JP2009080819A - Information processing apparatus and method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make application data created by a general application open in a layout application by a simpler operation. <P>SOLUTION: The general application is started (S801) to create application data B (S802). Then, a printing procedure is started. When an electronic original writer is designated as a printing destination here, the electronic original writer 102 is started, and the application data B is converted into a book file B in the form of an electronic original (step S804). Meanwhile, a layout application 104 which makes the existing book file A open and displays the existing book file A adds the converted book file B to the book file A to display the book file B (S807). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a document processing technique that provides a data conversion function when handing over document data to another program.

  Conventionally, when application data created by a general document creation application (general application) is opened by a layout application that performs layout processing for printing, a dedicated printer driver format is created from the general application according to the print processing operation procedure. A document data file is created by a data conversion program, and this document data file is inserted into a layout application from a desktop screen provided by the OS (for example, by drag and drop operation). If the original document data document is closed, a drop operation is performed from the OS desktop screen, the document data file is converted in accordance with this operation, and inserted into the layout application. there were.

  In any case, in order to open the application data in the layout application, it is necessary to go through an operation on the OS desktop screen, and cannot be opened directly from the application screen. Since the application data cannot be opened directly to the layout application from the state of the screen, a two-stage operation is eventually required.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable application data created by a general application to be inserted into a layout application with a simpler operation.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus capable of executing an application program for creating application data and an electronic manuscript writer for creating manuscript data based on the application data. Receiving means for receiving the first original data, and display control means for displaying the first original data by receiving the first original data by the receiving means. The receiving means is based on the second application data. When the second document data is received, the display control means displays the second document data in addition to the first document data or displays the first document data depending on the selected display mode. Displaying the second document data in a window different from the displayed window. The information processing apparatus is provided which is characterized.

  According to the present invention, application data created by a general application can be displayed on a layout application in a format desired by a user.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, an outline of a document processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this document processing system, a data file created by a general application is converted into an electronic document file by an electronic document writer. The layout application provides a function for editing the electronic document file. Details will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the document processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  This document processing system is realized by a digital computer 100 which is a preferred embodiment of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The general application 101 is an application program that provides functions such as word processing, spreadsheet, photo retouching, drawing or painting, presentation, and text editing, and has a printing function. These application programs use a predetermined interface provided by an operating system (OS) when printing application data such as created document data and image data. In other words, the application 101 transmits an OS-dependent output command (GDI function) to the OS output module that provides the interface in order to print the created data. Upon receiving this output command, the output module converts the command into a format that can be processed by an output device such as a printer, and outputs the converted command (DDI function). Since the format that can be processed by this output device varies depending on the type, manufacturer, model, etc., a device driver is provided for each device, and the OS uses that device driver to convert commands. The print data is generated by, and a print job is generated by enclosing with JL (Job Language). For example, when using Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation as the OS, a module called GDI (Graphic Device Interface) corresponds to the output module described above.

  The electronic document writer 102 is an improvement of the above-described device driver, and is a software module provided for realizing the document processing system. However, the electronic document writer 102 is not intended for a specific output device, and generates an electronic document file 103 by converting an output command into a format that can be processed by a layout application 104 or a printer driver 106 described later. The format converted by the electronic document writer 102 (hereinafter referred to as “electronic document format”) is not particularly limited as long as a document in units of pages can be expressed in a detailed format. Among substantial standard formats, for example, a PDF format by Adobe Systems, an SGML format, or the like can be adopted as an electronic document format.

  When the application 101 uses the electronic document writer 102, the electronic document writer 102 is designated as a device driver used for output, and printing is executed. However, the electronic document file as created by the electronic document writer 102 does not have a complete format as the electronic document file. For this reason, the layout application 104 designates the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver, and conversion of application data into an electronic document file is executed under the management of the layout application 104.

  The layout application 104 completes the new incomplete electronic document file generated by the electronic document writer 102 as an electronic document file having a format to be described later. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to clearly identify this point, a file created by the electronic manuscript writer 102 is referred to as an “electronic manuscript file”, and an electronic manuscript file given a structure by the layout application 104 is referred to as a “book”. Called “File”. If there is no need to distinguish between them, a document file, an electronic document file, and a book file generated by an application are all referred to as a document file (or document data).

