JP3903037B2 - Document creation method and document creation apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer and a document processing method and apparatus provided with a scanner, and particularly includes the structure of a paper medium document that is read when image data read from the scanner is stored as an electronic document. The present invention relates to a document processing method and a document processing method that can be reflected in an electronic document.

  The most common method for copying a paper document is to use a copying machine. In recent digital copying machines, there is a read image transmission function for transmitting image data of a document read from a scanner unit as a file to a host computer (external device) connected via a network (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Also, if a manuscript is set on the scanner unit of the copying machine, the number of copies to be copied is input, and the copy button is pressed, a specified number of copies can be created. This method has a problem in that when the original read by the scanner is read obliquely, the corresponding pages of all copies are printed obliquely. Further, when copying with a copying machine, there is a problem that image quality deteriorates due to the addition of noise and black spots to the original document. Furthermore, there is a problem that unnecessary page numbers and headers / footers attached to the original document cannot be removed, and new page numbers and headers / footers cannot be added. In addition, there has been a problem in that it is impossible to perform more advanced editing of the original, such as adjusting the printing position of a specific original page. Conventionally, two methods have been implemented as a method for solving these problems.

  One is a method that is carried out by a single copying machine. A document that has been read by the scanner of the copying machine is temporarily stored in the copying machine, and the user confirms the state of the stored document to improve the above problems. Is performed, and a copy of the stored document is executed according to the print setting (for example, Patent Document 2). This method is used when skew correction and noise / black spot removal are performed automatically. However, advanced editing such as header / footer editing and page-by-page printing position adjustment is used for copying machines. The current situation is that it has not been carried out so much due to problems of operability and processing capability, or has been carried out with poor operability.

  The other is to transfer the original scanned by the scanner of the copier to the information processing device once connected to the copier, and to display the application software with advanced processing capabilities and advanced functions of the information processing device, This is a method that enables advanced editing by using an interface device with good operability such as a mouse / keyboard (for example, Patent Document 3).

  Conventionally, a high-quality copy of a paper document has been created by these two methods.

As described above, when an electronic document is generated by converting the document into electronic data by a scanner and generating the image as image data, image quality problems peculiar to a paper document such as inclination correction and density adjustment occur. In some cases, a blank page called a slip sheet is inserted in a paper input document in order to indicate a logical separation in the document.
JP 2002-132642 A JP-A-7-283933 JP 2000-165639 A

  As described above, when handling a paper manuscript in a format that inserts blank paper (interleaf) into a document and expresses the structure of the document, the data captured by the scanner is simply a sequence of digitized image data. For this reason, an electronic document simply includes one page of blank image data, and the logical structure in which the document is divided by blank paper is lost. In that case, it is necessary for the user himself / herself to perform an operation of searching for a slip sheet in the electronic document and giving the document structure to the document as a break.

  In addition, when a pay-per-use charge according to the number of prints is made for a printer or the like used for output, there is a problem that a charge is made even if nothing is printed for a blank page. In order to prevent this, a function of deleting blank pages may be provided when scanned image data is stored as a document. In this case, however, the slip sheet for indicating the document break is lost from the print result, and the electronic document cannot be logically separated using blank pages as a guide and restored as a structured document.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example. By specifying a chapter paper whose back side is a blank page from image data obtained by reading both sides of a sheet document in units of pages, the specified chapter paper is set to the top. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing method and a document processing apparatus for creating an electronic document divided for each set of pages and giving the electronic document as a setting without leaving image data of a page corresponding to this chapter paper. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

An image reading means for reading both sides of the sheet document as page-by-page image data;
Akirashi particular unit, from the image data read by the image reading step, and chapter paper specifying step of specifying a chapter paper backside becomes blank page,
A document creation step in which the document creation means creates an electronic document divided for each group of pages starting from the chapter specified by the chapter specification step based on the image data read in the image reading step ;
The setting editing means deletes the image data of the page corresponding to the chapter paper specified by the chapter paper specifying step, and inserts the chapter paper at the head of the group of pages in the electronic document created by the document creation step. A setting editing step for giving a setting to that effect .

  According to the present invention, when a chapter paper is detected in a document, the hierarchical structure of the document can be reproduced in an electronic manuscript file by creating the chapter by dividing the hierarchical structure of the document at the position of the chapter paper. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Outline of Document Processing System of this Embodiment]
The document processing system of the present embodiment can handle not only image data read by a scanner but also electronic files created by various application programs. Prior to the description of the embodiment, the background of the necessity of the document processing system of the present embodiment will be described.

  Different types of data, such as text, tables, and images captured by digital cameras and scanners, differ in the structure that defines the data and the editing operations on those data. Has been. The user uses different applications depending on the type of data, such as a character processing program for editing characters, a spreadsheet program for editing tables, and an image editing program for editing images.

  As described above, the user generally uses different application programs for each type of data. However, as a document to be created by the user, for example, a plurality of types of data such as characters and tables, characters and images, rather than a document composed of only one type of data such as characters only, tables only, and images only. Documents consisting of are more common. Therefore, in order to create a target document including a plurality of types of data, the user needs to print data for each application by using a printing function included in various applications and combine the printed materials in a desired order.

  Alternatively, there are programs called so-called office suites that form a single integrated application by various applications, and provide a function that combines data generated by each application to form a single document. When using this integrated application, the user can collect the data created by each application into one target document by a specific application included in the integrated application.

  However, when a user creates a single target document by combining printed materials from various applications, for example, in order to assign page numbers to each page, all necessary data should be printed once and put together as a document. The page number needs to be determined. Each application then writes the determined page number for each page of the document created by that application (this is called a logical page or a document page). Even if the application program has a function of assigning page numbers, if there is a discontinuous part, the user must still specify the page number for that part. When the target document page is rearranged, the page number must be reassigned accordingly. Or, it is not a change related to the contents of data, such as combining a plurality of manuscript pages into one page as a printed matter (referred to as a physical page or a print page) or changing from single-sided printing to double-sided printing. Even when the format is changed, editing and printing must be performed again by the application.

  As described above, since the application that can manage the data is different for each type of data, the user must provide an interface between the applications manually. This means that a great deal of labor is required for the user, resulting in a decrease in productivity. Furthermore, since many people are involved, errors are likely to occur.

  On the other hand, when a target document is created using an integrated application, various data can be arranged in a data state without printing out. For this reason, labor is not required as much as when a target document is created by combining printed materials. However, applications for editing and creating various data are limited to those included in the integrated application, and an application desired by the user cannot always be used. The target document created by the integrated application is a single document file, and management such as editing / output is performed in file units. Therefore, there are many restrictions due to the function of the application even when trying to set the format for a part of the document file. For example, it is necessary to change the format for each part where the format changes and to reprint. For this reason, in the point that much labor is required and productivity is low, it was not different from the method mentioned above.

  From the background described above, the document processing system of the present embodiment is a document processing system that solves these problems and also solves the problems of the present invention. Therefore, not only image data read by a scanner but also electronic files created by various application programs can be handled.

  Next, an outline of a document processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this document processing system, a data file created by a general application is converted into an electronic document file by an electronic document writer (sometimes referred to as a print data storage driver). An image read by the scanner is also converted into an electronic document file by means of a scanner driver or other application software. A bookbinding application (sometimes called a print control application) provides a function of editing the electronic document file. In this example, the general application, the scanner driver, the electronic document writer, the bookbinding application, and the electronic document despooler (sometimes referred to as a printing application) are shown separately so that the respective functions become clear. The package provided to the user is not limited to these, and may be provided as an application or graphic engine combining them. Details will be described below.

<Software Configuration Example of Document Processing System According to this Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the document processing system according to the present embodiment.

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

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

  When the application 101 uses the electronic document writer 102, the electronic document writer 102 is designated as a device driver used for output, and printing is executed. However, the electronic document file as created by the electronic document writer 102 does not have a complete format as the electronic document file. Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 designates the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver, and conversion of application data into an electronic document file is executed under the management of the bookbinding application 104. The bookbinding application 104 completes the new incomplete electronic document file generated by the electronic document writer 102 as an electronic document file having a format to be described later. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to clearly identify this point, a file created by the electronic manuscript writer 102 is called an electronic manuscript file, and an electronic manuscript file given a structure by the bookbinding application is called a book file. If there is no need to distinguish between them, a document file, an electronic manuscript file, and a book file generated by an application are all referred to as a document file (or document data).

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

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

  In this embodiment, first, print data from the general application 101 is stored in the system as an electronic document file 103 via the electronic document writer 102. This electronic document file 103 includes an intermediate file and an editing information file. The intermediate file includes content data of the printed material, setting data for printing, and the like. The content data of the printed matter is data obtained by converting data created by the user on the application into an intermediate code, and the setting data for printing is data describing how the content data is output (output format etc.) . In addition, application binding data called an editing information file for providing a user interface when the bookbinding application 104 instructs the user to edit the contents of the electronic manuscript file 103 and to output it is included. The editing information file stores not only extended data for providing a user interface but also print setting data that cannot be stored in an intermediate file. For this reason, for example, when a standardized format is used as the intermediate file, print settings that cannot be saved in that format can also be saved in the editing information file.

  The bookbinding application 104 reads the electronic document file 103. The bookbinding application 104 expands the contents of the intermediate file as a table in the memory, and if the editing information file includes specific settings that are not included in the intermediate file, the table in which the settings are expanded in the memory. To reflect. The output format of the contents of the read intermediate file can be changed, displayed, saved, and printed. The electronic document despooler 105 actually performs processing for printing.

