JP4183017B2 - Ruled line processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention displays a ruled line of Jo Tokoro line type on the display, relates to processing methods and apparatus that processes the this border.

  Conventionally, most word processor software processed by a word processor device or a computer has a function of inserting ruled lines at arbitrary positions of a character string, and visually separates a sentence to be expressed by a character string by dividing the line with ruled lines. It is used for improving expressive power and for facilitating understanding of information.

  Also, this type of device or software makes the above visual effects even more prominent, so that a ruled line drawing display format such as preparing multiple line widths such as solid lines and dotted lines as line types used for drawing ruled lines. Consideration.

  In a word processor that processes Japanese characters, the character width has conventionally been an integer multiple, such as the so-called full-width and half-width of the half-width, and the double-width that is twice the full-width. It was common to draw a ruled line as a unit. In addition, the original ruled line was drawn at the same position as the character, and when the ruled line was drawn at the position where the character was already written, the character was overwritten. Recently, a so-called line spacing (character spacing between characters) ) Ruled lines are also used (see Patent Document 1 below).

JP-A-6-28346

By the way, if the size and width of the characters are diversified, the position where the ruled line is added requires higher resolution than the conventional method, so it is specified by a cursor that moves in units of a predetermined width and height. Instead of the conventional designation method, it is considered to use a pointing device such as a mouse or a tablet. However, the conventional method has not yet reached the point where the pointing device is effectively used to simply designate the arrangement positions of the vertical and horizontal ruled lines.

  The mixed processing method and apparatus for character strings and ruled lines according to the present invention solves these problems and provides the most comfortable interface for a user who creates a document in which characters and ruled lines are mixed. In order to cope with this problem, and to enable simple designation of the arrangement position of the ruled line using the pointing device effectively, the following configuration is adopted.

The ruled line processing method of the present invention includes:
A method of displaying a ruled line of a predetermined line type on a display using an instruction means for indicating the position of a pointer on the display, and processing the ruled line,
The first position designated on the display by the instruction means is a start position of rectangular display by ruled lines,
When the pointer displayed on the display is moved based on the operation of the instruction means after the first position is designated, the first position and the position based on the instruction by the instruction means are accompanied by the movement. A rectangular ruled line with two corners facing each other in the first line type,
Before the rectangular borders after the first position is designated the confirmation operation is performed, before SL on the display, in a state where the rectangular borders are displayed in the first line type, the indication When a predetermined division operation is performed based on the operation of the unit, the position based on the instruction by the instruction unit at the time when the division operation is performed, the ruled line that divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally, and the first line type And position to display with
When the position indicated by the instruction means moves in a direction away from the divided operation position and the first position after the dividing operation and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed. The ruled line to be divided passing through the position where the division operation has been performed is displayed in the first line type,
When the determination operation of the rectangular ruled line is performed at a second position that is based on an instruction from the instruction means and is different from the first position on the display, the first position and the second position A rectangular ruled line having two corners facing each other and the ruled line to be divided are displayed with a second line type different from the first line type instead of the first line type. The gist.

According to this ruled line processing method, the first position is set as the starting point using the instruction means for indicating the position of the pointer displayed on the display , and the second position is set as the corner portion facing the first position. When a predetermined division operation is performed before the rectangular ruled line to be displayed with the second line type is generated, vertical and horizontal ruled lines that pass through this position are generated, and the rectangular ruled line is divided and displayed with the first line type. To do. When drawing a rectangular ruled line, a ruled line that is divided vertically and horizontally is often drawn inside the rectangular ruled line. If this processing method is used, a rectangular ruled line having divided ruled lines can be drawn very easily.

Here, in the processing method of this border, after a predetermined operation is performed, when an instruction position indicated by the operation instruction means, that has reached the first position side than the division operation is performed position, a rectangle is displayed in the first line type may also erase the borders for dividing vertically and horizontally. According to processing methods ruled lines of this, it is possible to cancel easily ruled line is divided into vertical and horizontal which once generated.

Alternatively, after a predetermined operation is performed, the position indicated by the operation instruction means, when a predetermined operation in a state split operation that led to the position or near was made was made, vertically and horizontally rectangle display it may be as shall be erased borders to divide. Therefore, according to the processing method of the ruled lines of this, it is possible to selectively erase only vertical and horizontal ruled lines to be deleted, thereby enhancing usability.

The ruled line processing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus that displays a ruled line of a predetermined line type on a display and processes the ruled line,
Indicating means for indicating the position of the pointer on the display;
Drawing start means for starting drawing a ruled line with the first position designated on the display as a start position of rectangular display by operation of the instruction means;
When the pointer displayed on the display moves based on the operation of the instruction means after designating the first position, the first position and the instruction by the instruction means are associated with the movement. A rectangular provisional display means for displaying a rectangular ruled line having two corners facing each other in a first line type;
After the first position is designated and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed , the instruction is performed in a state where the rectangular ruled line is displayed in the first line type on the display. When a predetermined division operation is performed based on the operation of the means, a ruled line that passes the position based on the instruction by the instruction means at the time when the division operation is performed and divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally is the first line The position indicated by the seed is the position indicated by the instruction means after the division operation and before the rectangular ruled line determination operation is performed, and the position where the division operation is performed and the first position A ruled line display means for displaying the dividing ruled line passing through the divided operation position with the first line type when moved in a direction away from the position, and a position based on an instruction from the instruction means and on the display in front When the rectangular ruled line is determined at a second position different from the first position, a rectangular ruled line having two corners facing the first position and the second position, and A gist of the invention is that it comprises: a drawing completion means for displaying the ruled line to be divided by a second line type different from the first line type.

According to the processing apparatus of this border, as a starting point the first position by the operation of the instruction means, a rectangular border to opposite corners of the second position to the first position in the second line type Before a display, when a predetermined division operation is performed, vertical and horizontal ruled lines that pass through this position are displayed in the first line type, and rectangular ruled lines are divided. When drawing a rectangular ruled line, a ruled line that is divided vertically and horizontally is often drawn inside the rectangular ruled line. If this processing apparatus is used, a rectangular ruled line having divided ruled lines can be drawn very easily.

