) from a storage device such as the hard disk 203 as an object to be added to the layout as a normal file selection operation in the GUI-based OS.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5A, image objects A to F (507, 508, 509, 510, 515, 516) are selected. The image objects A to D (507, 508, 509, 510) are provided in the layout areas 503 and 505 on the first page, and the image objects E to F (515, 516) are provided on the layout areas 504 and 506 on the second page. Is laid out. Reference numeral 519 denotes a page number.

  For example, an object for which an object selection button 501 is clicked and a selection instruction is given from the file selection dialog can be processed as being arranged in the layout area of the page selected at that time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing in which the host computer 100 according to the present embodiment displays the second layout area of the layout screen.
The second layout area representing the overlap and position of the objects is displayed based on the object arrangement information (information on the order of overlap, position and display size).

  Here, it is assumed that the layout application displays the layout screen 500 shown in FIG. 5A at startup, and the user arranges the image objects A to F as shown in FIG. 5A. In the order acquisition step of S401, the data control unit 302 uses the order acquisition unit 304 to acquire the overlapping order of the objects arranged on the first layout areas 503 and 504. The data storage control unit 303 uses the storage unit 311 to acquire information regarding the overlapping order of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504 via the data control unit 302 and stores the information in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203.

  In the position acquisition step of S402, the data control unit 302 uses the position information acquisition unit 305 to acquire the position and display size of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504. The data storage control unit 303 uses the storage unit 311 to acquire information on the positions and display sizes of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504 via the data control unit 302, and stores them in the RAM 202 and the hard disk 203. Remember.

  In the screen creation process of S403, the data control unit 302 displays the second layout areas 505 and 506 based on the object arrangement information stored in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203 by the sequential position display unit 306.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the first layout areas 503 and 504 shown above the layout screen 500 in this embodiment represent an image of each page viewed from above. That is, the objects arranged on each page are displayed so that only the area where the other objects do not overlap is visible for each object in consideration of the overlap.

  In addition, the second layout areas 505 and 506 are areas for clearly indicating the vertical relationship or overlapping order of objects included in the corresponding first layout areas 503 and 504. The second layout areas 505 and 506 represent each object by a simple graphic, and in particular, by displaying the graphic representing each object in order in the vertical direction so that the overlapping order is clear, the page is displayed. Is presented as if viewed from the side. In the present embodiment, the first layout areas 503 and 504 and the second layout areas 505 and 506 have the same size and are aligned vertically. As a result, the horizontal display positions of the objects displayed in the first and second layout areas 503, 505 or 504, 506 corresponding to the same page and the corresponding graphic correspond to each other. Cheap.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the first layout area and the second layout area are displayed on the same layout screen 500 is described. Not limited to this, the first layout area and the second layout area may be displayed on different screens.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the databases 600 and 601 used when the storage unit 311 stores the object arrangement information in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203 in the present embodiment. 6A corresponds to the layout areas 503 and 505 for the first page, and FIG. 6B corresponds to the layout areas 504 and 506 for the second page.

  The order position display unit 306 of the data control unit 302 includes a file D, a file B, a file C, and a file in the order of overlapping of the image objects A to D in the first layout area 503 of the first page from the database 600 in order from the foreground. Get A. Further, the order position display unit 306 acquires information on the position and size of each object. Specifically, the position x of the object with respect to the upper left end of the layout area (for example, the horizontal coordinate of the top left vertex of the object if the object is a rectangle like an image taken by a camera) is acquired. Also, the vertical width d (size in the vertical direction) based on the uppermost end of the object and the horizontal width w (size in the horizontal direction) based on the leftmost end of the object are acquired. The position of the object may be another position such as a horizontal coordinate of the center of gravity. The unit of these positions and widths is, for example, a pixel.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which an object is represented by a line based on the width w of the object and displayed in the second layout area. Similarly, it is also possible to display the object in the second layout area by using the vertical width d to represent the object as a line. Note that when the vertical width d is used, the overlapping order may be from the right or left to the forefront in the second layout area. Furthermore, it may be switched in response to the user's instruction whether the second layout area is represented by horizontal width or vertical width. Thereby, since a view can be changed according to the shape of an object, it becomes easier for the user to visually recognize the overlap.