  When the book file 103 edited by the bookbinding application 104 is printed, the bookbinding application 104 activates the electronic document despooler 105. The electronic document despooler 105 is a program module installed in the computer together with the bookbinding application, and is a module used to output drawing data to the printer driver when printing a document (book file) used in the bookbinding application. It is. The electronic manuscript despooler 105 reads a designated book file (electronic manuscript file) from the hard disk, and reads each page in a format described in the book file (electronic manuscript file), that is, a format defined by the intermediate file and the editing information file. In order to print, an output command suitable for the above-described OS output module (graphic engine) is generated and output to an output module (not shown). At that time, the driver 106 of the printer 107 used as an output device is designated as a device driver. The output module converts the output command received using the printer driver 106 of the designated printer 107 into a device command that can be interpreted and executed by the printer 107. The device command is transmitted to the printer 107, and an image corresponding to the command is printed by the printer 107.

  Further, the system of FIG. 1 includes a scanner, and an image can be read by the scanner 108 and stored as the electronic document file 103. There are two main methods for capturing an image from the scanner 108. One is a method called pull scan, which is a method of instructing scanning from the application side that receives an image. Specifically, there is a method in which the application acquires image data through the scanner driver 109. As a scanner driver, a TWAIN or ISIS compatible driver is generally used. The resolution and the number of colors can be set by the scanner driver.

  Another method is a method called push scan, in which a scan instruction is given from the scanner side. Specifically, there is a method in which the scanner places an image file on a hard disk shared over a network. In this case, the scanner needs to have a network function common to the digital computer 100 and to have a write authority for the shared folder.

  For push scan, the image file quality settings are set on the panel of the scanner itself. Common image formats include TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and PDF. On the other hand, in the case of pull scanning, the bookbinding application 104 directly acquires and reads image data from the scanner driver. In the case of push scanning, an image file placed in a predetermined folder of the digital computer 100, for example, is read. At this time, the bookbinding application 104 can monitor a folder in which the scanned image file is placed, or can receive a scan end notification from the scanner and automatically read it without waiting for user input. Alternatively, the user may instruct the bookbinding application 104 to read an image file placed on the digital computer 100.

<Hardware Configuration Example of Document Processing System of this Embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the document processing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the host computer 100 performs document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets), etc. are mixed based on a document processing program stored in the ROM 203 or the external memory 211. The CPU 201 generally controls each device connected to the system bus 204. In addition, an operating system program or the like as a control program of the CPU 201 is stored in the program ROM or the external memory 211 in the ROM 203, and the font ROM or the external memory 211 in the ROM 203 is used for the document processing. Font data and the like are stored, and various data used when performing the document processing and the like are stored in the data ROM in the ROM 203 or the external memory 211. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls key input from a keyboard 209 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 206 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 210. A disk controller (DKC) 207 is a hard disk (HD) that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, a scanner control program (scanner driver), a printer control command generation program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver), and the like. ) And an external memory 211 such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD). An external interface (external I / F) 208 is connected to the printer 107 via the bidirectional interface (interface) 21 and connected to the scanner 108 via the bidirectional interface 22 to control communication with the printer 107 and the scanner 108. Execute the process. The NC 212 is connected to the network and executes communication control processing with other devices connected to the network. The printer 107 and the scanner 108 may be connected via a network.

  Note that the CPU 201 executes, for example, outline font development (rasterization) processing on the display information RAM set on the RAM 202 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT 210. The CPU 201 opens various windows registered based on commands instructed by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 210 and executes various data processing. When executing printing, the user opens a window relating to print settings, and can set the print processing method for the printer driver including printer settings and print mode selection.

  The printer 107 is controlled by the CPU 312. The CPU 312 of the printer outputs as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 317 connected to the system bus 315 based on a control program stored in the program ROM in the ROM 313 or a control program stored in the external memory 314. The image signal is output. The program ROM in the ROM 313 stores a control program for the CPU 312 and the like. The font ROM in the ROM 313 stores font data used when generating the output information, and the data ROM in the ROM 313 is a host computer in the case of a printer without the external memory 314 such as a hard disk. Information used above is stored.

  The CPU 312 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 318 and can notify the host computer 100 of information in the printer. The RAM 319 is a RAM that functions as a main memory of the CPU 312, a work area, and the like, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 319 is used for an output information expansion area, an environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like. Access to the above-described external memory 314 such as a hard disk (HD) or IC card is controlled by a memory controller (MC) 320. The external memory 314 is connected as an option and stores font data, an emulation program, form data, and the like. Reference numeral 321 denotes an operation panel on which operation switches, an LED display, and the like are arranged.

  The external memory 314 is not limited to one, and a plurality of external memories 314 are provided, and a plurality of external memories storing an option card and a program for interpreting a printer control language having a different language system in addition to the built-in font can be connected. May be. Furthermore, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided, and printer mode setting information from the operation panel 321 may be stored.

  The scanner 108 is controlled by the CPU 332. The CPU 332 of the scanner inputs an image signal as input information from a reading unit (scanner engine) 337 connected to the system bus 335 based on a control program stored in a program ROM in the ROM 333. The program ROM in the ROM 333 stores a control program for the CPU 332 and the like. Information used by the CPU 332 is stored in the data ROM in the ROM 333.

  The CPU 332 can communicate with the host computer 100 via the I / F unit 338 and can notify the host computer 100 of information in the scanner. The RAM 339 is a RAM that functions as a main memory of the CPU 332, a work area, and the like, and also functions as an image memory that temporarily stores image data read by the scanner engine. The read image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 339 for each page of the sheet and transmitted to the host computer 100.

  The reading unit 337 irradiates the original image with light source light, condenses the reflected light on an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS by an optical system, converts it into a digital signal, converts it into a digital signal, and inputs it to the IF unit 338. . Or what used CIS may be used. Further, the reading unit 337 is provided with an automatic document feeder (ADF), and has a function of conveying documents stacked on the sheet feeding unit one by one to a reading position, and automatically reads a plurality of documents. Can do. Further, the ADF has a sheet reversing function, and the front and back of one sheet can be read continuously. In that case, the image data read after reading the front side is transmitted to the host computer as image data corresponding to one page, and then the sheet is reversed and the back side is read, and the image data corresponds to image data corresponding to one page. To the host computer 100. The operation panel 331 is provided with a switch for operation by an operator, for example, a push scan operation, an LED display, and the like.

<Example format of electronic manuscript data>
Before referring to details of the editing application 104, the data format of the book file will be described. The book file has a three-layer structure imitating a paper medium book. The upper layer is called a “book”, imitating one book, and attributes relating to the book as a whole are defined. The middle layer below it corresponds to the chapter in the book and is also called “chapter”. For each chapter, attributes for each chapter can be defined. The lower layer is a “page” and corresponds to each page defined by the application program. Attributes for each page can be defined for each page. A book may contain multiple chapters, and a chapter may contain multiple pages.

  The book file includes node information indicating a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 3, document page data, intermediate data storage file (job ticket, described later), attribute information (also referred to as editing information) as shown in FIGS. It consists of a watermark library, annotation library, and variable data library. The watermark library stores watermark (stamp) entity data in association with an identification number. In the annotation library, annotation data is stored in association with an identification number. The variable data library stores variable data entities in units of records. The data (entity) of these libraries is assigned an identifier, and the data is reflected in the output data by designating the position where the data is superimposed from the attributes of each hierarchy.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a book file format. The format of this book file is represented by an editing information file. That is, FIG. 3 shows the structure of an editing information file among electronic document files. The book, chapter, and page in the book file are indicated by corresponding nodes. One book file contains one book. Since the book and chapter are concepts for defining the structure of the book, they include defined attribute values and links to lower layers as entities. The page has data for each page output by the application program as an entity. Therefore, the page includes an original page entity (original page data) and a link to each original page data in addition to the attribute value. Note that a print page when outputting to a paper medium or the like may include a plurality of document pages. This structure is not displayed by a link, but is displayed as an attribute in each hierarchy of a book, chapter, and page.

  In FIG. 3, since the book file does not have to be one complete book, “book” is generalized as “document”.

  First, the document information 401 is held at the top. The document information 401 can be roughly divided into three parts 402 to 404. The document control information 402 holds information such as a path name in the file system of the document file. The document setting information 403 holds layout information such as page layout and printing apparatus function setting information such as stapling, and corresponds to a book attribute. The chapter information list 404 holds a set of chapters constituting a document in a list format. The list holds chapter information 405.

  The chapter information 405 can be roughly divided into three parts 406 to 408. The chapter control information 406 holds information such as a chapter name. The chapter setting information 407 holds page layout information and stapling information unique to the chapter, and corresponds to chapter attributes. By having setting information for each chapter, it is possible to create a document having a complicated layout such that the first chapter has a 2UP layout and the other chapters have a 4UP layout. The page information list 408 is held in the form of a collection list of manuscript pages constituting each chapter. The page information list 408 indicates page information data 409.

  The page information data 409 is also roughly divided into three parts 410 to 412. The page control information 410 holds information such as page numbers to be displayed on the tree. The page setting information 411 holds information such as page rotation angle and page layout position information, and corresponds to an original page attribute. The page link information 412 is document data corresponding to a page. In this example, the page information 409 does not directly have document data, but has only link information 412, and actual document data is held in a page data list 413.

  FIG. 4 is a list showing an example of book attributes (document setting information 403). Normally, for items that can be defined overlapping with the lower layer, the attribute value of the lower layer is preferentially adopted. Therefore, for items included only in the book attribute, the value defined in the book attribute becomes a valid value throughout the book. However, items that overlap the lower layer have meanings as default values when they are not defined in the lower layer. However, in this example, as described later, it is possible to select whether to give priority to the attribute value of the lower layer. Each item illustrated does not specifically correspond to one item, but may include a plurality of related items.

  There are four items unique to the book attributes: printing method, bookbinding details, front / back cover, and chapter break. These are items defined throughout the book. As the printing method attribute, three values of single-sided printing, double-sided printing, and bookbinding printing can be designated. Bookbinding printing is a method of printing in a format that enables bookbinding by bundling a separately designated number of sheets into two and folding the bundle. As the bookbinding details attribute, when bookbinding printing is designated, the spread direction, the number of sheets to be bundled, and the like can be designated.