An apparatus for processing these borders, after the predetermined splitting operation is performed, the designated position indicated by the indicating means, led to the first position side than the position where said dividing operation is performed detection means for detecting a come and detection by this detecting means is made, or as comprising a border erasing means for erasing the borders displayed by the first line type that divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally. According to the processing apparatus of ruled lines of this, it is possible to cancel easily ruled line is divided into vertical and horizontal which once generated.

Alternatively, an apparatus for processing a border, after the predetermined splitting operation is performed, the designated position indicated by the indicating means, and the state the split operation that led to the position or near been made a designated point detecting means for detecting, when a predetermined operation is performed in a state where the detection was made by the indicated point detecting means, the ruled lines displayed in the first line type that divides the front Symbol rectangular display vertically and horizontally Divided ruled line erasing means for erasing can be provided. Therefore, according to the processing apparatus of ruled lines of this, it is possible to selectively erase only vertical and horizontal ruled lines to be deleted, thereby enhancing usability.

  In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, a preferred embodiment of the character string / ruled line mixed processing method and apparatus of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a basic window screen displayed on a display 40 when a Japanese word processor application software adopting a mixed processing method of character strings and ruled lines according to an embodiment is operated on a computer, and FIG. It is a functional block diagram inside the personal computer 20 which has started the software. That is, by executing this software on a normal personal computer 20, the character string and ruled line mixed processing method of the present embodiment is realized. If this software is executed on the personal computer 20, the character string and ruled line mixed processing apparatus of the embodiment is realized as a whole.

  For convenience of explanation, the internal configuration of the personal computer 20 will be described first. As shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 2, the personal computer 20 in which the software is started has a well-known basic configuration, and the CPU 22 that executes logical operations, the program executed by the CPU 22, and the like are nonvolatile. A ROM 24, a logic circuit portion comprising a large-capacity RAM 26 for storing programs and data, a display 40 as a peripheral device portion, and a mouse 42 as a pointing device for indicating any one point on the display 40 , A keyboard 46, a printer 48, and input / output interfaces 28 to 36 with the hard disk 50. Recently, there are also known various types of high-speed buses used around the CPU 22 for the purpose of improving the processing speed. Therefore, a hardware configuration suitable for processing speed and storage capacity may be employed. .

  The application program of the embodiment is programmed to operate under a graphical user interface (GUI) managed by an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), and is used for a GUI prepared in advance in the OS. By using the tool, the operation method with other application software is unified. In addition, an outline font supported by the OS level (a font that describes character shapes as vector data and generates character dots of the corresponding size according to the specified number of points) can be used for creating documents. Can be displayed smoothly.

  The top part of the basic window screen of the application shown in FIG. 1 is a title bar 402 that displays the name of the application software according to the embodiment and the file name of the data file currently being processed. A button 402A at the left end of the title bar 402 is a button for pulling down the system menu, and a menu bar 404 for displaying “file” and “edit” is arranged below the button 402A. When an arbitrary display on the menu bar 404 is clicked with the mouse 42, a command related to the display name is displayed in a pull-down manner, and the trouble of memorizing the command name or inputting the command name from the keyboard 46 is omitted.

  The right end of the tool bar 406 and the title bar 402 in the lower part of the menu bar 404 is not the interface prepared in the OS described above, but is a place where main commands unique to this application software are displayed by icons or command names. When the button 402B (ruled line button) on the right end of the title bar 402 is selected with the mouse 42, a pull-down menu in which commands such as ruled line drawing form, ruled line erasure, and ruled line area enlargement / reduction are iconized is displayed as shown in the figure. . When the button 402C (line type button) on the right side is similarly selected by the mouse 42, a part of 14 types of lines used for ruled line drawing is displayed as shown in the figure. The tool bar 406 includes a character input mode, which is a basic operation mode of the application software of this embodiment, which is a Japanese word processor, a ruled line creation mode, and commands for automatic placement such as left alignment, center alignment, and right alignment, and character outlines. Commands such as the font type and the number of points are displayed by icons, and a command is input to the application software simply by selecting the icons with the mouse 42.

  An operation area 410 corresponding to the center of the basic window screen is an information editing area unique to this application software, which is a Japanese word processor. Above that, a ruler section 412 for counting the number of characters and setting tabs and indents, An attribute display section 414 that displays attributes set in each row is arranged on the left edge, and a scroll section 416 for scrolling the window up, down, left, and right is arranged on the right edge and the lower edge. The bottom line of the window screen is a status bar 420 that displays the operating state of the application software, for example, the number of pages being edited, the number of lines, and the like.

  The application software of the present embodiment having the above-described schematic configuration has a ruby function, a footnote function, a format function for designating headers and footers, a kana-kanji conversion function, a dictionary function, etc. Of course, this function is achieved by using a tool, but since these functions are the same as those of general software, the description thereof is omitted.

  The application software of this embodiment includes a character string that is visually processed inside the editing unit 418 that occupies most of the operation area 410 and a ruled line that divides the character string and is used for understanding the sentence. The mixed processing has a unique and skillful interface as follows. Hereinafter, a mixed processing method of character strings and ruled lines unique to this application software will be described in detail.

  3 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the character string and ruled line data structure employed in this application software in order to achieve the unique character string and ruled line mixed processing method described below. is there. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a character string and ruled lines used for the following data structure description are displayed on the editing unit 418. In the illustrated example, the editing unit 418 as a whole has a character editing area of 17 lines in the vertical direction and 30 characters in the horizontal direction. When there is no ruled line inside, this character editing area is treated as a single area, but once a ruled line is created in this character editing area, the editing process is performed for each area divided by the ruled line. Will be. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when a rectangular ruled line (solid square in the figure) is drawn, this character editing area is divided with the four sides of the ruled line as the boundary lines and the row direction as the priority direction. Are divided into five edit areas 1, edit areas 2,..., Edit area 5 (five dotted squares), and character strings are managed for each area.

