JPH01280821A - Guide help system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operating efficiency of a user by performing the display and output of guide information on a concrete operating procedure covering the time point when the user requested a guide help through the time point when the process requested by the user is attained among all time points under application. CONSTITUTION:An information processor consists of an input part 1, an output part 2, a main memory part 3, an auxiliary memory part 4, and a control part 5. In case a user has an operating mistake or a trouble during application of the information processor, the guidance of a concrete operating procedure can be retrieved and displayed for execution of a desired process in the application state of that time point. For instance, the user has a question about the producing procedure of a pattern during production of said pattern. In such a case, the guidance can be displayed for the substantial end of production of the pattern at that time point since the pattern is already kept under a production state. Thus the operating efficiency of the user is improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to computer systems, word processors, information search devices, facsimiles, telephone equipment, and various types of information such as measurement and control devices. This invention relates to a help guide method that provides specific guidance on how to use processing equipment, application systems, etc., guidance information, etc. in response to user requests.

(Conventional technology) Information processing devices and application systems are becoming more multi-functional, diversifying, and
With the advent of multiplexing, it is becoming necessary to provide help guide information regarding usage and guide information for application programs.

Therefore, how to effectively present help guide information to users has become an important issue in order to construct a user-friendly interface.

In many conventional guide help systems of this type, when a user requests an ID, guide items are displayed to the user and guidance is provided by having the user select the item using keys, icons, etc. but,
In this method, guidance is issued independently of the usage status, so it is not possible to provide guidance on specific operating procedures such as ``what operations should be performed at that point'' that meet the user's requests. There is a drawback.

Apart from this, guide output data is embedded in the program in advance, and a pointer for guiding is embedded in the program, and the corresponding message is selectively output. It's being used.

However, with this method, it is only possible to guide the next possible key operation (icon operation) in the usage state, and it is not possible to provide more detailed guidance.

What the user wants at this point is to show a series of specific operating procedures for the requested content.

Only after such a concrete sequence of steps is shown will the user be able to
Look back to see which key operation (icon operation) you need to perform next. However, it has been difficult to meet such demands with the conventional methods described above.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In this way, at every point in time when a user is using an information processing device, what the user wants to do in order to show the sequence of operation steps for the content of the user's request. It is necessary to ask a question, and to find out a series of operations corresponding to the request based on the state of the question at that time.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide guidance at any point during use, from the time the user requests guide help until the process requested by the user is realized. An object of the present invention is to provide a guide help system that can display and output guide information regarding a specific sequence of operating procedures.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving Problems)] As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the present invention comprises an input section 1 for inputting character codes, commands, figures, images, etc.;
An output unit 2 that displays and outputs guide help information etc. on the screen, and an application program processing unit 31 that provides guidance.
, guidance processing unit 32, processing buffers 33 and 34
．． 35, etc., an auxiliary storage section 4 that stores question data, guidance data, operation procedure sequence data, etc., and a control section 5 that controls each of these sections. When a user encounters a problem or makes a mistake while using an application program on an information processing device, the user requests guidance using the help key or guide key, or requests guidance from the application program. If the control unit 5 does so, the control unit 5 The guidance processing unit 32 is activated by detecting the ID request. The guidance processing unit 32 detects the state of the application program at that time and stores the detected state in the state buffer 33. At this point, the guidance processing unit 32 retrieves the material of GuyP question candidates regarding the operating procedure (e.g., Fig. 10) from the question data storage unit, displays it on the output unit 2, and allows the user to The content of the guide request (question) made by the selection is stored in the question storage buffer 34, and ID information for the content of the guide request is searched.

To search for guide information, use a state flow table that stores the content of the guide request (question), the state and state flow of the application program in advance, and use the state flow table to store the state sequence of operating procedures from the state at the time of the request to the desired process. Next, guidance messages for each of the operation procedure state strings are searched, and finally they are synthesized in the same order as the procedure and displayed and output to provide guidance for specific operation procedures.

