JP2020042702A - Information processor and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a mechanism for setting control operation for displaying a symbol image on a screen for the first time when it is necessary for the work of a user using an information processor.SOLUTION: A gadget management section 12 holds information of a trigger to display each gadget and a trigger to disable display. A display control section 18 displays the gadget on a screen when the trigger for displaying the gadget which is not displayed is detected. A gadget setting processing section 14 displays the gadget selected by a user as a trigger to be set on the screen. When the user drops the other icon to the gadget on the screen, object information corresponding to the icon is extracted as information identifying an object to be operated in trigger operation for displaying the gadget on the screen and registered in the gadget management section 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program.

  It is well known that a representation image (for example, an icon or a gadget) for calling a process frequently used by a user is arranged on a screen and the user selects a desired one from a group of the representation images.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a file management device that allows a user to easily find a newly arrived file when the file arrives in a file storage unit. The file management device detects that a file has been stored in a folder to be monitored, and generates and stores new file history information that is history information regarding new arrival of a file in a folder. The file management device displays the folder on the new arrival notification window, and when the displayed folder is selected, a list of files stored in the selected folder based on the new arrival file history information. Then, a new display file list in which the storage of this file in the folder is arranged in the newest order is created. Then, the file management device displays the newly displayed file list on the file list display window.

  In the system disclosed in Patent Document 2, the icon with which the group interacts resides on the desktop of each group member, and has a number of attributes including a click activation mode and a drag and drop function. The icon provides each group member with a representation of the group's shared relationship. Any group member can change the group icon and communicate the change to computers of other members of the group. The icon can perform non-verbal and verbal communication, and can be activated for activity sharing. Online members of the group are continuously informed of the status and activity of the group via the displayed status bar.

  The display device disclosed in Patent Literature 3 stores a living information distribution unit that receives living information to which attribute information is added through a network and distributes the information to a dwelling unit intercom, and a predetermined living information list from a plurality of living information. The dwell unit intercom determines attribute information of the delivered living information, and displays a living information list incorporating the living information on a monitor screen, or And a display control unit for selecting whether to immediately display individual articles.

JP 2012-73854 A JP-A-2004-21995 JP 2012-134763 A

  A well-known mechanism for arranging symbolic images (for example, icons and gadgets) of applications and folders frequently used by a user on a screen such as a desktop screen and for allowing the user to select the image. With this type of mechanism, when the number of representation images arranged on the screen increases, it becomes difficult for the user to select a representation image that the user wants to operate, or it is easy to select an incorrect representation image.

  As one method for suppressing the number of symbolic images to be displayed on the screen, control of displaying the symbolic images on the screen only when necessary according to the progress of the user's work can be considered. However, there has been no example of performing such control, and no proposal has been made as to what setting is to be performed to enable such control.

  The present invention provides a mechanism for setting a control operation for controlling a display of a symbolic image corresponding to the work on a screen only when the work is required by a user using the information processing apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 1, wherein a representation selection receiving means for receiving selection of a processing symbolic image indicating processing, a display trigger receiving means for receiving designation of a display trigger operation serving as a trigger for displaying the processing symbolic image on a screen, Storage means for storing information indicating a display trigger operation in association with the processing symbolic image, and displaying the symbolic image associated with the display trigger operation on the screen when the user performs the display trigger operation. And a display control unit for performing control to perform the control.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the display trigger accepting means displays the combination of designation of a data representation image representing data to be operated and designation of the operation content of the display trigger operation on the data representation image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus receives the instruction as a trigger operation specification.

  In the invention according to claim 3, the operation options of the display trigger operation that can be accepted by the display trigger accepting unit include an arrangement operation of arranging the data representation image in a specific area on the screen. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

  The invention according to claim 4, wherein the display trigger accepting unit is further configured to, when the arrangement operation is selected by the user among the options of the operation content of the display trigger operation, further specify the specific area on the screen by the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus receives designation of a position and a range.

  The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display trigger accepting means can accept a format conversion operation for the operation target data, wherein the display trigger accepting operation options include a format conversion operation for the operation target data. Device.

  The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the display trigger accepting unit accepts an operation content option of the display trigger operation that includes an editing operation for the operation target data. It is.

  7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the editing operation includes a combining operation of combining a plurality of data corresponding to the plurality of symbolic images specified as the operation target. is there.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the display trigger receiving unit inputs another symbolic image on the screen to the processing symbolic image selected by the user by the symbolic selection receiving unit and displayed on the screen. The information according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when an operation is performed, a value of a predetermined attribute of data represented by the other symbolic image is extracted as information for specifying the data to be operated. Processing device.

  The invention according to claim 9 further includes means for receiving a designation of an arrangement position on the screen of the processing symbolic image selected by the user by the symbolic selection receiving unit. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

  In the invention according to claim 10, the display trigger accepting unit is configured to specify an operation type of the display trigger operation, and to correspond to the second process symbol image to be operated by the display trigger operation. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a combination of a designation of a second process representation image indicating a process to be executed before the process and a designation of the display trigger operation is received. It is.

  The invention according to claim 11, wherein the symbolic selection accepting means accepts selection of two processing symbolic images indicating different processing, and the display trigger accepting means selects an operation type for one of the two processing symbolic images. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the designation is received as the designation of the display trigger operation for the other.

  The invention according to claim 12 further includes a non-display trigger accepting unit that accepts a designation of a non-display trigger operation that is a trigger for hiding the processing representation image selected from a user from the screen, and the storage unit includes: The information processing apparatus further stores information indicating the non-display trigger operation in association with the processing representation image, and the information processing apparatus is associated with the non-display trigger operation when the user performs the non-display trigger operation. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: a non-display control unit configured to perform control for hiding the processed representation image from the screen.

  The invention according to claim 13 is characterized in that the non-display trigger receiving means sets a combination of a designation of a data representation image representing data to be operated and a designation of the operation content of the non-display trigger operation on the data representation image. 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the non-display trigger operation is received as designation.

  The invention according to claim 14, wherein the non-display trigger receiving means specifies the operation content of the non-display trigger operation and a third processing symbolic image to be operated by the non-display trigger operation by the non-display trigger. 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the information processing apparatus receives the instruction as an operation specification.

  The invention according to claim 15, wherein the non-display trigger accepting unit is configured to specify an operation content for one of the two processing representation images selected by a user, and to set the non-display trigger for the other processing representation image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the information processing apparatus receives the instruction as an operation specification.