  The front cover / back cover attribute includes designation of adding sheets as a front cover and a back cover when printing an electronic document file to be collected as a book, and designation of print contents on the added sheet. The index sheet attribute includes designation of insertion of index sheets with ears separately prepared in the printing apparatus as chapter breaks and designation of print contents in the index (ear) portion. This attribute can be used when a printing device used by an inserter having an insert function for inserting a sheet prepared separately from the printing sheet into a desired position, or a plurality of paper cassettes can be used. Effective in some cases. The same applies to the slip sheet attribute. It is also possible to register an annotation to be printed on the index sheet as a part of the index attribute. In this case, what is registered is a printing position, a character string to be printed, image data, and the like. This annotation can be similarly defined for the slip sheet attribute.

  The chapter break attribute includes designation of whether to use a new sheet, use a new print page, or do nothing in particular at the chapter break. During single-sided printing, the use of new paper and the use of a new print page have the same meaning. In double-sided printing, if “use new paper” is specified, consecutive chapters will not be printed on one sheet, but if “use new print page” is specified, consecutive chapters will be 1 It may be printed on the front and back of a sheet of paper.

  FIG. 5 is a list showing an example of chapter attributes (chapter setting information 407). In chapter attributes, attributes of paper size, paper orientation, Nup printing designation, enlargement / reduction, watermark, header / footer, paper discharge information, index paper, and slip sheet can be described. The index sheet attribute and the slip sheet attribute include designation of insertion of a sheet supplied from an inserter or a sheet feed cassette as a chapter break, and designation of a sheet feed source when inserting a slip sheet. Further, when an annotation is added to the index sheet or slip sheet, the index sheet attribute and slip sheet attribute describe identification information of the added annotation.

  In the present invention, when the chapters are automatically divided by the processing described later and the chapter paper is set, the index paper attribute is turned ON, and the identification information of the annotation is described. Annotations can be set for chapters that do not exist.

  FIG. 6 is a list showing an example of page attributes (page setting information 411). As shown in FIG. 6, the page attribute also has each attribute. The annotation attribute of the page attribute describes annotation identification information for the original page data. The index sheet annotation of FIG. 5 and the annotation information in the page attribute of FIG. 6 indicate that there is an annotation to be printed on the paper, but FIG. Because the setting is for the index paper (or slip sheet) that is the paper, it cannot be described in the page attribute as shown in FIG. 6, and is described in the chapter attribute of FIG. To add annotations. The relationship between chapter attributes and page attributes is the same as the relationship between book attributes and lower layer attributes.

  If the definition in the chapter attribute is different from the definition in the book attribute, the value defined in the chapter attribute takes precedence. However, in this example, as described later, it is possible to select whether to give priority to the attribute value of the lower layer.

  Items common to only the book attribute and chapter attribute are six items: printing method, paper size, paper orientation, N-up printing designation, enlargement / reduction, and paper discharge method. As the printing method attribute, three values of single-sided printing, double-sided printing, and bookbinding printing can be specified in the book attribute, but in the chapter attribute, whether or not single-sided printing is performed only when double-sided printing is specified in the book attribute, that is, single-sided printing and Either double-sided printing can be specified, and switching between single-sided printing and double-sided printing can be set in one book. The N-up print designation attribute is an item for designating the number of document pages included in one print page. Examples of arrangements that can be specified include 1 × 1, 1 × 2, 2 × 2, 3 × 3, and 4 × 4. The paper discharge method attribute is an item for designating whether or not stapling is performed on the discharged paper, and the validity of this attribute depends on whether the printing apparatus to be used has a stapling function.

  Items unique to the page attribute include a page rotation attribute, zoom, layout designation, annotation, and page division. The page rotation attribute is an item for designating a rotation angle when placing an original page on a print page. The zoom attribute is an item for designating the scaling factor of the original page. The scaling factor is specified with the size of the virtual logical page area as 100%. The virtual logical page area is an area occupied by one manuscript page when the manuscript page is arranged in accordance with designation of N-up or the like. For example, if it is 1 × 1, the virtual logical page area is an area corresponding to one print page, and if it is 1 × 2, each side of one print page is an area reduced to about 70%.

  Attributes common to the book, chapter, and page include a watermark attribute and a header / footer attribute. A watermark is a separately designated image or character string that is printed over data created by an application. The header / footer is a watermark printed on the upper margin and the lower margin of each page. However, items that can be specified by variables, such as page numbers and date / time, are prepared in the header / footer. The contents that can be specified in the watermark attribute and the header / footer attribute are common to the chapter and the page, but the book is different from them. In the book, the contents of the watermark and header / footer can be set, and how the watermark, header and footer are printed throughout the book can be specified. On the other hand, for a chapter or page, whether or not to print a watermark or header / footer set in the book can be specified for the chapter or page.

<Example of Operation Procedure of Document Processing System of Present Embodiment>
(Book file generation procedure example)
The book file has the structure and contents as described above. Next, a procedure for creating a book file by the bookbinding application 104 and the electronic document writer 102 will be described. Creation of the book file is realized as part of the book file editing operation by the bookbinding application 104.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure when the bookbinding application 104 opens a book file.

  First, it is determined whether the book file to be opened is to be newly created or is an existing one (step S701). In the case of new creation, a new book file not including a chapter is created (step S702). In the example of FIG. 3, the newly created book file is a book node that has only the book node 301 and does not have a link to the chapter node. As the book attribute, a set of attributes prepared in advance for new creation is applied. Then, a user interface (UI) screen for editing the new book file is displayed (step S704). FIG. 8 shows an example of a UI screen when a book file is newly created. In this case, since the book file has no substantial content, nothing is displayed on the UI screen 800.

  On the other hand, if there is an existing book file, the designated book file is opened (step S703), and a user interface (UI) screen is displayed according to the structure, attributes, and contents of the book file. FIG. 9 shows an example of this UI screen. The UI screen 900 includes a tree portion 901 that shows the structure of the book and a preview portion 902 that displays the printed state. The tree portion 901 displays chapters included in the book and pages included in each chapter so that a tree structure as shown in FIG. 3 can be seen. A page displayed in the tree portion 901 is a manuscript page. In preview portion 902, the contents of the print page are reduced and displayed. The display order reflects the structure of the book.

  In the opened book file, application data converted into an electronic manuscript file by the electronic manuscript writer 102 can be added as a new chapter. This function is called an electronic document import function. By importing an electronic manuscript into a book file newly created by the procedure of FIG. 7, an entity is given to the book file. This function is activated by dragging and dropping application data on the screen of FIG. 8 or FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for electronic document import. However, a case where a document is read as image data from the scanner 108 and imported will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the application program that generated the specified application data is activated, the electronic document writer 102 is specified as a device driver, and the application data is printed out to be converted into electronic document data (step S801). When the conversion is completed, it is determined whether or not the converted data is image data (step S802). This determination can be made based on the file extension of the application data under the Windows (registered trademark) OS. For example, if the extension is “bmp”, it is Windows (registered trademark) bitmap data, if it is “jpg”, it is determined as JPEG-compressed image data, and if it is “tiff”, it is determined as Tiff format image data. it can. In the case of such image data, since it is possible to generate an electronic document file directly from the image data without starting an application as in S8010, the processing in S801 can be omitted.

  If it is not image data, the electronic document file generated in step S801 is added as a new chapter to the book of the currently opened book file (step S803). Normally, as the chapter attribute, the value of the book attribute is copied for those that are common to the book attribute, and for those that are not, the default value prepared in advance is set, but in this example, as described later, It is possible to select whether to give priority to the attribute value of the lower layer.

  In the case of image data, in principle, no new chapter is added, and each original page included in the electronic original file generated in step S801 is added to the designated chapter (step S804). However, if the book file is a newly created file, a new chapter is created, and each page of the electronic document file is added as a page belonging to the chapter. Normally, the page attribute is given an attribute value for an attribute common to the upper layer attribute, and is given for an attribute that inherits the attribute defined in the application data in the electronic document file. For example, when N-up designation or the like is made in the application data, the attribute value is taken over. In this way, a new book file is created or a new chapter is added. However, in this example, as described later, it is possible to select whether to give priority to the attribute value of the lower layer.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating an electronic document file by the electronic document writer 102 in step S801 of FIG.

  First, a new electronic document file is created and opened (step S901). An application corresponding to the designated application data is started, and an output command is transmitted to the output module of the OS using the electronic document writer 102 as a device driver. The output module converts the received output command into electronic document format data by the electronic document writer and outputs the converted data (step S902). The output destination is the electronic document file opened in step S901. It is determined whether or not conversion has been completed for all designated data (step S903), and if completed, the electronic document file is closed (step S904). The electronic manuscript file generated by the electronic manuscript writer 102 is a file including the substance of the manuscript page data shown in FIG.

(Book file editing example)
As described above, a book file can be created from application data. With respect to the generated book file, the following editing operations are possible for chapters and pages.
(1) New addition (2) Delete (3) Copy (4) Cut (5) Paste (6) Move (7) Rename chapter (8) Rename page number (9) Insert cover (10) Insert paper Insert (11) Insert index paper (12) Page layout for each document page.

  In addition, an operation for canceling an editing operation once performed and an operation for redoing the canceled operation are possible. Using these editing functions, for example, integration of multiple book files, rearrangement of chapters and pages in the book file, deletion of chapters and pages in the book file, layout change of manuscript pages, insertion of slip sheets and index sheets, etc. Operation becomes possible. When these operations are performed, the operation results are reflected in the attributes shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 or the structure of the book file. For example, if a blank page new addition operation is performed, a blank page is inserted at a specified location. This blank page is treated as a manuscript page. If the layout of the original page is changed, the changed content is reflected in attributes such as a printing method, N-up printing, front / back cover, index paper, slip sheet, and chapter break. The display and operation example during editing in this example will be described in detail below.

