JP3987299B2 - Product data placement space allocation device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001]
The present invention relates to a product data placement space allocation device.
[0002]
[Background Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
For example, when a product catalog is produced by desktop publishing, it is necessary to determine how to allocate various types of product data stored in the database on the actual catalog paper.
[0003]
In this case, if the space allocation in one page of the catalog booklet is changed, the space allocation in the subsequent page is affected. For this reason, the operation of determining the allocation of space allocation is generally complicated. An object of the present invention is to enable efficient allocation of space allocation of product data in a catalog.
[0004]
[Means / Actions / Effects to Solve Problems]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances , and provides a placement space allocation device having the following features. Note that the “commodity sub-group” in the present invention means a group of products that are listed in a certain unit in the catalog. In addition, the “catalog” in the present invention is not limited to a bound catalog booklet, but includes everything including information on products such as pamphlets and flyers, and web pages and other bookbindings displayed on a computer display. It is a concept that includes unprocessed data.
[0005]
The publication space allocation device of the present invention is configured to store the contents of this database with respect to an allocation information database that stores information on the publication space and publication order in the catalog in association with the page number of the catalog for a plurality of product subgroups. To operate (ie, edit) . Then, “The allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the specified page on the display screen, the value of the placement space for each product sub-unit on that page, and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. Display means for displaying on the display screen together with the detail display section "and" display switching means for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the changed content when the value of the posting space in the detail display section is changed " And “registration means for updating and registering information relating to the post space after change in the database”.
[0006]
The display switching means may be "switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the content after the change when the posting order in the detail display section is changed". "Post placement order" is updated and registered in the database. In addition, the display switching means is to “switch the allocation display in the allocation display section to the content after the change when a page break process between two specific product subgroups is specified in the detail display section”. In this case, the registration means updates and registers “changed publication order including information on page breaks” in the database.
[0007]
According to the posted space allocation device of the present invention having the above configuration, the editing display can be performed while confirming the space allocation of each product sub-group in the actual catalog in the allocation display section of the display means. The placement space can be efficiently allocated.
[0008]
In the posting space allocation device of the present invention, the display means is “with respect to the product sub-group included in each page before and after the designated page, the value of the posting space of each product sub-group on the page and the entire product sub-group. It is preferable that the front page display unit and the rear page display unit for displaying the display order of each page are displayed together with the display screen. When such a configuration is adopted, the editing operation can be performed while checking the product information on the pages before and after the page that is actually being edited, so that the editing efficiency can be improved.
[0009]
The publication space allocation device according to the present invention is configured to display a list of display contents of the allocation display unit on a display screen over a predetermined plurality of pages, and a page turning button for sliding the page range displayed in the list back and forth. It is preferable to further include a “preview screen display means” for displaying in combination with the screen. When such a configuration is adopted, editing results over all the pages in the catalog can be confirmed relatively easily, so that the editing efficiency can be improved.
[0010]
Further, according to the present invention, there are provided a program for causing a computer to function as any one of the above-described placement space allocation devices, and a computer-readable recording medium on which such a program is recorded.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, a case will be described in which the placement space allocation device of the present invention is applied to creation of a bound catalog booklet. However, the apparatus of the present invention is not limited to such a catalog booklet, but a space allocation in print media including information on products such as brochures and leaflets, web pages displayed on computer displays, and other unbound product data. It is also applicable to.
[0012]
Catalog booklet and commodity sub-assembly FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a catalog booklet as a final product. In this catalog booklet, a predetermined product group is grouped as one product subgroup 1. Here, for the sake of simplicity, two desiccators are shown as one product subgroup.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, only three product subgroups 1a to 1c posted on one page are illustrated, but actually one or a plurality of product subgroups are also posted on other pages depending on the size. Is done. The size of each product sub-group on the catalog page (the size of the posting space) varies depending on the number of products belonging to the product sub-unit, the mode of product description, the necessity of sales promotion, and other factors.
[0014]
In the present invention, a provisional posting space on the catalog paper is set in advance for each of a plurality of product subgroups, and the size of the posting space is increased in accordance with changes in data contents in the subsequent DTP work progress. Is appropriately changed. The final catalog is created by combining the instruction data (information regarding the placement space and order in the catalog) secured as described above with the product subgroup data separately input to the DTP department and entered separately in the product subcommittee database. Editing data for creating a booklet is created.