  The invention according to claim 16, wherein the computer is a representation selection receiving means for receiving a selection of a processing symbolic image indicating processing, a display trigger receiving means for receiving designation of a display trigger operation serving as a trigger for displaying the processing symbolic image on a screen, Storage means for storing the information indicating the display trigger operation in association with the processing symbolic image, and displaying the symbolic image associated with the display trigger operation on the screen when the user performs the display trigger operation. This is a program for functioning as display control means for performing control to perform.

  According to the first, second, third, fifth, seventh, tenth, eleventh, and sixteenth aspects of the present invention, control of displaying a representational image on a screen for the first time when it becomes necessary for a user's work using an information processing apparatus is performed. A mechanism for setting a control operation can be provided.

  According to the invention according to claim 4, the specific area in the display trigger operation for arranging the data representation image in the specific area on the screen can be a position or a range desired by the user.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the intuitive operation on the screen of inputting another symbolic image to the processed symbolic image causes the predetermined attribute included in the other symbolic image to be changed to the data to be operated in the display trigger operation. Can be set as information for specifying

  According to the ninth aspect, the display position of the processing symbolic image displayed on the screen by the display control means can be set to a position desired by the user.

  According to the inventions according to the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, it is possible to set a non-display trigger operation for hiding the processing symbolic image displayed on the screen.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a processing unit for gadget display control provided in the information processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure of a display control unit. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 1 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 2 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 2 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 2 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 3 typically. It is a figure which shows the screen display of each stage in gadget display control example 3 typically. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the gadget display control example 4. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the gadget display control example 4. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the gadget display control example 4. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 1 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 1 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 1 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 1 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 1 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 2 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 2 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 2 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 3 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 3 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the example 3 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 4 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 4 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 4 of a trigger setting process. It is a figure which shows typically the screen display of each stage in the specific example 4 of a trigger setting process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, terms used in the following description will be described.

  The “screen” is a screen displayed on a display device attached to an information processing device (including a personal computer, a thin client terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and the like). A desktop screen of a personal computer is a typical example, but a window displayed on the desktop screen, a home screen of a smartphone, and other screens are also examples of the “screen” in this specification.

  The “representation image” is an image representing (representing) some object, and is an image displayed on a screen and functioning as a UI (user interface) component. The objects referred to here include files, folders (directories), processes (application programs, programs written in macros or scripts, and the like), and the like. For example, an icon representing a file or an application is an example of a representative image. Gadgets (or widgets) are also a type of object having a representative image. The representation image may be a static image or a dynamically changing image (for example, an image of a clock face that changes with time, which is represented by a clock gadget, an icon whose color changes according to the number of documents held). In some cases. The representation image is a UI component and accepts an operation from a user.

  A “gadget” (or widget) is an object having a process (function) and a representational image. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, a gadget representation image displayed on the screen is also called a gadget.

  Generally, gadgets specify input data to be processed (functionalized), but some gadgets do not require input data (for example, an “application form description template” gadget described later). . The input data to the gadget or the output data output by the gadget is typically a file, but may be in a form other than a folder, such as data of a specific item in a file or a folder (directory). The processing (function) of the gadget is executed when a specific operation (referred to as an execution trigger operation) is performed on the gadget on the screen. For example, an execution trigger operation of a gadget is an operation of opening the gadget on the screen (for example, pointing to the gadget with a mouse and double-clicking), and the gadget is held by the gadget corresponding to the operation. A process of displaying a list of files (for example, a list of icons indicating files) on the screen is performed. The user can move or copy a file from the list (the list may show only one file) by a drag-and-drop operation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  This embodiment provides a mechanism for gadget display control on a screen such as a desktop screen displayed on a display device of a computer such as a personal computer.

  On a screen such as a desktop screen, a number of display elements such as files and folders, icons indicating applications, shortcut icons, and the above-described gadgets may be arranged. When all the gadgets frequently used by the user are arranged on the screen, the user needs to find a gadget necessary for his / her current work from among such many icons and gadgets.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user does not need the gadget, the gadget is not displayed on the screen, and display control for displaying the gadget on the screen when necessary is performed.

  In the present embodiment, gadgets are not always displayed on the screen, and gadgets necessary for work performed by the user after the operation are dynamically displayed on the screen according to the user's operation on the screen. To be displayed. The operation that triggers the display of the gadget on the screen is called a display trigger operation. The display trigger operation is defined for each gadget. Further, the gadget displayed on the screen is hidden from the screen (is erased from the screen) when the user finishes the operation on the gadget and a non-display trigger event corresponding to the gadget occurs. The gadget is not displayed on the screen until the display trigger operation is performed after the gadget is hidden.

  The gadget display trigger operation is a specific operation on a specific symbolic image other than the gadget on the screen (the gadget is not displayed on the screen during the non-display period). That is, the display trigger operation is defined by a combination of a representation image (that is, an object represented by the representation image) and an operation performed by the user on the representation image (object). The display trigger operation is defined for each gadget. For example, a display trigger operation of a gadget moves an icon of a file having a specific file format and a file name to a specific trigger area set on the screen (that is, places the icon in the trigger area). Operation. The information that defines the display trigger operation of the gadget defines a symbolic image and a condition to be satisfied by each of the operations that constitute the display trigger operation.

  For example, when the symbolic image (object) constituting the display trigger operation is a file icon, if the symbolic image is an icon of a file, the condition that the file format should satisfy (for example, one or more specific file formats) File name), the condition that the file name must satisfy (for example, the condition that the file name matches a specific character string or the specific character string is included at the beginning of the file name), or the condition of the file format and the file name And the like. Also, when the symbolic image forming the display trigger operation is a gadget (this gadget is different from the gadget displayed in response to the display triggering operation), the conditions for the symbolic image forming the display triggering operation are as follows. , Is defined as the identification information of the gadget (that is, the gadget constituting the trigger).

  The conditions to be satisfied by the operation constituting the display trigger operation are defined, for example, by the type of operation and the parameters of the operation. For example, in the case of an operation of moving a file to a specific trigger area, the type of the operation is a drag-and-drop operation of the file, and the parameters of the operation indicate the position and range of the specific trigger area on the screen. This is the information to be shown. For operations that do not require parameters, such as opening a file, the conditions do not include parameters.

  In one example, the position of the gadget displayed on the screen in response to the display trigger operation may be set by the user. In this case, when the user performs a certain operation (display trigger operation), the gadget used for the work after the operation is always displayed at a predetermined position.