(Function) According to the present invention, when a user makes a mistake or has a problem while using an information processing device, a guide is provided regarding specific operating procedures for performing the desired processing from the usage state at that time. It becomes possible to search and display.

For example, suppose that the user makes a guide request while creating a figure, ``I want to know the specific procedure for copying text.'' In this case, it becomes possible to display a guide for the operation procedure for copying text after interrupting the graphic creation work (exiting the graphic mode). Also, while creating a shape,
When the user asks, "I want to know the procedure for creating a figure," the figure is already being created, so a guide for completing the creation process can be displayed from that point on.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is an input section for inputting character codes, command codes, graphic codes, image codes, etc. 2 is an output unit such as a CRT display for outputting and displaying guide help information. Reference numeral 3 denotes a main storage unit, which includes an application program processing unit 31 that is the target of help guidance, a guidance processing unit 32 that performs help guidance processing, and a main storage unit that stores the application program that is being used at that time when the user makes a help guidance request. A state buffer 33 for storing the state, a question storage buffer 34 for storing the contents (questions) of the user's guide request, and a buffer 34 for storing the question from the state at the time of the guide request to performing the desired process (asked by the user). A procedure state string buffer 35 for storing a procedure state string is provided.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an auxiliary storage section, which is a question data storage section that stores materials for guide question candidates (for example, words for the questions in FIG. 10) for allowing the user to select questions related to the operating procedure. 41. A state flow table storage unit 42 that stores the states and key sequences (state flow) necessary for processing each unit of the application program, and guide help information for each unit of state and operation. It consists of a guidance information storage unit 43 and the like that stores a set of guide help messages. Reference numeral 5 denotes a control section that controls each of the above-mentioned sections.

Figures 2 (,) to (,) are examples of guidance output display for specific operating procedures adapted to each usage state of the method of the present invention when a document creation and editing program is adopted as an example of an application program. be.

In this case, a question regarding the operation object (in the example, an operation procedure for moving a figure) is asked while working on a certain operation object (in the example, a figure).

Figures 3 (,) and (b) are examples of guidance output display for operating procedures in the same situation as Figure 2. Here, the question is [Operation procedure to interrupt operation] (Figure 3 (& )), and when a question regarding an object (in the example, an operation procedure for specifying an underline) that is different from the operation object (in the example, a figure) being worked on is asked (FIG. 3(b) shows each case).

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a portion of the state transition graph (graphic work portion) showing the relationship between the state of the application program and key operations in the above embodiment. State transition graphs can be described for all application programs.

Figure 5 is created based on the above state transition graph, and shows the state and operation key sequence for performing each unit of processing item (guidance item) that is asked from the beginning. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state flow table in which state flows are associated with each other. Using this, a sequence of operating procedures for each usage state is created.

This state flow table is stored in the state flow table storage section 42.

FIG. 6 shows a question [I would like to know the operating procedure for moving a figure] created for each of the guidance output display examples shown in FIGS. 2(a) to (,). ] is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure state sequence for .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of procedure states for the guidance output display examples of FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b).

FIG. 8 shows an example of guide help information stored in the guidance information storage unit 43, and shows information for each state of the application program (each state of the state transition graph) and each unit of operation keys. Guide help messages are supported.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the processing of the guidance processing section 32.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a questionnaire in which question materials are output and displayed on the output unit 2 so that the user can ask questions by selecting and inputting them when a guide request is detected. Questions are input into the information processing device by the user instructing and selecting a plurality of appropriate items on this questionnaire using a cursor, mouse, light pen, hand (touch operation), or the like.

The flow of processing in one embodiment of the present invention will be described below, mainly with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9.

First, if the user becomes confused while using the application program, or at the wrong time, the user presses the help guide key manually, or the ID request code issued by the request from the application program is controlled. The control unit 5 detects this, and the control unit 5 starts the guidance processing unit 32.

The guidance processing section 32 performs processing according to the flow of guidance processing shown in FIG.

