JP7415086B1 - Drawing support program, drawing support device, and drawing support method - Google Patents

Abstract

The operation reception unit (111) receives a selection operation for selecting a plurality of parts displayed on the screen. The selection order determining unit (112) determines the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation received by the operation reception unit (111) and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen. A parent-child relationship setting unit (113) sets a parent-child relationship for a plurality of parts in which a component earlier in selection order is a parent component and a component later in selection order is a child component.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a drawing support program, a drawing support device, and a drawing support method.

2. Description of the Related Art As one technique for supporting drawing, a technique for setting a parent-child relationship between a plurality of parts displayed on a screen is known. Between a plurality of parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set, the settings of the parent part can be inherited by the child parts, making it easier to manipulate the parts. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for setting a parent-child relationship between figures displayed on a screen in an application that creates a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen.

Patent No. 3402350

In the above-described technology, there is a need to reduce the effort required to set a plurality of parts by making it easier to set parent-child relationships for a plurality of parts.

The present disclosure has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a drawing support program and the like that can reduce the effort required for setting a plurality of parts.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the drawing support program according to the present disclosure:
an operation reception means for accepting a selection operation for selecting multiple parts displayed on the screen;
Selection order determining means for determining the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation accepted by the operation reception means and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen;
The present invention functions as a parent-child relationship setting means for setting a parent-child relationship for the plurality of components, with the component earlier in the selection order being the parent component and the component later in the selection order being the child component.

In the present disclosure, the selection order of multiple parts is determined based on a selection operation for selecting multiple parts displayed on a screen and the positional relationship of the multiple parts on the screen, and the selection order is determined for the multiple parts. Set a parent-child relationship in which the previous part is the parent part and the part selected later is the child part. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the effort required for setting a plurality of components.

Block diagram showing the configuration of a drawing support device according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing an example of a plurality of parts displayed on the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1. A diagram showing a first example of a selection operation for drawing a linear trajectory input to the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1, and a parent-child relationship set by the selection operation. A diagram showing a second example of a selection operation for drawing a linear trajectory input to the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1, and a parent-child relationship set by the selection operation. A diagram showing a first example of a selection operation for drawing a rectangular area that is input to the drawing support device according to the first embodiment, and a parent-child relationship set by the selection operation. A diagram illustrating a second example of a selection operation for drawing a rectangular area that is input to the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1, and a parent-child relationship set by the selection operation. A diagram illustrating an example of a parent-child relationship set by a selection operation that draws a linear locus when the shapes of multiple parts displayed on the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1 are other than rectangular. A diagram showing an example of selection order information generated in the drawing support device according to the first embodiment A diagram showing an example of parent-child relationship information generated in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1. A diagram illustrating an example in which settings are applied to multiple parts for which parent-child relationships are set in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1. Flowchart showing the flow of parent-child relationship setting processing executed by the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1 Flowchart showing the flow of setting application processing executed by the drawing support device according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing an example of a parent-child relationship set in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 2 A diagram illustrating an example of changing a side on which a parent-child relationship is set in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 3. A diagram illustrating an example of changing parts to which a parent-child relationship is set in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 4. A diagram illustrating an example of changing a component for which a parent-child relationship is set in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 5. A diagram illustrating an example in which parent-child relationships set between components are reversed in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 6. A diagram showing an example of parent-child relationship information generated in the drawing support device according to Embodiment 6 Flowchart showing the flow of setting application processing executed by the drawing support device according to Embodiment 6

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same or equivalent parts in the figures are given the same reference numerals.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a drawing support device 10 according to the first embodiment. The drawing support device 10 is a device in which drawing software is installed, and has a function of supporting user operations related to drawing.

Here, the drawing software is screen design software for an HMI (Human Machine Interface) that is used to design the appearance, internal behavior, etc. of a screen in the HMI. The drawing software is GUI application software, and has a function of collectively arranging and editing a plurality of parts arranged on the screen. As an example, the drawing software is software for drawing the display screen displayed on a programmable display device that displays the status of devices such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) and sensors, and accepts operations on the device. be.

The drawing support device 10 is a terminal device operated by a user. The drawing support device 10 may be any device, such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc., as long as it is a terminal device that can be operated by a user. As shown in FIG. 1, the drawing support device 10 includes a control section 11, a storage section 12, an operation section 13, a display section 14, and a communication section 15.

The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU is also called a central processing unit, central processing unit, processor, microprocessor, microcomputer, etc., and functions as a processing unit that executes processing and calculations related to control of the drawing support device 10. In the control unit 11 , the CPU reads out programs and data stored in the storage unit 12 and operates, thereby controlling the drawing support device 10 in an integrated manner.

The storage unit 12 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, and the like. The storage unit 12 stores programs and data used by the control unit 11 to perform various processes. Furthermore, the storage unit 12 stores data generated or acquired by the control unit 11 performing various processes. Specifically, the storage unit 12 stores selection order information 121 and parent-child relationship information 122.

The operation unit 13 includes input devices such as a touch panel, a touch pad, a keyboard, a mouse, and physical buttons, and receives operation input from the user. By operating the operation unit 13, the user can input various instructions to the drawing support device 10.

The display unit 14 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel and an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel. The display unit 14 is driven by a display drive circuit (not shown) and displays various images.

The communication unit 15 includes a communication interface for communicating with devices external to the drawing support device 10. For example, the communication unit 15 communicates with devices external to the drawing support device 10 in accordance with well-known communication standards such as LAN (Local Area Network) and USB (Universal Serial Bus).

The control unit 11 functionally includes an operation reception unit 111 that is an example of an operation reception unit, a selection order determination unit 112 that is an example of a selection order determination unit, and a parent-child relationship setting unit 113 that is an example of a parent-child relationship setting unit. and a settings application unit 114, which is an example of a settings application unit.

Each of these functions is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software and firmware are written as programs and stored in the storage unit 12. The control unit 11 implements each function by executing the program stored in the storage unit 12.

<Accepting selection operation>
The operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation for selecting a plurality of parts displayed on the screen. Here, a component is an element included as an image on a display screen. More specifically, the parts correspond to GUI components, figures, etc. used for operating the HMI. Examples of parts include items that indicate specific items such as a desk placed in a room or parts that make up a product, items that indicate a specific function such as a switch or meter, and data such as text or figures. Examples include things.

FIG. 2 shows, as an example, a case where five parts A to E are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. The user operates the operation unit 13 and inputs a selection operation to select a plurality of parts that he/she desires to group from among the five parts A to E thus displayed on the screen. The operation accepting unit 111 accepts an operation for selecting a plurality of parts from among the five parts A to E displayed on the screen according to a selection operation input by a user.

Note that in FIG. 2, for ease of understanding, each of the parts A to E has a rectangular shape of the same size. However, each of the multiple parts displayed on the screen is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may have other shapes including other polygonal shapes, circles, ellipses, etc., and may have different sizes from each other. It may be.

In the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the operation receiving unit 111 receives a selection operation for selecting three parts A to C from among the five parts A to E shown in FIG. 2. The operation reception unit 111 operates in two ways: (1) inputting a linear locus at a position that crosses multiple parts on the screen; and (2) inputting a rectangular area at a position that overlaps multiple parts on the screen. The selection operation can be accepted using the selection method.