  In the second layout area 505, the objects acquired from the database 600 are simply displayed in order from the foreground in the form of a figure having a size determined by the position and size of the object in the horizontal direction from the top. Here, an example is shown in which a line having a length determined by the position and size of the object in the horizontal direction is a figure used for simple display.

  Therefore, the file D, which is an object arranged in the foreground, is represented by a line 511 displayed at the top of the layout area 505. The lines 512 to 514 shown at substantially equal intervals below the file C, file B, and file A.

  Note that the order position display unit 306 preferably displays not only the object as a line but also the information indicating the content of the object represented by the line in association with the line. As specific examples of information representing the contents of an object, a file name, a thumbnail image (in the case of an image object), or a part or all of a text (in the case of a text object) may be displayed in association with a line.

  Also for the layout area 504 of the second page, the order position display unit 306 acquires the order information and position information of the objects from the database 601 and displays the layout area 506 as in the first page.

  Further, since both the line 511 and the line 517 are at the forefront on each page, they are displayed so that the vertical heights in the layout area are equal. Note that the interval between lines for indicating the order of overlapping of objects may be changed according to the size of the layout area and the number of objects.

(Modification 1)
FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout screen 500 ′ according to the first modification of the present embodiment.
As shown in the layout area 505 in FIG. 5B, the order position display unit 306 can also display the simple display of objects in the second layout areas 505 and 506 with a graphic other than a line. In the example shown in FIG. 5B, each object is represented by a rectangle (for example, a rectangle in which a pair of opposite sides extend in the horizontal direction) 511 ′ to 514 ′, 517 ′, and 518 ′, and the file name is displayed in the rectangle. . The rectangular display position may be the same as the lines 511 to 514, 517, and 518 shown in FIG. 5A.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout screen 500 ″ according to the second modification of the present embodiment.
In this modification, in addition to the image objects A to F shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a text object 523 (“Kagasho”) is arranged in the forefront of the layout area 504 on the second page. Also, the line 512 corresponding to the image object C has been moved to the left.
In the case of a text object, the position and width of the object can be handled as the position of the top left vertex of the rectangular text box and the horizontal width.

In the example of FIG. 5C, since the text object 523 is disposed in the foreground, the display positions of the lines 517 and 518 representing the image objects F and E are lowered by one step as compared with FIG. 5A.
The text object is displayed with a line 525 having the width of the character string as in the case of the image object, and information indicating the contents of the object in association with the line 525 (part or all of the text contents). May be displayed. In the example of FIG. 5C, an example in which the entire text is displayed beside the line 525 is shown.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the second layout area representing the order of overlapping of the objects is provided together with the first layout area for displaying the document layout in page units in consideration of the overlapping of the objects. In the second layout area, the graphics corresponding to each object are sequentially arranged and displayed in the vertical direction according to the order of overlap, so that the order of overlap can be clearly grasped.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The basic configuration of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Since the feature of the present embodiment is that the display of the layout area is updated in response to a user operation, common description will be omitted, and operations characteristic of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the user performs an operation in the layout area of the layout screen 500, particularly in the second layout areas 505 and 506 here.
Here, it is assumed that the line 512 representing the object C is operated in the second layout area 505. The operation can be performed by dragging the line 512 with the mouse 204. Then, it is assumed that dragging in the horizontal direction on the left and right is a movement in the horizontal direction, and a movement in the vertical direction beyond an adjacent figure representing another object is a movement that changes the overlapping order.

  For example, an operation of selecting the line 511 with a mouse and dropping it between the lines 513 and 514 is an operation of changing the overlapping order between the object A and the object B without changing the position of the object D. . As a result of this operation, the display of the second layout area 505 is changed, and in the first layout area 503, a display reflecting the changed object arrangement is required.

  First, in step S <b> 701, the GUI control unit 301 checks whether or not an operation for a graphic representing an object has been performed in the second layout areas 505 and 506 in the layout screen 500. If there is no operation, the check is repeated.

  When an operation is detected in S701, the GUI control unit 301 notifies the data control unit 302 of information representing the operation content in S702. Specifically, for example, it is notified which figure is moved in which direction and how much (operation target figure, movement direction, and movement amount). The data control unit 302 notifies the data storage control unit 303 of information representing these operation details. The data storage control unit 303 uses the storage unit 311 to update the object arrangement information stored in the databases 600 and 601 based on the information indicating the operation content.