  First, management of ruled line data will be described. If only the ruled line data drawn in the editing unit 418 is extracted from each area shown in FIG. 3, a ruled line area covering a total of seven rows is formed as shown in FIG. This ruled line data is managed as ruled line drawing information having the data structure shown in FIG. In other words, the ruled line drawing information is information that roughly represents where the ruled line exists, and is obtained by capturing a portion that is continuous over a certain range as one block. The ruled line drawing information includes a start position, a size, and a ruled line data pointer. Since one ruled line block defines one ruled line (vertical ruled line, horizontal ruled line, rectangular ruled line), a maximum of n ruled line blocks can be managed for each document. The starting position in the ruled line drawing information is a line position where the ruled line is started, and the size indicates how many lines the ruled line continues in the vertical direction. These pieces of information are shown in units of lines when the ruled line drawing unit is a row digit.

  The ruled line data pointer is a pointer that indicates the location of data representing the shape and line type of the ruled line that is actually drawn. In the present embodiment, a two-dimensional area is secured at the location (address) pointed to by the ruled line data pointer as shown in FIG. In this region, a size necessary for describing ruled line information is secured in the horizontal direction, and a size in which the ruled lines are continuous in the vertical direction is secured in the vertical direction. Therefore, in the ruled line illustrated in FIG. 1, an area of 7 rows is secured in the vertical direction. In the memory corresponding to each row, data representing the shape and line type of ruled lines is stored in a form corresponding to the existence of ruled lines. In the ruled line drawing information, the number of characters described above is used as a unit representing the coordinate position and size. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  When ruled lines are drawn in this way, the screen is divided into several rectangular areas. Each of the divided areas is internally edited for each area. This point will be described. Each edit area n (n is an arbitrary natural number) divided by the ruled line is an area that affects existing character strings such as a flow when characters are inserted or deleted. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of editing area information for managing each editing area up to the nth editing area. As shown in the figure, the information of each editing area n includes the start abscissa, the start ordinate, and the horizontal size (horizontal size) and the vertical size (vertical size) that are the coordinate positions of the upper left corner. Size). Taking the first editing area as an example, this area has a starting abscissa 1 and a starting ordinate 1 (that is, the upper left corner of the screen) as a starting position, the horizontal size is 30, and the vertical size is 2. It has become. Further, the value “1” is stored in the first character string index, and it is indicated that the character string in this area starts from the first character string in the character string information shown in FIG. 7 described later.

  In this embodiment, as a unit indicating the position and size of each editing area n, characters having a standard number of points edited by the editing unit 418 (12 points by default) are adopted, and the number of characters is displayed. Such units need only be standardized for each program, and can be arbitrarily selected such as mm units or dot units. The head character string index managed as information of each editing area n is an index for accessing a character string stored in character string information (see FIG. 7) described later, and is at the head of the editing area n. Pointing to the character string to be displayed.

  Next, the outline of the character string information described in the editing unit 418 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the character strings are managed by a table in units of character strings. The table includes information such as a character string pointer, an attribute pointer, and next character string information. The character string here is a group of characters until a line feed code is inserted, and the character string pointer is an access pointer to the memory in which the character string is actually stored. The attribute pointer is a pointer indicating a storage location of attribute information for characters. Information such as font type, number of points, character decoration (modification), etc. can be set for each character constituting the character string, and this setting (attribute) is actually stored in memory for the attribute pointer. Point to where you are. The next character string information is an index when there is a character string following this character string, and “0” is set in the case of the last character string in one editing area. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first character string is “Aiueo <line feed>”, and the next character string is the second character string “ABCDE <line feed>”. , Value 2 is stored. That is, the character strings in all editing areas are managed by the tables shown in FIGS.

  As described above, this application software newly creates, updates, and deletes edit area information, ruled line drawing information, and character string information in accordance with the data structure for each sentence (data file) on the RAM 26 or the hard disk 50. So, we manage data files with mixed character strings and ruled lines. Next, a specific and skillful character string / ruled line mixed processing method performed by the application software of this embodiment, that is, a specific example of updating the above three editing area information, ruled line drawing information, and character string information will be described in detail.

  FIGS. 8 and 9 are an explanatory diagram for explaining a processing method when a ruled line drawing is instructed for a character string displayed and fixed on the display 40, and a flowchart of the program of that part. . As for the characters in the editing area, in this application software, left alignment, tab setting every 5 character intervals, and indent setting are made as the default (initial setting) of the arrangement status. Although these settings are not shown, in the following description, they are treated as initial settings of the arrangement state.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the processing of the application program enters the ruled line creation mode (step S100), it is first determined whether or not a situation in which the ruled line overlaps the determined character has occurred (step S102). If no has occurred, the process goes to "END" without performing the following process, and the process routine is terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the ruled line overlaps with the character string, a process for deleting the character applied to the ruled line is performed (step S104). The characters constituting the character string are managed as having a width determined from the font and the number of points specified for each character, although the width differs for each character in a proportional font. On the other hand, ruled lines are treated as having a certain width regardless of the displayed line width. Therefore, it is easy to obtain the overlap between the two by calculation. Since the ruled line has a predetermined width, duplication with a plurality of characters may occur only by drawing a single ruled line vertically, and as a result, a plurality of characters may be erased.

  After deleting the overlapped character, a ruled line of the designated line type is drawn at that position (step S106), and it is determined whether or not there is a blank from the end of the character string on the left of the ruled line to the ruled line. (Step S108). If there is a blank from the end of the character string on the left side of the ruled line to the ruled line, the space information by the outline font having the same character width as this blank, that is, the number of spaces and the number of points are automatically calculated (step S110). This is inserted on the left side of the ruled line (step S112). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not there is a blank from the ruled line to the beginning of the character string to the right of the ruled line (step S114). If there is a blank, the space information for filling the blank is automatically calculated in the same manner as above (step S114). This is inserted into the blank portion on the right side of the ruled line (S116). In this way, a space having the same character width is inserted as much as possible so that the position of the previous character string remains unchanged even when the ruled line is inserted. In step S120, the character string on the right side of the ruled line is moved to the remaining blank portion in order to fill this blank (step S122), and the process is completed.