(1) As a first selection method, the operation reception unit 111 accepts a selection operation of inputting a linear locus at a position across a plurality of parts on the screen. Here, the linear trajectory is a linear trajectory drawn by the user on the screen, and may be a linear trajectory or a curved trajectory.

The user operates the operation unit 13 to input a selection operation that draws a linear or curved linear locus on the screen so that at least a portion thereof overlaps a plurality of parts to be selected. Specifically, the user moves a finger, touch pen, etc. on the touch panel, or drags a mouse, tracker, etc. so as to trace a plurality of parts to be selected. The operation accepting unit 111 accepts the selection operation input in this manner.

For example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, if the user inputs a selection operation to draw a linear locus L1 at a position that crosses three parts A to C out of five parts A to E, three parts A to E are selected. C is selected. A linear locus L1 extends from the upper starting point of part A to the lower end point of part C, traversing part A from its upper side to its lower side, crossing part B from its upper side to its left side, and crossing part C from its upper side to its right side. ing.

Alternatively, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, if the user inputs a selection operation to draw a linear locus L2 at a position that crosses three parts C, part B, and part D out of five parts A to E, 3 One part B to D is selected. A linear trajectory L2 runs from the lower starting point of component C to the right end point of component D, crosses component C from its lower edge to its upper edge, crosses component B from its lower edge to its upper edge, and cuts component D from its left edge to its right edge. It's crossing.

The user inputs a linear locus on the screen so as to cross the plurality of parts to be selected in this manner. By selecting parts using this method, a plurality of parts can be selected intuitively and with fewer operations.

(2) As a second selection method, the operation reception unit 111 accepts a selection operation of inputting a rectangular area at a position on the screen that overlaps a plurality of parts. Here, the rectangular area is a rectangular area created by the user on the screen.

The user operates the operation unit 13 and inputs a selection operation to draw a two-dimensional area on the screen so that at least a portion thereof overlaps a plurality of parts to be selected. Specifically, the user moves a finger, touch pen, etc. on the touch panel, or drags a cursor displayed on the screen, from a start point to an end point so as to cover multiple parts to be selected. The operation accepting unit 111 accepts the selection operation input in this manner.

For example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, if the user inputs a selection operation to draw a rectangular area R1 at a position overlapping three parts A to C out of five parts A to E, three parts A to C is selected. The rectangular region R1 covers a range from the upper left starting point of component A to the lower right end point of component C, with the starting point and the ending point being opposite vertices.

Alternatively, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, if the user inputs a selection operation to draw a rectangular area R2 at a position overlapping three parts B, C, and E out of five parts A to E, three Part B, part C, and part E are selected. The rectangular region R2 covers a range from the upper left starting point of component B to the lower right end point of component E, with the starting point and the ending point being opposite vertices.

The user inputs a rectangular area on the screen so as to overlap the plurality of parts to be selected in this manner. By selecting parts using this method, a plurality of parts can be selected intuitively and with fewer operations.

<Determining the selection order of parts>
Returning to FIG. 1, the selection order determining unit 112 selects a plurality of selected parts based on the selection operation accepted by the operation reception unit 111 and the positional relationship of the selected parts on the screen. Decide on the order. Specifically, the selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection method of the plurality of parts in the accepted selection operation and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen. do.

(1) When the operation receiving unit 111 receives a selection operation to input a linear trajectory, the selection order determining unit 112 selects parts from among the plurality of selected parts in order from the parts that the linear trajectory intersects. Decide on the order.

For example, when the operation receiving unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the linear locus L1 shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, the selection order determining unit 112 selects parts A, B, The order of component C is determined as the component selection order. The selection order of the parts determined in this way is shown by the numbers enclosed in squares in the lower part of FIG.

Alternatively, when the operation receiving unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the linear trajectory L2 shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, the selection order determining unit 112 selects the parts C, B, and The order of parts D is determined as the selection order of parts. The selection order of the parts determined in this way is shown by the numbers enclosed in squares in the lower part of FIG.

In this manner, the selection order determination unit 112 determines the selection order of the plurality of parts present at positions overlapping the linear locus in the order in which the linear locus input as the selection operation traverses.

(2) When the operation receiving unit 111 receives a selection operation to input a rectangular area, the selection order determining unit 112 selects the parts from among the plurality of selected parts in order from the part closest to the starting point of the rectangular area. Decide on the order.

More specifically, when the rectangular area has a vertically long shape, the selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of the parts in ascending order of the absolute value of the difference in vertical coordinates from the starting point of the rectangular area. do. When a plurality of parts having the same vertical coordinates exist in a rectangular area, the selection order determining unit 112 determines whether the absolute value of the difference in horizontal coordinates between the plurality of parts and the starting point of the rectangular area is small. To determine the selection order of parts in an earlier order. Furthermore, when a plurality of parts having the same vertical and horizontal coordinates exist within the rectangular area, the selection order determining unit 112 selects an earlier selection order of the parts existing on the back side of the plurality of parts. decided on.

On the other hand, when the rectangular area has a horizontally long shape, the selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of the parts in descending order of the absolute value of the difference in horizontal coordinates from the starting point of the rectangular area. do. When a plurality of parts having the same horizontal coordinates exist in a rectangular area, the selection order determining unit 112 determines which of the plurality of parts has a small absolute value of the difference in vertical coordinates from the starting point of the rectangular area. To determine the selection order of parts in an earlier order. Furthermore, when a plurality of parts having the same vertical and horizontal coordinates exist within the rectangular area, the selection order determining unit 112 selects an earlier selection order of the parts existing on the back side of the plurality of parts. decided on.

For example, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the vertically long rectangular area R1 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of component A, component B, and component C is determined as the component selection order. The selection order of the parts determined in this way is shown by the numbers enclosed in squares in the lower part of FIG.

Alternatively, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the horizontally long rectangular area R2 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of component C, component B, and component E is determined as the component selection order. The selection order of the parts determined in this way is shown by the numbers enclosed in squares in the lower part of FIG.

In this way, the selection order determination unit 112 determines the selection order of the plurality of parts existing at positions overlapping the rectangular area based on the positions of the start and end points of the rectangular area input as a selection operation and the aspect ratio of the rectangular area. Determine.

<Determining the order of edge selection>
In addition to determining the selection order of parts in this way, the selection order determining unit 112 further determines the selection order of sides of the plurality of parts whose selection orders have been determined. The selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of sides from among the four sides of a quadrangle circumscribing each component whose selection order has been determined, according to predetermined criteria.

(1) When the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input a linear locus, the selection order determination unit 112 selects a rectangle that circumscribes the first component in the selection order among the plurality of selected components. The order of the last side that intersects the linear locus is determined first. Next, the selection order determining unit 112 determines, for each of at least one component whose selection order is other than the first and last among the plurality of selected components, a linear locus in a circumscribing rectangle, the first and the last. Determine the order of the two sides that intersect, starting from the second. Furthermore, the selection order determination unit 112 finally determines the order of one side that first intersects the linear locus among the four sides of the rectangle circumscribing the last component in the selection order among the plurality of selected parts. do.

For example, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the linear locus L1 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of the upper sides of component C is determined as the selection order of sides. The selection order of the sides determined in this way is shown in the lower part of FIG. 3 by circled numbers.

Alternatively, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the linear locus L2 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of the left side of part D is determined as the order of side selection. The selection order of the sides determined in this way is shown by the circled numbers in the lower part of FIG.