  A non-display trigger event for a gadget is defined for each gadget. For a certain gadget, the end of the processing performed by the gadget in response to an operation performed by the user on the gadget on the screen is a non-display trigger event. Further, there is a gadget in which the fact that a specific operation is performed on a specific symbolic image (object) displayed on the screen is set as a non-display trigger event. The symbolic image defining the operation as the non-display trigger event and the condition to be satisfied by the operation are defined for each gadget in the same manner as in the display trigger operation described above.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a functional configuration of a processing unit for gadget display control included in the information processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

  In this configuration, the gadget management unit 12 holds and manages setting information for display control of each gadget 10 included in the information processing device. The gadget 10 itself includes a program for processing the gadget (for example, a program written in a machine language or a script) and information on a symbolic image of the gadget.

  The information that the gadget management unit 12 holds and manages for one gadget includes information that specifies a display trigger operation and information that specifies a non-display event operation. The information defining the display trigger operation includes a condition to be satisfied by the symbolic image to be operated and a condition to be satisfied by the content (type or parameter) of the operation. The information defining the non-display trigger event includes, for example, information indicating whether the event is an end event of the processing of the gadget or an operation on another symbolic image. When the non-display trigger event is an operation on another symbolic image, the information defining the non-display trigger event includes conditions to be satisfied by the symbolic image to be operated and contents (type and parameter) of the operation. Are included.

  The gadget management unit 12 may further hold, as one item of information for gadget display control, information defining a display position where the gadget is displayed on the screen. In addition, the gadget management unit 12 may further manage state information indicating whether the gadget is currently being displayed or is not being displayed.

  Items such as a display trigger operation, a non-display trigger event, and a gadget display position in the information held by the gadget management unit 12 are set by the user using the gadget setting processing unit 14 for each gadget.

  The trigger monitoring unit 16 monitors a display trigger operation on a screen and an occurrence of a non-display trigger event in cooperation with an OS (operating system) of the information processing apparatus. When detecting that a display trigger operation or a non-display trigger event has occurred, the trigger monitoring unit 16 notifies the display control unit 18 of information on the detected display trigger operation or non-display trigger event.

  When receiving the information of the display trigger operation or the non-display trigger event from the trigger monitoring unit 16, the display control unit 18 controls the display or non-display of the gadget on the screen according to the information.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a procedure of gadget display control performed by the display control unit 18.

  In this procedure, the display control unit 18 sends a notification from the trigger monitoring unit 16 to the effect that any one of the gadget triggers (display trigger operation or non-display trigger event occurrence) registered in the gadget management unit 12 has been detected. Wait for coming (S10). When the notification of the trigger detection arrives, the display control unit 18 specifies all the gadgets whose trigger is a display trigger operation or a non-display trigger event from the gadget management unit 12 (S12). Then, the processing of S14 to S24 is executed for each specified gadget.

  That is, first, the display control unit 18 determines whether or not the detected trigger is a display trigger operation for a gadget of interest (hereinafter, referred to as a gadget of interest) (S14), and the result of this determination is Yes. If so, it is determined whether or not the gadget of interest is being displayed, from the gadget state information held by the gadget management unit 12 (S16). If the gadget is being displayed, it is not necessary to display the same gadget again in response to the current display trigger operation. If it is determined in S16 that the gadget is not being displayed, information of the display position of the gadget of interest on the screen is obtained from the gadget management unit 12, and the gadget of interest is displayed at that display position on the screen (S18). Then, the gadget management unit 12 notifies the gadget management unit 12 that the gadget of interest is displayed, and the gadget management unit 12 changes the state information of the gadget of interest to “displaying” in response to the notification (S24).

  If the determination result in S14 is No, the trigger detected in S10 is a non-display trigger event for the gadget of interest. In this case, the display control unit 18 determines whether the gadget of interest is being displayed (S20). If it is not being displayed, the gadget of interest is already in a non-display state. Move on to processing. If the determination result in S20 is Yes, the gadget of interest is not displayed on the screen (S22). Then, the gadget management unit 12 notifies the gadget management unit 12 that the gadget of interest has been hidden, and the gadget management unit 12 changes the state information of the gadget of interest to “non-displayed” in response to the notification (S24). .

<Example 1 of gadget display control>
Next, a first specific example (display control example 1) of the gadget display control of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3K. In this specific example, a user enters necessary information in an application template on an information processing apparatus, converts a completed application file into a format for submission, and then sends the file to a predetermined destination. 9 shows the transition of the display of the desktop screen in the flow of the processing of FIG.

  In this example, three gadgets are used: an “acquire application form reference” gadget, a “convert to application form” gadget, and a “send application form” gadget.

  In the work flow of this example, first, the user obtains the application form template 110 from the server or the like (strictly, the reference numeral 110 indicates the icon of the file of the application form template, but it is described in this way to avoid complexity). I do. FIG. 3A schematically shows the display state of desktop screen 100 at this time. At this time, on the desktop screen 100 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as screen 100), in addition to the application template 110, icons 102 of various files, icons 104 of folders, icons of applications, and the like are arranged. The application template 110 is a document template file opened by a document editing application (for example, a word processor application or a spreadsheet application).

  (1) The user moves (ie, arranges) the application form template 110 into a predetermined area 120 on the screen 100 by a drag-and-drop operation in order to obtain an application form reference. In this example, the operation of moving the application form template 110 into the area 120 is set as a display trigger operation of the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130.

  (2) When this operation is performed, the trigger monitoring unit 16 detects the operation, and in response, the display control unit 18 displays the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130 at a predetermined position on the screen 100. (See FIG. 3B). This predetermined position is a display position registered in the gadget management unit 12 as a display position of the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130. The “acquire application form reference” gadget 130 is a gadget that holds a document file called an application form reference 132 (see FIG. 3C).

  As shown in FIG. 3C, when the user performs an operation of opening the application form template 110, a document editing application associated with the application form template 110 starts, and an edit window 112 of the application form template 110 is displayed on the screen 100. Is done. The user operates the document editing application to write necessary items in the application template in the editing window 112. At the time of this description, the user refers to an application form description reference, which is a document explaining the procedure of describing the application form.

  (3) For this reference, the user performs an operation of taking out the application form reference 132 from the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130. This operation is, for example, an operation of opening the gadget 130 by a predetermined operation such as double-clicking, and moving (ie, arranging) the application description reference 132 included in the file list in the opened gadget 130 on the screen 100 by dragging and dropping. It may be. Further, as another example, even if the gadget 130 is programmed to perform a predetermined operation such as double-clicking on the gadget 130, the application form description reference 132 in which the gadget 130 is completed is output on the screen 100. Good. The user opens the application description reference 132 on the screen 100. As a result, the browsing application associated with the application description reference 132 is activated, and the document content of the application description reference is displayed in the browsing window 134. The user fills out the application form template in the edit window 112 with reference to the application form reference.