  By such processing, when ruled line drawing is instructed on the character information “I” of the character string “Aiueo” as shown in FIG. 8, the overlapping character information “I” is deleted, and ruled line drawing is given priority. A space is automatically inserted in the left or right blank part of the ruled line so that the position of the other character string “AUEO” does not change from the previous position. As a result, even when ruled lines with a certain width are repeatedly drawn for a character string that is set to an arbitrary size by the outline font, the position of the character string is almost the same as before, and the user's document is created. A data file in which character strings and ruled lines are mixed can be quickly created without destroying the image. The calculation of the space information for filling in the blank may be performed by calculating the number of spaces having a predetermined width, or calculating the number of points of the space.

Next, another ruled line related function in the embodiment will be described. The following is a processing method in the case where the ruled line is inserted in a line attribute other than the left justification which is the default value of the application software, for example, a line in which uniform placement, right justification, center justification, etc. are set. Processing in this case will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C and the flowchart of FIG.

  When the ruled line creation process is executed, first, a ruled line is created according to the user's instruction (step S200), and then whether or not the line attribute set in the line on which the ruled line is drawn is a default value, that is, a left-justified attribute. Judgment is made (step S202), and if it is the default value, the process ends by exiting to “END”. When the line attribute has been changed from the default value, that is, as shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, when the uniform alignment, right alignment, or center alignment is set, the character string is displayed on the line where the ruled line is drawn. (Step S204), and the following processing is executed only when the character string already exists. First, if a character is present at the position where the ruled line is drawn, the character is deleted as in the previous embodiment (see FIGS. 8 and 9) (step S206). The line attribute of the left character string is returned to the default left alignment (step S208), and a line feed code is added to the end of the character string (step S210). Similarly, the line attribute of the character string of the character string on the right side of the ruled line is also returned to the default left alignment (step S212), a line feed code is added to the end of the character string (step S214), and this process ends.

  When a line is divided by drawing a ruled line, the right and left side areas that are bordered by the ruled line can be set independently, such as even placement and right alignment. The relationship between the settings before division and the settings after division becomes a problem. In this embodiment, the case where a ruled line is inserted into a line for which a line attribute has been set in advance is taken up, and the initial setting (default) for both the left and right areas of the ruled line is made with respect to a change in the setting of the line attribute by dividing the line. It is assumed that the row attribute is automatically restored. This process is the same even when the character string is not divided by the ruled line (for example, when the ruled line is drawn at the left side of the right-aligned character string). When a ruled line is created on a character, the overlapped character is handled according to the processing described in the flowchart of FIG. 9, and the character is deleted.

Other ruled line related functions in the embodiment will be further described. The following relates to processing when a ruled line is drawn on a line in which tabs, indents, and the like are set. Tabs and indents are settings for arranging a character string at a desired position. In this example, the following processing different from the flowchart of FIG. 11 is performed for the tabs and indents. FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, and 13 are explanatory diagrams and flowcharts of processing when ruled lines are drawn for a paragraph in which a tab exists or indent is changed from a default value. . By default, the tab is set every 8 characters, and the indent is set at the same position as the left margin position. Note that tabs and indents are set in units of standard full-width or half-width characters, but can be set using units such as millimeters or the number of dots. It is.

When the process shown in FIG. 13 is started, a ruled line is created in accordance with the user's instruction (step S300), and then it is determined whether the indent setting different from the default value is set in the line on which the ruled line is drawn (step S300). S302) When some change is made from the default value, that is, when the indent is set as shown in FIGS. 12B and 12C, the blank amount due to the indent is replaced with the space information (S302). Step S304). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the character string on which the ruled line is drawn includes a tab (step S306). If a tab is included (see FIG. 12A), the blank amount by this tab is determined. Is replaced with space information (step S308). After all of the blank portions due to indents and tabs are replaced with the space information in this way, the setting of indentation on the left of the ruled line is restored to the default value (step S310), and the setting of indentation on the right of the ruled line is restored to the default value (step S312). ), The ruled line left tab setting is restored to the standard tab (step S314), the ruled line right tab setting is restored to the standard tab (step S316), and the process ends. Note that the space information replaced in step S304 and step S308 is the same as the space information described in the above example. The replacement by space may replace the white space composed of indents or tabs with a number of spaces that have almost the same width as this, or replace the space with a larger width by calculating the number of points in the space. It does not matter.

In other words, in a line with tabs and indents set, if a ruled line is inserted and the line is divided, the arrangement of character strings is set to the default arrangement as in the case of right alignment or even arrangement described in the above example. Instead of returning to (left-justified in this example), a space is inserted so as to be arranged at substantially the same position as before the ruled line is created. This is because tabs and indentation are generally set and used for each paragraph, unlike the above-mentioned line alignment, right alignment, etc., and the position of the character string can be changed even after ruled lines are inserted. This is because it is considered that the state as it is matches the image of the user's document creation. In addition, the default values for tabs and indents are automatically set for the character strings in the left and right areas after the ruled line is inserted, so the image of document creation remains for the user and is most frequently used for document creation. An operating environment with default values is provided, making it extremely easy to use. Note that the tab and indent are regarded as one character, and when a ruled line is drawn on the tab and indent, the same processing as the character deletion processing described with reference to FIG. 9 is performed.

  As described above, various processes when adding ruled lines have been described. However, the application software of this embodiment provides the following excellent interfaces when deleting ruled lines that have already been drawn. These will be described in the following examples.

14A, 14B, and 15 show ruled lines drawn on a line in which the default value of the application software is adopted, that is, a line that has a left-justified attribute and is not set to change tabs and indents. It is process explanatory drawing at the time of deleting, and a flowchart, and shows the outline | summary of the process .

