JP3269686B2 - Image creation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for forming an image composed of display elements such as figures and characters on a display screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of computers, image forming apparatuses for forming an image by arranging display elements such as arbitrary figures and characters on a display screen have been used in various fields. For example, a CAD device used for performing graphic design is a typical example of such an image creating device. In the printing and publishing industries, an image forming apparatus using a computer is used to prepare an original film. That is, by arranging various objects such as photographic images, characters, and figures at desired positions on the display screen, it is possible to perform an allocating operation for producing a film master.

[0003]

Display elements such as figures and characters arranged on a display are arranged with specific attributes. For example, "radius R
Even when a figure “circle having a circle” is arranged, different display results can be obtained depending on the attributes of the line width, line type, and line color constituting the circumference. To be specific, 1m
A circle having a line width of m, a circle having a line width of 2 mm, and a circle having a line width of 3 mm are display elements having different attributes with respect to the line width. Similarly, a circle drawn with a solid line, a circle drawn with a dashed line, and a circle drawn with a dashed line all have different attributes with respect to the line type, even if the circles have the same line width of 1 mm. Display element. Similarly, some attributes can be defined in terms of line color. Conversely, circles, triangles,
Even if it is a different figure called a square, they are all the same 2
If it is drawn with a line width of mm, the attribute of line width will be the same attribute.

However, it is often difficult to accurately confirm the attribute of each display element on a display screen. For example, in terms of line width, it is possible to understand which attribute (that is, which thickness) the line is by carefully observing the lines that make up each figure,
This cannot be easily confirmed on a display screen on which a large number of figures are displayed. This is the same for characters. For example, it is difficult to easily recognize where a character having the same attribute of “Mincho” is present on a display screen when considering the attribute of typeface.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image creating apparatus capable of easily recognizing display elements having the same attribute on the same screen.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) A first invention of the present application is directed to an apparatus for creating an image composed of display elements such as figures and characters on a display screen, comprising: a display for displaying the created image; a specific display element; Instruction input means for inputting an instruction indicating a specific position on the screen, and image data indicating that a specific display element is to be displayed at a specific position based on the instruction input by the instruction input means Image data generating means, image data storing means for storing the generated image data, and an image in which a specific display element is arranged at a specific position based on the image data stored in the image data storing means. An input for designating one of the display elements displayed on the display screen is received from the image display means to be displayed on the display screen and the instruction input means. And an attribute element searching means for searching the display element displayed on the same screen for another display element having the same attribute as the predetermined attribute of the display element. The provided display element has a function of displaying the display element in a display mode different from other display elements.

(2) The second invention of the present application is the image forming apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the search for the same attribute element is performed by the same attribute element search means, and then the search target is input from the instruction input means. When an input for specifying a display element having an attribute different from that of the display element received is received, the attribute of the specified display element is changed to the same attribute as the attribute of the display element searched for. And a function for modifying the image data in the image data storage means.

(3) The third invention of the present application is directed to the image creating apparatus according to the first or second invention, wherein the display elements of the graphic include a line width, a line type, One of the line colors is designated as a predetermined attribute, and another graphic having the same line width, line type, or line color is searched for as the same attribute element.

(4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, with respect to a display element of a character, any one of a typeface, a size, and a color is used for the character. Instructed as a predetermined attribute, another character having the same typeface, size, or color is searched for as the attribute element.

[0010]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the operator specifies a specific display element, the display element having the same attribute is searched by the same attribute element search means.
The searched display element is displayed in a manner different from other display elements. Therefore, the operator can easily and visually confirm display elements having the same attribute on the display screen.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an image creating apparatus according to the present invention. This apparatus comprises a display 1 for displaying an image composed of display elements such as figures and characters, an image data storage means 2 for storing image data corresponding to an image to be displayed on the display 1, and Image display means 3 for displaying on display 1 and image data generating means 4 for generating image data
A specified attribute element searching means 5 for searching for a display element having the same attribute based on the image data stored in the image data storing means 2; Instruction input means 6 for inputting instructions
And is constituted by.

The instruction input means 6 comprises a keyboard and a mouse in this embodiment. Using this keyboard and mouse, the operator can input an instruction to arrange an arbitrary figure or character at an arbitrary position on the screen of the display 1. Image data generation means 4
Generates image data according to this instruction and stores it in the image data storage means 2. Specifically, for example, if the operator designates a circle having a line width of 1 mm and a radius of 50 mm as a display element and designates a predetermined coordinate position (x, y) on the screen as an arrangement position, The image data generating means 4 generates image data for performing such display, and stores it in the image data storage means 2. The image display means 3 displays an image on the screen of the display 1 based on the image data.

A feature of the present invention lies in the function of the attribute element searching means 5. Now, for example, it is assumed that display elements 11 to 18 as shown in FIG. 2 (in this example, all of them are figures and are hereinafter referred to as figures 11 to 18) are displayed on the screen of the display 1. I do. This is because the image data for the figures 11 to 18 are stored in the image data storage means 2 and based on these image data,
The image display means 3 performs image display as shown in FIG. Here, the lines making up the figures 11 to 18 shown in FIG. 2 are mixed in various thicknesses, and the operator recognizes which figure has the same line width as the specific figure. Suppose you want to. For example, if the operator wants to recognize a graphic having the same line width as the graphic 14, the operator inputs a search command for searching for a graphic having the same line width from the instruction input means 6, and inputs an instruction to specify the graphic 14. (Specifically, for example, a predetermined search command may be input from a keyboard, and an input for designating the graphic 14 with a mouse may be performed.) Upon receiving such an instruction input, the attribute element searching means 5 searches each image data in the image data storage means 2, recognizes the line width of the designated graphic 14, and then, the same line width as this. Search for figure data with. Here, for example, it is assumed that figures 12, 16, and 17 are drawn with the same line width. In this case, these figures are recognized as elements having the same attribute as the figure 14 with respect to the line width. Therefore, the same attribute element searching means 5 gives an instruction to the image display means 3 to display the recognized same attribute element in a display mode different from other elements. As a result, the display on the screen of the display 1 changes from the state shown in FIG. 2 to the state shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the figures 12, 16, and 17 having the same attribute as the figure 14, including the designated figure 14, are displayed by broken lines, and the other figures 11, 13, 15, and 18 displayed by solid lines. The display mode is different from the display mode. Thus, the operator can easily and visually recognize that the three figures 12, 16 and 17 have the same line width as the figure 14.

