JP3474973B2 - Tabular editor - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a tabular editor for supporting creation of a large table such as a state transition table. The tabular editor performs editing operations such as new creation, update, and deletion in units of rows and columns, and in units of cells. The user can select the items to be edited by using the graphical user interface. While checking the part that has been done, you can proceed with the work. 2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of a conventional tabular editor. In FIG. 6, a tabular editor 410 is connected to an input device such as a mouse 402 and a keyboard 403 and an output device such as a display device (display) 404 via an operating system (OS) 401. In a tabular editor 410 shown in FIG. 6, an input receiving unit 411
01, the position specification input by the user operating the mouse 402 is received, and the selection processing unit 412 or the command reception unit 413 is activated in accordance with the specified position, and the received position specification input is transmitted to each of them. It is configured to be used for processing. When a position inside the menu bar is designated by the user, the command receiving unit 413 and the editing processing unit 414 operate according to an instruction from the input receiving unit 411,
Editing processing such as copy, insert, cut, paste, enlargement, and reduction is performed on the table stored in the table data storage unit 415, and the editing result is displayed in the display processing unit 416.
And the operation of the operating system 401,
This is reflected on the display screen of the display device 404. [0005] On the other hand, when the user designates a position inside the table being edited, the selection processing unit 412 starts operation in response to an instruction from the input receiving unit 411, and the received position designation input is Accordingly, a process of specifying the edit target is performed. Here, the table stored in the table data storage unit 415 is composed of axis cells indicating the names of items corresponding to rows and columns, and a plurality of internal cells forming each row and column. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the user moves the mouse diagonally from the upper left cell (indicated by s1) to the lower right cell (indicated by s2) of the target rectangular area. By dragging 402, a selection range is indicated. At this time, the selection processing unit 412
Receiving a position designation input that changes in response to the drag operation 02, a rectangle specified by the axis cell or internal cell corresponding to the drag start position and the axis cell and the internal cell indicated by the current position specification input Are sequentially selected as edit targets and are subjected to highlighting processing by the display processing unit 416, whereby the selection operation of the user is reflected on the display screen. In addition, in response to the end of the drag operation , the selection processing unit 412 specifies a selection range including the shaft cell and the internal cell selected so far. In this way, the selection processing unit 412 receives the position designation input designated by the user as it is, specifies a rectangular area determined by the selection start position and the selection end position, and edits this selection range. Edit processing unit 414 as a target
For processing. Therefore, when trying to select the entire row or column of the table, it is necessary to select cells belonging to the target row or column one by one by dragging the mouse 402 as shown in FIG. 7B. For this reason, when editing a large table,
Mouse 40 while scrolling the entire table on the display screen
It is necessary to perform an operation such as dragging the mouse 2 or reducing the size of the table so that the entire table can be accommodated on one screen and then dragging the mouse 402. In addition, one line selection and one line
A special command such as column selection is provided, and when the user selects a corresponding command from the menu, the command receiving unit 41
In response to the instruction from 3, the selection processing unit 412 combines the position designation input received from the operating system 401 with the above-described special instruction, and provides the corresponding row or column as an editing target to the processing of the editing processing unit. There are also things. In this case, regardless of the size of the table, the entire row or column can be selected without changing the display screen. [0010] As described above, in the method of receiving the selection range as it is via the operating system 401, the user confirms the selection range by dragging the mouse 402. While editing can be performed while editing a large table, screen operations such as scrolling and reduction are indispensable. Such image manipulation is very complicated, especially when editing a large-scale table.
After the selection process is completed, screen operations such as scrolling in the reverse direction and zooming in should be performed again because the table part that the user is watching may scroll out or become difficult to read due to reduction. It is necessary to go back and restore the state where the noticed portion is displayed without excess or shortage. On the other hand, when a special command such as one-line selection or one-column selection is provided, screen operations such as scrolling and reduction are unnecessary, and the display screen of the user's attention is saved. A selection process can be performed. However,
In this case, the user leaves the intuitive operation that is a characteristic of the graphical user interface, performs an operation of selecting an arbitrary cell in the row or column of interest, and then consciously operates the menu. It is necessary to perform an operation to select the corresponding instruction. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tabular editor which can select rows or columns of a large-scale table at a time while utilizing the features of a graphical user interface. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention. According to the present invention, in accordance with the cell designation information from the input means 101, the selection means 110 is provided with the configuration information holding means 1
02 shows the axis cell indicating the item name and the contents of the corresponding item
A selection range specified by the cell specification information is specified based on the information on the table held as a table including the internal cells, and the selection range is provided to the editing process of the editing unit 103. In the tabular data editing device configured to change the display of cells included in the range, the selection unit 110 may include a rectangular area based on the positions in the table of the plurality of cells indicated by the cell designation information. And extracting the information on all the cells included in this rectangular area from the configuration information holding means 102 , including the information for distinguishing between the axial cells and the internal cells, and the extraction means 111 was based on the information, the determining means 112 for determining a combination of shank cells and internal cells contained in the rectangular area, rectangular area specified by the cell designation information Conversion means 1 extends in the area of rows and columns corresponding to the shaft portion cells included in the combination determined by the determining means 112, and outputs a selection
13 is provided. In the present invention, according to the cell designation information from the input means 101, the extracting means 111 sets the configuration information holding means 1
Information about all cells included in the rectangular area from 02
Whether each cell is a shaft cell or an internal cell
Is extracted including the information indicating. Therefore, determination means 1
12 can determine the combination of the axial cell and the internal cell included in the rectangular area indicated by the cell designation information based on this information. And the conversion means 11
3 is, for example, for each combination of the determined axis cell and the internal cell, the area corresponding to these cells is expanded to the entire row or column corresponding to the corresponding axis cell, thereby obtaining the determined combination. , A selection area consisting of rows and columns corresponding to the axis cells included in
10 can be provided to the processing of the editing means 103 and the display means 104 as a selection range. Therefore, irrespective of the size of the table, any row or column can be selected by an intuitive and simple operation. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the tabular editor according to the present invention. 2, the selection processing unit 210 includes an input reception unit 41, like the selection processing unit 412 illustrated in FIG.