When the processing shown in FIG. 15 is started, processing for deleting ruled lines (step S400) is first performed. The ruled line can be erased by designating a certain point on the ruled line to another point and operating the “DEL” key or the like. When the ruled line is deleted, whether or not the character strings existing in the left and right sections divided by the ruled line (see FIG. 14A) are generated (step S402), and at least deleted. It is determined whether or not a character string exists in the edit area on the right side of the ruled line (see FIG. 14B) (step S404). If any of these conditions is not satisfied, space information is inserted in place of the deleted ruled line in order to simply delete the ruled line (step S406), and the process ends. The method described above is used to insert the space information.

  On the other hand, if both the conditions of steps S402 and S404 are satisfied, the outline has the same character width as the blank amount from the end of the character string existing on the left side of the erased ruled line to the beginning of the character string existing on the right side. The space information by the font, that is, the number of spaces and the number of points are automatically calculated (step S408), and this is inserted into the blank portion (step S410). And, in this way, space information with the same character width is inserted as much as possible so that the position of the previous character string remains unchanged even if the ruled line is erased. (Step S412), the character string in the right edit area is moved to the remaining blank portion in order to fill this blank (Step S414), and the processing is completed.

According to the ruled line erasing process described above , even if the ruled line is erased in a line in which the ruled line already exists, the arrangement positions of the respective character strings divided up to the left and right editing areas by the erased ruled line are almost the same. Keep the same. Therefore, the image of the document being created is maintained, and the efficiency of document creation is not reduced. In addition, since the space information for maintaining the arrangement positions of the character strings almost the same is automatically calculated, the document image is maintained with high accuracy even in the OS of this embodiment using outline fonts for the character strings. It becomes possible.

As one of the other ruled line processing functions, setting of line attributes other than left-alignment, which is the initial setting of the application software, for example, equal placement, right-alignment, and center-alignment is performed in any of the editing areas divided into right and left by the ruled line. The processing in this case will be described according to the explanatory diagram of FIG. 16 and the flowchart of FIG.

  When this process is started, the specified ruled line is deleted according to the user's instruction (step S500), and then the ruled line deletion causes the integration of the left and right editing areas that have been divided by the ruled line until then. It is determined whether or not (step S502), and if the integration of the areas does not occur, the ruled line erasing process (step S504) is immediately executed and the program is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S502 that region integration has occurred, it is determined whether or not the row attribute of the left editing region to be integrated is a setting other than the initial setting (left-justified attribute in the embodiment) (step S502). S506) If any change has been made since the initial setting, that is, if the uniform arrangement or the like is set as illustrated in FIG. 16, the setting is returned to the default value of left justification (step S508). (Refer to the state of the middle stage shown in FIG. 16). Then, for the right editing area to be integrated, it is determined whether or not the attribute setting is the default left alignment (step S510), and the paragraph setting value is set as the default value of the left alignment attribute only when it is not left alignment (step S512). Then, a ruled line erasing process (step S504) is executed (see the lower state shown in FIG. 16), and this process is terminated.

  According to this ruled line erasing process, the left-aligned attribute, which is the most frequently used initial setting when creating a document, is automatically set for a line that is integrated by deleting the ruled line and becomes one editing area. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly perform editing activities in the editing area newly generated by ruled line deletion. In addition, when the character strings existing in the left and right editing areas are integrated, the space information is calculated and inserted so that the distance is equal to the distance between the character strings existing in the state divided by the ruled lines. Accordingly, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 16, since the new editing area is maintained while maintaining the state of the character string divided into the left and right, the document is based on the character string having the positional relationship as before even after the area integration. Creation can be performed.

For tabs and indents, processing different from the examples shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is prepared, as in the case of ruled line insertion. This process will be described. FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 19 are explanatory diagrams and flowcharts of ruled line erasure processing for a paragraph in which tabs exist or indentation is changed from the default value.

  In this case, when the ruled line erasing process is instructed, the ruled line is erased according to the user's instruction (step S600), and then it is determined whether or not the area integration is caused by the ruled line erasing (step S602). If no integration occurs, this process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S602 that region integration occurs, it is determined whether or not tab data exists in the character string in the left region of the ruled line to be integrated (step S604), and tab data exists. If so, the tab data is replaced with space information that is substantially the same as the width of the blank formed on the display by the tab data (step S606). Next, processing for determining the presence or absence of tab data is similarly performed for the right side of the ruled line to be integrated (step S608), and when tab data is present, processing for replacing with space information (step S610) is executed (FIG. 5). 18 (A)).

  When the tab data replacement process for the left and right areas to be integrated is completed, the process proceeds to a process for setting an indent. That is, it is determined whether or not an indentation setting different from the default value is set in the left region to be integrated (step S612). If any indentation setting is made, that is, as shown in FIG. If it is set, a process of replacing the blank amount due to indentation with the space information is performed (step S614). Similarly, for the right region to be integrated, it is determined whether or not indentation different from the default value is set (step S616). If there is indentation setting, the corresponding blank amount is replaced with the space information. Processing is performed (step S618). This state is shown in FIG. Thereafter, a process of deleting the ruled line previously designated (step S620) is executed, the tab and indent settings are restored to the default values for the integrated editing area (step S622), and the process returns to “END”. Exit.

Thus treatment described, the tab set used for each paragraph, for indent, while maintaining the string position before integration of the left and right editing area, it is possible to generate a new integrated editing area. In other words, the process of deleting the ruled line in a format that matches the user's paragraph image is performed so that the change of the line from which the ruled line has been deleted has no effect on other character string arrangement positions of the same paragraph. is there. In addition, in the integrated editing area, the tab and indent settings are automatically restored to the default values, so that the subsequent document creation work becomes smooth.

As described several processing examples above, according to the processing method and apparatus of the character string and ruled lines, the arrangement of the string from left justified the default value, if the right-justified, is set centered, Or, when the paragraph setting is changed from the default indent setting or when the tab is set in the paragraph, the ruled line can be inserted and deleted in a form that matches the user's feeling. In addition, the line layout and paragraph settings of the editing area are appropriately restored to the default values in accordance with the integration / decommissioning of the editing area, so that the document creation after the ruled line insertion / deletion processing becomes extremely simple.