(Book file output example)
The book file created and edited as described above has the final purpose of print output. When the user selects a file menu from the UI screen 900 of the bookbinding application shown in FIG. 9 and selects printing from the file menu, printing is output by the designated output device. At this time, the bookbinding application 104 first creates a despool table from the currently opened book file (edit information file and intermediate file) and passes it to the electronic document despooler 105. The electronic document despooler 105 converts an intermediate file, in this embodiment, a job ticket into a despool table, converts it into an OS output command, such as a Windows (registered trademark) GDI command, and transmits it to an output module, such as GDI. To do. The output module generates a command suitable for the device by the designated printer driver 106 and transmits the command to the device.

  That is, the graphic engine of the output module (not shown) loads the printer driver 106 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 211 to the RAM 202 and sets the output to the printer driver 106. The output module converts the received GDI (Graphic Device Interface) function into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function and outputs the DDI function to the printer driver 106. Based on the DDI function received from the output module, the printer driver 106 converts it into a control command that can be recognized by the printer, for example, PDL (Page Description Language). The converted printer control command is output as print data to the printer 107 via the interface 21 via the system spooler loaded into the RAM 202 by the OS.

  Here, the job ticket has a format used in the present embodiment as an intermediate file constituting the electronic document file 103. The job ticket is data having a structure with a manuscript page as a minimum unit. The structure in the job ticket defines the layout of the manuscript page on the paper. One job ticket is issued per job. For this reason, there is a document node at the top, and attributes of the entire document, such as double-sided printing / single-sided printing, are defined. Below that, a paper node belongs, and includes attributes such as an identifier of a paper to be used and designation of a paper feed port in the printer. Each paper node includes a node of a sheet printed on the paper. One sheet corresponds to one sheet. A print page (physical page) belongs to each sheet. For single-sided printing, one physical page belongs to one sheet, and for double-sided printing, two physical pages belong to one sheet. Each physical page has an original page arranged thereon. The physical page attribute includes the layout of the original page.

  An example of the data structure of the job ticket is shown in FIG. In printing data, a document is composed of a set of sheets, and each sheet is composed of two sides, a front side and a back side. Each side has an area (physical page) for laying out a document, and each physical page. Is composed of a set of manuscript pages which is the minimum unit. Reference numeral 1101 denotes data corresponding to a document, which includes data relating to the entire document and a list of paper information constituting the document. The paper information 1102 includes information related to paper such as paper size and a list of surface information arranged on the paper. The surface information 1103 includes data specific to the surface and a list of physical pages arranged on the surface. The physical page information 1104 includes information such as the physical page size and header / footer, and a list of manuscript pages constituting the physical page.

  The electronic document despooler 105 creates a table called a despool table for job tickets of electronic document files (corresponding to the job ticket shown in FIG. 12 as a table), and defines attributes and print settings defined in the editing information file. Accordingly, the despool table is converted into an output command to the output module.

(Example of preview display)
As described above, when the book file is opened by the bookbinding application, the user interface screen 900 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. In the tree portion 901, a tree showing the structure of an open book (hereinafter referred to as “target book”) is displayed. In the preview section, three display methods are prepared according to the user's designation. The first is a mode called a document view that displays a document page as it is. In the document view mode, the content of the document page belonging to the book of interest is reduced and displayed. The layout is not reflected in the preview display. The second is a print view mode. In the print view mode, the document page is displayed on the preview unit 902 in a form that reflects the layout of the document page. The third is a simple print view mode. In the simple print view mode, the contents of each original page are not reflected in the display of the preview portion, but only the layout is reflected.

<Configuration example of other document processing system>
The document processing system of the above embodiment is a stand-alone system, but a book file is created and edited with substantially the same configuration and procedure even in a server client system to which this is extended. However, the book file and print processing are managed by the server.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server client type document processing system. The client document processing system has a configuration in which a DOMS (Document Output Management Service) driver 109, a DOMS print service module 110, and a DS (Document Service) client module 108, which are client modules, are added to a stand-alone system. . A document management server 1201, a print central management server 1202, and a print server 1203 are connected to the client document processing system 1200. These servers are normally connected to the client document processing system via a network, but are connected by inter-process communication that simulates communication between networks when the server also functions as a client at the same time. In FIG. 13, both the document management server 1201 and the print central management server 1202 are connected to the client, but only one of them may exist on the network. If the connected server is a document management server, the document management server client system 1201SC including the client module is the stand-alone print management server client system 1202SC including the client module. Added to document management system.

  The document management server 1201 is a server that stores book files created and edited by the bookbinding application 104. When a book file is managed by the document management server 1201, the book file is stored in the database 1211 of the document management server 1201 instead of or in addition to the local HD of the client PC. Saving and reading of book files between the bookbinding application 104 and the document management server 1201 are performed via the DS client 108 and the DS core 1212.

  The print central management server 1202 is a server that manages printing of book files stored in the client document management system 1200 or stored in the document management server 1201. The print request in the client is transmitted to the DOMSWG server module 1221 of the print central management server 1202 via the DOMS driver 109 and the DOMS print service module 110. The centralized print management server 1202 passes the electronic document data to the electronic document despooler 105 via the client's DOMS print service module 110 when printing with the client printer, and when printing with the print server 1203, the print server 1203. To the DOMS print service module 1203. For example, the centralized print management server performs a security check on the qualification of the user who issued the print request to the saved book file, and saves a print processing log. As described above, the document processing system can be realized as a stand-alone or a client-server system.

[Example of editing operation of document processing system of this embodiment]
FIG. 9 is an operation screen of the bookbinding application 104. The bookbinding application can perform function settings of a printing device such as stapling in addition to editing such as changing the page order of documents, copying, and deleting, and can print to a designated printing device. In the left area of FIG. 9, a tree view showing the structure of the document is displayed. A document is composed of a set of chapters, and each chapter is composed of a set of manuscript pages. In the area on the right side of FIG. 9, a print preview of each page is displayed.

<Attribute Setting Example of Document Processing System of this Embodiment>
FIG. 14 shows a “detailed document setting” window 1400 of the bookbinding application 104. In this window, “document setting information 403” can be displayed / set. This window is activated from the “Detailed Setting for Document” menu in the Print Form menu on the application operation screen of FIG. 9 or the “Detailed Setting for Document” button on the toolbar. The “detailed document settings” window is a window for setting attributes that affect the entire document. This window is composed of four sheets, Page Setup, Finishing, Edit, and Paper Source. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the Page Setup sheet is displayed. In this Page Setup sheet, settings relating mainly to layout can be made, and settings such as paper size and orientation, N-page printing, etc. can be instructed. In this window, zoom-related check box controls 1401 and 1402 are arranged.

  FIG. 15 shows a “chapter detailed setting” window 1500 of the bookbinding application 104. In this window, “chapter setting information 407” can be displayed / set. This window is activated from the “Detailed Setting for Chapter” menu in the Print Form menu on the application operation screen of FIG. 9 or the “Detailed Setting for Chapter” button on the toolbar. The “chapter detailed setting” window is a window for setting a chapter-specific attribute. This window is composed of four sheets, Page Setup, Finishing, Edit, and Paper Source, and FIG. 15 shows a state in which the Page Setup sheet is displayed. In this Page Setup sheet, settings relating to a layout unique to each chapter can be mainly made, and settings such as paper size and orientation, N-page printing, and the like can be instructed. For the setting items that overlap between “detailed settings of document” and “detailed settings of chapter”, check box controls 1501, 1502, and 1503 of “Follow Book Attribute” are arranged. For the item group whose check box is checked, the setting value of the document is applied to the chapter. A case where this check is removed is shown in FIG. There are two types of chapter-specific settings. One is a setting item that only has a chapter. The other is a case where unique setting values different from those in the upper hierarchy document are held in the chapter hierarchy.

  FIG. 16 shows a state where the check boxes 1501 and 1502 are unchecked in “Chapter Detailed Settings” in FIG. In this case, even if the entire document uses A3 paper, the pages making up this chapter are A4 paper size. In addition, even if the layout is 1 Page Par Sheet in the document, this chapter is specified to be laid out with 4 Page Per Sheet. Since “Zoom Arrange” is checked, the setting value of the document in the upper hierarchy is used as the setting value of this chapter.

  FIG. 17 shows a “detailed page setting” window 1700 of the bookbinding application 104. In this window, “page setting information 411” can be displayed / set. This window is activated from the “Detailed Setting for Page” menu in the Print Form menu on the application operation screen of FIG. 9 or the “Detailed Setting for Page” button on the toolbar. The “detailed page settings” window is a window for setting unique attributes for each page. This window is composed of two sheets, Page Setup and Edit, and FIG. 17 shows a state in which the Page Setup sheet is displayed. In this Page Setup sheet, settings relating to a layout unique to each page can be mainly made, and settings such as a rotation angle and an enlargement / reduction ratio when placing an original page can be instructed. A check box control 1701 of “Follow Chapter Attribute” is arranged for setting items that overlap in “chapter detailed settings” and “page detailed settings”. For items for which this check box is checked, the setting value of the chapter is applied to the page. The case where this check is removed is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 18 shows a state in which the Page Rotation setting is changed in “Detailed setting of page” in FIG. The control 1701 is set to rotate and arrange so that the top of the page is left when laying out the original page. Since there is no “Follow Chapter Attribute” check box for this item, there are no duplicate setting items in the chapter or document, so the settings displayed in this window are always page setting values. If there is a check of 1701, for example, the item “Zoom Arrange” has a setting item that overlaps also in the chapter, so the setting value of the chapter is set as the setting value of the page. If the corresponding “Zoom Arrange” item in the chapter has a “Follow Book Attribute” check, the setting value of the chapter uses the setting value of the document in the upper hierarchy, so the page setting value eventually uses the setting value of the document It will be. If a corresponding item in a chapter is unchecked, it has a chapter-specific setting value, so that the page setting value uses the setting value unique to that chapter.