1 operates in response to the position designation input received from 1 and supplies the result of the selection processing to the editing processing unit 414, and provides the information on the selected area corresponding to the change in the position designation input to the processing of the display processing unit 416. I have. In the selection processing unit 210, the cell search unit 211 reads a corresponding internal cell or axis from a table data storage unit 415 corresponding to the configuration information holding unit 102 based on the position designation input received from the input reception unit 411. The configuration is such that a partial cell is searched and transmitted to the determination processing section 212 and the rectangular area extracting section 213. At this time, the input receiving unit 411 first determines the drag start position according to the operation of the mouse 402 by the user.
1 and then periodically send the position specified by the mouse 402 to the cell search unit 211. That is, the mouse 402 and the input receiving unit 41
1, the input means 101 is formed, and a position designated by the mouse 402 is transmitted as information corresponding to cell designation information. In addition, the determination processing unit 212 determines that the cell at the drag start position and the newly searched cell are
The configuration is such that it is determined whether or not a combination of a shaft cell and an internal cell is provided, and the operations of the selector 214 and the batch extraction unit 215 are controlled. In FIG. 2, a rectangular area extracting unit 21
3 determines a rectangular area based on the cell at the selection start position and the position of the cell searched last, and extracts all cells included in the rectangular area from the table data storage unit 415;
The configuration is such that it is output as a selection processing result via the selector 214 and is used for the processing of the batch extraction unit 215. The batch extracting section 215 determines the axis portion extracting section 216 in accordance with the result of the determination made by the determining section 212 described above.
Extracts only the axis cell from the extraction result by the rectangular area extraction unit 213, and selects the column selection unit 217 and the row selection unit 218.
Operate in accordance with the extraction of the corresponding shaft portions. Further, the column selection unit 217 and the row selection unit 2
At least one column or row selected collectively by any one of 18 is sent to the selector 214 as an output of the batch extracting unit 215, and sent as an output of the selection processing unit 210 via the selector 214. . FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of selecting an object to be edited. First, in response to the input of the drag start position, the cell search unit 211 searches for the cell at the selection start position (steps 301 and 302). At this time, the judgment processing unit 2
Reference numeral 12 may hold information indicating whether the cell at the drag start position is an axis cell or an internal cell. Thereafter, a new cell is searched by the cell search unit 211 in response to a new position designation input (hereinafter, referred to as a drag passage position) in accordance with the drag operation (steps 303 and 304). Rectangular area extraction
The unit 213 extracts all cells included in a rectangular area in which these cells are arranged diagonally based on the cell at the drag start position and the cell at the drag passage position in the same manner as in the related art. (Step 305). As described above, the cell search unit 211 and the rectangular area extraction unit 213 operate according to the input of the drag start position and the drag passage position, so that the extraction means 1
Eleven functions can be realized, and a rectangular area indicated by two designated positions can be extracted as in the related art. At this time, the determination processing unit 212 performs determination processing on the type of the cell at the drag start position and the cell at the drag passage position. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cell at the drag start position (in FIG. 4A and FIG.
) And the cell at the drag passage position (Fig. 4 (a), (b)
, The symbols s2, s4) are combinations of axial cells and internal cells, the determination processing unit 212
It is determined that batch extraction has been instructed (Yes determination in step 306), and in response to this, the axis extraction unit 216 extracts the axis cell included in the extraction result in step 305 described above (step 307). ). If the extracted axis cell indicates a column item (see FIG. 4A), the axis extraction unit 216 determines that a column selection has been instructed (Yes in step 308). In response to this, the column selecting unit 217 selects all the cells constituting the column corresponding to these axis cells from the table data storage unit 415 in a lump (step 30).
