JP3405771B2 - Document processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus and method such as a word processor capable of handling colors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to recent technological advances, it has become possible to easily create a document in a document editing editor on a word processor or a workstation.
Recently, its functions have been further enhanced and it has become possible to create color documents. By outputting it to a color printer, a color document can be easily created.

When specifying a color in a document editing device such as a word processor, it is usual to specify a certain absolute color for a certain constituent element in the document.
This is a commonly used method. As used herein, "designating an absolute color" means directly designating a certain color. In other words, in a certain document, the designation such as "blue" for "title" and "red" for "author" is
Colors such as "red" and "blue" are directly specified as the attribute of the character indicating "title" or "author name". For example, when you want to color a part of a character string of a document in the document processing device J-Star of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., select the character string to be colored, open the property sheet, and then there. Use the method of specifying the color you want to specify for the column (issued by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., “G
GlobalView Color Workstation Additional Instructions "). In the case of this example, it is a character, but in the case of a graphic, the graphic element to be colored is selected, its property sheet is opened, and the color is directly specified. At that time, if the color that can be specified at that portion is a character, the color that can be specified is the same for any character, and the same is true for a graphic element. Other document processing devices also differ in whether or not they are specified using a method called a property sheet, but when specifying colors for character strings, graphic elements, etc., there is no case where the range of colors that can be specified is different. .

[0004]

However, since various colors can be used when coloring, it is necessary for the user to know what part is colored and how a good-looking document can be obtained. As a result, there is a problem that appropriate coloring is performed subjectively by the user, and as a result, coloring that is not so good is performed.

On the other hand, in order to solve such a problem, when the purpose or impression of a document is input, the system reads the structure of the document and automatically applies the coloring / layout to it by using the knowledge of the color / layout. A technique of performing is proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-14170).
However, there is a drawback in that the documents output by such a system are uniform. This is because the same layout and the same coloring are always applied when a certain knowledge is used. Therefore, the work of post-editing the automatically generated document occurs in order to avoid uniformization. At this time, in the end, similar to the problem at the time of editing, there is no guide as to which part and how to change, and as a result, there is not much for the automatically generated good document. The problem is that you make changes that aren't good.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a document processing device which can guide a user to color editing and can easily create a document with appropriate coloring.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a color designating means for designating a desired color from a presented color for a constituent element of a document to be created, and a coloring limitation for restricting coloring of the constituent element of the document. Coloring restriction mode designating means (18 in FIG. 1) for designating a mode, coloring information holding means (17 in FIG. 1) for storing coloring information according to the coloring restriction mode, and the coloring restriction mode designating means A first color designation changing unit for changing the color presented as a color that can be designated by the color designating unit by referring to the coloring information in the coloring information storage unit according to the created coloring restriction mode (FIG. 1). 14), and coloring knowledge holding means (15 in FIG. 1) that holds knowledge about colors that can be specified for the constituent elements of the document according to the state of the constituent elements.
By referring to the coloring knowledge held in the coloring knowledge holding means, the second color designation changing means (in FIG. 1) for changing the color presented as a color that can be designated to the constituent element in accordance with the state of the constituent element. 14) is a document processing device.
Examples of the coloring restriction mode that can be specified by the coloring restriction mode specifying means include types of documents to be created such as OHP, reports and papers, for example, color images such as formal, casual style, pastel tones, for women,
Targets of documents to be created for men, technicians, sales, etc., such as beginner, intermediate, and advanced user proficiency. Further, the knowledge about coloring held by the coloring knowledge holding means is related to the type of component,
Although it relates to the area of the component, there is something related to the color specified around the component to be specified.