  (4) When an operation of opening the application description reference 132 is performed, as shown in FIG. 3D, the display control unit 18 displays the “convert to application format” gadget 140 on the screen 100 set for the gadget. Is displayed at the display position of. That is, in the “convert to application format” gadget 140, an operation of opening a file called an application description reference 132 is set as a display trigger operation.

  When the user completes writing (editing) in the application form template 110 and performs an operation of saving the edited result, as shown in FIG. 3E, the file of the application form template 110 is not a template file but a normal document file (application 114).

  (5) The user inputs the application form 114 to the “convert to application form” gadget 140 displayed earlier by a drag-and-drop operation. The “convert to application format” gadget 140 is a gadget that is triggered by the input of a file having a file format for a document editing application having a file name of “application”, and executes the input file. , To a format accepted by the destination (for example, a viewing format that cannot be edited).

  By input to the “convert to application format” gadget 140 of the application form 114, as shown in FIG. 3F, the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130 displayed on the screen 100 is hidden. That is, the application form 114 (that is, a file having a file name of “application form” and a format for a document editing application) is converted to an application form as a non-display trigger event in the “acquire application form reference” gadget 130. Event is input to the gadget 140. At the time when this event occurs, since the description in the application form has been completed, the application form reference is not necessary for the user, and the “acquisition of application form reference” gadget 130 as the acquisition source is also unnecessary. It should be noted that the event is used as a non-display trigger of the “acquisition of application form reference” gadget 130, which is merely an example. Instead of this, for example, the fact that the application description reference 132 is copied from the gadget 130 onto the screen 100 may be used as a non-display trigger of the gadget 130.

  (6) In the situation shown in FIG. 3F, a submission application 142 as a format conversion result is completed in the “convert to application format” gadget 140. The user performs an operation of extracting the application form for submission 142 from the “convert to application format” gadget 140 onto the screen 100.

  (7) Next, as shown in FIG. 3G, the user calls the context menu 144 of the application for submission 142 on the screen 100 and performs an operation of selecting the menu item “Send” in the context menu.

  (8) In response to this, the display control unit 18 displays a “send application” gadget 150 on the screen 100 as shown in FIG. 3H. That is, the “send” operation for the submission application 142 is set as a display trigger operation in the “send application” gadget 150.

  (9) As shown in FIG. 3I, the user inputs the submission application 142 to the newly displayed “Send application” gadget 150 by, for example, a drag-and-drop operation.

  The “Send Application Form” gadget 150 is set so that a file in a predetermined format (for example, a non-editable browsing format) having a file name “Application Form for Submission” is input as an execution trigger. In the “Send Application Form” gadget 150, address information of a destination of the application form 142 for submission, a protocol used for sending the address information, and the like are set. When the “send application form” gadget 150 is input, the submission form 142 is sent according to the setting.

  (10) When the transmission of the application form 142 for submission by the “send application” gadget 150 is completed, the display control unit 18 disables the “send application” gadget 150 on the screen 100 as shown in FIG. Display. Note that the submission application form 142 has disappeared from the screen 100 at the time when the application form 142 was previously input to the “send application form” gadget 150.

  Thereafter, the user may obtain and open the application form template 110 again, and describe the contents of the description for another application. When this description is completed and the description result is saved, a new application form 114 is created on the screen 100 (similar to FIG. 3E). By putting this new application form 114 into the “Convert to application form” gadget 140, the state of the screen 100 changes to the state shown in FIG. 3F, and the operations described with reference to FIGS. Will be

  (11) When the user finishes sending all the application forms and performs an operation of closing the application form reference displayed in the browsing window 134 on the screen 100, as shown in FIG. The “Convert to application format” gadget 140 on 100 is hidden. That is, in this example, the closing of the application form reference is set in the non-display trigger event of the “convert to application form” gadget 140.

<Gadget display control example 2>
Next, a second specific example of gadget display control will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. In this example, the gadget generated after the processing of the gadget is controlled in accordance with data in the file (for example, document data of the file itself or attribute data of the file) input to the gadget.

  The display state of the screen 100 shown in FIG. 4A is almost the same as the display state shown in FIG. The difference is that the destination information 113 is entered in the application form displayed in the edit window 112, and the “convert to application format” gadget 140A extracts the destination information 113 and submits the conversion result. This is characterized in that it has a function of adding it to the application form (reference numeral 142A in FIG. 4B) as an attribute.

  In the situation of FIG. 4A, the user finishes the description in the edit window 112, saves the application file, and inputs the application into the “convert to application format” gadget 140A by a drag-and-drop operation. Then, the gadget 140A converts the application form into a predetermined format for submission, further extracts the destination information 113 from the application form, and converts the destination information 113 into a converted application form file (application form for submission 142A). Write to the value of the destination attribute. The destination information 113 can specify the gadget 140A, for example, is described in a predetermined column in the application form or next to a predetermined keyword indicating the destination. It should be noted that specific destination information (destination name, destination address, etc.) of the destination information 113 in the application form may be incorporated in the application form template 110 or the user It may be described in the above-mentioned location.

  Next, the user takes out the submission application form 142A from the “convert to application form” gadget 140A on the screen 100 and performs a predetermined operation such as right-clicking on the submission application form 142A as shown in FIG. 4B. Calls the context menu 144A of the application for submission 142A. Then, the “send” operation in the context menu 144A is selected.

  Upon detecting that the “send” operation has been performed on the submission application 142A, the display control unit 18 reads the value of the destination attribute of the submission application 142A, and corresponds to the value (destination). The gadget is displayed on the screen 100. In this example, the destination information 113 indicates the e-mail address of "Mr. Abe", so the "Send application form to Ms. Abe" gadget that sends the submitted application form 142A for submission to the e-mail address by e-mail. 150A is displayed on the screen 100.

  For this purpose, the gadget management unit 12 stores a file that satisfies the condition of the submission application form 142A including (a mail address of) Abe as the destination attribute as a display trigger operation for the “Send application form to Mr. Abe” gadget 150A. "Send" operation is set. Whether the operated file is the application form for submission 142A is determined by, for example, whether the file satisfies the condition “the file has a file name of“ application form for submission ”and is a file in a predetermined submission format”. What is necessary is just to judge.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the user inputs a submission application form 142A to the displayed “Send application form to Mr. Abe” gadget 150A by a drag-and-drop operation. In response, the gadget 150A transmits the submitted application form for submission 142A to Mr. Abe's e-mail address set as the destination of the gadget 150A by using the e-mail protocol.