  In this way, by specifying the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver and printing the data by the general application 101, the application data is referred to as a page defined by the application 101 (hereinafter referred to as “logical page” or “document page”). ) And is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk as the electronic document file 103. The hard disk may be a local drive included in a computer that implements the document processing system according to the present embodiment, or may be a drive provided on the network when connected to the network. good.

  The layout application 104 reads the “electronic document file” or “book file” 103 and provides the user with a function for editing the file. However, the layout application 104 does not provide a function for editing the contents of each page, but provides a function for editing the structure of a chapter or book, which will be described later, configured with a page as a minimum unit.

  When the book file 103 edited by the layout application 104 is printed, the electronic document despooler 105 is activated by the layout application 104. The electronic manuscript despooler 105 reads out a designated book file from the hard disk and generates an output command suitable for the OS output module described above in order to print each page in the format described in the book file. Output to the output module shown. At that time, the printer driver 106 for the printer 107 used as the output device is designated as the device driver. Then, the output module uses the printer driver 106 of the designated printer 107 to convert the received output command into a device command that can be interpreted and executed by the printer 107. The device command is transmitted to the printer 107, and an image corresponding to the command is printed by the printer 107.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the digital computer 100 shown in FIG.

  2, the CPU 201 executes programs such as the OS, the general application 101, and the layout application 104 stored in the program ROM of the ROM 203 or loaded from the hard disk 211 to the RAM 202, and the software configuration shown in FIG. The procedure of the flowchart is realized. A RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls key input from the keyboard 209 and input from a pointing device (not shown) such as a mouse. A CRT controller (CRTC) 206 controls display on the display unit 210. The display unit 210 is not limited to a CRT, and may be a liquid crystal, plasma, or the like. A disk controller (DKC) 207 accesses a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, a hard disk (HD) 211 that stores an edit file (to be described later), a flexible disk (FD) (not shown), and the like. To control. The PRTC 208 controls the exchange of signals with the connected printer 107. The NC 212 is connected to the network and executes communication control processing with other devices connected to the network.

  Next, a procedure for creating a book file by the layout application 104 and the electronic document writer 102 will be described. The creation of the book file is realized as part of the book file editing operation by the layout application 104.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure when a book file is opened by the layout application 104 according to the present embodiment.

  First, in step S701, it is determined whether the book file to be opened is to be newly created or is an existing one. In the case of new creation, the process advances to step S702 to create a new book file that does not include chapters. This newly created book file, as shown in the example of FIG. 3, is a book node having only the book node 301 and having no link to the chapter node. As a book attribute in this case, a set of attributes prepared in advance for new creation is applied. In step S704, a user interface (UI) screen for editing a new book file is displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI screen when a book file is newly created. In this case, since the book file has no substantial content, nothing is displayed on the UI screen 1100.

  On the other hand, if there is an existing book file in step S701, the process proceeds to step S703, where the designated book file is opened, and a user interface (UI) screen is displayed according to the structure, attributes, and contents of the book file.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the displayed UI screen.

  The UI screen 1100 includes a tree portion 1101 that shows the book structure and a preview portion 1102 that displays the printed state. In the tree portion 1101, chapters included in the book and pages included in each chapter are displayed in a tree structure (tree display). A page number is displayed in the tree portion 1101, and this page number indicates the number of the original page. In the preview area 1102, the contents of the print page are reduced and displayed. The display order reflects the structure of the book.

  Now, application data converted into an electronic manuscript file by the electronic manuscript writer 102 can be added to the opened book file as a new chapter. This function is called “electronic document import function”. Conventionally, this function is activated by dragging and dropping application data to a layout application on a desktop screen provided by the OS.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of conventional electronic document import. The flow on the left side of the thick line a represents the processing of the general application 101, the flow between the thick lines a and b represents the processing of the OS, and the flow on the right side of the thick line b represents the processing of the layout application 104.