Further, according to the present invention, coloring information holding means (1 in FIG. 1) for holding coloring information according to the coloring restriction mode.
7) and a coloring knowledge holding unit (15 in FIG. 1) that holds knowledge about colors that can be specified for the constituent elements of the document according to the state of the constituent elements of the document. A method of processing a document, wherein a coloring restriction mode specifying unit (18 in FIG. 1) specifies a coloring restriction mode for restricting coloring of a document component based on a user's specification, and is specified by the coloring restriction mode specifying unit. By referring to the coloring information in the coloring information holding means according to the coloring restriction mode
The color to be presented as the color that can be designated by the color designating means is the first
The color to be presented as a color that can be designated to the constituent element according to the state of the constituent element is changed by referring to the coloring knowledge held by the coloring knowledge holding means and changed to the second color. Change by the specification changing means, based on the user's specification, for the constituent elements of the document to be created,
A desired color is designated by the color designating means from the presented colors.

[0009]

[00010]

[0011]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art by limiting the colors that can be used by the color information limiting means when coloring the components of a document. Specifically, when a color is specified for a component of a document in the document processing apparatus, the user is allowed to specify in advance by the coloring restriction mode designating means how to restrict the coloring of the document,
Depending on the coloring restriction mode, the color specification changing means restricts the range of colors that can be specified for the constituent elements of the document, using the corresponding coloring information held in the coloring information holding means. For example, when the user is currently creating an OHP document and selects the OHP mode as the coloring restriction mode, a relatively darker color appears on the OHP when projected, so that the character or graphic element is attached. Coloring information is used so that the colors are limited to dark colors. Further, according to the present invention, the coloring of the component can be limited to an appropriate one according to the state of the component based on the knowledge held by the coloring knowledge holding means. As described above, according to the present invention, by limiting the colors that can be designated for the document constituent elements such as characters and graphic elements according to the image of the document, the purpose, etc., it is possible to guide the user to coloring, and it is appropriate. It is possible to create a colored document.

[0012]

(Embodiment 1) In this embodiment, a color mode function is added to a conventional document processing apparatus. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of this embodiment. In this embodiment, as a conventional technology part, a document input unit 10 for inputting a document, a component holding unit 11 for holding the input document, a layout unit 12 for laying out the input document, There is a visualization unit 13 for displaying the laid out document, and a color designation unit 101 is a function of a part of the document input unit 10 . Color designation section 10
1 is often realized as a part of the function of setting the attribute of a component. In the case of an example called a property sheet as shown in FIG. 2, a function of designating a color is realized as a part of a function of setting attributes such as a font and font size for a character string. In this example, the character color is realized in the character color portion at the bottom of the property sheet by selecting the color desired by the user from the sample of the specifiable colors.

In this embodiment, in addition to these conventional techniques,
Further, according to the designated color mode, the color designation unit 10
It is characteristic that the function for guiding the user's coloring and editing is realized by limiting the color that can be designated by 1. The schematic configuration will be described below. First, in the color mode designation unit 18, the user selects a color mode according to the image of the document, the purpose, and the like. The selected color mode is transmitted to the color table holding unit 17. The color table holding unit 17 holds a table of colors that can be used for each color mode. The color table holding unit 17 refers to the color table in the color mode designated by the color mode designation unit 18, and changes the value of the color table to the color designation changing unit. Hand over to 14. The color designation changing unit 14 has a role of replacing the color table of the sample colors used in the color designation unit 101 with that of the color table of the designated color mode. When the color mode is designated as described above, a process of limiting / changing the color sample presented in the color designation unit 101 is performed so that only the color in the designated color mode can be designated. The color mode definition unit 19 is used when the user wants to define his or her own color mode. The defined color mode is passed to and held in the color table holding unit 17. Coloring knowledge holder 1 5 is not a static data such as a color table, the state of the colored object, used to hold the knowledge dynamic changes that must be limited specifiable colors . When the user wants to define coloring knowledge, the coloring knowledge defining unit 16 is used. Defined colored knowledge is retained passed in coloring knowledge holder 1 5. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