  In addition, when a blank part occurs due to deletion of character information or changes in the above settings, the space information that fills the blank part is automatically calculated and inserted, so that the ruled line can be inserted while maintaining the image of the entire document. , Can be deleted. As a result, the user can edit the document after the operation while continuously drawing the document image before the ruled line operation.

  Further, by effectively using the mouse 42 for the position to add ruled lines, an arbitrary position of the editing unit 418 can be designated with high resolution, and the arrangement positions of the vertical and horizontal ruled lines can be completed with one operation. .

Having described various processing method for Deletion and insertion borders, we are prepared user interface application software excellent in managing and borders on the Edit region defined by borders other than this this. Next, reference examples and examples of these user interfaces will be described in detail.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, and 21 are explanatory diagrams of processing relating to management of the editing area and a flowchart of the program of the portion, showing an outline of ruled line processing as a reference example. . In FIG. 20, the character string “abc... Xyz” is input in advance in the editing area defined by the rectangular ruled line KL (FIG. 20A), and the character string “123” is inserted in the middle of the character string. Is inserted (see FIG. 20 (B)), and a series of document editing processes of deleting only the character “3” from the added character string (FIG. 20 (C)) is taken as an example. The change of the display state is shown. This processing program is executed when a cursor is placed in an editing area defined by the ruled line KL and a character string at a position where the cursor is located is edited in the editing area. That is, this process is performed simultaneously and in parallel with the editing operation of the character string. Character string editing is a process of adding, inserting, or deleting information to a character string, changing the font or the number of points, etc., and executing screen drawing and various management information changes according to the task. .

  When the editing operation of the character string is started by the user, first, the vertical size (initial value) of the editing area is stored in a predetermined storage area (step S700). Thereafter, when the user edits the character string, the area occupied by the edited character string is calculated (step S702), and the size relationship between the new occupied area and the editing area stored in step S700 is determined. (Step S704). If the calculated occupied area is larger than the initial size (initial value) of the stored editing area, the size of the editing area in which the character string being edited fits is calculated (step S706). The position of the ruled line defining the lower side is extended downward (step S708). Actually, the process of erasing the lower ruled line and drawing a new ruled line is executed. That is, the ruled line KL is changed from the state of FIG. 20A to the state of FIG. Of course, if the occupied area is larger than the initial value of the editing area, the rectangular ruled line KL is rewritten even when the occupied area is reduced by editing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S704 that the occupation area calculated with the editing is smaller than the initial value of the editing area stored in step S700, the process ends and the ruled line drawing is left as it is, that is, The default size of the editing area is maintained (change from the state of FIG. 20B to the state of FIG. 20C).

  When the amount of information of the character string in the editing area defined by the ruled line is increased by such editing area processing, the ruled line is automatically extended so that the character string can be accommodated in the editing area. . Further, in addition to such an automatic extension function, when the amount of information of the character string is small with respect to the editing area by the automatically extended ruled line, the ruled line is reduced only in the automatically extended area. In other words, based on the size of the editing area at the time of creating the ruled line, the size of the area by the ruled line automatically expands and contracts according to the occupied area of the character string written in the editing area. Efficiency is greatly improved. For example, if a large number of character strings are entered in the editing area, the ruled lines that divide the editing area are updated to a size that is large enough to accommodate the character string, and the input character string is deleted. In this case, the ruled line is gradually reduced to the initial value.

Next, a description will be given of the actual 施例. In this real施例, generation of ruled lines described above, in the process involving deleting, taken up process itself to draw the ruled lines, which describes the user interface that can be performed easily vertical and horizontal ruled lines drawn by using the mouse 42 . FIG. 22 shows, in time series, the display state of the display 40 until ruled line drawing is completed in accordance with the ruled line drawing operation procedure using the mouse 42 employed in the application software of this embodiment. FIG. The characters attached to each figure are used to explain operations and the like performed to obtain the state of the figure. As shown in FIG. 22A, the processing is performed as follows by the present software when drawing ruled lines.

  When creating a rectangular ruled line, the user presses the left button 422 of the mouse 42 at the position P1 of the upper left corner of the ruled line to be created. When the position P1 is designated, the position is stored as the start position of the nth ruled line block. Thereafter, when the mouse 42 is moved, the pointer P is moved accordingly, and a rectangle RS having the movement position of the pointer P as the lower right corner of the rectangular ruled line is displayed on the display 40. The display of the ruled line in this state is called a display in the rubber band format because it moves freely according to the movement of the pointer P. Then, when the user moves the mouse 42 while looking at the display 40 and operates a predetermined key (for example, “TAB” key) of the keyboard 46 at a desired position P2, the position P2 is detected, and this position is set as a dividing point. Processing to memorize is performed. When the dividing points are stored, the vertical and horizontal dividing ruled lines RL having the start position P1 as the upper left corner and the dividing point as an intersection are displayed in the same display manner as the rectangular ruled lines (FIG. 22B). Therefore, if the above processing is repeated, a large number of vertical and horizontal ruled lines corresponding to the number of division points (P2, P3...) Are displayed as shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the user operates an end key (for example, “RETURN” key) assigned to a predetermined key of the keyboard 46, this is detected, and the ruled line is determined as a ruled line of a predetermined line type from the drawing state of the rubber band format. The drawn ruled line is displayed after changing to the drawing state. Internally, ruled line block information is determined (FIG. 22D). In the above example, the division point is stored by the operation of “TAB”. However, the storage of the division point can be designated by various other operations as well as being assigned to a key other than the “TAB” key. . For example, an operation of a button to which a mouse function is not assigned, an instruction at a predetermined position on the tablet, or a designation with a light pen when a tablet exists may be used.