  For example, it is assumed that an operation of moving the line 512 to the left by 37 pixels in the second layout area 505 of the layout screen 500 illustrated in FIG. 5A is performed. In this case, the storage unit 311 updates the value of “position from the left of the layout” of the image object C (image file C) corresponding to the line 512 in FIG. An example of the contents of the updated database 700 is shown in FIG.

  Further, it is assumed that an operation for moving the line 511 downward by an amount located somewhere between the lines 513 and 514 is performed. This corresponds to an operation of changing the overlapping order of the objects D from the foreground between the objects A and B. Accordingly, the position of the object arrangement information of the file D in FIG. 6A is updated to the second line from the bottom. An example of the contents of the updated database 701 is shown in FIG.

When the update of the object arrangement information by the storage unit 311 is completed, the data storage control unit 303 notifies the data control unit 302 accordingly.
In step S <b> 703, the data control unit 302 uses the order change unit 307 and the position change unit 308 to update the overlapping order of objects in the first and second layout areas 503 to 506 based on the information in the database 700 or 701. Display with the position changed.

It is assumed that the user clicks and selects the line 512 with the mouse 204 in the second layout area 505 in the state of FIG. 5A and drags and moves it to the left pixel to change the arrangement of the image object C.
In this case, FIG. 9A shows a layout screen 702 updated by the order changing unit 307 and the position changing unit 308 by the above-described processing.

  In the database 700, the order of the image objects is the order of the file D, the file C, the file B, and the file A in the order from the forefront, so that the first layout area 503 'is also displayed in such an order. Further, the display position of each image object reflects the information stored in the database 700 and the information about the height and width.

  In addition, in the second layout area 505 in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that an operation for moving the line 511 downward by an amount located somewhere between the line 513 and the line 514 is performed. In this case, the layout screen 704 updated by the order changing unit 307 and the position changing unit 308 in S703 based on the updated database (FIG. 8B) is as shown in FIG. 9B.

  In the database 701, the order of the image objects is the order of the image file C, the image file B, the image file D, and the image file A in the order from the foreground. In addition, the display position of each image object reflects the information stored in the database 701 and the vertical and horizontal width information.

  In this way, the user changes the position and the vertical relationship of the graphic corresponding to the object displayed in the second layout areas 505 and 506, thereby overlapping the order and position of the objects in the first layout area 503. Can be changed. In particular, when it is desired to change the overlapping order and position of objects that are difficult to see in the first layout area 503, the possibility of selection errors is reduced, and an easy operation is possible.

  Further, when a large number of objects overlap, it may be difficult to change to the desired overlapping order only with an image viewed from above, such as the first layout region 503. However, according to the present embodiment, in the second layout area 505, the graphic representing each object is arranged and displayed in the vertical direction according to the overlapping order of the objects. Therefore, even if there are many overlapping objects, the user can change the desired objects to the desired order without hesitation.

(Modification 1)
The layout screen of the layout application of this embodiment has a configuration for displaying a layout area for two pages. In the description so far, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, the position of an object existing on the same page and the change of the overlapping order have been described. However, objects can be laid out on different pages.

  In the layout screen 500 shown in FIG. 5A, the user moves the line 511 from the second layout area 505 on the first page to between the lines 517 and 518 in the second layout area 506 on the second page. Suppose you went. Also in this case, the processing can be performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 702, the storage unit 311 determines the destination of the line 511 from the information indicating the operation content given through the GUI control unit 301 and the data control unit 302 and the object arrangement information stored in the databases 600 and 601. Can be determined.

  Specifically, the storage unit 311 stores the position of each layout area in the hard disk 203, and the line 511 is stored in the second layout area 506 based on the position information, the movement direction, and the movement amount of the moved line 511. Determine that it has entered. Then, the storage unit 311 calculates the position of the line 511 after movement from the original position, movement direction, and movement amount of the line 511 and the position information of the second layout area 506 that is the movement destination.

  As a result, it can be seen that the line 511 has been moved between the lines 517 and 518 of the second layout area 506 of the second page, and the contents of the databases 600 and 601 are updated to reflect this movement.

  Accordingly, the contents of the databases 600 and 601 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B are updated to the contents of the databases 800 and 801 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, for example.