<Color Mode Designating Section 18> The color mode designating section 18 has a function of allowing the user to select a color mode. The color mode is the image or purpose of the document. For example, the type of document (OHP, report, paper, technical document, etc.), the color image of the document to be created (casual look, pastel tone, formal, etc.), creation The target of the document (for men, women, technical jobs, sales jobs, etc.). FIG. 3 shows an example of the property sheet of the color mode designation unit 18. As for the color mode, each mode may be selectable exclusively, but it is also possible to select a plurality of modes. In the case of FIG. 3, the document type is OHP, the image is formal, the target person is not specified, and the user definition is not used. In the case of the configuration using the coloring knowledge, it is further set here whether to use the coloring knowledge. In the case of the present embodiment, since the coloring knowledge is used, a portion for selecting whether to use the function is added to the property sheet (FIG. 3A). When applying coloring knowledge is selected, whether or not to apply it may be specified for each piece of knowledge held in the coloring knowledge holding unit (FIG. 3 (b)).

<Color Table Holding Unit 17> The color table holding unit 17 holds a table of colors that can be used for each color mode. The color table holder 17 is shown in FIG.
An example of the table held in is shown below. The colors held in the table are not names but values such as RGB or CMY (K). In this example, each value is 0 to 1
Is an RGB value represented by 00. The color table holding unit 17 delivers the color table corresponding to the color mode designated by the color mode designation unit 18 to the color designation changing unit 14. At that time, when a plurality of modes (for example, OHP as the document type and formal as the image in the example of FIG. 3) are designated by the color mode designation unit 18, a set of color tables registered in each mode. , That is, only the color values common to a plurality of tables are collected and passed to the color designation changing unit 14 as a color table.

<Color designation changing unit 14> Color designation changing unit 14
Normally only passes the color table passed from the color table holding unit 17 to the color designation unit 101. The color designation unit 101 presents the color table passed from the color designation changing unit 14 to the user as a sample color when designating a color. When the coloring knowledge holding unit 15 is provided, the color designation unit 101 transfers the color information of the element to be colored and the surrounding elements. While referring to the information and the color table from the color table holding unit 17, the knowledge held in the coloring knowledge holding unit 15 is referred to,
The color table is changed, and the obtained result is passed to the color designation unit 101.

<Coloring Knowledge Holding Unit 15> The coloring knowledge holding unit 15 is not static data such as a color table, but mainly depends on the state of the coloring target.
Used to hold the knowledge when the colors that can be specified must be limited. For example, when the area to be colored is large, it is preferable to use a relatively light color because it is less noticeable, and such knowledge is retained here. The coloring knowledge may be based on the type of the constituent element of the object, the area of the object, or the color used around the object. Examples of knowledge held in coloring knowledge holder 15 shown in Figure 4 (b). The knowledge name is an identifier of the knowledge, and is used when a color mode designating unit or the like specifies whether or not to apply each knowledge. Knowledge is not based on static data such as a color table, but based on the state of the object to be colored, for example, the size of a graphic element, the color of adjacent components when they are colored, etc. Knowledge for making dynamic decisions is described. In the case of the knowledge of the area of FIG. 4B , when the target element to be colored has an area (such as a graphic element or the background of a title), when the area has a certain size or more (for example, Xmm2), It is a knowledge that it is possible to specify only a color whose density (or brightness) is equal to or higher than a certain value (for example, Y), and otherwise, only the other colors can be specified. This means that the use of a lighter color in a large area does not make the color tighter, but the use of a darker color in a small area is not conspicuous. When this knowledge is passed to the color designation changing unit 14, only the colors satisfying this condition are selected from the color table passed from the color table holding unit 17, a new color table is created, and the current color is designated. The process of using it as a specifiable color of the component to be performed is performed. In the example shown in FIG. 4B , the knowledge is described in natural language for easy understanding, but it is actually described in a programming language or a dedicated language. Since it is possible to describe such processing in a programming language or the like with a conventional technique, the description of the internal details will be omitted in the present invention.