(2) When the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation for inputting a rectangular area, the selection order determination unit 112 selects each of the sets of two consecutive parts from among the plurality of selected parts. On the other hand, the distance between the sides is the closest among the pair of one side of the rectangle circumscribing the component earlier in the selection order and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the component later in the selection order. Select a group. Then, the selection order determination unit 112 determines, for the two sides of the set selected from each of the two sets of parts whose selection order is consecutive, the side of the part whose selection order is earlier and the side of the part whose selection order is later. In turn, the selection order of edges is determined.

Here, the distance between the sides is, for example, the Euclidean distance between the midpoint of one side and the midpoint of the other side. When a plurality of pairs having the same distance exist, the selection order determining unit 112 selects one of the pairs from the plurality of pairs having the same distance according to a predetermined rule. Specifically, if the rectangular area has a vertically long shape, the difference in vertical coordinates between the midpoint of the side of the component that is selected earlier among pairs with equal distances and the starting point of the rectangular area. Select the set with the smallest absolute value. If there are still multiple pairs with the same distance, the selection order determination unit 112 determines the horizontal coordinates between the midpoint of the side of the component with the earlier selection order among the multiple pairs and the starting point of the rectangular area. Select the pair with the smallest absolute value of the difference. On the other hand, if the rectangular area has a horizontally long shape, the absolute difference in horizontal coordinates between the midpoint of the side of the component that is selected earlier among pairs of equal distances and the starting point of the rectangular area. Select the pair with the smaller value. If there are still multiple pairs with the same distance, the selection order determination unit 112 determines the vertical coordinate between the midpoint of the side of the component that is earlier selected in the multiple pairs and the starting point of the rectangular area. Select the pair with the smallest absolute value of the difference.

For example, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the rectangular area R1 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of the upper sides of C is determined as the selection order of the sides. The selection order of the sides determined in this way is shown in the lower part of FIG. 5 by circled numbers.

Alternatively, when the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input the rectangular area R2 shown in the upper part of FIG. The order of the left side of E is determined as the order of side selection. The selection order of the sides determined in this way is shown by the circled numbers in the lower part of FIG.

Note that, when the shape of the component is rectangular as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the quadrangle circumscribing the component coincides with the sides forming the outer periphery of the component. Therefore, in the above and subsequent descriptions, expressions such as "the lower side of part A" and "the upper side of part B" have the same meaning as "the lower side of the rectangle circumscribing part A" and "the upper side of the rectangle circumscribing part B". It is. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the shapes of the plurality of parts displayed on the screen may be other than rectangular. When the shape of the component is other than rectangular, the quadrangle circumscribing the component is located outside the outer periphery of the component, as shown by the broken line in the lower part of FIG. In this case, the selection order determination unit 112 determines the selection order of the sides of the virtual quadrangle located outside the outer periphery of such a component.

In the following, for ease of understanding, it is assumed that the shape of the component is rectangular. Therefore, expressions such as "sides of a component" may be replaced with "sides of a rectangle circumscribing the component." Further, components other than rectangular shapes can be similarly explained by replacing expressions such as "sides of the component" with "sides of a rectangle circumscribing the component."

After determining the selection order of parts and sides in this manner, the selection order determining unit 112 stores the determined selection order in the selection order information 121. The selection order information 121 is data that temporarily holds the selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the selection order information 121 determines the selection order of parts and the selection order of sides. As an example, the selection order information 121 holds the selection order of parts in the order of part A, part B, and part C. The lower side of part A, the upper side of part B, the left side of part B, and the upper side of part C. The selection order of edges is maintained in this order.

<Setting the parent-child relationship of parts>
Returning to FIG. 1, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship between the selected parts based on the selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112. Here, the parent-child relationship means a dependent relationship established between multiple components. In general grouping, the relationships between multiple parts are equivalent, but in parent-child relationships, dependent relationships are set between multiple parts. By setting a parent-child relationship between multiple components, advanced component operations can be performed, such as automatically changing the settings of a child component in response to a change in the settings of a parent component.

More specifically, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship for the plurality of selected parts, in which the earlier selected component is the parent component and the later selected component is the child component. At this time, if the plurality of selected parts is only two parts, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the previous part in the selection order as the parent part for the combination of the two selected parts, and sets the part in the selection order as the parent part. Set a parent-child relationship in which the component after is the child component. On the other hand, when the plurality of selected parts is at least three parts, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 determines the selection order determined by the selection order determination unit 112 of the at least three selected parts. For each of a plurality of combinations where is a combination of two consecutive parts, a parent-child relationship is set in which the earlier selected part is the parent part and the later selected part is the child part.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 1, for a combination of parts A and B, a parent-child relationship is set in which part A is the parent part and part B is the child part. Second, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets, for the combination of parts B and C, a parent-child relationship in which part B is the parent part and part C is the child part.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, when the selection order determined by the selection order determination unit 112 is the order of component C, component B, and component D, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 first selects component C and component D. For the combination with part B, a parent-child relationship is set in which part C is the parent part and part B is the child part. Second, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets, for the combination of parts B and D, a parent-child relationship in which part B is the parent part and part D is the child part.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112 is the order of component C, component B, and component E, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 first selects component C and component E. For the combination with part B, a parent-child relationship is set in which part C is the parent part and part B is the child part. Second, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets, for the combination of parts B and E, a parent-child relationship in which part B is the parent part and part E is the child part.

<Setting the parent-child relationship of edges>
In addition to such parent-child relationships of parts, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 further sets parent-child relationships of edges. Here, the parent-child relationship of the sides corresponds to the correspondence relationship between the sides in the arrangement of two parts for which the parent-child relationship has been set. When a parent-child relationship is set between one side of a parent part and one side of a child part, the sides for which the parent-child relationship is set are They are arranged so that they face each other, or so that the sides with a parent-child relationship are connected to each other.

For example, if each component represents a desk placed in a room, the components with parent-child relationships are arranged so that the sides with parent-child relationships face each other. Alternatively, if each part represents an individual part for assembling a product, the parts with parent-child relationships are combined so that the sides with parent-child relationships are connected.

The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 establishes a parent-child relationship between one side of the rectangle circumscribing the parent part and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the child part, for each of the plurality of combinations for which parent-child relationships have been set. Set. More specifically, based on the selection order of the sides determined by the selection order determination unit 112, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 determines whether the selection order is consecutive and the previous side in the selection order is on the parent component side. For a combination of two sides in which the later side is the child component side, a parent-child relationship is set in which the earlier side in the selection order is the parent and the side later in the selection order is the child.

(1) When the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input a linear trajectory, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 circumscribes the parent part for each combination of two parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set. A parent-child relationship is set between one side of the rectangle that intersects the linear locus last and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the child component that intersects the linear locus first.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if the selection order of the sides determined by the selection order determination unit 112 is the lower edge of component A, the upper edge of component B, the left edge of component B, and the upper edge of component C, parent-child The relationship setting unit 113 first sets a parent-child relationship between the sides in which the lower side of part A is the parent and the upper side of part B is the child. Second, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship between the left side of component B as the parent and the upper side of component C as the child.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, when the selection order of the sides determined by the selection order determining unit 112 is the top edge of component C, the bottom edge of component B, the top edge of component B, and the left side of component D, parent-child The relationship setting unit 113 first sets the parent-child relationship of the sides in which the upper side of part C is the parent and the lower side of part B is the child. Then, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 secondly sets the parent-child relationship of the side in which the upper side of component B is the parent and the left side of component D is the child.

