JPH01253025A - Multiwindow display system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operation efficiency by securing the capacity of a bit map memory larger than the area of a space which can be displayed actually on a display device and enabling an operator to set and change interactively the position of a view port and the position of an optional window on the bit map memory. CONSTITUTION:A view port layout control part 15 secures the capacity of the bit map memory 14 larger than the area of the space (view port) which can be displayed actually on the display device 17, and the operator sets and changes interactively the position of the view port and the position of an optional window on the bit map memory 14. Therefore, the view port area 21 which is displayed actually can be set interactively as the view port through a view port window. Consequently, the problem of the display efficiency of the multiwindow display is solved and the operation efficiency of the operator is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a multi-window display method in an information processing device equipped with a display device having a plurality of data display areas (hereinafter referred to as windows), and in particular, to This relates to improvements that will improve ease of use and work efficiency.

[Prior Art] In recent years, multi-window displays have been developed in personal computers, workstations, etc., in which multiple windows are provided on the display screen and each window is used as a virtual display screen to run multiple applications on one display. The number of systems has increased.

The main advantages of multi-window displays are as follows.

(1) You can quote data from a window other than the one you are working on.

(2) Without completely finishing the task (that is, without interrupting thinking), it is possible to temporarily perform another simple task (for example, calculating with a calculator) and then return to the original task.

(3) When multiple windows are running some program at the same time in addition to the main work, the main work can be performed while checking the progress of the programs.

(4) Multidimensional or multifaceted expressions are possible by using multiple windows in one application.

Conventionally, the main multi-window display systems aiming at the above-mentioned advantages include the method shown in Figure 4 (a) in which windows A to D are freely stacked on the screen, like stacking sheets of paper on a desk.
There is an overlapping type as shown in Figure 4(b), in which five screens are divided by a straight line and each rectangular area is designated as a window l' A - D. Depending on the characteristics of each system, Either the overlapping type or the tile type, or an intermediate method thereof (for example, a method in which a portion is a tile type and overlapping is allowed in the remaining display area) is selected.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Looking at the performance of current display devices, even a monochrome high-resolution CRT display has a size of around 2,000 square dots, which is equivalent to 1 A4-sized paper in number. The best I can do is display the pictures. When using such a display device and the conventional multi-window display method described above, the larger the number of windows, the smaller the individual work area becomes, making it difficult to take advantage of the multi-window advantage. The problem is that window operations such as moving, resizing, displaying/deleting, etc. increase, and the efficiency of the original work is sacrificed.

"Means for Solving the Problems" The multi-window display system of the present invention comprises a processing device such as a microprocessor, a main memory for storing information such as programs and data, and a display device for performing screen display. A bitmap memory for drawing and developing data to be displayed on a display device as a dot image;
Consists of a multi-window display control device that displays and manages multiple rectangular data display areas on one screen, and input devices such as a keyboard and mouse that control the cursor on the display device and input data, commands, etc. In the information processing device, the capacity of the bitmap memory is secured to be larger than the area of displayable space that can actually be displayed on the display device, and the operator can determine the position of the viewport and the position of any window on the bitmap memory. The configuration includes a viewport layout control unit that allows interactive setting and changing of the viewport layout.

[6 Fruitful Examples] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, 10 is a processing unit such as a microprocessor, 11 is a main memory for storing programs and data, and 12 is a display screen for selecting objects and command menus and inputting various data and control commands. It is an input device.

Further, 13 is a multi-window display control device that displays and manages multiple rectangular data areas (windows) on one screen, and 14 is a bit for drawing and developing data to be displayed and displayed on the display device 17 as a dot image. A map memory 15 is a displayable space (viewport) that can actually display the contents of the bitmap memory 14 on a display device 17.
This is a viewport layout control unit that allows an operator to interactively set and change the position of the viewport and the position of the window in the bitmap memory 14L.

Display using a multi-window environment is performed by drawing on a bitmap memory 14 representing a two-dimensional point sequence through a multi-window display control device 13. The bitmap memory 14 stores the displayed image itself, which has also been processed for overlapping expression.
Data clipping, overlapping control, and drawing in each window frame are performed by the functions of the multi-window display IJall device 13.

Here, FIG. 2 shows an example in which the contents of the bitmap memory 14 are represented two-dimensionally. According to this figure, a plurality of windows overlap each other in the two-dimensional space 20 of the bitmap memory. However, what is actually displayed is a portion of the viewport area 21. This viewport area 2
1 is controlled by the viewport layout control unit 15 based on instructions from the microprocessor IO. Address data indicating the viewport area 21 space of the bitmap memory 14 is given from the viewport layout control section 15 to the display refresh circuit 16, and this portion is transferred to the CRT.
It is displayed on a display device 17 such as.

Although the viewport area 21 can be set freely, the operator needs to know how the information is currently arranged in the bitmap memory 14, so the microprocessor 10 instructs the viewport layout control unit 15 to Using the functions of the window display control device 13, the layout of the bitmap memory as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed.

In FIG. 3, 30 is the display surface of the display device 17, and 31 is a viewport layout window that graphically represents the contents of the bitmap memory.In this window, each window is represented as a rectangle, and windows may overlap. It is represented by showing the outline of the underlying window with a dotted line. In addition, the currently displayed viewport area can be known, and by moving the cursor 32 on the screen using the input device 12, the viewport itself can be moved within the viewport window, and the result is reflected on the actual display device. . You can also change the arrangement and layout of windows on this screen.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention makes it possible to arrange information expressed in multi-windows in a device/system that uses a multi-window display in an area larger than the screen area of the actual display device, and to display Since the area can be interactively set as a viewport via the viewport window, it has the effect of solving the display efficiency problem of multi-window displays and improving the work efficiency of the operator.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an information processing device with a multi-window display according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a bitmap memory, and FIG. 3 is a table of a viewport layout window. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are explanatory diagrams showing an example of a conventional display. 10: Microprocessor 11: Main memory 12: Input device 13: Multi-window display control device 14: Bitmap memory 15: Viewport layout control section 16: Display refresh circuit 17: Display device 20: Two-dimensional space 21 of bitmap memory : Viewport area 30 : Outline of display device 31 : Viewport layout window 32 : Cursor

Claims (1)

[Claims] A processing device such as a microprocessor, a main memory for storing information such as programs and data, a display device for screen display, and a bitmap for drawing and developing the data displayed on the display device as a dot image. a memory, and a multi-window display control device that displays and manages multiple rectangular data display areas on one screen;
In an information processing device comprising input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse for controlling a cursor on the display device and inputting data, commands, etc., a displayable space that can actually display the capacity of the bitmap memory on the display device. A multi-window display, characterized in that it has a viewport layout control unit that is secured larger than the area of the bitmap memory and allows an operator to interactively set and change the position of the viewport and the position of any window on the bitmap memory. method.