<Color Mode Definition Unit 19> The color mode definition unit 19 is used when the user defines a desired color mode by himself or defines a frequently used color mode. Examples of property sheet color mode definition unit 19 shown in Figure 5 (a). The color mode definition unit 19 includes a color mode name and a portion that defines a color table in that mode. In the case of this example, the mode name is defined by the user by inputting a character string, and the color table is realized in the form of selecting from all the color tables that the system has. As for the part that defines the color table, in addition to such an implementation method, a method of directly specifying RGB or YMC (K) values or a method of specifying a range of RGB or YMC (K) values (for example, R is 10 To 20) or a combination thereof. Also, if the user arbitrarily selects from all the colors, the knowledge may be useless, so it is necessary to change a part of the color table already registered in the color table holding unit 17. May be implemented in any format. The mode name and color table data defined by the color mode definition unit 19 are transferred to the color table storage unit 17 and stored therein, and can be specified by the color mode specification unit 18.

<Coloring Knowledge Defining Unit 16> The coloring knowledge defining unit 16 is used by the user to define knowledge for dynamically changing the color table. The coloring knowledge definition unit 16 defines knowledge names and knowledge, and the defined knowledge is transferred to and held by the coloring knowledge holding unit 15. FIG. 5B shows an example of the property sheet of the coloring knowledge defining unit 16. The knowledge name is defined by the user entering a character string. Knowledge is realized here in a way that is defined using a simple programming language style. Figure 5
The example of (b) describes the knowledge that if the area of the target element is large, a color with high brightness is used, and if not, a color with low brightness is used. This knowledge: if (S <20) then (R> 50) or (G> 50) or (B>50); else (R <= 50) and (G <= 50) and (G <= 50); R, G, and B respectively mean the RGB values of the color, and when (S <20), the color value that satisfies the expression after then, and when not (S <20), else This means that only color values that satisfy the following equation can be selected. S has a role like a reserved variable provided by the system, and the area of the target component is substituted (in this example, the unit is mm ² ). In addition to these, reserved variables also mean line lengths, types of target components, and attributes of each target component (character (alphabet, font, size)).
Etc., such as graphic elements (lines, line types, rectangles, circles, areas, radii, etc.). Therefore, when expressing the knowledge of this example in words, "when the area of the target constituent element is less than 20 mm ² , one of R, G, and B has a color exceeding 50,
When the value is mm ² or more, the R, G, and B values must be 50 or less. ”

Kind of Coloring Knowledge and Its Structure The knowledge about coloring that can be used in this embodiment will be described in detail. There are two types of knowledge about coloring. One is a static one held in the color table, and the other is the current coloring situation and the state of the components of the document currently being colored,
It is a dynamic one that further limits the data in the color table. In the present embodiment, the former is held in the color table holding unit 17, and the latter is held in the coloring knowledge holding unit 15. To briefly describe a concrete method of realizing these, the color table holding unit 17 holds a color table for each color mode, and the coloring knowledge holding unit 15 stores knowledge for each knowledge and the internal representation of the color "For determining whether or not the condition of knowledge is satisfied"
It is realized in the form of holding in the form of “expression.” However, it goes without saying that each realizing method is not restricted to this. For example, in the embodiment, each color mode is realized in the form of a color table. However, this may be expressed using an expression as in the coloring knowledge holding unit 15.

A summary of each coloring knowledge is as follows. (1) Knowledge of color mode The following are possible types of color mode and their knowledge. a) Type of document to be created (a) OHP OHP tends to look better when projected with a color with a higher density than when printed on paper (of course, if it is too dark, it will be dark. ). (B) Reports / Papers Reports / Papers use blue, green, and gray systems, and red, yellow, and purple systems are not suitable. b) Color image (a) Formal Formal, blue or gray system is used. (B) Pastel tone Pastel tone is a relatively light color and uses different hues. (C) Casual style The casual style has a richer hue than the formal style,
Uses a darker color than pastel. (D) Seasonal feeling Seasonal feeling is a coloring method that mainly uses colors that represent the season. For example, spring-green system or cherry color system, summer-blue system, autumn-red system, winter-grey system. c) Targets of documents to be created (a) Men / women Men tend to prefer colors such as blue and gray, and women tend to prefer pastel colors. (B) Age Documents with high density and contrast are preferred as the age increases. (C) Sales / technologist While relatively favored by the brown line for sales, engineers prefer the blue line. (D) Tokyo / Osaka Tokyo is highly evaluated for gray and light colors, but clearly for Osaka. Darker colors are preferred.