(2) When the operation reception unit 111 receives a selection operation to input a rectangular area, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 selects a rectangle circumscribing the parent part for each combination of two parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set. A parent-child relationship is set for the combination of any one side of the child component and any one side of the rectangle circumscribing the child component, the combination of which has the closest distance between the sides.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, if the selection order of sides determined by the selection order determination unit 112 is the lower edge of component A, the upper edge of component B, the lower edge of component B, and the upper edge of component C, parent-child The relationship setting unit 113 first sets a parent-child relationship between the sides in which the lower side of part A is the parent and the upper side of part B is the child. Then, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 secondly sets the parent-child relationship of the side in which the lower side of component B is the parent and the upper side of component C is the child.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, if the selection order of the sides determined by the selection order determining unit 112 is the top edge of component C, the bottom edge of component B, the right side of component B, and the left side of component E, parent-child The relationship setting unit 113 first sets the parent-child relationship of the sides in which the upper side of part C is the parent and the lower side of part B is the child. Second, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the parent-child relationship between the right side of component B as the parent and the left side of component E as the child.

Note that in the lower rows of FIGS. 3 to 7, parent-child relationships that are set when a plurality of components are selected as in the upper rows of FIGS. 3 to 7 are shown by arrows pointing from the parent component to the child components. In this way, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 displays an arrow pointing from a parent component to a child component on the screen as a symbol indicating the parent-child relationship of the components. At this time, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 displays an arrow pointing from the parent component to the child component so as to connect the midpoints of the pair of sides on which the parent-child relationship is set. Note that an arrow is an example of a symbol indicating a parent-child relationship, and a symbol other than the arrow may also be used to indicate a parent-child relationship.

In this way, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 performs the process of setting a parent-child relationship between two parts whose selection order is consecutive. Execute for each of the two sets of parts. Furthermore, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 also sets a parent-child relationship for the side of the component for which the parent-child relationship has been set. A group of components for which a parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 is hereinafter referred to as a "parent-child relationship setting component."

After setting the parent-child relationships of parts and sides in this way, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 stores information indicating the set parent-child relationships in the parent-child relationship information 122. The parent-child relationship information 122 is data that holds the parent-child relationship set between parts and sides by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113.

The parent-child relationship information 122 is not held separately in each component, but is held collectively in the parent-child relationship setting component in order to facilitate changing settings for each component in which a parent-child relationship is set. The settings held in the parent-child relationship information 122 are applied recursively from the parent component to the child components.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the parent-child relationship information 122 includes information on a parts list, a root part, a side list, and a setting list. The parts list has information on a plurality of parts held in the selection order information 121 in the same selection order as the selection order information 121. The edge list has information on a plurality of edges held in the selection order information 121 in the same selection order as the selection order information 121. In this way, the parent-child relationship information 122 holds references to parts and edges for which parent-child relationships have been set, according to the selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112.

The root component is a component that does not have a parent component among a plurality of components for which a parent-child relationship is set, and corresponds to the component at the highest level in the parent-child relationship. For example, when the selection order of the parts determined by the selection order determining unit 112 is part A, part B, and part C, the root part is part A. The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the highest component among the plurality of components for which parent-child relationships have been set as the root component.

The settings list defines settings that are applied recursively to components for which parent-child relationships have been set. Specifically, the settings list holds information on settings, setting values, and forward offsets.

Settings are information regarding placement, alignment, and attributes of parts. Here, the arrangement of the component is, for example, the X coordinate, Y coordinate, etc. of the component within the screen. The alignment of components is, for example, the width of the component, the height of the component, the spacing between adjacent components, etc. within the screen. The attributes of the component include, for example, the fill color of the component, the line width of the component, a character string related to the component, a memory address, and the like. The arrangement, alignment, and attributes of parts are collectively referred to as "settings." In the example of FIG. 9, the settings list holds information about the fill color of the component and the Y coordinate of the component as settings.

The setting value is a specific value when applying the setting to the root component. The forward offset is a value that is added to the settings of the parent component to derive the settings of the child component. Forward offsets are used to align multiple parts at regular intervals or to set consecutive values for multiple parts. In the example in Figure 9, the settings list holds RGB (Red, Green, Blue) brightness values as forward offsets for fill colors, and as forward offsets for Y coordinates between parent parts and child parts. A value corresponding to the difference in Y coordinate between the two is held. The user can input the setting value and forward offset of each setting in the setting list by operating the operation unit 13.

<Applying settings>
The settings application unit 114 applies settings based on the settings of the parent part to the settings of the child parts for each of the plurality of combinations for which parent-child relationships have been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113. The user operates the operation unit 13 and inputs an operation to apply settings from the operation screen of the parent-child relationship information 122. In response to this operation, the setting application unit 114 recursively applies the settings defined in the setting list of the parent-child relationship information 122 to the component group for which the parent-child relationship has been set.

Specifically, the setting application unit 114 sets the setting value of the child component to a value obtained by adding an offset to the setting value of the parent component for each of a plurality of combinations in which a parent-child relationship is set. First, the settings application unit 114 applies the setting values of each setting defined in the settings list to the root component. Second, the setting application unit 114 applies a value obtained by adding a forward offset to the setting value of each setting applied to the root component, to a child component whose parent is the root component. Thirdly, the setting application unit 114 applies a value obtained by adding a forward offset to the set value of each setting to a child component whose parent is the above-mentioned child component to which the settings have been applied. By repeating such processing, the setting application unit 114 recursively applies settings to each combination of two parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set.

Specifically, with reference to FIG. 10, an example will be shown in which settings are applied to a plurality of components by the settings application unit 114. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 10, when the settings application unit 114 applies the settings in the settings list shown in FIG. The settings shown in the lower part of FIG. 10 are applied to parts A to C.

Specifically, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill color of component A, which is the root component, to blue, and sets the Y coordinate of component A to 10. Next, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill color of part B, which is a child of part A, to blue according to the settings that there is no forward offset of the fill color and the forward offset of the Y coordinate is 30, and Set the Y coordinate of B to 40, which is the Y coordinate of part A plus 30. Furthermore, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill color of component C, which is a child of component B, to blue, and sets the Y coordinate of component C to 70, which is the Y coordinate of component B plus 30. As a result, settings can be changed for a plurality of parts according to certain rules with fewer steps.

Next, the flow of the drawing support process executed in the drawing support apparatus 10 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The parent-child relationship information processing shown in FIG. 11 and the setting application processing shown in FIG. 12 are examples of a drawing support method.

The parent-child relationship setting process shown in FIG. 11 is started when the user activates the drawing software installed in the drawing support device 10 in advance and displays a plurality of parts on the screen of the display unit 14.

When the parent-child relationship setting process is started, the control unit 11 functions as the operation reception unit 111 and receives a selection operation for selecting a plurality of parts to be selected from among the plurality of parts displayed on the screen (step S1 ). Specifically, as a first selection method, the control unit 11 inputs linear trajectories L1 and L2 at positions that cross a plurality of parts to be selected, as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. Accepts selection operations. Alternatively, as a second selection method, the control unit 11 accepts a selection operation of inputting rectangular regions R1 and R2 at positions overlapping with a plurality of parts to be selected, as shown in FIG. 5 or 6.