  The check box control information set on the setting screen may be held in a dedicated area, but is preferably held as one of the attributes in the setting information shown in FIG. In this case, an area for holding check box control information is added to FIGS. 5 and 6.

<Example of Document Editing Display in Document Processing System of Present Embodiment>
FIG. 19 shows the display format of the application when the setting value overlapping the upper layer is not used for the setting value of the upper layer, that is, when the check box controls 1501 and 1701 are unchecked.

  In the example of FIG. 19, the document is composed of two chapters, and each chapter has nine pages of document data. This is a display example when the layout of the first chapter is 4UP (also expressed as 4in1), and rotation is specified for the first page of the second chapter (10th page in the whole document). In the preview on the right side, the first to third pages show a state in which four documents are arranged on one page. Then, the state where the character “A” which is the data of the fourth page is rotated is displayed. The display format when chapter-specific settings and page-specific settings in the tree view are described. The icon 1901 for the first chapter changes to indicate that the chapter has its own settings. The icon 1902 for the first page of the second chapter changes to indicate that this page is specially set.

<Submission Method to Document Processing Device in Present Embodiment>
As described above, as a method for submitting a document as an electronic manuscript to the bookbinding application 104 that is a document processing apparatus, a document (including an image file) generated by any application on the host computer is used as an electronic manuscript. A method of converting to an electronic document format using a writer has already been considered. In the present invention, the bookbinding application 104 converts an image file read by an image reading apparatus (single scanner or multi-function peripheral having an input / output function) including a scanner unit connected to a host computer via a bidirectional interface. Provides a function to submit documents as electronic manuscripts (book files) to be handled. Hereinafter, a submission method for converting an image file read from a paper document into a book file will be described.

  As described above, there are a pull scan method and a push scan method as a method of receiving an image file read by the scanner unit with a host computer. In the pull scanning method, a scan instruction is transmitted from the bookbinding application 104 to the image reading apparatus via a scanner driver, and an image file is acquired as a response. This pull scan method is a known technique and will not be described in detail. The acquired image file is generated as a book file using an electronic document writer and submitted as a new chapter using a chapter division function described later. In the push scan method, an operation panel of an image reading apparatus as an MFP having an input / output function is used to send a destination address to which an image read by the operator is sent (to a predetermined folder in the HD of the host computer on the network). This is realized by transmitting the read image file to the specified destination address. Since this push scan method is also a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. When submitting an electronic document using the push scan method, a predetermined folder to which an image file is transmitted by push scan is periodically monitored on the host computer, and the image file is stored in the predetermined folder. When it is detected that the image has been transmitted, the image file is transferred to an electronic manuscript writer so that it is generated as a book file and submitted as a new chapter using a chapter division function described later.

  In this manner, the image file read by the image reading apparatus can be submitted to the bookbinding application 104 as a book file. Next, a chapter division method when an image file read by the image reading apparatus, which is a feature of the present invention, is submitted as a book file to the bookbinding application 104 will be described. In particular, here, a method of converting a document original divided by a slip into a book file will be described.

<Method for Digitizing Paper Medium Document in this Embodiment>
(Option when importing)
Hereinafter, the paper medium document digitization process will be described with reference to FIG. 20. Before that, first, options that can be set by the user in the paper document digitization process will be described. In the present embodiment, the operator can set processing conditions at the time of import using the user interface shown in FIG. For these designated items, values corresponding to the designation are stored in a predetermined storage area, and are referred to during import processing.

  The user interface shown in FIG. 34 is displayed, for example, when one of the pull-down menus in the “Edit” field in FIG. 19 is selected. In FIG. 34, when a blank page deletion check box 3301 is checked, a blank page deletion flag secured in a predetermined storage area is set. If this blank page deletion flag is set during the import process, the double-sided blank page is deleted. In this embodiment, since both sides of a paper document are continuously read, double-sided white paper refers to the two consecutive pages when both the consecutive odd page number and even page number are both blank. Further, when a “do not delete continuous blank pages” check box 3302 is designated, a corresponding flag is set.

  If the chapter division check box 3303 is checked, a chapter division flag is set. If the chapter division flag is not set, the chapter division process is not performed, and all the original images to be imported are inserted into one chapter.

  When the chapter division flag is set, the division method button 3304 can be selected. As a division method, a setting for dividing a chapter with single-sided white paper (chapter) (chapter division setting) and a method for dividing with white paper can be selected. In addition, when chapter paper division setting is set, a check box 3305 can be selected for “Make a blank sheet into a slip sheet” (slip sheet setting). These settings are stored in the area for each setting secured in the RAM as values indicating that. Further, these settings may be stored on the hard disk as one setting file. Reference is made in the processing of FIGS. However, those not directly related to the present invention are not referred to in these flowcharts.

  If the “Make chapter paper” check box 3305 is checked, when the chapter is divided, the chapter paper inserted at the beginning of the chapter is deleted, and instead, in the book attribute of the document. A slip sheet setting (setting number 13 in FIG. 4) is set. The set contents include a slip sheet flag indicating that a slip sheet is inserted, and a code indicating a part (cassette or the like) for supplying the slip sheet. For example, if the printer is equipped with an optional inserter such as “same as a paper feed cassette”, a specific paper feed cassette, or the like, the inserter is designated as the code indicating the part for supplying the slip sheet. it can.

  Furthermore, the contents (characters, figures, images, etc.) described on the surface of the chapter paper are registered in the slip sheet attribute of the book attributes as a set of images as annotations to be printed on the slip sheet. In the book attribute of FIG. 4, it is registered in the 13th attribute “sheet” and saved as a part of the electronic document file. Chapter paper annotation is read image data and can be registered for each chapter. The registered annotation data is output for each chapter as an image to be printed on a chapter paper (interleaf) when an electronic document file is output. In this way, when chapter paper is made into a slip sheet and characters etc. are used as annotations, for example, the chapter layout is changed to N-up, or the printing method is changed from double-sided to single-sided or vice versa Even so, the chapter is not part of the chapter and is not affected by the change. Therefore, the operator can collectively change the layout and printing method of the chapter and the entire document without considering the chapter paper layout and printing method.

  FIG. 36 is a UI diagram showing an example of a dialog box for setting detailed settings for automatic chapter division. Automatic chapter division is processing performed on a book file by selecting an existing book file and instructing the application of automatic chapter division by an operator. The settings in FIG. 34 differ from the settings in FIG. 36 in that they are referred to at the time of import, but the meanings of the check boxes are the same as those shown in FIG. FIG. 35 shows a menu screen for displaying the user interface screen of FIG. Here you can indicate whether you want to split the chapter for the whole document or for the selected chapter. For example, even if the “Chapter Division” check box 3303 in FIG. 34 is not checked at the time of import, if the chapter is divided after the import is completed, the chapter can be divided at a blank sheet insertion portion or the like.

(Import process)
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the procedure of import processing. The procedure of FIG. 10 is a procedure for importing a document generated by another application, whereas FIG. 20 is a procedure for importing a paper manuscript, reading the paper manuscript, analyzing the document structure, It is a flowchart which shows the whole process at the time of setting. In the present embodiment, an original read from the scanner is called a paper original, but of course includes an original printed on a sheet-like medium other than paper. The procedure of FIG. 20 is executed by the entire system including the scanner 108 and the computer 100. In particular, step 2001 is executed by the scanner, and steps 2002 to 2005 are executed by the bookbinding application 104.

  In step 2001, the paper document is digitized. In consideration of automation, a scanner with an automatic document feeder is desirable, but the type of scanner is not limited. Also, a plurality of formats such as TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and PDF can be considered as the format of the digitized data, but the present invention can be applied to any format. As described above, the document scanning processing method can be roughly classified into two types. One is a method called push scan. For example, a folder on a PC is set to be shared, and an image data file captured by the scanner is copied to the shared folder. The other is a method called pull scan, in which image data is directly received from a scanner via a scanner driver such as TWAIN or ISIS. In the case of push scan, the processes in steps 2001 and 2002 can be executed asynchronously. However, in the case of pull scan, the digitization of a document in step 2001 and the reading in step 2002 are managed by a computer as a series of processes. It is executed while synchronizing below.

  In step 2002, the digitized data (image data) is read into the system, particularly the bookbinding application 104. With the push scan method, it is possible to monitor a shared folder in which image data created by scanning a document is stored, and when the image data file is created, the system can automatically read the file. In the pull method, data can be acquired directly from the scanner driver. Based on the read image data, an electronic document file 103 is created with image data corresponding to one page of the document as one page.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that all reading by the scanner is double-sided reading. Therefore, in the case of pull scanning, the host computer 100 instructs the scanner 108 to perform “double-sided scanning” to scan. In this case, the scanner is preferably provided with an ADF.

  In the case of push scan, if the file name created at the time of scanning is determined so that one side / double side can be distinguished, the bookbinding application 104 reads the image data file based on the file name. It is possible to automatically determine whether data is read from both sides or from one side. For example, in the case of single-sided reading, it is possible to make a determination from the file name by adding “S_” to the beginning of the file name and in the case of double-sided reading, by adding “D_”. Also, a method of scanning all pages and determining from blank pages in the data is possible. For example, it is determined as a double-sided job under conditions such as “when a blank page appears every other page” or “when there are pages where both consecutive odd and even pages are both blank pages” Other than the above, it is a method for determining that one side is used. Alternatively, instead of automatic determination, a method may be used in which a dialog screen for acquiring information is displayed to specify whether single-side reading or double-side reading is to be performed. In any method, the determination result is stored as a value such as a referenceable flag (for example, the value of the double-sided / single-sided flag secured in the RAM) for reference in a later step. In step 2002, only the double-side scanned image file folder is read.