[0015]
Block diagram FIG . 2 is a block diagram showing a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computer includes a CPU, and a program for realizing the functions of the catalog maker described in FIG. The program may be provided in a state of being stored in a CD-ROM or other recording medium 11 ′. The merchandise group database 12 stores the merchandise data published on the catalog sheet for each merchandise group. In addition, the allocation information database 13 stores information related to the allocation of the publication space on the catalog paper of each product subgroup. The operator operates the operation unit 18 such as a keyboard and a mouse while looking at the display 17 and performs processing such as allocation of a posting space. Various input screens displayed on the display 17 are stored in the input form database 14.
[0016]
Catalog Maker Menu Screen FIG. 3 shows a catalog maker menu screen 20 which is catalog creation support software. The product data is input to the product assembly database 12 for each product assembly via an input form (not shown) displayed when the “INPUT FORM” button 21 is clicked. The placement space on the actual catalog paper is allocated to the data for each product group stored in the product group database 12 according to the present invention. To allocate space, click the “THUMBNAIL SYSTEM” button 22 in the menu screen of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically showing the subsequent processing.
[0017]
Flowchart and Screen Description When the “THUMBNAIL SYSTEM” button 22 is clicked, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. When the operator inputs the catalog name, number of issues, and classification key, a group of product sub-groups to be allocated for placement space is extracted (# 1). In the example of FIG. 5, a plurality of product subgroups belonging to “medium classification called desiccators” in “major classification called general-purpose equipment / measurement equipment” are extracted. In the allocation information database 13 (FIG. 2), allocation information for each product sub-group is stored in advance in the order in which the product data is input to the product sub-group database 12. At this time, the size of the posting space is uniformly set to 1/3 (page). This size is for the time being, and as will be described later, it can be appropriately changed afterwards according to the present invention. In the allocation information database 13, the allocation data for each product subgroup is stored including the catalog name, the number of issues, the classification key, etc., so that the product subgroup group can be extracted by setting an appropriate search condition.
[0018]
When a predetermined search condition is input to the upper input unit 31 on the screen 30 in FIG. 5, a group of product groups that meet the condition is listed on the lower display unit 32. Each of the product names listed on the display unit 32 corresponds to one product group in the classification.
[0019]
Next, the operator tentatively determines the order in which the extracted product group group is placed on the catalog paper. The placement order determined here is provisional, and the placement order can be changed as will be described later. The provisional order is input to the order input section 33 provided one by one for each product group listed in the display section 32 in FIG. When the “this order” button 34 is clicked by the operator, the product sub-groups are rearranged on the display unit 32 in the inputted order (# 2).
[0020]
In order to input the order to the order input unit 33, it is possible to input a number including a decimal point. This has the following advantages. For example, if you want to interrupt another product subgroup between two product subgroups designated as No. 5 and No. 6, enter “5.5” in the order input section 33 related to the product subgroup to be interrupted. This makes it easy to implement interrupts.
[0021]
When the provisional posting order is determined, the “to change history screen” button 35 in the screen 30 of FIG. 5 is clicked. Next, a menu screen 40 of the thumbnail system is displayed through a change history screen (not shown) (FIG. 6). In the display section 41 on the right side of the screen, a list of product names is displayed according to the publishing order provisionally determined on the screen of FIG. 5 (one product name corresponds to one product subgroup).
[0022]
As already described, in the allocation information database 13, “1/3 (page)” is set in advance as the provisional size of the posting space on the catalog sheet for all the product sub-sets. Therefore, in FIG. 6, three consecutive product groups fit on one page of the catalog booklet. This state can be confirmed on the preview screen (FIG. 13) displayed when the play view button 44 is clicked.
[0023]
Next, the operator designates a specific page, and performs editing processing of “change in size of placement space”, “page break processing”, and “change in placement order”. When the page designation button 42 in the menu screen (FIG. 6) is clicked after designating a specific page, the page detail screen 50 (FIGS. 7 to 11) is displayed (# 3: display means). On the page details screen 50, the allocation display section 51 at the upper left of the screen visually displays the space allocation of the product groups on the page, and the detail display section 51a located below the contents displays the contents of each product group. In the allocation display unit 51, thumbnail images indicating the corresponding product sub-sets may be displayed together in the allocated sections. On the detailed screen 50, as described below, “change in the size of the posting space”, “page break processing”, and “change in the order of posting” can be performed.
[0024]
(1) Size change of posting space FIG. 7 is a page detail screen when the fifth page is designated. The space allocation in FIG. 7 corresponds to the space allocation in FIG. The entry space can be changed by inputting the desired publication space size in the space size input section 51b. It is preferable to set a standard size such as 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 1/4, 1/6, etc. in advance and select from among them. When the “Recalculate” button 55 is clicked after entering the size of the posting space by the operator (# 4), the calculation for changing the display on the allocation display unit 51 is performed, and the display on the allocation display unit 51 is changed. (# 14: display switching means).