  In step S <b> 703, the data control unit 302 uses the order change unit 307 and the position change unit 308 to update the display of objects in the first and second layout areas based on the updated information in the databases 800 and 801. FIG. 11 shows an example of the updated layout screen 802. The display of the first layout areas 803 and 804 and the second layout areas 805 and 806 is updated, and the image object D corresponding to the line 511 is between the image objects E 515 and F 516 of the first page to the second page. Has been moved to.

  In the first and second embodiments, the horizontal movement operation of the figures in the second layout areas 505, 506, 805, and 806 is performed in the horizontal direction in the first layout areas 503, 504, 803, and 804. It is a movement and does not move in the vertical direction.

  For example, an operation for moving a figure in the left-right direction while a specific key on the keyboard is pressed can be configured to be regarded as a movement operation in the up-down direction in the first layout area. However, it is easier to move the object in the page (moving in the x and y directions) in the first layout area that provides an image viewed from above. In the embodiment, the second layout areas 505, 506, 805, and 806 are provided mainly for the purpose of facilitating grasping and changing the overlapping order of objects. For this reason, it is considered that the operability of the user does not deteriorate even if the movement operation of the object in all directions is not necessarily supported in the second layout area.

(Third embodiment)
Next, an information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The basic configuration of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Since the feature of the present embodiment is that the display of the layout area is updated in response to a user operation, common description will be omitted, and operations characteristic of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

  The present embodiment is characterized in that the layout area is displayed so that the user can easily grasp the presence of an object that is completely hidden by another object. Therefore, the configuration related to the features of the present embodiment will be described below.

  For example, in the layout application, it is assumed that the newly selected object is arranged on the rearmost surface. Then, when a new image object J is selected on the layout screen 500 shown in FIG. 5A, the image object J is small and is completely hidden by the other objects A to D already existing in the first layout area 503. Suppose.

  When a new object is selected, it is registered in the databases 600 and 601, and the process shown in FIG. 4 is executed to update the display of the second layout area.

  In the order acquisition step of S401, the data control unit 302 uses the order acquisition unit 304 to acquire the overlapping order of the objects arranged on the first layout areas 503 and 504. The order acquisition unit 304 can acquire the overlapping order including objects that are completely hidden by other objects and are not displayed in the first layout area. The data storage control unit 303 uses the storage unit 311 to acquire information regarding the overlapping order of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504 via the data control unit 302 and stores the information in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203.

  In the position acquisition step of S402, the data control unit 302 uses the position information acquisition unit 305 to acquire the position and display size of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504. The position information acquisition unit 305 can acquire the positions and display sizes of all objects including objects that are completely hidden by other objects and are not displayed in the first layout area. The data storage control unit 303 uses the storage unit 311 to acquire information on the positions and display sizes of the objects arranged in the first layout areas 503 and 504 via the data control unit 302, and stores them in the RAM 202 and the hard disk 203. Remember.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of the contents of the database 904 updated through the processing up to S402. The database 904 stores object arrangement information in the layout area 503 of the first page. Since it is not used in the description of the present embodiment, the database corresponding to the layout area of the second page is not shown in FIG. 13, but the same contents as the database 601 shown in FIG. 6B are stored. .

  In the screen creation process of S403, the data control unit 302 displays the second layout areas 902 and 506 based on the object arrangement information stored in the RAM 202 or the hard disk 203 by the sequential position display unit 306 (FIG. 12).

  Next, the determination unit 309 determines from the object arrangement information stored in the database 904 whether each object except the object arranged in the foreground is completely hidden by other objects.

  This determination can be done in any way.For example, the area covered by all other objects in front of the object to be determined is determined, and the object to be determined is completely included in the area. What is necessary is just to discriminate | determine.

  As a result, it is determined that the file J is completely hidden. In response to this, the mark display unit 310 as the display method changing unit clearly indicates that the file J is hidden in the second layout area 902.

  Specifically, the display color and display method (such as brightness and blinking) of the graphic 903 corresponding to the completely hidden object may be different from the graphic (lines 511 to 514) corresponding to other objects. it can.

  Alternatively, in addition to changing the display method of the graphic 903 itself, an additional display associated with the graphic 903, for example, a mark such as “●” can be displayed near the graphic 903.