Drawing state of FIG. 1 explained in the real施例is a diagram showing a state in which to specify the starting position of the border is dragging a rectangle borders rubberband form by this method of operation. When operating the end key assigned to the keyboard 46 in this state, rendering the ruled lines is selected as a predetermined line type is completed as shown in FIG. 23, and processing of various string and ruled lines described above Data processing based on the method is executed. Of course, if a dividing point is specified during the drawing of a rectangular ruled line, vertical and horizontal ruled lines passing through the divided point are also displayed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 22C, there may be a case where it is desired to cancel the already specified division point in a state where the ruled lines are displayed in the rubber band format and are not yet determined. 22E and 22F show one of the operation methods for canceling the dividing points. After designating a certain dividing point Pn, if the pointer 42 is moved to the start position P1 of the rectangular ruled line from this dividing point by operating the mouse 42, the previously designated dividing point Pn is deleted. The information regarding the division point is also deleted from the memory. The vertical and horizontal ruled lines with the division points as intersections are similarly deleted. When there are a plurality of division points, as shown in FIGS. 22E and 22F, the division point P3 where the pointer P has moved to the inside (start position side) is erased, but the pointer P is The dividing point P2 located outside is not erased (FIG. 22E). If the mouse 42 is further dragged from this state and the division key is operated, new vertical and horizontal ruled lines are displayed with the new position as the division point P3 as shown in FIG. 22 (F).

  According to such a ruled line creation user interface, the trouble of specifying the vertical ruled line and the horizontal ruled line separately as in the conventional ruled line creation procedure is eliminated, and the vertical and horizontal ruled lines can be operated with one operation. It can be created easily. Also, the designation of vertical and horizontal ruled lines can be easily canceled by operating the mouse 42. As shown in FIGS. 22X and 22Y, instead of a configuration in which the dividing point is canceled by simply returning the pointer P, the pointer P is moved to a predetermined operation (for example, a dividing key or a mouse button) on the dividing point. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the dividing point is canceled by performing the operation again. In this case, an operation of canceling the one near the start position P1 among the plurality of division points without canceling other division points becomes possible. In the present embodiment, the pointer P is moved by using a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. However, the pointer may be moved by operating a cursor key or the like.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be embodied in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.

  As described above, the character string and ruled line mixed processing method and apparatus according to the present invention provide the most comfortable interface for a user who creates a data file in which characters and ruled lines are mixed, and the size can be freely set. Appropriate countermeasures against mixed character strings and ruled lines, cursor key operations, and ruled line placement instructions that make effective use of pointing devices are made possible.

  In particular, according to the processing method of claim 1 and the processing device of claim 16, when the ruled line and the character string overlap, the character is deleted and the ruled line is preferentially displayed. Since the space having almost the same width as the erased character is calculated and this space is inserted in place of the duplicated character, the original character string is displayed at almost the same position even though the character is erased. The effect that it is done.

  Further, according to the processing method of claim 4 and the processing device of claim 17, in the line in which the ruled line is inserted, the arrangement of the character strings is restored to the initial arrangement state for each area divided from the ruled line. A user-friendly interface is realized.

  According to the processing method of claim 6 and the processing device of claim 18, when a ruled line is inserted in a row in which a predetermined arrangement state is set, the arrangement state setting is returned to the initial state and the arrangement is already made. Since the space is calculated and inserted so that the position of the character string is maintained, the setting of the arrangement state is initialized, but the arrangement of the character string is hardly changed, and the user does not feel uncomfortable. An effect is obtained.

  According to the processing method of claim 8 and the processing device of claim 19, when a ruled line existing in a row in which a predetermined arrangement state is set is deleted, the character string in the predetermined arrangement state is divided by the ruled line. Since each section that has been set is returned to the initial position or a position in the vicinity thereof, for example, a character string that has been right-justified in a section divided by a ruled line returns to an initial state (for example, a left-justified state) when the ruled line is deleted. Will be restored. When the ruled line is deleted and there is no longer a divided section, an interface that is easy for the user to understand is realized.

  According to the processing method of claim 10 and the processing device of claim 20, when a ruled line existing in a line for which a predetermined arrangement state is set is deleted, the arrangement of each character string in the section divided by the ruled line Since a space with a predetermined width is calculated and inserted so that the position is at or near the arrangement position in the arrangement state, even if the ruled line is deleted, the character string already arranged in the predetermined arrangement state is almost There is an effect that an interface which is arranged at the original position and does not feel uncomfortable for the user is realized.

  According to the mixed processing method of the character string and the ruled line of claim 12 and the processing device of claim 21, the size of the ruled line dividing the area is set according to the result of editing the character string in the area partitioned by the ruled line. The sectioned area is changed or extended or reduced. However, when the area is reduced, the initial size of the area is limited, and the area is not reduced below that. Therefore, the area defined by the ruled lines is extended / reduced according to the editing of the internal character string and does not become smaller than the initial size, so that the deformation of the area does not become undesired. Play.

  According to the mixed processing method of the character string and the ruled line and the processing device according to claim 22, the first position is used as a starting point and the second position is opposed to the first position using a pointing device. When a predetermined operation is performed in the middle of drawing a rectangular ruled line, vertical and horizontal ruled lines passing through this point are generated and the rectangular ruled line is divided, so that it is very easy to draw a rectangular ruled line having divided ruled lines. There is an effect.

It is explanatory drawing of the basic window screen which application software as a reference example and an Example employ | adopt. It is a schematic block diagram of a computer that realizes the processing device borders of Reference Examples and Examples. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the data structure inside application software. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image of a ruled line data structure. It is explanatory drawing of the data structure of a ruled line. It is explanatory drawing of the data structure of an edit area. It is explanatory drawing of the data structure of character string information. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is drawn on a character string. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of drawing a ruled line over a character string. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is inserted in the character string to which a line attribute is set. It is a flowchart which shows the process which inserts a ruled line in the character string to which a line attribute is set. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is inserted in the character string by which the paragraph setting was made. It is a flowchart which shows the process which inserts a ruled line in the character string by which the paragraph setting was made. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is erase | eliminated from a character string. It is a flowchart which shows the process which erases a ruled line from a character string. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is deleted from the character string to which the line attribute was set. It is a flowchart which shows the process which erases a ruled line from the character string to which the line attribute was set. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a ruled line is erase | eliminated from the character string by which the paragraph setting was made. It is a flowchart which shows the process which erases a ruled line from the character string in which the paragraph setting is made. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the area | region divided by the ruled line is expanded-contracted. It is a flowchart which shows the process which expands / contracts the area | region divided by the ruled line. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a vertical and horizontal division | segmentation ruled line is displayed and deleted , drawing a rectangular ruled line with a mouse | mouth. The rectangular border is an explanatory diagram showing an example that hide draw with the mouse.