  First, the general application 101 is activated (step S601). Application data B is created by this general application (step S602) and stored (step S603). On the other hand, the layout application 104 is activated (step S604), and for example, the existing book file A is opened and displayed (step S605). An example of the display mode of the UI screen is as shown in FIG.

  In this state, the application data B saved in step S603 is dropped on the UI screen displaying the book file A (step S606). Then, the layout application 104 converts the application data B into an electronic document format book file B using the electronic document writer 102 (step S607). Then, the converted book file B is added to the currently displayed book file A and displayed (step S608), and the book file A and the book file B are combined to generate the book file AB (step S608). S609).

  Conventional electronic document import processing is generally as described above. To add application data created by the general application 101 to a book file in the layout application 104 in this way, application data is displayed on the desktop screen provided by the OS. As described above, it is necessary to add to the UI screen or icon of the layout application 104 by a drag-and-drop operation, and the addition operation cannot be performed directly from the screen on the general application 101.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure for importing an electronic document in the embodiment, and displays application data as a new file on the layout application 104. The left side of the central thick line a represents processing of the general application 101, and the right side represents processing of the layout application 104.

  First, the general application 101 is activated (step S701), and application data A is created (step S702). When the creation work is completed, a printing procedure is started based on a keyboard or mouse instruction from the user. In the embodiment, the electronic document writer 102 can be designated as a print destination (output destination) instead of a normal printer driver. Here, when the electronic document writer 102 is designated as a printing destination, the electronic document writer 102 is activated, and the application data A is converted into an electronic document format book file A (step S704). That is, the user can perform conversion to the book file A in the manner of printing the application data A.

  By the way, before the execution of step S704, on the setting screen of the electronic manuscript writer 102, “new creation” for newly creating the converted book file or “additional reading” for adding to the existing book file is performed. Either can be selected. Here, “new creation” is selected (step S703). Of course, if the user knows in advance that “new creation” is set, there is no need to open the setting screen.

  Thereafter, when the layout application 104 is activated (step S705), the layout application 104 opens the book file A converted in step S704 and displays it on the UI screen (step S706). Note that the layout application 104 in step S705 may be activated automatically in accordance with the execution of step S704, or may be activated based on a user instruction.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure for importing an electronic document in the embodiment, in which application data is added to a book file that has already been opened by the layout application 104. As in FIG. 7, the left side of the central thick line a represents the processing of the general application 101, and the right side represents the processing of the layout application 104.

  First, the general application 101 is activated (step S801), and application data B is created (step S802). When the creation work is completed, a printing procedure is started based on a keyboard or mouse instruction from the user. In the embodiment, the electronic document writer 102 can be designated as a printing destination instead of a normal printer driver. Here, when the electronic document writer 102 is designated as the printing destination, the electronic document writer 102 is activated, and the application data B is converted into the book file B in the electronic document format (step S804). That is, as in FIG. 7, the user can convert the application data B into the book file B in the manner of printing the application data B.

  Here, before execution of step S804, an output setting screen of the electronic document writer 102 is separately provided (this screen is a property setting screen of the electronic document writer 102, and a normal printer driver property screen is displayed by the same operation. ”),“ Additional reading ”that specifies the document addition mode is set instead of“ new creation ”that specifies the new creation mode. Of course, if the user knows in advance that “additional reading” is set, there is no need to open the setting screen. Therefore, in step S804, the electronic document writer 102 determines whether the new creation mode or the document addition mode is selected as the output setting.

  On the other hand, the layout application 104 is activated (step S805), and for example, the existing book file A is opened and displayed (step S806). An example of the display mode of the UI screen is as shown in FIG.

  If the document addition mode is selected in step S804, the layout application 104 further acquires the book file B converted in step S804 from the electronic document writer 102, adds it to the book file A, and displays it ( In step S807, the book file A and the book file B are combined to generate the book file AB (step S808). If the new creation mode is designated in step S804, the electronic document writer 102 passes the converted and generated book file B to the layout application 104 and notifies the layout application 104 of the new creation mode. The layout application 104 notified of the new creation mode recognizes it as a new book, and displays the book file B passed from the electronic document writer 102 as a new book in a window separate from the existing book file A. To do.