  In the layout screen 900 shown in FIG. 12, the image file J is completely hidden by other objects in the first layout area 503. Therefore, in the corresponding second layout area 902, the mark “●” as an additional display is displayed before the figure 903 representing the image file J, so that the image file J is completely hidden by other objects. It is clearly stated.

  This allows the user to delete completely hidden objects if they are not needed, or to change the layout so that at least some of them can be seen by changing the order of overlap or moving the position, etc. Can take action.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an object that is completely hidden by another object is determined, and the object that is completely hidden is clearly indicated in the display area indicating the order of overlapping of the objects. Therefore, the user can easily and accurately grasp the presence of the completely hidden object, and can take an appropriate action. This is particularly useful when there are many objects.

(Other embodiments)
The above-described embodiment can also be realized in software by a computer of a system or apparatus (or CPU, MPU, etc.).

  Therefore, the computer program itself supplied to the computer in order to implement the above-described embodiment by 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. 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.

  The computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment is supplied to the computer by a recording medium on which the program is recorded or by wired / wireless communication. Examples of computer-readable recording media for supplying programs include magnetic storage media such as flexible disks, hard disks, and magnetic tapes, optical / magneto-optical storage media such as MO, CD, and DVD, and non-volatile semiconductor memories. There is.

  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 the computer program for realizing the above-described embodiment is encrypted and distributed is distributed, and key information for decrypting is supplied to a user who satisfies a predetermined condition, and the user's computer Installation may be allowed. 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.

It is a figure which shows an example of the use condition of the host computer as an example of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a host computer 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the layout application which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the process in which the host computer 100 of this embodiment displays the 2nd layout area | region of a layout screen. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen which the host computer 100 which concerns on embodiment of this invention displays by running a layout application. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen in the modification 1 of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen in the modification 2 of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a database used when the storage unit 311 stores object arrangement information in the embodiment of the present invention. 14 is a flowchart for describing processing when a user performs an operation on second layout areas 505 and 506 in the second embodiment of the present invention. In the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the example of the content of the database updated when the user performed operation in the 2nd layout area | regions 505,506. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen displayed based on the database shown to Fig.8 (a) in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen displayed based on the database shown in FIG.8 (b) in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the database updated by the user's operation in the 2nd layout area | regions 505 and 506 in the modification 1 of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a layout screen displayed based on the database shown in FIG. 10 in Modification 1 of the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the layout screen displayed in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of a database updated by a user performing an operation on second layout areas 505 and 506 in the third embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

Display control means for displaying a first layout region for arranging a plurality of objects on a display device;
Object arrangement information acquisition means for acquiring object arrangement information, which is information relating to the order of overlapping of the plurality of objects arranged in the first layout area, and the position and size of each of the plurality of objects;
Storing means for storing the object arrangement information in a storage device;
The display control means arranges a plurality of figures representing the plurality of objects in the vertical direction of the second layout region in accordance with the overlapping order of the plurality of objects in the object arrangement information stored in the storage device. An information processing apparatus that further displays the second layout area.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graphic is a line or a rectangle having a length corresponding to a size of the corresponding object. A detecting means for detecting a user operation for moving any of the plurality of figures displayed in the second layout area;
In response to the detected user operation, the storage unit updates the object arrangement information stored in the storage device,
3. The information according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit updates display of the first layout area and the second layout area in accordance with the updated object arrangement information. Processing equipment. A discriminating means for discriminating an object that is completely hidden by other objects among the plurality of objects;
4. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit clearly indicates in the second layout area an object determined to be completely hidden by another object by the determination unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims.   The display control means includes a display method of the graphic corresponding to the object determined to be completely hidden by the other object by the determination means, and a display method of the graphic corresponding to the other object. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus is made different.   5. The display control unit according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit performs a predetermined additional display on the graphic corresponding to the object determined to be completely hidden by another object by the determination unit. Information processing device. A display control step of displaying a first layout area for arranging a plurality of objects on a display device;
An object arrangement information acquisition step of acquiring object arrangement information, which is information related to the order of overlap of the plurality of objects arranged in the first layout area, and the position and size of each of the plurality of objects;
A storage step of storing the object arrangement information in a storage device;
The display control step arranges a plurality of figures representing the plurality of objects in the vertical direction of the second layout area according to the overlapping order of the plurality of objects in the object arrangement information stored in the storage device. An information processing method characterized by further displaying the second layout area.   A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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