[0025]
The fifth page is assigned with the 8th to 10th product sub-counts counted from the top, and the size of each posting space is changed to 1/2, 1/4, and 1/4. FIG. 7 shows the display of the allocation display section 51 after the size change, but as described above, the 1/3 (page) placement space is initially set. / 3 is the posting space.
[0026]
In the page detail screen of FIG. 7, information about the designated fifth page is displayed, and information about the previous and subsequent pages is also displayed to improve the editing efficiency. That is, the previous page display section 52 at the upper right of the screen shows the contents of the product subgroup included in the fourth page, which is the previous page. The rear page display section 53 below the page shows the contents of the product subgroup included in the sixth page, which is the next page. When the “PRE” button 52a is clicked, the display on the details screen slides to the previous page, and when the “NEXT” button 53a is clicked, the display on the details screen slides to the next page.
[0027]
Description of free size As described above, the size of the placement space that can be selected is limited to a preset size. However, there may be cases where you want to publish a product group in other sizes. In order to cope with such a case, a free size is set. This will be described with reference to FIG. In order to publish a small product group with a non-standard space size, “Free” is entered in the space size input section 51b. In the allocation information database 13, continuous free sizes are stored in association with one page. In a later DTP operation, the layout of the product data on the catalog paper is adjusted so that the plurality of consecutive product sub-sets fit on one page. In the example of FIG. 8, the 5th product group from 47th to 51st is included in the 20th page, but the placement space for each of these product groups will be included on the 1st page of the 20th page as a whole. It is adjusted by DTP work. In addition, when it is desired to post such a product sub-group across a plurality of pages, the number of product sub-units that can fit on one page can be adjusted using a page break function described later.
[0028]
(2) Page break process The procedure for performing the page break process in relation to the break of a product sub-group will be described below. In the detailed screen of FIG. 9, when the product subgroup “Mc Dry A” of No. 12 and the product subgroup “Mc Dry B” of No. 13 are to be posted on different pages, the operator clicks the “Insert Page Break” button on the details screen. After clicking 61, “12.5” is inserted into the provisional order input section 63. When the “recalculate” button 55 is clicked (# 5), an operation for changing the display on the allocation display unit 51 is performed, and the display on the allocation display unit 51 is changed as shown in FIG. 10 (# 15). : Display switching means). As a result, it can be seen that only the eleventh product sub-group “Dry Cab” and the twelfth product sub-group “Mc Dry A” are posted on the sixth page. In addition, when the rear page display section 53 in FIG. 10 is viewed, it can be seen that the product sub-group “McDry B” included in the sixth page has moved to the seventh page before the page break processing (FIG. 9). . If it is desired to cancel the page break process, clicking the “page break release” button 62 returns to the state before the page break process.
[0029]
(3) Changing the order of placement Next, the processing for changing the order of placement of the product subgroup will be described. In FIG. 11, in order to change the order of the eleventh product sub-group “Dry Cab” and the twelfth product sub-group “Mc Dry A”, “11” in the temporary order input unit 63 in the detail display unit 51a. And “12” are replaced. In this state, when the “recalculate” button 55 is clicked by the operator (# 6), an operation for changing the display on the allocation display unit 51 is performed, and the display on the allocation display unit 51 is changed (# 16: Display switching means). Note that FIG. 11 shows a display state before switching. Further, since the pages before and after the designated page are also displayed on the detail screen, the order over a plurality of pages can be changed while viewing this.
[0030]
Posting order change from list screen In the detailed screen of FIG. 11, a total of three pages including the designated page and the previous and subsequent pages are only displayed on one screen. On the other hand, the list display screen 60 in FIG. 12 displays a list of product sub-groups over four pages or more, which is convenient for a further large order change. On the list display screen 60, by operating the scroll bar 68, it is possible to scroll the product assembly information regarding all pages. The list display screen 60 is displayed by clicking the “list” button 58c in the detail screen or the “list” button 43 provided on the menu screen of FIG.
[0031]
The editing processes of “changing the size of the placement space”, “page break process”, and “changing the order of placement” described above may be performed in any order, and it is not always necessary to perform all the processes. When the editing process ends and the operator clicks the “preview” button 58b in the detail screen (# 7), the preview screen (FIG. 13) is displayed on the display (# 17: preview screen display means). In the preview screen of FIG. 13, a list of space allocations of product sub-groups on 8 consecutive pages is displayed. By clicking the “Page turning” button 71, the allocation of the product subgroups on all pages can be confirmed.