First, the current usage state (processing mode) of the application program (at the time of the guide request) is retrieved and stored in the state buffer 33 (step 91 in FIG. 9). Next, the guidance processing section 32
extracts the guide question term millet data from the question data storage section 41 and outputs and displays it as a guide question table on the output section 2 (step 92 in FIG. 9). An example of the questionnaire displayed at this time is shown in FIG.

The user selects a question by selecting a plurality of appropriate items using a cursor, mouse, etc. (step 93 in FIG. 9). In the example of FIG. 10, I would like to know the operating procedure for moving a figure. ] indicates that a question has been input.

Next, the guidance processing unit 32 stores the question content in the question storage buffer 34 (step 94 in FIG. 9).

Furthermore, after that, the question storage buffer 34 of the state buffer 33 is
According to the states and questions stored in the state flow table storage unit 4,
2. Generate a procedure state sequence by referring to the state flow table (exemplified in FIG. 5) and store it in the procedure state sequence buffer 35 (step 95o in FIG. 9). For example, when [current state is middle mode] , if the question is [Operating procedure for moving a figure], since this is the case of the guidance display output example (,) in Figure 2, the guidance item "Move figure" that matches the question in the state flow chart in Figure 5 Search for ``procedure'' and find the corresponding condition f.
lFlow [(Middle mode), A key, (Graphic mode)
, B key, (shape specification mode), C key, (shape movement:
(range specification mode), execution key, (figure movement: destination specification mode), D key, (figure mode)]. Next, the above state flow is traced from the beginning and checked until there is a state corresponding to "current state = middle mode." Here, since the beginning happens to be "middle mode," the beginning matches.

Next, according to the above state flow, from the compatible state, set the state and next key operation to A, set the next state and next key operation to 47, and so on. A state sequence r5-aJ is generated.

In addition, as in the case in Figure 2(b), when [the current state is figure mode] and the question is [operation procedure for moving figures], the procedure state sequence r5-bJ in Figure 6 is generated. .

Similarly, in the cases shown in FIGS. 2(C) to 2(,), the procedure state sequence r5-cJ to "6 to @" in FIG. 6 is generated, respectively.

The above example is a case where a question regarding the same operation object (in the embodiment, an operation procedure for moving a figure) is asked while working on a certain operation object (for example, a figure).

However, in application programs, a different case exists. For example, as shown in Figure 3 (-), the question is ``I want to know the operation procedure for interrupting the operation.''
), this is a case in which a question (in the example, [operation procedure for specifying an underline]) was asked regarding an object that is different from the operation target (in the example, a figure) being worked on.

In the case shown in Figure 3 (-) above, that is, in the case where [current state = figure movement: range specification mode] and the question is [I want to know the operation procedure to interrupt (the current operation)], the corresponding '' is searched and the current state exists in the first state set, so a bear of (figure movement: range specification mode, cancel key) is created.

If the question is ``1 Interruption'', it is necessary to confirm that ``the graphic work has been skipped''.The final state of the state flow is ``1 shape mode'', and it is necessary to confirm that the shape work has not been pulled out yet. It is checked, the search is performed again in [current state = figure mode], and the guidance item [figure mode interruption procedure] is searched. This creates a bare [Graphics mode, Cancel key]. Through the above processing, the sequence of procedure states shown in FIG. 7(a) is generated.

In the case of Fig. 3(b), that is, [current state = shape movement: range specification mode], the question is [operation procedure for specifying underline]
In this case, the target of work and the target of question are different, so ``a
, [Current status = figure movement: range specification mode] question is [(
1. Generate procedure state strings for each of the operation procedure that interrupts the current operation), b, and [current state = middle mode] whose question is [operation procedure that specifies underlining]. By combining in the order of b, the procedure state sequence shown in FIG. 7(b) is generated.

After the procedure state sequence is generated, the guidance message is retrieved from the guidance information storage unit 43 according to the procedure state sequence and synthesized in the order of the procedure state sequence (step f96 in FIG. 9).
, output and display (step f97 in FIG. 9). Then, the guidance process ends.

