JP5639909B2 - Drawing editor and drawing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drawing editor and a drawing method suitable for use in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a programmable display, and the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information processing apparatuses such as personal computers, programmable displays, and the like use a drawing tool such as a function block editor or a summary graph editor to create a desired drawing and use it as a control screen.

  In an apparatus (drawing editor) equipped with this drawing tool, a plurality of graphics (for example, switches, lamps, numeric keys, meters, etc.) prepared in advance are displayed as drawing objects in the first area on the screen. A second area on the screen adjacent to the first area is set as a drawing area for drawing editing, and a desired drawing is created on the drawing area. For example, in Patent Document 1, a first area in which a drawing object is displayed is called a ladder window, and a drawing area for drawing editing (second area) is called a drawing window.

  When creating a drawing in a drawing area for drawing editing, the user selects a desired drawing object from a plurality of drawing objects displayed in the first area using a pointing device such as a mouse, and drags and drops the drawing object. Thus, the selected drawing object is arranged at a desired position on the drawing area. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of creating figures such as switches, lamps, numeric keys, and meters from scratch, and to efficiently create drawings on the drawing area.

JP 2002-140107 A

  However, in the conventional drawing editor described above, another window such as a window for zooming in / out (pan / zoom window) or a color palette for selecting a drawing color may be superimposed on the front of the drawing area. Yes, that is, another window such as a pan / zoom window or color palette may be displayed in the active state in the drawing area. In such a case, drag and drop the drawing object within the range in which the other window is displayed. I couldn't.

  Even if you can drag and drop a drawing object within the range where another window is displayed, the upper surface of the drawing area is hidden by the other window, so check the position of the drawing object in the drawing area. Can not do it. For this reason, after dragging and dropping a drawing object, it is necessary to move another window superimposed in front of the drawing area, move the dragged and dropped drawing object, and determine the arrangement position. Become.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to confirm the arrangement position in the drawing area even when another window is superimposed in front of the drawing area. An object of the present invention is to provide a drawing editor and a drawing method capable of dragging and dropping a drawing object.

In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, drawing object display means for displaying a plurality of graphics prepared in advance as a drawing object in a first area on the screen, and displayed in the first area In a drawing editor comprising a pointing device for selecting a desired drawing object from a plurality of drawing objects and dragging and dropping it onto a second area on the screen, wherein the second area is a drawing area for drawing editing. When a drawing object is dragged and dropped onto the drawing area by the device, if the drawing object enters the display range of another window superimposed on the front of the drawing area, this separate window is made transparent and inactive. visible the upper surface of the drawing area hidden by another window by And, characterized in that it comprises a drag and drop permitting means for permitting the drag-and-drop drawing objects to the upper surface of this visible has been drawing area.

In the present invention, when a drawing object is dragged and dropped onto the drawing area by the pointing device, if the drawing object enters the display range of another window superimposed on the front of the drawing area, the other window is made transparent. In addition, by making it inactive, the upper surface of the drawing area hidden in another window is made visible, and dragging and dropping of the drawing object onto the upper surface of the drawing area made visible is permitted.

According to the present invention, when a drawing object is dragged and dropped onto the drawing area by the pointing device, if the drawing object enters the display range of another window superimposed on the front of the drawing area, the other window is made transparent. And the inactive state makes the upper surface of the drawing area hidden in another window visible, and allows drag and drop of drawing objects to the upper surface of the drawing area made visible Therefore, another window will not hide the upper surface of the drawing area to which the drawing object is moved, and another window will not obstruct the drag and drop operation of the drawing object, and another window is superimposed on the front of the drawing area. Even if it is, check the placement position in the drawing area. Reluctant, it is possible to perform a drag-and-drop of the drawing object. As a result, operability is improved and work efficiency is improved.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the hardware constitutions of one Embodiment of the drawing editor which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen on the display of this drawing editor (The state before dragging and dropping a drawing object in the display range of another window). It is a figure which shows the screen example (The 1st example of a processing operation) after dragging and dropping a drawing object in the display range of another window on the display of this drawing editor. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 1st example of a processing operation. It is a figure which shows the screen example (The 2nd example of a processing operation) after dragging and dropping a drawing object in the display range of another window on the display of this drawing editor. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 2nd example of a processing operation. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen on the display of this drawing editor (after drawing and dropping a drawing object in the display range of another window (3rd example of processing operation)). It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 3rd example of a processing operation. It is a functional block diagram of the principal part of this drawing editor.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following description, what is not included in the scope of the right of the present invention is described as an embodiment, but here, it will be described as an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of an embodiment of a drawing editor according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1A is a CPU, 1B is a RAM, 1C is a ROM, 1D is a storage device such as a hard disk, 1E and 1F are interfaces, 1G is a display, 1H is a keyboard, and 1J is a mouse (pointing device). A drawing editor 1 is configured as a main component.