  In step 2003, the bookbinding application 104 performs chapter paper determination processing. Details of the processing will be described with reference to FIG. A “chapter” is a page inserted as a door of a “chapter” that constitutes a document. The usual style is that the title of the chapter is written on the front side and the back side is blank. When the chapter paper is determined, the process proceeds to step 2004, and the bookbinding application 104 divides the book file (document) for each chapter having the determined chapter paper as the first page, and the logical structure of the paper original is changed to the data structure in the document. To reflect. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG. In step 2005, the bookbinding application 104 changes the chapter paper to “paper insertion setting” of the document. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  Through the above procedure, the image data read from the paper document is converted into an electronic file reflecting the document structure of the paper document. The contents of this file can be displayed by the bookbinding application 104, and can also be printed. At the time of printing, if the interleaf is set as a chapter paper, even if the electronic manuscript file 103 does not include a chapter paper, the book attribute slip (in the document setting information 403 in FIG. 3). As the setting number 13) in FIG. 4 included, if “insert a slip sheet” is set, a chapter paper is inserted in a printed or displayed document. For this reason, in the data display processing of the electronic document file, if there is a slip sheet setting, a chapter paper is inserted between the chapters and displayed. In the printing process, for example, a command for feeding slip sheets from a cassette or inserter corresponding to the setting is generated and inserted at a position where a chapter paper is inserted, and transmitted to the printer. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even when a chapter paper is handled as a slip sheet, it is possible to print a title or the like on the chapter paper by designating an annotation on the chapter paper.

  In this way, an electronic manuscript file that reproduces the read paper manuscript including its format can be generated, and a document that reproduces the original paper manuscript can be outputted as it is output.

(Electronic data reading process)
Here, the procedure of the digitized data reading process in step 2002 of FIG. 20 will be described in detail. First, it is determined whether single-sided reading or double-sided reading. For both sides, actual image data is read. However, since the reading method can be specified in the pull scan, the determination may be limited to the push scan. If it is single-sided, the image data is not suitable for division by chapter paper, so reading is stopped there. Alternatively, only reading in step 2002 may be performed, and the processing after step 2003 may be skipped.

  Next, image data corresponding to each page of the document is sequentially read. A book file is created by using the read image data as pages included in one chapter.

  Here, an operation of adding a page to a chapter in the editing information file in the electronic document file 103 will be described with reference to the example of FIG. First, for the current chapter 405, an imported image is added as new page data to the page data list 413, and a link for the new page data is added to the page data link of the page information list 408 of the current chapter information 405. In addition, the page data of the imported image is linked to the current chapter information 405 by the page data link. Here, in this embodiment, since the paper document is scanned on both sides, “printing on both sides” is recorded in the printing method attribute (attribute number 1 in FIG. 4) of the document setting information 403 (FIG. 3).

  On the other hand, a job ticket (see FIG. 12), which is an intermediate file included in an electronic document file, has a hierarchical structure but does not have a chapter structure unlike an editing information file. In the job ticket, a bundle of common sheets (also referred to as sheets) is the sheet information 1102, a sheet belonging to the bundle of sheets is the plane information 1103, a plane belonging to the plane information is physical page information, and belongs to each physical page information. A document page is defined by document page information. Therefore, for example, the job ticket hierarchy corresponding to the “chapter” of the editing information file corresponds to “paper information”. Therefore, in this embodiment, the addition of a new page to the job ticket is as follows with reference to FIG. That is, new page information 1103 linked to the paper information 1102 corresponding to the current chapter is added, physical page information 1104 is added to the page information 1103, and new manuscript page information linked to the physical page information 1104 is added. 1105 is added. Then, the image data imported to the page data link of the original page information 1105 is linked as new page data. In this embodiment, since the paper document is scanned on both sides, the surface information surface information 1103 is linked with consecutive odd pages and even pages in that order as physical page information and document page information connected thereto. The

  According to the above procedure, in step 2003, an electronic document file having a single chapter is created. In this procedure, an electronic document file is newly created, but may be added to an existing electronic document file. When added, a new chapter may be created based on the read image data, or may be added to an existing chapter.

(Chapter paper judgment processing)
FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating the chapter determination process in detail. In step 2101, the bookbinding application 104 initializes the counter i. If the first page is the top, i = 2. In step 2102, the bookbinding application 104 makes an end determination. The page list 406 is referenced to check whether the i-th page exists. If there is a page, the process proceeds to the next step 2103, and if it does not exist, the process ends.

  In step 2103, the bookbinding application 104 checks whether the i-th page blank is a page. If it is a blank page, the process proceeds to step 2104. If it is not blank, the process proceeds to step 2106.

  In step 2104, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the i-th page is the back side. The simplest determination method is to determine the front side if an odd page (i is an odd number) and the back side if an even page (i is an even number). If the front side of the file name is prefixed with “A_” and the reverse side is “B_”, and the file name created at the time of scanning is used as is as page data, the information on the front and back sides can be known. Further, the front and back information may be added as file attributes separately at the time of reading.

  Here, when the i-th page is a blank page, that is, when the back side is blank, it is determined that the page and the immediately preceding page (i-1) are the front and back sides of the chapter paper. In this case, the process proceeds to step 2105, and the set (i-1, i) is recorded on the chapter paper table secured in the RAM or the like. Then, the process proceeds to step 2106 to advance the counter. If the counters are arranged in the order of front and back, if the counter is incremented by two, the counter will always be an even number, and the back side can be indicated. Then, the bookbinding application 104 returns to step 2102 to process the next data.

  In step 2106, the counter is incremented by 1. In step 2104, the bookbinding application 104 can implement a variation such as reporting the possibility of a scan error to the user when the surface is a blank page.

(Chapter split processing)
FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the chapter division process in step 2004. First, the bookbinding application 104 determines in step 2200 that the chapter division flag is set, and that “divide chapter with one side blank paper (chapter)” is selected as the division method. If it is not set, there is no need for division, and if the division method is any other method, the processing of FIG. If the chapter division flag is set, the counter i is initialized (i ← 1) in step 2201. Next, proceeding to step 2202, the bookbinding application 104 makes an end determination. If not finished, the process proceeds to step 2203, and the bookbinding application 104 checks whether a set of (i, i + 1) is recorded in the slip sheet table. If it is recorded, the process proceeds to step 2204. If it is not recorded, the process proceeds to step 2207.

  Step 2204 is a determination for treating the first page as an exception. If the process of dividing a chapter in the case of the first page is performed, a chapter that does not include a page is created. In order to prevent this, in the case of the first page, even if there is a chapter paper, the process jumps to step 2107 without dividing the chapter. If the i-th page is not the first page, the process proceeds to step 2205.

  Steps 2405 and 2406 show processing for dividing a chapter. In step 2405, the bookbinding application 104 creates new chapter information 405 for the cash-collection information file and adds it to the end of the chapter information list 404. For the job ticket, new paper information is created and added to the end of the document information. In step 2206, for the editing information file, the bookbinding application 104 separates the page information list 408 at the i-th page and sets the page information list of the new chapter created in step 2205 from the i-th page to the last page. As for the job ticket, the page information from the i-th page to the last page is moved to the newly added paper information from the layer of the surface information.

  In step 2207, the counter i is advanced. Similar to step 2106, the counter may be increased by two. Then, the process returns to step 2202 to process the next page.

  With this processing, a sheet with a blank back surface (paper on the electronic data) is regarded as a chapter paper, and the document is divided into chapters using the chapter paper as a door.

(Chapter paper processing)
FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the chaptering process in step 2005. The chaptering process is to replace a chapter sheet with a setting for inserting a slip sheet using an “insert sheet” attribute of document setting information (that is, a book attribute) in an electronic manuscript file. The inserted slip sheet (chapter) may be added with a command corresponding to the slip sheet when transmitted to the output device, or if the output device such as a printer has a slip sheet insertion function. It is also possible to send the paper insertion effect and its position to the output device and insert it by the output device.

  First, in step 2301, the bookbinding application 104 changes the chapter paper to a slip sheet insertion setting, that is, whether the setting of “Make a chapter paper a slip sheet (change to a slip sheet insertion setting)” in FIG. Is determined based on a flag or the like set in accordance with the operation. In the case of changing, if the user has set to leave the chapter paper as a manuscript, the process ends. When the chapter is divided, the logical separation of the manuscript and the chapter separation are the same, and the print result is also in a state where there is a blank sheet, so it can be considered that the setting is not changed. If the user has set to change the paper insertion setting, the process proceeds to step 2302.

  In step 2302, the bookbinding application 104 turns on the setting for inserting a sheet at a chapter break. That is, the setting of “insert sheet” insertion in the document setting information in FIG. 3 (the “insert sheet” setting of the book attribute in FIG. 4) is set to insert the insert sheet. In step 2303, a counter i for sequentially processing chapters is initialized.

  In step 2304, it is determined whether there is an i-th chapter. If all chapters have been processed, the process is complete. If unprocessed chapters still remain, the process proceeds to step 2305.

  In step 2305, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the first page of the chapter is a chapter paper. If you add the number of pages included in each chapter, you can know the serial page number at the beginning of the chapter, so if you compare it with the page number registered in the chapter paper table, you can determine whether the chapter head is a chapter paper. It is possible. However, in the present embodiment, the chapters are divided by chapter papers, so the chapter heads are basically chapter papers, and the only exception is the first chapter. If it is not a chapter, the process proceeds to step 2306, and if it is a chapter, the process proceeds to step 2308.

  In step 2306, it is determined whether or not the chapter currently being processed is the first chapter. If it is the first chapter, the process proceeds to step 2307, and if it is not the first chapter, the process proceeds to step 2310.