<Example 3 of gadget display control>
Next, a third specific example of gadget display control will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. In this example, a gadget is displayed by using a format conversion operation for a symbolic image of a file on the screen 100 as a trigger.

  The context menu 117 corresponding to the file format (format) of the file (file name “receipt”) 115 on the screen 100 shown in FIG. 5A includes an operation “DW printer conversion” as one of the menu items. I have. This “DW printer conversion” operation is an operation of inputting the file to a virtual printer named “DW printer”. The “DW printer” converts the input file into a predetermined file format for browsing (for example, a format that cannot be edited).

  When the user selects “DW printer conversion” on the context menu 117, the display control unit 18 displays a “receipt storage destination” gadget 160 on the screen 100 as shown in FIG. 5B. For this reason, the gadget management unit 12 provides, as a display trigger operation of the gadget 160, a “DW printer” for a file of a predetermined file format (this is a format for a document editing application before format conversion) whose file name is “receipt”. "Convert" operation is registered.

  When the user inputs the format-converted receipt 119 into the displayed “receipt storage destination” gadget 160 by a drag-and-drop operation or the like, the gadget 160 stores the received receipt 119 in a predetermined storage location (for example, The receipt 119 is stored in the storage location using the information of the predetermined folder in the file server on the network).

<Example 4 of gadget display control>
Next, a fourth specific example of gadget display control will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

  In each of the examples described so far, a gadget is displayed with an operation on (a corresponding object to) a single symbolic image as a trigger. In contrast, in this example, the gadget is triggered by an operation of combining objects represented by a plurality of symbolic images (for example, merging text data in two text files to create one text file). indicate.

  In this example, as an operation of combining a plurality of objects, an operation of “bundling” two document files will be described as an example.

  When the “bundling” operation is performed on two document files each including one or more pages, an application corresponding to those document files bundles the pages of one document file into the other document file designated as the bundling destination. It is added after the page group to generate one document file. For example, an application called “DocuWorks (registered trademark) Desk” provided by the applicant provides a work area screen on which a representation image (icon) of a file can be arranged, and a representation image of a certain file in the work area screen. Is overlaid on a symbolic image of another file by a drag-and-drop operation or the like, a process of “bundle” the former file into the latter file is performed. In this example, a user operation on a screen providing such an application is detected, and this is used for controlling gadget display on the desktop screen 100 of the OS.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6A, two document files, an application form 170 and a receipt 172, are arranged on the desktop screen 100 of the OS. Each of the application form 170 and the receipt 172 is a file in a file format of a document handling application (for example, the above-described DocuWorks (registered trademark) file format) that allows a “bundle” operation. In the example of FIG. 6A, the user has selected the menu item “edit” in the context menu 175 of the receipt 172. In response to this selection operation, a window of the work area screen 180 of the document handling application opens on the desktop screen 100 as shown in FIG. 6B. The operation for opening the work area screen 180 of the document handling application is not limited to the illustrated example. Instead, there is another method such as performing an operation of starting a document handling application on a menu screen provided by the OS.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the user moves (or copies) the application form 170 and the receipt 172 on the desktop screen 100 into the opened work area screen 180, and drags and drops (D & D) the application form 170. It is assumed that the document is overlaid on the receipt 172 by the operation. This operation is a “bundling” operation. The document handling application that has detected this bundling operation generates a file 174 named “receipt + application” by adding the page group of the application 170 after the last page of the receipt 172 (see FIG. 6C). ). In the illustrated example, the original two documents (application 170 and receipt 172) have disappeared.

  The trigger monitoring unit 16 (see FIG. 1) performs not only operations on the desktop screen 100 of the OS but also representation images (such as icons of the application form 170 and the receipt 172) in the work area screen 180 of the document handling application. To monitor user operations. When the trigger monitoring unit 16 detects that the user has performed the operation of bundling the application form 170 and the receipt 172 in the work area screen 180, the display control unit 18 displays “Receipt + application form storage” on the desktop screen 100. The "to" gadget 190 is displayed. For this reason, in the gadget management unit 12, an operation of “bundle” two document files, an application form 170 and a receipt form 172, is set as a display trigger operation of the “receipt + application form storage destination” gadget 190. . For these two documents, the setting information of the display trigger operation specifies the file name of each document file and the conditions to be satisfied by the file format.

  The user inputs the file 174 in the work area screen 180 to the “receipt + application storage location” gadget 190 by an operation such as a drag-and-drop operation. In response to this, the “receipt + application form storage destination” gadget 190 stores the file 174 in the storage location using the information of the storage location set for itself.

  6A to 6C exemplify a gadget that uses an operation of bundling two documents as a display trigger, but a gadget that uses an operation of bundling three or more documents as a display trigger is also conceivable. For example, for a gadget whose display trigger is that the first document, the second document, and the third document are bundled, the display control unit 18 performs, for example, an operation in which the user bundles the first document into the second document. Is detected (via the trigger monitoring unit 16), and when the user detects an operation of bundling the third document with respect to the bundled document formed by bundling the first document and the second document, the gadget is displayed. I do.

  Further, although not shown, if the document handling application has a function of performing a “disconnect” process for one document, there may be a gadget that uses the “disconnect” operation as a display trigger operation. In contrast to the above-mentioned “bundling”, “separate” refers to a single document including a plurality of pages as a first document from page 1 to page m and a second document from page (m + 1) to last page. In this manner, the document is divided into a plurality of documents at the break specified by the user.

  In this gadget, a “disconnect” operation for a file that satisfies a predetermined target condition (for example, having a specific file name) is set as a display trigger operation. The display control unit 18 displays the gadget on the desktop screen 100 when the “unfolding” operation is performed on a file that satisfies the target condition of the display trigger operation on the work area screen 180 of the document handling application.

<Setting the display / non-display trigger>
Next, gadget display trigger operation and non-display trigger event setting processing using the gadget setting processing unit 14 (see FIG. 1) will be described.

  When the user selects a gadget for which a trigger is to be set, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays a guide screen that guides the user in steps such as the type of the trigger and the files and operations constituting the trigger according to the type in a desktop manner. It is displayed on the screen 100. The user operates the display image on the desktop screen in accordance with the guidance on the guidance screen, thereby setting the parameters of the display trigger operation and the non-display trigger event.

<Specific example 1 of trigger setting>
A first specific example of the trigger setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7E.