The function of easily confirming graphics having the same attribute as described above is useful for improving the work efficiency of the operator. As described above, if a figure having the same line width can be easily recognized, the operator can immediately recognize that there is a figure for which the line width is erroneously specified.

In the device of this embodiment, the attribute element searching means 5 has a function of searching for display elements having the same attribute as described above, and also has a function of correcting the attribute. That is, after the above-described search for the attribute element is performed, when the operator performs an input from the instruction input unit 6 to specify a display element having an attribute different from that of the search element to be searched, the designated element is displayed. A function is provided for modifying the image data in the image data storage unit 2 so that the attribute of the display element is the same as the attribute of the display element that has been searched. Let's illustrate this function with a concrete example. Now, let us consider a case where the searched for the same attribute element is indicated by a broken line as shown in FIG. Looking at this display, the operator concludes that “the line width of FIG. 18 was originally set to be the same as the line width of FIG. 17, but the wrong setting was actually made”. You have noticed. In such a case, the operator can easily perform the work of correcting the line width by performing an input for designating the graphic 18 with the mouse. That is, the attribute element searching means 5 having received such an input to be corrected searched the graphic data of the graphic 18 from the image data storing means 2 and performed the line width immediately before the searched graphic data. Make corrections to match the search line width.
As a result, on the screen of the display 1, the graphic 18 is displayed as a broken line, like the graphic 17.

As described above, in the present image creating apparatus, not only can a graphic having the same attribute be easily confirmed, but also a graphic having a different attribute can be easily corrected with the same attribute. .

In the above-described example, the attribute elements are displayed in a different manner from the other display elements by displaying them with broken lines. However, in the present invention, the display mode is displayed using such solid lines and broken lines. It is not limited only to the method of making the difference, but in short, any method may be used as long as the display is changed in a manner that the operator can easily recognize visually. For example, while other display elements are displayed in black, the same attribute element may be displayed in red, for example, the color may be changed, and the luminance may be changed. Alternatively, it is also possible to blink only the attribute element.

In the above example, display elements having the same attribute with respect to the line width are searched. However, in the present invention, "display elements having the same attribute" are referred to as "display elements having a common feature in some property". In a broad sense, for example, in the case of a graphic, it is possible to search for the same attribute element related to a line type (a line type such as a solid line, a broken line, and a dashed line) or the same attribute element related to a line color. . When displaying characters, the same attribute elements related to the font, size and color of the characters may be searched. For example,
When a Gothic character displayed on the screen of the display 1 is specified and the same attribute element related to the typeface is searched, all the Gothic characters on the screen are displayed in a display mode different from other characters. Will be. In addition, it is also possible to search for the same attribute such as white characters, shaded characters, and deformed characters. Further, a search for the same attribute regarding the allocation mode can be performed. For example, a display element whose allocation angle is a predetermined angle can be searched as the same attribute element, or a display element whose position has been corrected so as to be aligned with a predetermined grid pattern can be searched as the same attribute element. it can.

[0019]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a display element having the same attribute as the specific display element specified by the operator is searched, and the searched display element is replaced with another display element. Therefore, the operator can easily and visually confirm a display element having the same attribute on the display screen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an image creating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image created by the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a result of a search for the same attribute element in the image shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Display 2 ... Image data storage means 3 ... Image display means 4 ... Image data generation means 5 ... Same attribute element search means 6 ... Instruction input means 11-18 ... Graphic (display element)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-1822971 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06T 11/60-11/80 G03F 1 / 00 G06F 17/50

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An apparatus for creating an image composed of display elements such as figures and characters on a display screen, comprising: a display for displaying the created image; a specific display element; Instruction input means for inputting an instruction indicating a specific position; and image data for generating image data indicating that a specific display element is displayed at a specific position based on the instruction input by the instruction input means. Generating means, image data storing means for storing the generated image data, and displaying, on the display, an image in which specific display elements are arranged at specific positions based on the image data stored in the image data storing means. Means for displaying one of the display elements displayed on the screen of the display from the image input means for displaying on the screen of the display; and the instruction input means. Receiving power
The same attribute element search means for searching for other display elements having the same attribute as the predetermined attribute for the display element from among the display elements displayed on the same screen, An image creating apparatus having a function of displaying a searched display element in a display mode different from other display elements. 2. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the same attribute element is searched by the same attribute element search means, an attribute different from the search element to be searched is input from the instruction input means. When an input for designating a display element is received, the attribute of the designated display element is changed to the same attribute as the attribute of the display element searched for.
An image creating apparatus further comprising a function of modifying image data in image data storage means. 3. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to a display element of the graphic, any one of a line width, a line type, and a color of the line constituting the graphic is set as a predetermined attribute. An image creating apparatus which instructs to search for another graphic having the same line width, line type, or line color as the same attribute element. 4. The image creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display element of the character is a typeface,
An image creating apparatus in which one of a size and a color is designated as a predetermined attribute, and another character having the same typeface, size or color is searched for as the same attribute element.