9, see FIG. 4 (a)). On the other hand, in the case of a negative determination in step 308, the row selection unit 218 starts operating in accordance with the output of the axis extraction unit 216, and forms a row corresponding to the axis cell obtained as an extraction result. All cells are stored in the table data storage unit 415
(Step 310, see FIG. 4 (b)). When the column selection unit 217 or the row selection unit 218 operates in this manner, the above-described determination processing unit 212
In response to the determination result, the selection result by the column selection unit 217 or the row selection unit 218 is output by the selector 214 as the processing result by the selection processing unit 210 (step 311), and is provided to the processing of the display processing unit 416. As described above, the function of the discriminating means 112 is realized by the operation of the shaft extracting unit 216 in accordance with the result of the judgment by the judgment processing unit 212, and it is possible to discriminate the shaft cell in the rectangular area. it can. In addition, the column selection unit 217 and the row selection unit 218 operate according to the determination result,
In addition, the selector 214 operates according to the determination result by the determination processing unit 212, thereby realizing the function of the conversion unit 113, and converting the conversion result to the display processing unit 416 corresponding to the display unit 104 and the editing unit 103. It can be provided to the editing processing unit 414. As a result, as shown by arrows in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a drag operation is performed across the boundary between the axis cell and the internal cell, so as to be hatched as shown in FIG. The corresponding column or row is selected, and a display screen showing this range is provided to the user. Therefore, the user can confirm the selection area corresponding to the selection operation as in the related art. Similarly, a plurality of rows or columns can be selected collectively. For example, as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 5A and 5B, from the axis cell at the drag start position indicated by reference numerals S1 and S3 to the internal cell of another column or row (in FIG. , S4) until the mouse 402
By dragging, a plurality of columns or rows are selected at once, and as shown by hatching in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b),
A display screen showing the selection range is provided to the user. On the other hand, if both the drag start position and the drag passage position are internal cells, or if both the drag start position and the drag passage position are axial cells, a negative determination is made in step 306. In this case, in response to an instruction from the determination processing unit 212, the selector 2
In step 305, the cell extracted by the rectangular area extraction unit 213 is selected (step 312), and is sent to the display processing unit 216 as an output of the selection processing unit 210. Thereafter, if the drag operation by the user continues, the input receiving unit 411 determines that the position designation input received in step 303 does not indicate the selection end position, and a negative determination in step 313 is made. Returning to step 303, the above processing may be performed in response to the new position selection input. Further, in response to the end of the drag operation, an affirmative determination is made in step 313, and in response to this,
What is necessary is just to end the selection process. As described above, when the selection processing unit 210 operates in accordance with the combination of the selected cells, the user can perform an operation conscious of whether an object to be selected is an individual cell, an entire row, or an entire column. The user can select the entire row or the entire column by a simple operation while confirming the selection range through the graphical user interface. When editing a large-scale table such as a state transition table, work on the entire row or the entire column is frequently performed. Therefore, by applying the present invention, the operability of the tabular editor can be improved. Can be dramatically improved, and the work load on the user when editing a large-scale table can be greatly reduced. As described above, according to the present invention,
The operation of selecting an entire row or column of a large-scale table can be simplified while preserving an intuitive operating environment that takes advantage of the features of the graphical user interface. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the user's work load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a tabular editor according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of selecting an edit target. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a selection operation. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a selection operation. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional tabular editor. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a conventional selection range designating operation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input means 102 Configuration information holding means 103 Editing means 104 Display means 110 Selection means 111 Extraction means 112 Determination means 113 Conversion means 210, 412 Selection processing unit 211 Cell search unit 212 Judgment processing unit 213 Rectangular area extraction unit 214 Selector 215 Batch extractor 216 Shaft extractor 217 Column selector 218 Row selector 401 Operating system (OS) 402 Mouse 403 Keyboard 404 Display device (display) 410 Tabular editor 411 Input accepting unit 413 Command accepting unit 414 Editing process Section 415 table data storage section 416 display processing section

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/21 G06F 19/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] According to the cell designation information from the input means,
The selection unit is a shaft cell indicating the item name in the configuration information holding unit.
And an internal cell indicating the content of the corresponding item
Based on the information about the table held as one, to specify the selection range specified by the cell specification information,
A table having a configuration for providing the editing process of the editing unit and changing the display of cells included in the selection range by the display unit.
In form data editing device, selecting means determines the rectangular region based on the position in the table of the plurality of cells indicated by the cell specifying information, the information on all of the cells included in the rectangular area Shaft cell and inside
Extracting means for extracting from the configuration information holding means including information for discriminating a partial cell; based on the information extracted by the extracting means, the axial cell and the internal cell included in the rectangular area are extracted. Determining means for determining a combination; expanding a rectangular area specified by the cell specifying information into an area consisting of rows and columns corresponding to axial cells included in the combination determined by the determining means; And a conversion means for outputting the data as a table .