  In step 2307, the bookbinding application 104 turns on the setting that no chapter paper is attached to the first chapter. This setting is also included in the setting of “insert sheet” insertion in the document setting information in FIG. 3 (book attribute “insert sheet” setting in FIG. 4), and is set. In a system in which a chapter can be set not to be attached to an arbitrary chapter, the chapter paper setting of the chapter i-th counter is turned off without performing the determination in step 2306.

  In step 2308, the bookbinding application 104 replaces the first page of the chapter currently being processed and the page data immediately after it with the annotation data on the chapter paper. That is, the page data corresponding to the first page of the chapter page information 409 is re-registered in the annotation library as annotation data for chapter paper, and the registered annotation library is added to the “interleaf attribute” of the chapter attribute shown in FIG. Register it for printing on slip sheets. For example, a flag for inserting a slip sheet is set, and for example, an annotation printed on the slip sheet is registered as an annotation for printing the name. At that time, the position where the annotation is inserted may be designated. Then, the page information and page data of the first two pages of the chapter page information 409 are deleted. The annotation for chapter paper registers the annotation as the attribute of the 13th “interleaf” among the book attributes shown in FIG.

  In step 2309, the bookbinding application 104 deletes the second page (blank page) of the chapter currently being processed. The second page information of the chapter page information 409 is deleted and deleted from the corresponding page data page data list.

  In step 2310, the counter i is incremented to process the next chapter.

  Through the above procedure, it is possible to delete the page corresponding to the chapter paper from the digitized electronic document file and insert the slip sheet instead of the chapter paper. Furthermore, by registering the image data on the surface of the chapter paper as an annotation on the slip sheet, the description of the chapter paper can be reproduced in the electronic manuscript file.

  FIG. 24 shows an example of an original document with chapter paper inserted therein. In this example, there is a chapter paper between the top and the second and third sheets. FIG. 25 is an example of electronic data created when the original of FIG. 24 is scanned on both sides. The back of the chapter paper is also converted into blank pages.

  FIG. 26 shows a screen display example of the electronic document file when the scan electronic data of FIG. 25 is read, that is, immediately after step 2002 of FIG. All pages belong to one chapter. Data corresponding to the front and back of the chapter paper is also taken in the same way as other originals.

  FIG. 27 is a screen display example after step 2004 of FIG. 20 is executed. The document is divided into newly created chapters from the seventh page which is a blank page on the back side, that is, chapter paper. At this time, the chapter pages written as “A” and “B” and the blank page on the back side have the same format as the other manuscript pages.

  FIG. 28 is a screen display example after step 2005 of FIG. 20 is executed. A total of 4 pages of data (pages 1-1, 1-2, 1-7, 1-8) of chapter papers labeled “A” and “B” and blank data on the back side are deleted from the electronic manuscript file. It's gone. Instead, a paper (interleaf) insertion setting is made. The slip sheet to be inserted is displayed in a state of being inserted at the beginning of each chapter on the user interface screen of FIG. In each chapter paper, the images “A” and “B” described on the manuscript page corresponding to the front surface are output as annotations.

  FIG. 29 shows the sheet insertion setting status at this time. As a book attribute of the electronic manuscript file created in the procedure of FIG. 20, as shown in the combo box 2901, “interleaf”, which is a setting for inserting paper between chapters, is set.

  FIG. 30 shows an example of converting “A” data, which was a chapter paper, into paper insertion settings. It is shown that “A” data is added to the slip sheet data in the form of annotations. In this case, since the image data is originally captured by the scanner, it is added as an image annotation.

  As described above, in the document processing system according to the present embodiment, out of the image data of a paper document scanned on both sides, a document with a blank back side is determined as the chapter paper indicating the beginning of the chapter, and the chapter is also included in the electronic document file. A digitized document can be divided into chapters starting with paper. Therefore, the configuration of the paper document can be faithfully reflected in the electronic document file. In addition, since the image printed on the chapter paper can be registered in the document setting information as an annotation, an image serving as a door can be printed on the chapter paper.

<Print Control Method for Interleaved Document in the Present Embodiment>
Next, details of the printing process in the electronic document despooler 105 will be described. A printing apparatus such as a printer to which the present invention can be applied has a hierarchical structure of jobs, binders, and pages, similarly to the hierarchical structure of books, chapters, and pages that a book file has. Basically, settings for a book can be applied to a job of the printing apparatus, and settings for a chapter can be applied to a binder of the printing apparatus, so that the printing apparatus can be controlled in accordance with the print settings of a document having a hierarchical structure. .

  The electronic document despooler 105 first issues a job start. Then, the book printing method (single-sided printing or double-sided printing) is set in the printing method attribute of the job. Book printing is an option as a book printing method, but in this embodiment, single-sided / double-sided printing control will be described, and bookbinding printing will be omitted. In practice, since the printing method is also set as the binder attribute, the book printing method setting has no meaning in this case. Alternatively, in the book file, only when the book printing method attribute is duplex printing, both sides of the book printing method are displayed, just as the example shows that you can set single-sided / double-sided (same as a book) as the chapter printing method. You may need to specify it. In this embodiment, the book printing method attribute is set as it is as the job printing method attribute, and control is possible in either case.

  Next, the job attributes including the printing method are issued, and the chapter number currently being processed is initialized. Next, it is determined whether or not all chapters have been processed. If processing has been completed, a job end is issued and the book printing process ends. If there are unprocessed chapters left, proceed to one chapter that is symmetrical to the process, and perform the above processing sequentially for all chapters.

  Next, the binder start is issued, the printing method of the chapter currently being processed is set in the printing method attribute of the binder, and the binder attribute including the printing method is issued. Subsequently, the printing process of each page of the chapter being processed is executed. When the printing process in the chapter is completed, the binder end is issued, and the binder issuance process is repeated until all the chapters are completed, and the single-sided / double-sided printing settings of all the chapters can be transmitted to the printer.

  The following describes how the printing process is controlled among the electronic document despooler 105, the printer driver 106, and the printer 107.

  First, the electronic document despooler 105 executes processing for generating a print job, such as CreateDC () and StartDoc (), for example, in the case of a Windows (registered trademark) OS, according to the printing processing procedure of the OS. This processing is notified to the printer driver 106 via GDI, and the printer driver 106 performs job generation processing and job attribute setting processing. Specifically, a command for instructing the printer with job attributes including job start, printing method setting, and the like is generated, and the command is transmitted to the printer 107 through an OS procedure for transmitting data to the printer.

  Next, the electronic document despooler 105 executes ExtEscape (BINDER_START) in the binder start issuing process, and notifies the printer driver 106 of the start of the binder that can specify an independent finishing attribute. Specifically, it means a notification of chapter printing start. Next, ResetDC () is executed in the binder attribute issuing process, and the binder attribute is notified to the printer driver 106. More specifically, the printer driver 106 is notified of a binder attribute including a chapter insert (including a flag to insert, a page number to be inserted, a specified annotation read from an annotation library, etc.) and a stapling setting. To do. In this case, the printer driver 106 receives these processes, and performs a binder generation process and a binder attribute setting process for notifying the printer 107 that the binder has started. Specifically, a command for instructing the printer with the binder attribute including the printing method setting is generated, and the command is transmitted to the printer 107 through an OS procedure for transmitting data to the printer. Note that the slip sheet may be transmitted to the printer as a normal print command for printing the annotation by a computer.

  Thereafter, the electronic document despooler 105 notifies the printer driver 106 through GDI of the drawing contents of each page included in the binder, that is, the drawing contents of each document page included in the current chapter. As described above, the printer driver 106 receives the drawing contents in a form converted from GDI to DDI, converts the drawing contents into a drawing command such as PDL that can be interpreted by the printer, and transmits the drawing command to the printer 107.

  Then, the electronic document despooler 105 notifies the printer driver 106 of the end of the current binder and the start of the next binder by ExtEscape (BINDER_END) and ExtEscape (BINDER_START), respectively. Since these two notifications are intended to notify the binder boundary, they can be combined into a single notification notifying the binder boundary.

  In this way, the electronic document despooler 105 repeats the above process for the number of chapters. Finally, the electronic document despooler 105 follows the printing process procedure of the OS, for example, EndDoc () or the like if it is a Windows (registered trademark) OS. Execute processing to end the print job. This process is notified to the printer driver 106 via GDI, and the printer driver 106 performs a job end process. Specifically, a command for instructing the printer to end the job is generated, and the command is transmitted to the printer 107 through an OS procedure for transmitting data to the printer.

  Here, as a means for the electronic document despooler 105 to notify the printer driver 106 via GDI, specific APIs such as ExtEscape () and ResetDC () have been described as examples. However, the electronic document despooler 105 and the printer driver 106 may It goes without saying that the same processing can be realized using means other than this API as long as the printing processing can be executed synchronously.

  By such processing, the printing method (single / double-sided) set for each chapter in the book file is issued to the printer as a binder attribute, and can be performed while switching single-sided / double-sided printing. Also, slip sheet insertion and annotation data set for each document in the book file is issued to the printer as a binder attribute or as a normal page command, and annotation is performed while inserting slip sheets at the beginning of the specified chapter. It is possible to add.

[Other embodiments]
As a second embodiment, a system obtained by further improving the first embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, a document with a blank page on the back side is regarded as a chapter paper even if it is not a chapter paper inserted intentionally. Therefore, when the last page of the chapter is an odd page, the back side is a blank page and is regarded as a chapter paper even though it is not a chapter paper. Therefore, in the document processing system of the present embodiment, when two originals with a blank page on the back side continue, the first original is processed as not the chapter paper but the last original of the chapter.