For example, in the case of r6-a J in Figure 6, [■ (Middle mode, A key), ■ (Graphic mode, B key),
For the pair of ■ in ..., ■......], the item [Status = middle mode, operation key = A key] in Figure 8 is searched, and the corresponding guidance message is displayed. A
Press the key. Then......... ] is taken out. ■For the pair (Figure mode, B key), a guidance message [Next, press the B key] is displayed. Then...... ] is taken out. Similarly, after extracting the messages ■, ■, and ■, the entire guidance message is obtained by combining them in the order of the procedure status sequence. The output display of this is shown in Figure 2 (,
).

The messages shown in FIG. 2(b) to (,) are output and displayed on the output unit 2 in the same manner for each case of r6-bJ to rO-eJ shown in FIG. Similarly, in the case of r7-aJ and r7-bJ shown in FIG. 7, the outputs shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are displayed.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when a user makes a mistake or has a problem while using an information processing device, the user can perform the desired processing based on the usage state at that time. It becomes possible to easily output and display specific operating procedures to be performed.

This allows beginners to get out of the situation and teach them specific operating procedures to perform the desired operation, even if they were stuck during a task because they did not know what to do. be able to.

As a result, consideration is given to the user interface as well as to the usage environment, which greatly reduces user anxiety and dissatisfaction. Therefore, the operational efficiency of the user is also greatly increased. In addition, users can use information processing devices with peace of mind and learn new functions easily, which has great practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2(,) to (e), and FIGS. 3(a), (
b) is a diagram showing an example of the guidance display output of the operation procedure adapted to each usage state in the above embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a state transition showing the relationship between the state of the application program and key operations in the above embodiment. An explanatory diagram of the graph, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the state flow table in the above embodiment, and Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the procedure state sequence corresponding to Fig. 2 (,) to (=) in the above embodiment. An explanatory diagram, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the procedure state sequence corresponding to FIGS. 3(a) and (b) in the above embodiment, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of guide help information in the above embodiment. ,
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of guidance processing in the above embodiment,
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of the guide questionnaire in the above embodiment. I...input section, 2...output section, 3...main storage section,
4... Auxiliary storage unit, 5... Control unit, 3I... Application program processing unit, 32... Guidance processing unit, 33
...Status buffer, 34...Question storage buffer,
35... Procedure status string buffer, 41... Question data storage unit, 42... Status flow table storage unit, 43...
Guidance information storage unit. Appearance Agent Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue (C) (d) (e) Figure 2 (a) (b) Figure 3 Figure 5 (Flow of the first C) Figure 9 (I Y17) Enthusiasm 1
) Figure 10 Procedural Amendment Book Type) % Formula % 1. Display of the case Patent Application No. Sho 62-233913 2. Name of the invention guide help method 3. Person making the amendment Relationship with the case Patent Applicant (307) Co., Ltd. Toshiba 4, Agent Ben' 5, Date of amendment order 7, Contents of amendment (1) "Figure 2 (a) to (e)" on page 18, line 6 of the specification as "Figure 2" I am corrected.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An information processing device comprising means for inputting information such as character codes, command codes, graphic codes, image codes, audio codes, etc., means for storing guide help information, and means for displaying and outputting the guide help information. In the
means for storing the contents of questions regarding operating procedures; means for storing a series of operating procedure sequences for each operation of the application program; and means for storing guide help information as a set of guide help messages for each unit of status and operation. and,
A means for identifying a guide request from a user or an application program; a means for detecting and storing the state of the application program at the time of the guide request; and a means for detecting and storing the state of the application program at the time of the guide request; means for creating a series of operation procedures from the state at the time of request to the end of the operation, means for searching the guide help information for messages corresponding to each of the series of operation procedures described above, A guide help method characterized by comprising means for synthesizing guide help information retrieved by said means and displaying and outputting the synthesized guide help information.