(2) Dynamically applied coloring knowledge The following kinds of coloring knowledge can be considered as this kind of coloring knowledge. a) Items related to the types of constituent elements (a) Characters Characters use a darker color than graphic elements (lighter makes it harder to read). In addition, a lighter color is used as the font size increases. (B) Graphic elements (fill in closed areas) Use relatively light colors to color graphic elements that have an area. (C) Graphic element (solid line) A thick line uses a lighter color than a thin line. (D) Graphic element (dotted line) If the line has the same thickness as the solid line, use a darker color. b) Items related to the area of the component (a) Wideness of area As the colored area of the component becomes wider, it is better not to use a lighter color, so it becomes lighter as the area becomes wider. Use color. c) Regarding colors specified around the component to be specified (a) Prohibition of duplication Do not use the same color for coloring adjacent places.

(Embodiment 2) An embodiment of a coloring mode according to a user's coloring skill. In general, the more skilled in coloring, the more colors can be used, but even if a beginner is suddenly given a multicoloring function, it cannot be used. There are many. Therefore, in this embodiment, the color is limited depending on the mode. However, even if it is limited, there are cases where the number of colors is too large for a beginner. Therefore, depending on the coloring ability of the user,
By setting a coloring mode such as beginner, intermediate, or advanced and asking the user to specify a mode, a function of limiting the number of colors that can be used in each mode is realized.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of this embodiment. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the different user skill level designating unit 65 will be described. The user skill level designating unit 65 in this embodiment has three modes of "beginner level, intermediate level, and advanced level" (of course, this may be two or five). An example of the property sheet of the user skill level designating unit 65 is shown in FIG. Ask the user to specify his or her skill level regarding coloring as shown in the figure. The user skill level designating unit 65 further holds the number of usable colors for each skill level. It is shown in FIG. 7 (b). In this embodiment, the setting is set to 4 colors for the beginner, 10 colors for the intermediate, and no limitation for the advanced ("-" in the figure means no limitation).

The mode designated by the user skill level designating section 65 refers to the skill level data held in the same designating section 65 and refers to the number of usable colors according to the skill level (hereinafter referred to as skill level data). Called) and passed to the color designation changing unit 64. Then, in the color designation changing unit 64, from the color table data in the color mode designated by the color mode designating unit 67, the number of colors of the skill level data passed from the user skill level designating unit 65 is the head of the color table. And delivers it to the color designation unit 601. For example, when the color mode is “casual” and 20 colors are registered in the color table for the “casual” mode, when “beginner” is selected in the user skill level designating unit 65, the color designation changing unit 64 is selected. Then, from the head of the 20-color table for the "casual" mode, only the 4-color data is passed to the color designating unit 601. That is, in the beginner mode, only four colors can be used in any coloring mode.

At this time, the color table held by the color table holding unit 66 is generally classified and held according to hue (red system, blue system, yellow system, etc.). In other words, the order has no meaning other than "color type". Therefore, by arranging the color data in the table in the order of effective colors in the mode, the user skill level designating unit 65 can be used.
The effect of is further exerted. For example, it is assumed that there is a "pastel" mode as a color mode for designating an image. Pastel tones are relatively light colors and tend to use colors with different hues. In other words, using similar colors does not give a pastel tone. In such a case, in the color designating section 601 for designating the colors, if the display order of the colors is arranged in the similar color order (for example, sky blue, marine blue, light blue, ...
・ The way to specify colors in "pastel" is to select some colors from the beginning, some colors from the end, and some colors from the middle. You will have to choose from many places.
Therefore, by displaying the color samples in the order of different hues (for example, salmon pink, sky blue, cream yellow, mauve, ...), the color samples are selected in order from the beginning. By applying coloring, it becomes possible to perform natural "pastel-like" coloring. In this order, the color table holding unit 6
If 6 holds color data, the user skill level designating section 65 can select only the most effective color from the beginning and present it to the user, so that more effective support can be provided.