  FIG. 31 shows an example of a manuscript in which the paper immediately before the chapter paper is one side. Since the first chapter is data of three pages, the back of the third sheet, that is, the back of the document sheet at the end of the chapter is blank. FIG. 32 shows an example of image data created when the original in FIG. 31 is scanned by a duplex scanner. Blank pages appear alternately from the fifth page to the eighth page.

  If such a data is determined as a chapter paper in the procedure of FIG. 21, a page written as “3” is determined as a chapter paper, so the document is divided into three chapters (parts 3201, 3202, 3203 in FIG. 32). It will be divided. In order to prevent this, the present embodiment performs the paper determination as shown in the procedure of FIG.

  FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating another example of chapter paper determination processing. That is, the system of this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that FIG. 21 is replaced with FIG. 33 in the first embodiment.

  First, at step 3301, the bookbinding application 104 initializes the counter i. If one page is the top, i = 2. In step 3302, end determination is performed. The page list 406 is referenced to check whether the i-th page exists. If there is a page, the process proceeds to the next step 3303, and if not, the process ends.

  In step 3303, the bookbinding application 104 checks whether the i-th page blank is a page. If it is a blank page, the process proceeds to step 3304. If it is not blank, the process proceeds to step 3309.

  In step 3304, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the i-th page is the back side. The simplest determination method is to determine the front side if an odd page (i is an odd number) and the back side if an even page (i is an even number). Also, when scanning, if you add “A_” to the front of the file name and “B_” to the back of the file name, you can know the front and back information when reading the image file.

If the i-th page is a blank page, it is further checked whether single-sided printing sheets are continuous. In step 3305, it is checked whether or not document data corresponding to the previous sheet exists based on the presence or absence of the i-3th page. If it is determined that there is no previous sheet, that is, it is determined that there is no i-3th page, it means that the page currently being processed is the page of the first sheet of the document. If there is no page corresponding to the previous sheet, the process jumps to step 3308. If there is a page, the process proceeds to step 3306. In step 3306, the bookbinding application 104 displays page data corresponding to the front and back surfaces of the previous sheet ( It is checked whether the (i-3th and i-2th page data) has already been determined as a chapter paper. If it is determined that it is a chapter paper, since the paper on which only the front surface is printed is continuous, the process proceeds to step 3307, and a set of pages (i-3, i-2) corresponding to the previous paper is selected. Delete from chapter paper table record. In the chapter table, pairs of pages corresponding to chapters are registered in order in the page order, and in this case, the last registered page group may be deleted. In step 3306, if the page data corresponding to the previous sheet is not determined as a chapter paper, the process jumps to step 3308.

  In step 3308, the bookbinding application 104 records the set (i-1, i) on the chapter paper table. Then, the process proceeds to step 3309 to advance the counter. If the counters are arranged in the order of front and back, if the counter is incremented by two, the counter will always be an even number, and the back side can be indicated. Then, the process returns to step 3302 to process the next data.

  In this way, when two sheets of paper that are printed on the front side only and are blank on the back side are consecutive, the subsequent sheet of the two sheets is registered as a chapter sheet, and the previous sheet of the two sheets is the corresponding chapter. It is processed as the last sheet. As a result, the structure of chapters separated by chapter papers in a paper manuscript can be more accurately reflected in an electronic document (that is, an electronic manuscript file).

  In the flowchart shown in the present embodiment, before and after the processing can be switched as long as the processing is not completed.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a system (copier, printer, facsimile machine, etc.) consisting of a single device even if it is applied to a system consisting of a plurality of devices (eg, host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.). You may apply.

  Further, the object of the present invention is to store a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments and realizing the procedures of FIGS. Or MPU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like is used. be able to.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instruction of the program code. Also included is a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration example of a stand-alone document processing system according to the present exemplary embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example which implement | achieves the document processing system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a book file. It is a figure which shows the list of book attributes. It is a figure which shows the list of chapter attributes. It is a figure which shows the list of page attributes. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure which opens a book file. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen at the time of opening a new book file. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen at the time of opening the existing book file. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure which imports an electronic manuscript file into a book file. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for converting application data shown in Step 801 of FIG. 10 into an electronic document file. It is a figure which shows the example of the data structure used when performing printing and a display. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration example of a client server type document processing system. It is a figure which shows the example of the dialog window which performs the setting of the whole document which is the highest hierarchy of a data structure. It is a figure which shows the example of the dialog window which performs the setting of the chapter which is the intermediate | middle hierarchy of a data structure. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example in which unique attributes are set in the dialog window of FIG. 15. It is a figure which shows the example of the dialog window which performs the setting of the page which is the lowest hierarchy of a data structure. It is a figure which shows the example of a change of the setting value in the dialog window of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display when the setting peculiar to a chapter or a page is performed. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a chapter paper determination process. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process which edits the hierarchical structure of a text. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of a process which replaces the manuscript page on the chapter paper with document settings. This is an example of a manuscript containing chapter paper. FIG. 25 is an example of image data obtained by capturing the document of FIG. 24 with a scanner. FIG. FIG. 25 is a display example of an electronic document in which only the data of FIG. 24 has been read. It is an example of a display of the electronic document after applying the step of this invention partially. It is an example of a display of the electronic document after applying the step of this invention. It is an example of the paper insertion setting screen of an electronic document after applying this invention. This is an example in which chapter paper image data is replaced from original data with paper insertion data. This is another example of a manuscript containing chapter paper. It is an example of the image data which took in the original of FIG. 30 with the scanner. It is an example of the flowchart which shows the flow of a chapter paper determination process. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen for selecting the processing option at the time of import. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen for instruct | indicating the chapter division | segmentation of a document. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen for selecting the option in the chapter division | segmentation of a document.

Claims (15)

A document creation method in a document creation device,
An image reading unit in the document creation device, wherein an image reading step of reading both sides of the sheet document as image data in units of pages;
A chapter identifying step in which the chapter identifying means in the document creation device identifies a chapter whose back side is a blank page from the image data read by the image reading step;
Document creation means in which the document creation means in the document creation device creates an electronic document divided for each set of pages starting from the chapter paper identified in the chapter paper identification step based on the image data read in the image reading step Process ,
The setting editing means in the document creation device deletes the image data of the page corresponding to the chapter paper specified by the chapter paper specifying step, and the chapter at the head of the group of pages in the electronic document created by the document creation step. A document creation method, comprising: a setting editing step for giving a setting for inserting paper . Said setting editing step, document creation according to the image data of the page corresponding to the surface of the front insignia paper, to claim 1, characterized in that registering the electronic document as image data to be recorded on the surface of the Akirashi Method.   The chapter paper specifying step further determines, based on the image data, that two sheets having a blank page on the back side are continuous in the read sheet document. 2. The document creation method according to claim 1, wherein the second sheet is specified as a chapter paper.   In the setting editing step, if the image data corresponding to the back side of the first sheet of the read paper document is not a blank page, a setting not to insert a chapter paper is additionally given to the top. The document creation method according to claim 1. When the output means in the document creation apparatus outputs the drawing contents of each page data of the electronic document to a printer driver and the setting to insert the chapter paper is given, the page of the electronic document 5. The document creation method according to claim 1, further comprising an output step of outputting chapter paper insertion to the printer driver at the head of the group. Image reading means for reading both sides of a sheet document as image data in units of pages;
A chapter identifying means for identifying a chapter with a blank page from the image data read by the image reading means;
A document creation means for creating an electronic document divided for each group of pages starting from the chapter paper identified by the chapter paper identification means based on the image data read by the image reading means ;
The image data of the page corresponding to the chapter paper specified by the chapter paper specifying means is deleted, and a setting to insert a chapter paper at the head of a group of pages in the electronic document created by the document creating means is given. A document editing apparatus comprising: a setting editing unit configured to perform editing . Said setting editing means, document creation according to the image data of the page corresponding to the surface of the front insignia paper, to claim 6, characterized in that registering the electronic document as image data to be recorded on the surface of the Akirashi apparatus.   The chapter paper specifying means further determines that two sheets having a blank page on the back side are consecutive in the read sheet original, and if the two sheets are consecutive, The document creating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second sheet is specified as a chapter paper.   In the setting editing means, if the image data corresponding to the back side of the first sheet of the read paper document is not a blank page, a setting not to insert a chapter paper is additionally given at the top. The document creation device according to claim 6. When the drawing contents of each page data of the electronic document are output to a printer driver and the setting to insert the chapter paper is given, the chapter paper is displayed at the top of the group of pages in the electronic document. 10. The document creation apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising output means for outputting insertion to the printer driver. Image reading means for reading both sides of a sheet document as image data in units of pages;
A chapter identifying means for identifying a chapter with a blank page from the image data read by the image reading means;
A document creation means for creating an electronic document divided for each group of pages starting from the chapter paper identified by the chapter paper identification means based on the image data read by the image reading means ;
The image data of the page corresponding to the chapter paper specified by the chapter paper specifying means is deleted, and a setting to insert a chapter paper at the head of a group of pages in the electronic document created by the document creating means is given. Setting editing means to
Computer program for causing a computer to function with. 12. The computer program according to claim 11, wherein the setting editing unit registers image data of a page corresponding to the surface of the chapter paper in the electronic document as image data to be recorded on the surface of the chapter paper. . The chapter paper specifying means further determines that two sheets having a blank page on the back side are consecutive in the read sheet original, and if the two sheets are consecutive, The computer program according to claim 11, wherein the second sheet is specified as a chapter paper. In the setting editing means, if the image data corresponding to the back side of the first sheet of the read paper document is not a blank page, a setting not to insert a chapter paper is additionally given at the top. The computer program according to claim 11. When the drawing contents of each page data of the electronic document are output to a printer driver and the setting to insert the chapter paper is given, the chapter paper is displayed at the top of the group of pages in the electronic document. The computer program according to claim 11, further causing the computer to function as output means for outputting the insertion to the printer driver.

Images