  In this way, the application data is automatically added to the book file opened in the layout application 104 through the printing operation in the general application 101. According to this, the operation of dropping application data on the desktop screen of the OS becomes unnecessary, and the file insertion operation in the layout application 104 becomes very simple.

  When the layout application 104 has already been started when step S804 is executed and a plurality of book files have been opened, a UI screen that allows the user to select a book file to be inserted is displayed. Is preferred. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a UI screen for allowing the user to select a book file. As shown in the figure, already opened book files are listed. However, the book file associated with the operation such as opening another dialog in the layout application 104 is not listed because it cannot be read additionally. When one book file is selected from among the listed book files, the book file B is added to the book file.

  In addition, when the electronic document writer 102 is set to “additional reading” as described above, if the layout application 104 has not been activated at the time of executing step S804, the layout application 104 is not activated. 4 displays the new screen shown in FIG. 4, and then “additionally reads” the book file B passed in step S804. As a result, the layout application 104 is started with “new creation”. It becomes the same as the case of.

  Further, when a book file is added, when a book file including a page exceeding the size that can be handled by the layout application 104 is added, it is preferable to have a function of reducing the page to a size that can be handled. is there. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the page reduction function in the embodiment. As illustrated, when the maximum size that the layout application 104 can handle is A3, the page size of the book file to be added is It shows that it is reduced only to those exceeding A3.

  As described above, according to the embodiment, application data can be inserted into the layout application directly from the general application screen without going through the OS desktop screen. The number of steps is reduced and productivity can be expected to improve.

(Other embodiments)
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the present invention can take an embodiment as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. Including the case where it is also achieved by. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, the form does not need to be a program.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the scope of the claims of the present invention includes the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the claims of the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the software structure of the document processing system in embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example which implement | achieves the document processing system of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure which opens a book file. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen at the time of opening a new book file. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen at the time of opening the existing book file. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the conventional electronic original import. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for electronic document import in the embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for electronic document import in the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of UI screen for making a user select a book file. It is a figure explaining the reduction function of a page in an embodiment.

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus capable of executing an application program for creating application data and an electronic document writer for creating document data based on the application data,
Receiving means for receiving first document data based on the first application data;
Display control means for displaying the first original data by receiving the first original data by the receiving means;
When the receiving unit receives second document data based on the second application data, the display control unit displays the second document data in addition to the first document data according to the selected display mode. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus displays the second document data in a window different from the window in which the first document data is displayed.   When the second original data is displayed in addition to the first original data, the apparatus further includes a generating unit that generates combined data in which the first original data and the second original data are combined. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus capable of executing an application program for creating application data and an electronic document writer for creating document data based on the application data,
A receiving step for receiving first document data based on the first application data;
A display control step of displaying the first document data by receiving the first document data in the reception step,
When the second document data based on the second application data is received in the receiving step, the display control step displays the second document data in addition to the first document data according to the selected display mode. Alternatively, the second document data is displayed in a window different from the window in which the first document data is displayed.   When the second document data is displayed in addition to the first document data, the method further includes a generation step of generating combined data in which the first document data and the second document data are combined. The information processing method according to claim 3. An information processing apparatus capable of executing an application program for creating application data and an electronic document writer for creating document data based on the application data,
Receiving means for receiving first document data based on the first application data;
Display control means for displaying the first original data by receiving the first original data by the receiving means;
A control program for functioning as
When the receiving unit receives second document data based on the second application data, the display control unit displays the second document data in addition to the first document data according to the selected display mode. Or a control program for displaying the second document data in a window different from the window in which the first document data is displayed. The information processing apparatus is further
When displaying the second original data in addition to the first original data, the second original data is made to function as a generating unit that generates combined data in which the first original data and the second original data are combined. The control program according to claim 5.

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