Upon receiving the selection operation, the control unit 11 functions as the selection order determining unit 112 and determines the selection order of the plurality of selected parts (step S2). Specifically, the control unit 11 determines the selection order of the plurality of selected parts based on the order in which the input linear locus traverses or based on the starting point and aspect ratio of the input rectangular area. .

After determining the selection order of parts, the control unit 11 determines the selection order of sides (step S3). Specifically, the control unit 11 determines the selection order of sides from among the four sides of a quadrangle circumscribing each component whose selection order has been determined, according to a predetermined criterion.

After determining the selection order of parts and sides, the control unit 11 updates the selection order information 121 (step S4). Specifically, the control unit 11 stores the determined selection order of parts and edges in the selection order information 121.

After updating the selection order information 121, the control unit 11 functions as the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 and sets the parent-child relationship of the parts (step S5). Specifically, the control unit 11 controls, for each of the combinations of two consecutive parts determined in step S2 among the plurality of parts selected in step S1, the selection order is the previous one. A parent-child relationship is set in which the part selected is the parent part and the part selected later is the child part.

After setting the parent-child relationship of the parts, the control unit 11 sets the parent-child relationship of the sides (step S6). Specifically, for each combination of two parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set, the control unit 11 sets one side of a rectangle circumscribing the parent part as the parent and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the child part. Set a parent-child relationship with .

After setting the parent-child relationships of the parts and sides, the control unit 11 updates the parent-child relationship information 122 (step S7). Specifically, the control unit 11 updates the information on the parts list, the side list, and the root part in the parent-child relationship information 122 based on the set parent-child relationship between the parts and sides.

After updating the parent-child relationship information 122, the control unit 11 releases the selection order of parts and sides from the memory (step S8). With the above steps, the parent-child relationship setting process shown in FIG. 11 is completed.

The settings application process shown in FIG. 12 starts when an operation is input to apply the settings of the settings list to a plurality of components for which parent-child relationships have been set by the parent-child relationship setting process shown in FIG. 11. In the settings application process shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 functions as a settings application unit 114.

When starting the setting application process, the control unit 11 acquires one setting from the setting list in the parent-child relationship information 122 (step S11). In the example of the parent-child relationship information 122 shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 11 acquires one of the settings such as fill color, Y coordinate, etc. defined in the setting list.

After acquiring one setting, the control unit 11 applies the setting value of the acquired setting to the root component (step S12). In the example of FIG. 9, when the setting of the fill color is acquired, the control unit 11 sets the fill color of the component A, which is the root component, to "blue", which is the setting value.

When the setting value is applied to the root component, the control unit 11 adds the forward offset defined in the acquired setting to the setting value applied to the root component (step S13).

After adding the forward offset to the set value, the control unit 11 applies the set value to which the forward offset has been added to the next component in the forward direction in the parts list (step S14). In the example of FIG. 9, parts B and C exist in the forward direction of part A, which is the root part. Therefore, the control unit 11 applies the setting value to which the forward offset has been added to component B, which is the next component after the root component.

Next, the control unit 11 determines whether there are any more parts in the forward direction in the parts list (step S15). If there are more parts in the forward direction (step S15; YES), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S13. Then, the control unit 11 further adds a forward offset to the current setting value, and applies the added setting value to the next component existing in the forward direction in the parts list. In this way, the control unit 11 applies a set value obtained by sequentially adding a forward offset to each component existing in the forward direction in the parts list.

On the other hand, if there are no more parts in the forward direction (step S15; NO), the control unit 11 determines whether there are any unapplied settings left in the setting list (step S16). If unapplied settings remain (step S16; YES), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S11 and acquires one unapplied setting from the settings list. Then, the control unit 11 executes the processes of steps S12 to S15, and applies the set values of the acquired settings to each of the plurality of parts for which parent-child relationships have been set. In this way, the control unit 11 applies the setting value of each setting included in the setting list to each of the plurality of parts for which parent-child relationships are set.

If there are no unapplied settings remaining (step S16; NO), the control unit 11 ends the setting application process shown in FIG. 12.

As explained above, the drawing support device 10 according to the first embodiment determines the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation of selecting the plurality of parts displayed on the screen and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts. is determined, and a parent-child relationship is set for the plurality of parts, with the earlier selected part being the parent part and the later selected part being the child part. In this way, since the selection order is determined based on the positional relationship of multiple parts on the screen, parent-child relationships can be set between multiple parts with an intuitive and easy operation of inputting a linear trajectory or rectangular area. Can be done. As a result, it is possible to reduce the effort required to set up a plurality of components. In particular, when setting parent-child relationships for at least three parts, multi-level parent-child relationships can be set with a single operation, so the user has to select parts one by one and set the parent-child relationships. There is no need to repeat the process. Therefore, when the number of parts is large, the user's effort can be greatly reduced.

Further, the drawing support device 10 according to the first embodiment applies settings based on the settings of the parent part to the settings of the child parts. As a result, settings and changes in settings can be performed recursively for multiple components for which parent-child relationships have been set at once, thereby reducing the effort required to configure multiple components. In particular, when there are a large number of parts, the user's effort can be greatly reduced.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. Descriptions of configurations and functions similar to those in Embodiment 1 will be omitted as appropriate.

The drawing support device 10 according to the second embodiment further sets a parent-child relationship with another component for a component group for which a parent-child relationship has been set. In other words, the drawing support device 10 according to the second embodiment can set multiple parent-child relationships.

In the upper part of FIG. 13, parts A and B, which are a group of parts whose parent-child relationship has already been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113, and a separate part C are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. shows. On such a screen, the user inputs a selection operation to draw a rectangular region R3 extending from the lower right of component C to the upper left of component A, as an example of a new selection operation for selecting components A to C. Note that the new selection operation is not limited to the operation of drawing the rectangular region R3, but also applies to the operation of drawing a linear locus. In this case, in the second embodiment, the parts group of parts A and B are treated as one part called the parent-child relationship setting part AB.

Specifically, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 13, a new selection is made in which the user selects parent-child relationship setting component AB and component C, which are a group of components A and B with parent-child relationships set. When an operation is input, the operation reception unit 111 accepts the new selection operation.

The selection order determination unit 112 determines the selection order of the parent-child relationship setting component AB and the component C based on the new selection operation received by the operation reception unit 111. In the example of FIG. 13, the selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of the component C closest to the starting point of the rectangular area R3 as the first selection order, and the selection order of the parent-child relationship setting component AB as the second selection order.

The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a new parent-child relationship between the parent-child relationship setting component AB and the component C based on the selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112. In the example of FIG. 13, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship in which component C is the parent component and parent-child relationship setting component AB is the child component. As a result, a parent-child relationship setting component ABC having parent-child relationship setting component AB and component C in its parts list is generated.

Further, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship between one side of the rectangle circumscribing the parent-child relationship setting component AB and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the component C. Here, the rectangle circumscribing the parent-child relationship setting component AB corresponds to the smallest rectangle that includes component A and component B, as shown by the thick solid line in the lower part of FIG.

When a parent-child relationship is set in which component C is the parent component and parent-child relationship setting component AB is the child component, the settings application unit 114 applies settings based on the settings of component C, which is the parent component, to the child component. This is applied to the settings of the parent-child relationship setting component AB. Specifically, the setting application unit 114 sets the setting value of the parent-child relationship setting component AB to a value obtained by adding the forward offset to the setting value of the component C, as in the first embodiment. At this time, the setting application unit 114 sets the parent-child relationship setting component AB, treating the parent-child relationship setting component AB as one component having a rectangular shape circumscribing the parent-child relationship setting component AB.