  The user performs an operation of calling the gadget setting processing unit 14 (for example, an operation of selecting and starting a program of the gadget setting processing unit 14 from a menu or the like provided by the OS). In response to this operation, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays the gadget setting screen 200 on the desktop screen 100 (see FIG. 7A). The gadget setting screen 200 displays a list of gadgets 202 held by the information processing device.

  When the user sets a trigger for the gadget 202A (“application work” gadget) on the gadget setting screen 200, the user calls the context menu 204 by a right-click operation of the mouse on the gadget 202A. In the context menu 204, the types of triggers are arranged as menu items.

  In the context menu 204 illustrated in the figure, four types of triggers, “desktop cooperation”, “virtual printer”, “judgment document registration”, and “gadget cooperation” are listed. In this specific example 1, a case where the user selects “desktop cooperation” among them will be described.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 7B, the gadget setting processing unit 14 sets the guide screen 210 for setting the trigger of the desktop cooperation method, the “application business” gadget 202A, and the “application business” trigger area 222. It is displayed on the screen 100. The gadget 202A (representative image) displayed on the screen 100 by the gadget setting processing unit 14 is used for work for trigger setting (for example, designation of a display position to be described later). It does not execute the original processing function (transmission processing of the input application document) performed when displayed on the screen 100 by the control unit 18.

  Here, the desktop cooperation method is a method in which an operation of moving a symbolic image of a target file (or folder) into a trigger area set on the desktop screen 100 is a display trigger operation of a corresponding gadget.

  The guide screen 210 includes a sentence (“Associating the gadget display of the application work with the desktop operation....”) Of the outline of the desktop cooperation method and a user for setting the display trigger operation in this method. Is explained. Here, the work performed by the user includes (1) the work of moving the “application work” gadget 202A on the screen 100 to the display position desired by the user (“I want to change the gadget display position ... (2) Work to change the position and size of the trigger area 222 on the screen 100 to the position and size desired by the user (“I want to change the trigger area ... Please set.”). And (3) associating a sample file with the gadget 202A to indicate the conditions of the trigger file (document) ("Drag and drop the document pattern."). When the gadget 202A is displayed regardless of what file enters the trigger area 222 (that is, the file targeted for the display trigger operation is not limited), the operation (3) is unnecessary.

  In accordance with the guidance text on the guidance screen 210, the user moves the position of the gadget 202A to a desired position on the screen 100 by, for example, a drag and drop operation, and changes the position and size of the trigger area 222 by mouse operation or the like. FIG. 7C shows a state of screen 100 immediately after these operations are performed.

  Further, the user moves the sample file 224 prepared on the screen 100 to the position of the gadget 202A by a drag-and-drop operation in order to specify the condition of the file constituting the display trigger operation ((3) above), Overlay on the gadget 202A (see FIG. 7D). The gadget setting processing unit 14 that has detected that the file 224 has been overlaid on the gadget 202A that is the trigger setting target displays a confirmation screen 212 on the screen 100. This example is an example in which a file name is used as a condition of a file constituting a display trigger. The confirmation screen 212 displays a message indicating that the file name “application” has been detected, and displays the gadget 202A when a file having that file name appears (that is, when the file is arranged by moving from the outside, etc.). And a message inquiring about whether the setting is acceptable. When the user presses the OK button in the confirmation screen 212 (for example, clicks the mouse), the gadget setting processing unit 14 sets the file name “application” as a condition of the file to be subjected to the display trigger operation of the gadget 202A. Record what you have. When it is desired to set a plurality of file names as conditions of a file to be subjected to the display trigger operation of the gadget 202A, an operation of further superimposing a file having another file name on the gadget 202A may be performed. When a plurality of file names are set as conditions of a file to be subjected to the display trigger operation, the display control unit 18 determines whether a file corresponding to any of the plurality of file names is located in the trigger area 222. The gadget 202A is displayed on the screen 100.

  The gadget setting processing unit 14 extracts information on the file name and the file format from the file 224 placed on the gadget 202A, and on the confirmation screen 212, sets a file that satisfies both the file name and the file format as a trigger. (That is, the gadget 202A is displayed when such a file enters the trigger area 222), a file having that file name is used as a trigger (file format does not matter), or a file having that file format is used as a trigger. (The file name does not matter), and the user's selection may be accepted.

  The gadget setting processing unit 14 further displays a selection screen 214 for setting a non-display trigger event of the gadget 202A. In the exemplified selection screen 214, the document (file) to be processed by the gadget 202A is input to the gadget 202A (in other words, the gadget 202A displayed on the screen displays And that the user has manually performed the erasing operation. Of course, the selection screen 214 may include options other than these, and may not include, for example, some or all of the options. When the user selects a desired option on the selection screen 214 and presses a “register” button in the selection screen 214, an event corresponding to the selected option is recorded as a non-display trigger event of the gadget 202A.

  Then, when the user finally presses the “register” button in the guidance screen 210, the gadget setting processing unit 14 instructs the gadget management unit 12 to perform a display trigger operation, a non-display trigger event, and a display position of the gadget 202A. Register information. As the information on the display trigger operation, the conditions of the file confirmed by the user on the confirmation screen 212 and the information on the position and size of the trigger area 222 at the time of pressing are registered. In addition, an event recorded as being selected by the user on the selection screen 214 is recorded as a non-display trigger event of the gadget 202A. In addition, the position on the screen of the gadget 202A at the time of the pressing is registered as the display position of the gadget 202A.

  In this way, the trigger of the desktop cooperation method is set.

<Specific example 2 of trigger setting>
A second specific example of the trigger setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8C. In this example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the user selects “virtual printer” from the context menu 204 of the “application work” gadget 202A.

  In this case, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays the virtual printer list screen 230 on the screen 100 (see FIG. 8B). The user selects, from among the group of virtual printer icons in the virtual printer list screen 230, one that performs format conversion as a display trigger for the gadget 202A.

  In response to this selection, gadget setting processing unit 14 displays gadget 202A and guidance screen 232 on screen 100 (see FIG. 8C). The guide screen 232 shows a sentence describing an outline of a method of using a virtual printer as a trigger of a gadget, and a description of a work performed by a user for setting a display trigger operation in this method. Here, the tasks performed by the user include (1) a task of moving the “application work” gadget 202A on the screen 100 to a display position desired by the user, and (2) a condition of a trigger file (document). And associating a sample file with the gadget 202A. If no condition is imposed on the file, the operation (2) is unnecessary.