  The CPU 1A obtains various input information given through the interfaces 1E and 1F, and operates according to programs stored in the ROM 1C and the storage device 1D while accessing the RAM 1B.

  The storage device 1D stores a program (drawing tool) for supporting creation of a desired drawing on the display 1G as a program unique to the present embodiment. The drawing tool is provided in a state where it is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and is read from the recording medium and installed in the storage device 1D.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, referring to the screen examples on the display 1G shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the first example of the processing operation executed by the CPU 1A according to the drawing tool stored in the storage device 1D will be described. This will be described as Form 1.

[Display of drawing objects and drawing area for drawing editing]
When the drawing tool is activated, as shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 1A displays a plurality of graphics prepared in advance in the first area W1 on the display 1G as a drawing object OB (FIG. 4: step S101). .

  In this example, a plurality of stencils S1 to Sn are displayed so as to be selectable in the first region W1, and drawing objects OB registered in the stencils S1 to Sn are displayed.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the logical operation stencil S3 is selected, and the logical operation stencil S3 has a figure indicating logical operators such as “AND”, “OR”, “NOT”, “XOR”, and the like. The drawing objects OB1 to OB6 are registered, and the registered drawing objects OB1 to OB6 are displayed in the window.

  Further, the CPU 1 displays the second area W2 as a drawing area for drawing editing adjacent to the first area W1 where the drawing object OB is displayed. Hereinafter, the second area (drawing area for drawing editing) W2 is referred to as a drawing window.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which a desired drawing has been created halfway in the drawing window W2. In addition, a pan / zoom window is superimposed as a separate window W3 on the front surface of the drawing window W2. That is, another window W3 is displayed in an active state in the drawing window W2.

[Drag and drop a drawing object into the display range of another window]
Here, in order to continue creating the drawing in the drawing window W2, the drawing object OB4 in the stencil S3 of the logical operation is selected using the mouse 1J, and this selected drawing object OB4 is selected in another window in the drawing window W2. It is assumed that drag and drop is performed within the range where W3 is displayed.

  When the dragging of the drawing object OB4 to the drawing window W2 is started (YES in step S102), the CPU 1A confirms whether another window W3 is superimposed on the front side of the drawing window W2 to be moved (step S103). ).

  In this example, when the drawing object OB4 is dragged and enters the display range of the separate window W3, it is determined that the separate window W3 is superimposed on the front surface of the drawing window W2 that is the movement destination. When the drawing object OB4 approaches the display range of the separate window W3, that is, when the distance to the separate window W3 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the separate window W3 is superimposed on the front surface of the drawing window W2 that is the movement destination. You may make it judge that it is.

  When CPU 1A determines that another window W3 is superimposed on the front surface of drawing window W2 that is the movement destination (YES in step S103), CPU 1A makes the upper surface of drawing window W2 hidden by another window W3 visible (step S104). ) Dragging and dropping the drawing object OB4 onto the upper surface of the drawing window W2 in the visible state is permitted (step S105).

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, by making another window W3 transparent, the upper surface of the drawing window W2 hidden by the other window W3 is made visible, and the drawing rendered in this visible state is made. The drag and drop of the drawing object OB4 onto the upper surface of the window W2 is permitted. In this case, the separate window W3 is in an inactive state.

  As a result, the separate window W3 does not hide the upper surface of the drawing window W2 to which the drawing object OB4 is moved, and the separate window W3 does not prevent the drag and drop operation of the drawing object OB4. The drawing object OB4 can be dragged and dropped while confirming the above.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, the upper surface of the drawing window W2 hidden by the separate window W3 is made visible by making the separate window W3 transparent. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the top surface of the drawing window W2 hidden by the separate window W3 is made visible by positioning the separate window W3 behind the drawing window W2. The drag and drop of the drawing object OB4 onto the upper surface of the drawing window W2 in the visible state is permitted.

  A flowchart in this case is shown in FIG. In this flowchart, the processes in steps S201 to S205 correspond to the processes in steps S101 to S105 in the flowchart shown in FIG. In this flowchart, in step 204, another window W3 is positioned behind the drawing window W1. In this case, the separate window W3 is in an inactive state.

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, by moving the separate window W3 to a different position, the upper surface of the drawing window W2 hidden by the separate window W3 is made visible, and is made visible. The drag and drop of the drawing object OB4 onto the upper surface of the drawing window W2 is permitted.

  A flowchart in this case is shown in FIG. In this flowchart, the processes in steps S301 to S305 correspond to the processes in steps S101 to S105 in the flowchart shown in FIG. In this flowchart, in step 304, another window W3 is moved to another position. In this case, the separate window W3 maintains an active state.