In this way, in the second embodiment, a group of parts for which a parent-child relationship has been set can be treated as one part, and a parent-child relationship can be further set with another part. With this, for example, when a higher-level parent-child relationship setting component ABC is generated that has the parent-child relationship setting component AB in its parts list, the settings of the parent-child relationship setting component AB can be performed from the settings of the parent-child relationship setting component ABC.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described. Descriptions of configurations and functions similar to those in Embodiments 1 and 2 will be omitted as appropriate.

The drawing support device 10 according to the third embodiment changes at least one side of a pair of sides for which a parent-child relationship has been set to another side of the same part, in response to a user's operation.

The upper part of FIG. 14 shows an example in which components A to C, which are a group of components whose parent-child relationships have been set by the parent-child relationship setting section 113, are displayed on the screen of the display section 14. More specifically, a side parent-child relationship is set between the bottom side of part A and the top side of part B, and a side parent-child relationship is set between the bottom side of part B and the top side of part C. .

On such a screen, the operation reception unit 111 accepts a change operation to change one side of a pair of sides for which a parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 to another side of the same part. Specifically, by a drag operation, the user can move one end of an arrow displayed on the screen, which is an example of a symbol indicating a parent-child relationship, to another side of the same component. This allows the user to input a change operation to change one side of a pair of sides for which a parent-child relationship has been set to another side.

When the operation reception unit 111 receives such a change operation, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 changes the parent-child relationship set between a pair of sides to another side in the same part and that of the pair of sides. Change the parent-child relationship between the other side.

For example, as shown by the broken line in the upper part of FIG. , move it to the right side, which is another side of the same part A. In this case, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the parent-child relationship between the right side of part A and the pair of sides between parts A and B, as shown in the lower part of FIG. The parent-child relationship is changed to the other side, the top side of part B.

In this way, in Embodiment 3, the parent-child relationship of the edges that have already been set between the parent component and the child component is changed to the parent-child relationship between the same or different edges of the parent component and the same or different edges of the child component. relationship can be changed. Thereby, the parent-child relationship of an edge can be changed by a simple operation without having to re-set the parent-child relationship.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, Embodiment 4 will be described. Descriptions of configurations and functions similar to those in Embodiments 1 to 3 will be omitted as appropriate.

The drawing support device 10 according to the fourth embodiment changes at least one of a pair of parts whose parent-child relationship has been set to another part in response to a user's operation.

In the upper part of FIG. 15, an example in which parts A and B, which are a group of parts whose parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113, and a component C, whose parent-child relationship has not been set, are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. shows. More specifically, a parent-child relationship between the lower side of part A and the upper side of part B is set.

On such a screen, the operation reception unit 111 changes one of the pair of parts whose parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 to a different part from the pair of parts displayed on the screen. Accept the change operation to change. Specifically, by a drag operation, the user can move one end of an arrow displayed on the screen, which is an example of a symbol indicating a parent-child relationship, to another part for which the parent-child relationship has not been set. This allows the user to input a change operation to change one part of a pair of parts whose parent-child relationship has been set to another part.

When the operation reception unit 111 receives such a change operation, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 changes the parent-child relationship set between a pair of parts whose parent-child relationship has already been set to the other part of the pair of parts. Change the parent-child relationship between a part and another part for which the parent-child relationship has not been set.

For example, as shown by the broken line in the upper part of FIG. It is moved from the top side of B to the left side of another part C whose parent-child relationship has not been set. In this case, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 15, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the parent-child relationship of the parts set between parts A and B so that part A, which is the other part of the pair of parts, becomes the parent part. , and change the parent-child relationship to include component C as a child component. Then, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 changes the parent-child relationship of the sides set between parts A and B to a parent-child relationship in which the lower side of part A is the parent and the left side of part C is the child.

In addition to changing the parent-child relationship, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 further sets a parent-child relationship between the other component and one of the pair of components. Specifically, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 15, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets component C, which is another component, as a parent component, and designates component B, which is one component of a pair of components, as a child component. Set the parent-child relationship. Then, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship in which the right side of component C is the parent and the lower side of component B is the child.

Here, since the child of the parent-child relationship of the side between parts A and C is the left side of part C, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the parent of the parent-child relationship of the side between parts C and B to the part that is the opposite side. Set on the right side of C. However, this is just an example, and the parent side of the parent-child relationship between parts C and B may be set based on any criteria.

In this way, in the fourth embodiment, it is possible to change the parent component or child component in a pair of components whose parent-child relationship has already been set. Thereby, the parent-child relationship of components can be changed by a simple operation without having to re-set the parent-child relationship.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, Embodiment 5 will be described. Descriptions of configurations and functions similar to those in Embodiments 1 to 4 will be omitted as appropriate.

The drawing support device 10 according to the fifth embodiment, after the setting application unit 114 applies settings to the parts group for which the parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113, replays the components of the parts group. You can choose.

FIG. 16 shows an example in which components A to C, which are a group of components whose parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113, and a component D, whose parent-child relationship has not been set, are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. . More specifically, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill color of part A, which is the root part, to (0, 0, 0) for parts A to C, and the forward offset is set to (64, 0). , 0).

On such a screen, the user can input a reselection operation to reselect a component of the parts group of parts A to C. As a result, it is possible to change the components or the selection order of the components of the component group for which the parent-child relationship has already been set and the settings have been applied.

As an example, the user selects "reselect component" - "select rectangle" from the operation screen for parent-child relationship setting components A to C. Then, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 16, the user inputs a reselection operation to reselect parts A to D as constituent parts of the parts group of parts A to C. For example, the user inputs a selection operation to draw a rectangular region R4 extending from the lower right of part D to the upper left of part A. Note that the reselection operation is not limited to the operation of drawing the rectangular region R4, but is the same even if it is an operation of drawing a linear locus.

When the user inputs a reselection operation to select parts A to D, the operation reception unit 111 accepts the reselection operation. The selection order determination unit 112 determines the selection order of parts A to D based on the reselection operation accepted by the operation reception unit 111. In the example of FIG. 16, the selection order determining unit 112 determines the selection order of component D, component C, component B, and component A in order of proximity from the starting point of rectangular region R4.

The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets a parent-child relationship between parts D and C, between parts C and B, and between parts B and A, respectively, based on the selection order determined by the selection order determination unit 112. . At this time, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the component D, which is first in the selection order, as the root component. As a result, parent-child relationship setting parts A to D having parts A to D in their parts list are generated.

The settings application unit 114 applies the settings applied to the parts A to C before the reselection operation to the parts A to D after the component parts are reselected by the reselection operation. Reapply. Specifically, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 16, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill color of component D, which is the root component, to (0, 0, 0). Then, the setting application unit 114 sets the fill colors of component C, component B, and component A according to the forward offset setting value (64, 0, 0).

In this way, the drawing support device 10 according to the fifth embodiment accepts the reselection of a component of a component group for which a parent-child relationship has been set, and selects a component from the component group after the component is reselected by the reselection operation. However, the same settings as before the reselection operation are reapplied. This eliminates the need for the user to re-enter settings such as set values and offsets, and allows the user to reselect parts and edges for which parent-child relationships are to be set with a simple operation.