Explanation of symbols

20 ... Personal computer 22 ... CPU
24 ... ROM
26 ... RAM
28-36 ... I / O interface 40 ... Display 42 ... Mouse 46 ... Keyboard 48 ... Printer 50 ... Hard disk 402 ... Title bar 402A ... Button 402B ... Button 402C ... Button 404 ... Menu bar 406 ... Toolbar 410 ... Operation area 412 ... Ruler section 414 ... Attribute display unit 416 ... Scroll unit 418 ... Editing unit 420 ... Status bar 422 ... Left button

Claims (8)

A method of displaying a ruled line of a predetermined line type on a display using an instruction means for indicating the position of a pointer on the display, and processing the ruled line,
The first position designated on the display by the instruction means is a start position of rectangular display by ruled lines,
When the pointer displayed on the display is moved based on the operation of the instruction means after the first position is designated, the first position and the position based on the instruction by the instruction means are accompanied by the movement. A rectangular ruled line with two corners facing each other in the first line type,
Before the rectangular borders after the first position is designated the confirmation operation is performed, before SL on the display, in a state where the rectangular borders are displayed in the first line type, the indication When a predetermined division operation is performed based on the operation of the unit, the position based on the instruction by the instruction unit at the time when the division operation is performed, the ruled line that divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally, and the first line type And position to display with
When the position indicated by the instruction means moves in a direction away from the divided operation position and the first position after the dividing operation and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed. The ruled line to be divided passing through the position where the division operation has been performed is displayed in the first line type,
When the determination operation of the rectangular ruled line is performed at a second position that is based on an instruction from the instruction means and is different from the first position on the display, the first position and the second position Instead of the first line type, a rectangular ruled line having two corners facing each other and the ruled line to be divided are displayed with a second line type different from the first line type. Processing method.   The ruled line processing method according to claim 1, wherein the dividing operation is a pressing operation of a predetermined key of a keyboard.   The ruled line processing method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined key is a tab key. A method of displaying a ruled line of a predetermined line type on a display using an instruction means for indicating the position of a pointer on the display, and processing the ruled line,
The first position designated on the display by the instruction means is a start position of rectangular display by ruled lines,
When the pointer displayed on the display moves based on the operation of the instruction means after designating the first position, the first position and the position based on the instruction by the instruction means are opposed to each other. A rectangular ruled line as a corner is displayed in a rubber band format in which the display of the ruled line moves as the pointer moves,
After the first position is designated and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed, and in a state where the rectangular ruled line is displayed in the rubber band format, based on the operation of the instruction unit When a predetermined division operation is performed, a position based on an instruction by the instruction unit at the time when the division operation is performed is a position for displaying a ruled line that divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally,
When the position indicated by the instruction means moves in a direction away from the divided operation position and the first position after the dividing operation and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed. The ruled line processing method, wherein the dividing ruled line passing through the divided operation position is displayed in such a manner that the ruled line is expanded and contracted with the movement of the rectangular ruled line displayed in the rubber band format. Display Jo Tokoro line style borders on a display, an apparatus for processing該罫line,
Indicating means for indicating the position of the pointer on the display;
Drawing start means for starting drawing a ruled line with the first position designated on the display as a start position of rectangular display by operation of the instruction means;
When the pointer displayed on the display moves based on the operation of the instruction means after designating the first position, the first position and the instruction by the instruction means are associated with the movement. A rectangular provisional display means for displaying a rectangular ruled line having two corners facing each other in a first line type;
After the first position is designated and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed , the instruction is performed in a state where the rectangular ruled line is displayed in the first line type on the display. When a predetermined division operation is performed based on the operation of the means, a ruled line that passes the position based on the instruction by the instruction means at the time when the division operation is performed and divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally is the first line The position indicated by the seed is the position indicated by the instruction means after the division operation and before the rectangular ruled line determination operation is performed, and the position where the division operation is performed and the first position A ruled line display means for displaying the dividing ruled line passing through the divided operation position with the first line type when moved in a direction away from the position, and a position based on an instruction from the instruction means and on the display in front When the rectangular ruled line is determined at a second position different from the first position, a rectangular ruled line having two corners facing the first position and the second position, and A ruled line processing apparatus comprising: a drawing completion unit configured to display the divided ruled line with a second line type different from the first line type. Before Symbol dividing operation, borders of the processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pressing operation of a predetermined key of the keyboard. Before SL predetermined key ruled line of the processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a tab key. Display Jo Tokoro line style borders on a display, an apparatus for processing該罫line,
Indicating means for indicating the position of the pointer on the display;
Drawing start means for starting drawing a ruled line with the first position designated on the display by the operation of the instruction means as a start position of rectangular display;
When the pointer displayed on the display moves based on the operation of the instruction means after designating the first position, the first position and the position based on the instruction by the instruction means are opposed to each other. Rectangle provisional display means for displaying a rectangular ruled line as a corner in a rubber band format in which the display of the ruled line moves as the pointer moves;
After the first position is designated and before the rectangular ruled line is confirmed, and in a state where the rectangular ruled line is displayed in the rubber band format, based on the operation of the instruction unit When a predetermined division operation is performed, a position based on an instruction by the instruction unit at the time when the division operation is performed is a position where a ruled line that divides the rectangular display vertically and horizontally is displayed as the first line type. At the same time, after the division operation and before the confirmation operation of the rectangular ruled line is performed, the position indicated by the instruction means moves in a direction away from the division operation position and the first position. And a ruled line display means for displaying the ruled line to be divided passing through the position where the division operation has been performed in a manner that expands and contracts with the movement of the rectangular ruled line displayed in the rubber band format. apparatus.

Images