  In the third embodiment, the separate window W3 is moved to a different position. However, if it is moved to a position diagonal to the original position as shown in FIG. Thus, the work can be performed more efficiently.

  In Embodiment 3, when the drawing object OB4 is dragged and enters the display range of the separate window W3, the separate window W3 is moved. When the drawing object OB4 approaches the display range of the separate window W3, Another window W3 may be moved so as to repel. In this case, in response to the drag operation of the drawing object OB4, the other window W3 is shaped to escape.

  FIG. 9 shows a functional block diagram of the main part of the drawing editor 1 described above. The drawing editor 1 includes a drawing object display unit 1-1 that displays a plurality of drawing objects OB in a first area W1 on the screen and a plurality of drawing objects OB displayed in the first area W1. A pointing device 1-2 (mouse 1J) for selecting a drawing object OB and dragging and dropping it onto a second area (drawing area (drawing window)) W2 on the screen, and the drawing object OB by the pointing device 1-2. When dragging and dropping to the drawing window W3, if another window W3 is superimposed on the front side of the drawing window W2 to which the drawing object OB is moved, the upper surface of the drawing window W2 hidden by the other window W3 is visible. To the upper surface of the drawing window W2 in the visible state. And a drag-and-drop permission unit 1-3 to allow drag-and-drop of the view object OB3.

  The drag and drop permission unit 1-3 includes another window overlay confirmation unit 1-3A, a drawing area upper surface visualization unit 1-3B, and a drawing object drag and drop permission unit 1-3C. When the pointing device 1-2 starts to drag the drawing object OB to the drawing window W2, the unit 1-3A checks whether another window W3 is superimposed on the front of the drawing window W2 that is the movement destination. . In this case, when the drawing object OB is dragged and enters the display range of the separate window W3, it is determined that the separate window W3 is superimposed on the front surface of the drawing window W2 to be moved, or the display range of the separate window W3 is displayed. When approaching, it is determined that another window W3 is superimposed on the front face of the drawing window W2 to be moved.

  The drawing area upper surface visualization unit 1-3B, when the separate window overlay confirmation unit 1-3A determines that the separate window W3 is superimposed on the front of the destination drawing window W2, the drawing hidden by the separate window W3. The upper surface of the window W2 is made visible. In this case, the other window W3 is made transparent, the other window W3 is positioned behind the drawing window W2, the other window W3 is moved to another position, and the drawing window hidden by the other window W3 is hidden. The upper surface of W2 is made visible.

  When the drawing area upper surface visualization unit 1-3B makes the upper surface of the drawing window W2 hidden in the separate window W3 visible, the drawing object drag and drop permission unit 1-3C makes the drawing window W2 in the visible state. The drag and drop of the drawing object OB onto the upper surface of the screen is permitted.

  The drawing editor and drawing method of the present invention can be used when creating a control screen or the like in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer or a programmable display.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Drawing editor, 1A ... CPU, 1B ... RAM, 1C ... ROM, 1D ... Storage device, 1E, 1F ... Interface, 1G ... Display, 1H ... Keyboard, 1J ... Mouse, W1 ... First area, S1-Sn ... stencil, OB (OB1 to OB6) ... drawing object, W2 ... second area (drawing area for drawing editing (drawing window)), W3 ... separate window, 1-1 ... drawing object display section, 1-2 ... Pointing device, 1-3, drag and drop permission unit, 1-3A, separate window overlay confirmation unit, 1-3B, drawing area upper surface visualization unit, 1-3C, drawing object drag and drop permission unit.

Claims (2)

A drawing object display means for displaying a plurality of graphics prepared in advance as a drawing object in a first area on the screen, and a desired drawing object is selected from the plurality of drawing objects displayed in the first area A drawing editor comprising a pointing device for dragging and dropping to a second area on the screen, wherein the second area is a drawing area for drawing editing;
When the drawing object is dragged and dropped onto the drawing area by the pointing device, if the drawing object enters the display range of another window superimposed on the front of the drawing area, the other window is made transparent. In addition, by making it inactive, the upper surface of the drawing area hidden in the separate window is made visible, and dragging and dropping that allows dragging and dropping of drawing objects onto the upper surface of the drawing area made visible A drawing editor comprising a permission means. Displaying a plurality of graphics prepared in advance as a drawing object in a first area on the screen, and selecting a desired drawing object from the plurality of drawing objects displayed in the first area by a pointing device; Dragging and dropping to a second area on the screen, wherein the second area is a drawing area for drawing editing,
When the drawing object is dragged and dropped onto the drawing area by the pointing device, if the drawing object enters the display range of another window superimposed on the front of the drawing area, the other window is made transparent. In addition, the inactive state makes the upper surface of the drawing area hidden in the separate window visible, and drag and drop that allows the drawing object to be dragged and dropped onto the upper surface of the visible drawing area. Authorization step
A drawing method comprising:

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