(Embodiment 6)
Next, Embodiment 6 will be described. Descriptions of configurations and functions similar to those in Embodiments 1 to 5 will be omitted as appropriate.

The drawing support device 10 according to the sixth embodiment reverses the parent-child relationship from the middle or the entire parent-child relationship for a plurality of parts for which parent-child relationships have been set.

The upper part of FIG. 17 shows an example in which components A to C, which are a group of components whose parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting section 113, are displayed on the screen of the display section 14. More specifically, a side parent-child relationship is set between the bottom side of part A and the top side of part B, and a side parent-child relationship is set between the bottom side of part B and the top side of part C. .

On such a screen, the operation reception unit 111 accepts a reversal operation for reversing the parent-child relationship in at least one of the plurality of combinations for which the parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113.

By performing a drag operation, the user can reverse the starting point and ending point of an arrow displayed on the screen, which is an example of a symbol indicating a parent-child relationship. For example, the user reverses the arrow extending from part A to part B, changing it to an arrow extending from part B to part A. Alternatively, the user can reverse the parent-child relationship in the combination of parts A and B by opening the operation screen of the parent-child relationship setting component ABC and changing the root component of the parent-child relationship setting component ABC from component A to component B. You can let me. In this way, the user can input a reversal operation to reverse the parent-child relationship in at least one combination for which the parent-child relationship has already been set. In more detail, as explained below, the parent-child relationship is reversed by changing the root component, so at least one combination for which the parent-child relationship is reversed must include the root component. be.

The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 reverses the parent-child relationship in at least one combination among the plurality of combinations in which parent-child relationships have been set, in response to a user's operation. For example, when receiving a reversal operation for reversing the parent-child relationship in a combination of part A, which is a parent part and root part, and part B, which is a child part, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 performs the following operations, as shown in the lower part of FIG. The parent-child relationship in the combination of parts A and B is changed to one in which part B is the parent part and root part and part A is the child part.

The parent-child relationship setting unit 113 updates the parent-child relationship information 122 when changing the parent-child relationship. FIG. 18 shows an example of parent-child relationship information 122 when the parent-child relationship between parts AB is reversed. In the example in FIG. 18, the original selection order of parts A, B, and C has not been changed in the parts list, but as the parent-child relationship between parts AB has been reversed, the root The part has been changed to part B.

Furthermore, the parent-child relationship information 122 holds information on backward offsets in addition to forward offsets in the setting list. Here, the backward offset is a second offset prepared separately from the forward offset, which is the first offset, and is used between parts whose parent-child relationship has been reversed.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 18, the backward offset is set to the value of the forward offset multiplied by -1. However, the backward offset is not limited to this, and any value may be set independently of the forward offset.

More specifically, the forward offset is applied to child parts located below the parent part in the parts list, that is, child parts whose selection order determined by the selection order determining unit 112 is later than the parent part. Ru. On the other hand, the backward offset is applied to child parts located above the parent part in the parts list, that is, child parts whose selection order determined by the selection order determination unit 112 is earlier than the parent part. Ru.

The setting application unit 114 uses the setting of the parent component as a reference for each of the plurality of combinations for which the parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting unit 113, based on the parent-child relationship information 122 including such a backward offset. Apply the settings to the settings of child parts.

Specifically, the setting application unit 114 applies setting values of child parts to combinations other than at least one combination whose parent-child relationship has been reversed by the reversal operation, among the plurality of combinations for which parent-child relationships have been set. , set to the value obtained by adding the forward offset to the setting value of the parent component. In other words, the setting application unit 114 applies settings to at least one combination in which the parent-child relationship is not reversed, based on the forward offset, as in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, the setting application unit 114 changes the setting value of the child component to that of the parent component for at least one combination in which the parent-child relationship has been reversed by the reversal operation among the plurality of combinations for which the parent-child relationship has been set. Set to the value obtained by adding the backward offset to the set value.

In more detail, the flow of the settings application process executed by the settings application unit 114 will be described with reference to FIG.

The settings application process shown in FIG. 19 starts when an operation to apply the settings of the settings list to a plurality of parts whose parent-child relationships have been set by the parent-child relationship setting process shown in FIG. 11 is input. In the settings application process shown in FIG. 19, the control unit 11 functions as the settings application unit 114.

When the setting application process is started, the control unit 11 executes the processes of steps S11 to S15 described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 12. Thereby, the control unit 11 executes a process of applying settings based on the forward offset to the settings acquired from the settings list.

After step S15, the control unit 11 returns the set value to which the forward offset has been added to the initial value, which is the value set for the root component in step S12 (step S21).

After returning the setting value to the initial value, the control unit 11 adds the reverse direction offset defined in the acquired setting to the setting value applied to the root component (step S22).

After adding the backward offset to the setting value, the control unit 11 applies the setting value to which the backward offset has been added to the next component existing in the opposite direction in the parts list (step S23). In the example of FIG. 18, component A exists in the opposite direction from component B, which is the root component. Therefore, the control unit 11 applies the set value to which the backward offset has been added to the component A that is the next component after the root component.

Next, the control unit 11 determines whether there are any more parts in the opposite direction in the parts list (step S24). If there are more parts in the opposite direction (step S24; YES), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S22. Then, the control unit 11 further adds a backward offset to the current set value, and applies the added set value to the next component existing in the opposite direction in the parts list. In this way, the control unit 11 applies a setting value obtained by sequentially adding the backward offset to each component existing in the backward direction in the parts list.

On the other hand, if there are no more parts in the opposite direction (step S24; NO), the control unit 11 determines whether there are any unapplied settings left in the setting list (step S25). If unapplied settings remain (step S25; YES), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S11 and acquires one unapplied setting from the settings list. Then, the control unit 11 executes the processes of steps S12 to S15 and S21 to S24, and applies the set values of the acquired settings to each of the plurality of components for which parent-child relationships are set. In this way, the control unit 11 applies the setting value of each setting included in the setting list to each of the plurality of parts for which parent-child relationships are set.

If there are no unapplied settings remaining (step S25; NO), the control unit 11 ends the setting application process shown in FIG. 19.

In this way, in the sixth embodiment, for a plurality of parts for which parent-child relationships have been set, the parent-child relationships are reversed from the middle or all of the parent-child relationships are reversed. Thereby, the user can change the root component that is the basis of the settings with a simple operation without having to redo the parent-child relationship settings. Further, since different offset values can be set in the forward direction and in the reverse direction, flexibility in setting can be increased.

(Modified example)
Although the embodiments have been described above, it is possible to combine each embodiment, or to modify or omit each embodiment as appropriate.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 sets the parent-child relationship between sides in addition to setting the parent-child relationship between parts. However, the parent-child relationship setting unit 113 does not need to set parent-child relationships between sides. Even if you do not set the parent-child relationship between edges, by setting the parent-child relationship between parts, you can apply the settings based on the settings of the parent part to the settings of the child parts, so you can easily set up multiple parts. You can edit efficiently and get the desired effect.