  The user moves the position of the gadget 202A to a desired position on the screen 100 by a drag-and-drop operation according to the guidance screen 232. In addition, the user moves the sample file 224 prepared on the screen 100 to the position of the gadget 202A by a drag-and-drop operation in order to specify the conditions regarding the file, and overlaps the gadget 202A. The gadget setting processing unit 14 that has detected that the file 224 has been superimposed on the gadget 202A may display a confirmation screen similar to the confirmation screen 212 illustrated in FIG. 7D on the screen 100 and request confirmation of the user. .

  Also in this example, a selection screen 214 similar to that of the above-described specific example 1 may be presented to allow the user to select a non-display trigger event.

<Specific example 3 of trigger setting>
A third specific example of the trigger setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C. As shown in FIG. 9A, this example is an example in which the user selects “register judgment document” from the context menu 204 of the “application work” gadget 202A. “Judgment document registration” is a setting operation performed when the gadget 202A is displayed with a trigger that a plurality of document files are bundled.

  When “register judgment document” is selected from the context menu 204, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays the gadget 202A and the guidance screen 240 on the screen 100 (FIG. 9B). The guidance screen 240 shows a sentence that outlines a method of displaying gadgets in accordance with a bundling operation, and a description of a task performed by a user for setting a display trigger operation in this method. Here, the tasks performed by the user include (1) a task of moving the “application task” gadget 202A on the screen 100 to a display position desired by the user, and (2) a task of indicating a plurality of document files to be bundled. And associating a plurality of sample files with the gadget 202A.

  The user moves the position of the gadget 202A to a desired position on the screen 100 by a drag and drop operation according to the guidance screen 240.

  In addition, the user moves the two sample files 242 and 244 prepared on the screen 100 to the position of the gadget 202A on the screen 100 by a drag-and-drop operation to specify the files to be bundled, and overlaps the gadget 202A.

  The gadget setting processing unit 14 that has detected that the two files 242 and 244 are overlaid on the gadget 202A displays a confirmation screen 246 on the screen 100 as shown in FIG. 9C. The confirmation screen 246 shows the file names of a plurality of files superimposed on the gadget 202A, and a message requesting confirmation of whether the setting of displaying the gadget 202A when these are superimposed is displayed. The user presses the OK button on the confirmation screen 246 when the settings are sufficient. If the two files are not sufficient for the display trigger, and more files are to be bundled into them, the user overlays additional sample files on gadget 202A. When a new file is overlaid on the gadget 202A, the gadget setting processing unit 14 adds the file name of the file to the list of file names in the confirmation screen 246, and requests the user to confirm. When the user presses the OK button, the gadget setting processing unit 14 records a set of file names displayed on the confirmation screen 246 at that time as a set of file names of files to be bundled that constitute a display trigger of the gadget 202A. I do.

  Then, when the registration button on the guidance screen 240 is pressed, the gadget setting processing unit 14 registers the position of the gadget 202A on the screen 100 at that time as the display position of the gadget 202A in the gadget management unit 12, and The fact that the group of file names to be bundled previously recorded is bundled is registered in the gadget management unit 12 as a display trigger operation.

  Also in this example, a selection screen 214 similar to that of the above-described specific example 1 may be presented to allow the user to select a non-display trigger event.

<Specific example 4 of trigger setting>
A fourth specific example of the trigger setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10D. This example is an example in which the user selects “gadget cooperation” from the context menu 204 of the “application work” gadget 202A, as shown in FIG. 10A. “Gadget cooperation” is a method of linking the display or non-display of the gadget 202A with the operation of another gadget.

  When “gadget cooperation” is selected from the context menu 204, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays the gadget 202A and the guide screen 250 on the screen 100 (FIG. 10B). The guide screen 250 shows a sentence of an outline of the gadget cooperation method and a description of a work performed by the user for setting a display trigger operation in this method. Here, the tasks performed by the user include (1) a task of moving the “application work” gadget 202A on the screen 100 to a display position desired by the user, and (2) a task of associating a gadget to be linked with the gadget 202A. is there.

  The user moves the position of the gadget 202A to a desired position on the screen 100 by a drag-and-drop operation according to the guidance screen 250.

  Further, the user selects a gadget to be linked from the gadgets 202 in the gadget setting screen 200, and overlays the selected gadget 202 on the gadget 202A on the screen 100 by a drag-and-drop operation. Here, it is assumed that the user has selected the request reception gadget 202B as the one to be linked with the application work gadget 202A.

  When another gadget 202B is overlaid on the gadget 202A on the screen 100 to be set, the gadget setting processing unit 14 displays a cooperation condition designation screen 252 as illustrated in FIG. 10C. The coordination condition designation screen 252 is a 2 × 2 between two cases: an application business gadget 202A and a request reception gadget 202B, and two cases in which a document is extracted from a gadget and a document is input to the gadget. For each combination, the user is required to select the behavior of the gadget. For example, below the description “extracting a document from the request receiving gadget”, a pull-down menu is provided which shows options for display control of the application task gadget 202A when a document is extracted from the request receiving gadget 202B. When the user performs an operation of displaying a pull-down menu, a pull-down menu 254 showing three options is displayed as shown in FIG. 10D. The three options exemplified are to display the application business gadget, hide the application business gadget, and do nothing in particular. The user selects the behavior of the application work gadget 202A when the document is extracted from the request reception gadget 202B from among these three. The user may make selections from the same pull-down menu for the other three of the two 2 × 2 cases.

  Note that options in another case may be limited according to the options selected by the user for one case. For example, if the user selects the option "Display application business gadget" for the "Retrieve document from request reception gadget" case, the user cannot select the option "Display application business gadget" for the "Document submission from request reception gadget" case You may do so. If it can be selected, there will be a plurality of display triggers for the application task gadget, and the processing flow in which a plurality of gadgets are sequentially displayed according to the user's operation will be multi-tracked, which will easily cause confusion for the user. In the same case, the option “display request receiving gadget” may not be selectable in the case of “retrieve document from application business gadget” and “input document to application business gadget”. If this can be selected, a loop occurs in the processing flow, such as the application work gadget is displayed by taking out the document from the displayed request reception gadget, and the request reception gadget is displayed again by taking in and out the document for the application work other jet, This is likely to cause user confusion. In an example in which such a restriction is made, the gadget setting processing unit 14 narrows down options that can be selected from a pull-down menu of another case according to the option selected earlier.

  After the user makes a necessary selection for each case, when the user presses a registration button in the cooperation condition designation screen 252, the gadget setting processing unit 14 transmits trigger information corresponding to the option selected by the user for each case. Register in the gadget management unit 12. For example, when the user selects the option “display application business gadget” for the “retrieve document from request reception gadget” case, the gadget setting processing unit 14 performs a display trigger operation of the application business gadget 202A from the request reception gadget 202B. Set the document retrieval operation.