Needless to say, the method of storing color data in such an order is effective even if it is not used simultaneously with the user skill level designating section. This is because a large amount of color data is given a color priority order, which serves as a guide for the user to perform coloring.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the color of the constituent element is designated, the user is requested to designate the color mode of the document (the image of the document, the purpose, etc.) in advance, and according to the color mode. Since the colors that can be designated to the constituent elements of the document such as characters and graphic elements are limited, it is possible to guide the user in coloring and editing, and it is possible to create a document with appropriate coloring. The present invention is
It is also useful for post-editing a document that has been colored by a conventional document processing device for automatically coloring.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of text properties constituting a color designation part.

3A and 3B are views showing examples of property sheets of a color mode designating section, respectively.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a color table of a color table holding unit, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of knowledge held in a coloring knowledge holding unit.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a color mode definition property sheet of a color mode definition unit, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a coloring definition property sheet of a coloring knowledge definition unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of a user skill level property sheet, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an example of skill level data.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Document input unit, 101 ... Color designation unit, 11 ... Component holding unit, 12 ... Allocation unit, 13 ... Visualization unit, 14 ... Color designation changing unit, 15 ... Coloring knowledge holding unit, 16 ... Coloring knowledge defining unit, 17 ... Color table holding unit, 18 ... Color mode designation unit, 19 ... Color mode definition unit.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page       (56) Reference JP-A-4-359382 (JP, A)                 JP-A-4-14170 (JP, A)                 JP-A-3-278224 (JP, A)                 JP-A-6-44355 (JP, A)

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A color designating means for designating a desired color from the presented colors for a constituent element of a document to be created, and a coloring restriction for designating a coloring restriction mode for restricting the coloring of the constituent element of the document. Reference is made to mode specifying means, coloring information holding means for holding coloring information according to the coloring restriction mode, and coloring information in the coloring information holding means according to the coloring restriction mode specified by the coloring restriction mode specifying means. Thus, the first color designation changing means for changing the color to be presented as the color that can be designated by the color designating means, and knowledge about the colors that can be designated for the constituent elements according to the state of the constituent elements of the document. By referring to the coloring knowledge holding means that is held and the coloring knowledge held in the coloring knowledge holding means, the configuration can be made according to the state of the component. Document processing apparatus characterized by comprising a second color designation changing means for changing the color to be displayed as a color can be specified for elements. 2. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to the type of component. 3. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to the area of each component. 4. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to a color designated around a component to be designated . 5. A coloring information holding means for holding coloring information according to a coloring restriction mode, and a coloring knowledge holding for holding knowledge about colors that can be designated for the constituent elements of a document according to the states of the constituent elements. And a coloring processing mode for specifying a coloring restriction mode for restricting the coloring of the constituent elements of the document based on a user's specification. The color to be presented as a color that can be designated by the color designating means is changed by the first color designation changing means by referring to the coloring information in the coloring information holding means according to the coloring restriction mode designated by the limiting mode designating means. Then, by referring to the coloring knowledge held in the coloring knowledge holding means, the constituent element is changed according to the state of the constituent element. The color to be presented as a color that can be designated in the second color designation changing means is changed by the second color designation changing means, and based on the user's designation, a desired color is selected from the presented colors for the constituent elements of the document to be created. A document processing method performed by a document processing apparatus characterized by being specified by. 6. The document processing method according to claim 5, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to the type of component. 7. The document processing method according to claim 5, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to the area of the component. 8. The document processing method according to claim 5, wherein the knowledge about coloring is related to a color specified around a component to be specified.