[0032]
When the editing operation is completed by repeating confirmation on the preview screen and editing again, the operator clicks the “Determine and Complete” buttons 56 and 46 on the detail screen or the menu screen. In response, the correction result is updated and registered in the allocation information database 13 (# 8 → 9: registration means). The screen displayed on the display automatically returns to the catalog maker menu screen of FIG. On the other hand, when the “return without change” buttons 57 and 47 on the detail screen or the menu screen are clicked, the update results up to that point are discarded and the menu screen of the catalog maker shown in FIG. 3 is returned (# 8 → # 1). .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a catalog booklet and a product subgroup.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a placement space allocation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a menu screen of a catalog maker which is catalog creation support software.
4 is a flowchart for schematically explaining the processing steps by the placement space allocation device of FIG . 2 ; FIG .
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a screen for extracting a small product group that is a target of placement space allocation;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a menu screen of a thumbnail system.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a detailed screen for allocating a posting space.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a detailed screen for allocating a posting space.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a detailed screen for allocating a posting space.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a detailed screen for allocating a posting space.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a detailed screen for allocating a posting space.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a list screen for performing placement space allocation.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a preview screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 product subgroup
20 Catalog maker menu screen
30 Screen for extracting product sub-groups subject to space allocation
40 Thumbnail system menu screen
50 Detailed screen for allocating space
60 List screen for allocating space
70 Preview screen

Claims (11)

A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a group of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation device for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. Display means for displaying on the display screen together ,
Display switching means for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the changed content when the value of the posting space in the detail display section is changed;
A posting space allocating apparatus comprising: registration means for updating and registering information on a post space after change in the database. A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a group of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation device for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. Display means for displaying on the display screen together ,
Display switching means for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the content after the change when the posting order in the detail display section is changed;
A posting space allocating apparatus comprising: a registration unit that updates and registers the post order after change in the database. A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a set of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation device for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. Display means for displaying on the display screen together ,
A display switching means for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the content after the change when a page break process between two specific product subgroups is specified in the detail display section;
A posting space allocating apparatus, comprising: a registration unit that updates and registers the post-change order including information related to page breaks in the database.   The display means is a front page display unit for displaying the value of the placement space of each product group on the page and the order of placement in the entire product group with respect to the product group included in one page before and after the specified page. The posting space allocation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a display unit and a rear page display unit are displayed together with the display screen.   A preview screen display that displays a list of the contents displayed by the above allocation display unit over a predetermined number of pages on the display screen and a page turning button that slides the page range displayed in the list back and forth along with the display screen. The placement space allocating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means. A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a set of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation program for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. A display procedure for displaying on the display screen together ,
A display switching procedure for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the changed content when the value of the posting space in the detail display section is changed,
A program for causing a computer to execute a registration procedure for updating and registering information on a post space after change in the database. A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a set of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation program for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. A display procedure for displaying on the display screen together ,
A display switching procedure for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the content after the change when the posting order in the detail display section is changed,
A program for causing a computer to execute a registration procedure for updating and registering the post order after change in the database. A group of products that are listed in the catalog as a group of products is a product subgroup, and for multiple product subgroups, information on the placement space and order in the catalog is stored in the allocation information database stored in correspondence with the catalog page number. On the other hand, a publication space allocation program for editing the contents of this database,
An allocation display section that displays the allocation of the placement space for the product sub-group on the page specified on the display screen, and a detailed display that displays the value of the placement space for each product sub-section on that page and the order of placement within the entire product sub-assembly. A display procedure for displaying on the display screen together ,
A display switching procedure for switching the allocation display in the allocation display section to the changed content when a page break process is specified between two specific product subgroups in the detail display section;
A program for causing a computer to execute a registration procedure for updating and registering the post-change order including information relating to page breaks in the database.   In the above display procedure, for the product subgroups included in one page before and after the specified page, the previous page display that displays the value of the placement space of each product subcommitment on that page and the order of placement in the entire product subcompartment, respectively The program according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the program and the rear page display unit are displayed together with the display screen. In the above computer,
A preview screen display procedure for displaying a list of contents displayed by the allocation display section on a display screen over a plurality of predetermined pages and displaying a page turning button for sliding the page range displayed in the list back and forth on the display screen. 10. The program according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the program is further executed. Computer-readable recording medium storing a program according to any one of claims 6-10.

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