  In the examples of FIGS. 10A to 10C, the setting can be performed in such a manner that any one of the two gadgets selected by the user may be used as a trigger for displaying / hiding the other. As another example, a first gadget to be set as a display or non-display trigger is first selected, and then a set of another gadget (a second gadget) serving as a trigger of the first gadget and an operation for the gadget is set as a first gadget. A method of designating a trigger for displaying or hiding one gadget is also possible.

  In the above, several specific examples of the setting processing of the display and non-display triggers for the gadget have been described. The processing illustrated above is merely an example, and other setting processing methods are also possible.

  For example, in the examples of FIGS. 7A to 7E, a gadget to be set is selected, and a display trigger and a non-display trigger for the gadget are set in a series of flows. However, this is only an example. Of course, a display trigger and a non-display trigger for one gadget may be separately set.

  Further, the setting method of the gadget non-display trigger is not limited to the method of specifying by selecting an option like the selection screen 214 illustrated in FIG. 7E. As another example, for example, similar to the case of setting a display trigger, for what object (file, other gadget, or the like) on the screen 100, what kind of operation (for example, opening or closing a file, or other specific gadget) May be set to be a non-display trigger event.

  Further, in the above, control of display / non-display of the gadget displayed on the desktop screen 100 has been described as an example, but this is only an example. The various controls described above are also applicable to display / non-display control of gadgets on a screen other than the desktop screen 100 (for example, a work area screen 180 provided by a document handling application; see FIG. 6B and the like).

  Note that the gadget setting processing unit 14 completes the setting of the display trigger and the like for the gadget selected by the user from the gadget setting screen 200 (that is, registration of the trigger information in the gadget management unit 12 ends). In the process, the symbolic images (for example, figures such as the gadgets 202A and 202B and the frame lines indicating the trigger area 222) displayed on the screen 100 are deleted from the screen 100.

  The information processing apparatus exemplified above is realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute programs representing the above-described functions. Here, the computer may be, for example, a hardware such as a microprocessor such as a CPU, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory or an SSD (solid state drive), and an HDD. A controller for controlling a fixed storage device such as a hard disk drive, various I / O (input / output) interfaces, a network interface for controlling connection to a network such as a local area network, and the like are provided via, for example, a bus. It has a connected circuit configuration. A program describing the processing contents of each of these functions is stored in a fixed storage device such as a flash memory via a network or the like, and is installed in a computer. The programs stored in the fixed storage device are read into the RAM and executed by the microprocessor such as the CPU, thereby realizing the functional module group exemplified above.

  10 gadgets, 12 gadget management units, 14 gadget setting processing units, 16 trigger monitoring units, 18 display control units.

Claims (16)

A representation selection accepting means for accepting selection of a processing representation image indicating a process;
Display trigger receiving means for receiving designation of a display trigger operation that is a trigger for displaying the processing symbolic image on a screen,
Storage means for storing information indicating the display trigger operation in association with the processing representation image,
When the user performs the display trigger operation, a display control unit that performs control to display the symbolic image associated with the display trigger operation on the screen,
An information processing device including:   The display trigger accepting unit accepts, as the designation of the display trigger operation, a combination of designation of a data representation image representing data to be operated and designation of the operation content of the display trigger operation on the data representation image. Item 10. The information processing apparatus according to Item 1.   The information processing according to claim 2, wherein the operation content options of the display trigger operation that can be accepted by the display trigger accepting unit include an arrangement operation of arranging the data representation image in a specific area on the screen. apparatus.   The display trigger accepting unit, when the arrangement operation is selected by the user among the options of the operation content of the display trigger operation, accepts the designation of the position and range of the specific area on the screen from the user. The information processing device according to claim 3.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation content options of the display trigger operation that can be accepted by the display trigger accepting unit include a format conversion operation for the data to be operated.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selection of the operation content of the display trigger operation that can be accepted by the display trigger accepting unit includes an editing operation on the data to be operated.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the editing operation includes a combining operation of combining a plurality of data corresponding to a plurality of symbolic images specified as the operation target. The display trigger receiving means, when the operation of inputting another symbol image on the screen is performed on the processing symbol image selected by the user by the symbol selection receiving means and displayed on the screen, Extracting a value of a predetermined attribute of data represented by the other symbolic image as information for specifying the operation target data;
The information processing device according to claim 1.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to receive a designation of an arrangement position on the screen of the processing symbolic image selected by the user by the symbolic selection receiving unit. .   The display trigger accepting unit is configured to specify an operation type of the display trigger operation and to be executed prior to a process corresponding to the process symbol image, which is a second process symbol image to be operated by the display trigger operation. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a combination of the designation of a second process representation image indicating a process and the designation is received as the designation of the display trigger operation. The representation selection accepting means accepts selection of two processing representation images indicating different processing from each other,
The display trigger receiving means receives a specification of an operation type for one of the two processing symbolic images as a specification of the display trigger operation for the other;
The information processing device according to claim 1. A non-display trigger receiving unit that receives a specification of a non-display trigger operation that is a trigger for non-display of the processing representation image selected by a user from the screen;
Further comprising
The storage unit further stores information indicating the non-display trigger operation in association with the processing representation image,
The information processing device,
When the user performs the non-display trigger operation, non-display control means for performing control to hide the processing symbolic image associated with the non-display trigger operation from the screen.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The non-display trigger accepting unit specifies the combination of the designation of a data representation image representing data to be operated and the designation of the operation of the non-display trigger operation on the data representation image, and the designation of the non-display trigger operation. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the information is received as:   The non-display trigger accepting unit accepts, as the designation of the non-display trigger operation, designation of an operation content of the non-display trigger operation and a third processing symbolic image to be operated by the non-display trigger operation. 13. The information processing apparatus according to item 12.   The said non-display trigger reception means receives specification of the operation content with respect to one of the two said process representation images selected by the user as designation of the said non-display trigger operation about the other process representation image. 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12. Computer
A representation selection accepting means for accepting a selection of a processing representation image indicating a process,
Display trigger receiving means for receiving designation of a display trigger operation that is a trigger for displaying the processing symbolic image on a screen,
Storage means for storing information indicating the display trigger operation in association with the processing representation image,
When the user performs the display trigger operation, a display control unit that performs control to display the symbolic image associated with the display trigger operation on the screen.
Program to function as