In the above embodiment, the linear trajectory L1 shown in FIG. 3 and the linear trajectory L2 shown in FIG. It was completely across. However, the linear locus input as the selection operation may start halfway through the first part and end halfway through the last component. In other words, the parts that the linear locus crosses may include not only parts that the linear locus completely crosses, but also parts that the linear locus partially crosses. Then, the operation reception unit 111 may select only the parts that are completely crossed by the linear trajectory, or select all the parts that exist at the position that overlaps with the linear trajectory, including the parts that are partially crossed by the linear trajectory. You may also select parts. In this way, the settings of the parts selected by the linear locus can be changed as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, the rectangular area R1 shown in FIG. 5 and the rectangular area R2 shown in FIG. was. In this way, the operation reception unit 111 may select only the parts that are completely included in the rectangular area, and exclude from the selection targets the parts that only partially overlap the rectangular area. Alternatively, the operation reception unit 111 may select not only parts that are completely included in the rectangular area but also parts that only partially overlap with the rectangular area. In this way, the settings of the parts selected by the rectangular area can be changed as appropriate.

In the embodiment described above, in the control unit 11 of the drawing support device 10, the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 12, thereby controlling the operation receiving unit 111, the selection order determining unit 112, and the parent-child relationship setting unit 113. and functioned as each part of the setting application unit 114. However, the control unit 11 may be dedicated hardware. The dedicated hardware is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. When the control unit 11 is dedicated hardware, the functions of each unit may be realized by separate hardware, or the functions of each unit may be realized by a single piece of hardware.

Moreover, some of the functions of each part may be realized by dedicated hardware, and other parts may be realized by software or firmware. In this way, the control unit 11 can implement the above-mentioned functions using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

By applying an operation program that defines the operation of the drawing support device 10 to an existing computer such as a personal computer or an information terminal device, it is also possible to cause the computer to function as the drawing support device 10. Such a program is an example of a drawing support program.

Furthermore, the distribution method of such a program is arbitrary; for example, it can be distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk ROM), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an MO (Magneto Optical Disk), or a memory card. It may be stored and distributed, or it may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet.

The present disclosure is capable of various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the embodiments described above are for explaining this disclosure, and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.

The present disclosure can be suitably adopted as a technique for supporting drawing.

Reference Signs List 10 drawing support device, 11 control unit, 12 storage unit, 13 operation unit, 14 display unit, 15 communication unit, 111 operation reception unit, 112 selection order determination unit, 113 parent-child relationship setting unit, 114 setting application unit, 121 selection order Information, 122 Parent-child relationship information, L1, L2 Linear locus, R1, R2, R3, R4 Rectangular area

Claims (18)

computer,
an operation reception means for accepting a selection operation for selecting multiple parts displayed on the screen;
Selection order determining means for determining the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation accepted by the operation reception means and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen;
Functioning as a parent-child relationship setting means for setting a parent-child relationship for the plurality of parts, in which a component earlier in the selection order is a parent component and a component later in the selection order is a child component;
Drawing support program. When the plurality of parts are at least three parts, the parent-child relationship setting means is configured to set two parts, each of which is consecutive in the selection order determined by the selection order determination means, of the at least three parts. For each of the plurality of combinations, a parent-child relationship is set in which the component earlier in the selection order is the parent component and the component later in the selection order is the child component.
The drawing support program according to claim 1. The parent-child relationship setting means further sets a parent-child relationship between one side of the rectangle circumscribing the component earlier in the selection order and one side of the rectangle circumscribing the component later in the selection order.
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The operation receiving means receives, as the selection operation, an operation of inputting a linear trajectory at a position across the plurality of parts on the screen,
The selection order determining means determines the selection order in order of the parts that the linear locus intersects among the plurality of parts.
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The parent-child relationship setting means includes one side that last intersects with the linear locus in a rectangle circumscribing a part earlier in the selection order, and a side that intersects the linear locus first in a quadrangle circumscribing a part later in the selection order. Further set a parent-child relationship between one side that intersects with,
The drawing support program according to claim 4. The operation accepting means accepts, as the selection operation, an operation of inputting a rectangular area at a position overlapping the plurality of parts on the screen,
The selection order determining means determines the selection order from among the plurality of parts, starting from the parts closest to the starting point of the rectangular area.
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The parent-child relationship setting means selects a side of a combination of one side of a rectangle circumscribing a part earlier in the selection order and one side of a rectangle circumscribing a part later in the selection order. Further setting the parent-child relationship for the combination that is closest to each other,
The drawing support program according to claim 6. The operation accepting means accepts a new selection operation for selecting a component group for which a parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting means and a component different from the component group displayed on the screen,
The selection order determining means determines the selection order of the parts group and the other part based on the new selection operation accepted by the operation reception means,
The parent-child relationship setting means sets a new parent-child relationship between the parts group and the other part based on the selection order determined by the selection order determining means.
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The operation accepting means accepts a changing operation for changing one side of a pair of sides for which a parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting means to another side of the same part;
The parent-child relationship setting means changes the parent-child relationship set between the pair of sides to the other side and the other side of the pair of sides when the operation receiving means receives the change operation. Change the parent-child relationship between edges and
The drawing support program according to claim 3. The operation accepting means performs a changing operation to change one of the pair of parts whose parent-child relationship is set by the parent-child relationship setting means to a different part from the pair of parts displayed on the screen. Reception,
The parent-child relationship setting means changes the parent-child relationship set between the pair of parts to the other part of the pair of parts and the other part when the operation receiving means receives the change operation. Change the parent-child relationship between parts,
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The parent-child relationship setting means sets a parent-child relationship between the other component and the one component of the pair of components, when the operation receiving means receives the change operation.
The drawing support program according to claim 10. The computer,
further functioning as a setting application means for applying settings based on the settings of the parent part to the settings of the child part;
The drawing support program according to claim 1 or 2. The setting application means sets the setting value of the child component to a value obtained by adding an offset to the setting value of the parent component.
The drawing support program according to claim 12. The operation accepting means performs a reselection operation for reselecting a component of the parts group after the settings applying means applies settings to the parts group for which a parent-child relationship has been set by the parent-child relationship setting means. Reception,
The settings application means reapplies the settings to the parts group after the component parts have been reselected by the reselection operation.
The drawing support program according to claim 12. When the plurality of parts are at least three parts, the parent-child relationship setting means is configured to set two parts, each of which is consecutive in the selection order determined by the selection order determination means, of the at least three parts. For each of the plurality of combinations, a parent-child relationship is set in which the component earlier in the selection order is the parent component and the component later in the selection order is the child component,
The parent-child relationship setting means reverses the parent-child relationship in at least one of the plurality of combinations in which the parent-child relationship is set, in response to a user's operation.
The drawing support program according to claim 12. The setting application means sets the setting value of the child component to a value obtained by adding a first offset to the setting value of the parent component for combinations other than the at least one combination among the plurality of combinations. and setting the setting value of the child part to a value obtained by adding a second offset to the setting value of the parent part for the at least one combination among the plurality of combinations;
The drawing support program according to claim 15. an operation reception means for accepting a selection operation for selecting a plurality of parts displayed on the screen;
Selection order determining means for determining the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation received by the operation reception means and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen;
parent-child relationship setting means for setting a parent-child relationship for the plurality of parts in which the earlier selected part is the parent part and the later selected part is the child part;
Drawing support device. A drawing support method executed by a drawing support device, comprising:
The operation reception means accepts a selection operation to select multiple parts displayed on the screen,
determining the selection order of the plurality of parts based on the selection operation accepted by the operation reception means and the positional relationship of the plurality of parts on the screen;
setting a parent-child relationship for the plurality of parts in which the part earlier in the selection order is a parent part and the part later in the selection order is a child part;
Drawing support method.

Images