JPH02118720A - System for controlling display of multiwindow - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect a hidden window by means of simple operation while holding the layout of a whole screen by updating screen display in such a way that the larger a window gets in area, the lower the window gets in display priority in response to the arrangement command of the windows. CONSTITUTION:Window control information such as the positions, sizes, display priority of the windows 101-104 are stored. When the arrangement command of the windows 101-104 is inputted, the areas of the windows displayed on the screen 100 are calculated, and the display priority of respective windows is updated in such a way that the larger the areas the lower they become in the overlap of respective windows. Respective windows are re-displayed in order from the window with the least significant priority toward the window with the most significant priority. Thus, the window which is hidden behind the large window and was unable to see appears again on the screen, and the objective window can easily be estimated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a screen display method in an information processing terminal device, a personal computer, a workstation, a word processor, etc. This invention relates to a display control method for a multi-window system in which multiple windows are set and data can be displayed independently in each window.

[Conventional technology]

In an overlapping multi-window system that allows windows to overlap, as you open windows corresponding to various business programs one after another to proceed with your work, some windows may become completely covered by other windows. Windows may become invisible, and users may not be able to interact with business programs running in those windows.

A conventional technique for redisplaying a window that has disappeared from the screen due to being hidden behind another window by a simple operation is described in, for example, JP-A-62-189584 R Multi-Window Display Control Device. There is a method to do so.

In this method, when a window arrangement (v1 display) command is input, the positions of each window are shifted so that a portion (for example, the title part) of each window can be seen, and the windows are rearranged over the entire screen. Also, if there are windows that do not appear on the screen simply by shifting their positions (for example, a large window that occupies most of the screen covers other windows), you can reduce the size of some windows as necessary. do.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Generally, when working using an overlapping multi-window system, windows corresponding to various business programs are opened one after another on the screen, just as you take out various papers one after another on a desk and proceed with your work. Open it and proceed with your work. At this time, the layout of windows on the screen (where, what size, and what type of windows are placed) is itself an important operating environment for users to work efficiently. is part of the

For example, when creating a report on a workstation using a word processor, spreadsheet software, and database search system, the user opens a window for each program, places it in the appropriate position on the screen, and then The user progresses through the process by switching between windows to interact with, one after another.If the layout of each window is maintained as the user intends, the user can quickly complete the task without interrupting the flow of thought. You can intuitively specify and select the desired window position, allowing you to work comfortably.

However, in the above conventional technology, no consideration is given to preserving the arrangement of windows, and when instructions are given to organize and display windows in order to find hidden windows, it is irrelevant to the user's intention. Since the position (and sometimes size) of all windows is changed, the previous screen layout is completely lost. - As an example, consider a case where it becomes necessary to check the time during the above-mentioned report creation work, and the user tries to find the window of a clock display program hidden behind another window. In the method based on the conventional technology described above, when you instruct to organize (organize display), all windows are automatically rearranged so that they overlap except for the title section, so you can check the time by displaying the clock display window. After doing so, the word processor, spreadsheet, and database windows must be rearranged to their appropriate positions in order to resume the work.

In this way, when the positional relationship between windows is important, the method according to the prior art described above.

After executing the organize (organize display) command, the user has to manually adjust the window placement and size again.
There was a problem in that the overall work efficiency was greatly reduced.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve these problems.

The purpose is to make it possible to find hidden windows with simple operations while maintaining the layout of the entire screen, that is, without changing the position and size of each window.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve the above object, the multi-window system according to the present invention determines the position of each window.

A storage means for storing window management information such as size 1 display priority, an input means for inputting a window arrangement (organized display) command, and a input means for inputting the window arrangement (organized display) command. In this case, calculate the area of each window with reference to the window management information above, and use the screen data obtained by the calculation to manage the window so that the window with a larger area has a lower display priority. The apparatus includes state control means for updating information, and means for displaying each window in a state corresponding to the window management information thus updated.

[Effect]

In the present invention, when a command for organizing (organizing and displaying) windows is input by selecting a menu item using a mouse, etc., first, each window displayed on the screen is ) is calculated. Next, the display priority of each window is updated so that a window with a larger area has a lower display priority, that is, a window has a lower display priority when the windows overlap with each other. Finally, the screen is redisplayed according to the updated display priority order. At this time, first, the entire screen is once erased, and then each window is redisplayed in order from the window with the lowest display priority to the window with the highest display priority.

By updating the display priority of each window as described above and redisplaying the screen according to the results, windows that were hidden behind larger windows will reappear on the screen and you can select the desired window. It becomes easy to estimate.

Further, in the window arrangement display method according to the present invention, only the display priority of each window is changed, but its position and size are not changed, so that the screen layout is not disrupted.

In this way, with the method of the present invention that focuses on the area of the window and changes the display priority so that the window with the larger area is placed at the bottom, the hidden window becomes visible again in all cases. Do not mean. For example, this happens when windows of exactly the same size overlap in the same position, or when a large window is covered by many smaller windows. However, in a typical usage situation in which a user proceeds with work by opening windows of various business programs in desired positions as needed, such an arrangement rarely occurs. Furthermore, even in the case of such a special arrangement, with the method according to the present invention, when organizing windows, it is possible to redisplay them in order starting from the bottom window. The location can be confirmed at this time. Furthermore, when W1 processing (organized display) is completed, there are only windows of the same or smaller size above the desired window, so it is easy to remove unnecessary windows by moving the upper window. You can remove it and find the desired window without any practical problem.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows window organization (organized display) according to the present invention.
It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing operation. In FIG. 1(,), 100 is a display screen. Also 101, 102, 1
03 and 104 are windows opened on the display screen 100, respectively.

They overlap in the order of 101, 102, 103, and 104 from the top. In the state shown in this figure, the window 104 with the lowest display priority is completely covered by other windows and is not visible on the screen.
Reference numeral 105 indicates an operation menu 106, which is a mouse cursor that moves around on the screen according to the movement of the mouse.

A button (mouse button) is provided on the mouse, and when the mouse cursor 106 is positioned on the screen in an area where no window exists and the mouse button is pressed, an operation menu 105 appears. Here, while holding down the mouse button, position the mouse cursor over the item ``Organize display'' on the menu and release the mouse button, the menu 105 will be cleared and the organize (organize display) process will be started. Ru.

FIG. 1(b) shows the state of the screen at the time when the execution of the organizing (organizing display) process is completed. The display priority of the windows is set according to the ascending order of their area.
It has been changed in the order of 1.

As a result, the hidden window 104 now appears at the top of the screen. Other windows are also at least partially visible on the screen, and all are directly addressable.

Note that the item "Open" on the menu 105 instructs to display the window that has been temporarily deleted from the screen again, and the item "1 [Hard Copy]" instructs to make a hard copy of the screen to the printer. This is an instruction to output.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer system for implementing the present invention. In FIG. 2, 201 is
A central processing unit (CPU) 202 includes a microprocessor, peripheral circuits, and the like.

This is the main memory that stores blocks and data.

203 is a frame memory that holds bitmap data corresponding to the entire display screen, and this content is CR'I
'The controller 204 converts it into a display signal and displays it on the display device 205. 206 is BMP
(Bitmap processor)
Receives drawing commands from frame memory 201 and stores them in frame memory 203.
It has functions such as character string drawing, graphic drawing, filling, and block transfer for the contents of the page, making it possible to update the display at high speed. A system bus 207 connects these devices.

Further, 208 is a keyboard for inputting character data.

Reference numeral 209 denotes a mouse for specifying a position, which is connected to the system bus via a keyboard interface 210. 211 is a floppy disk device, 212
A hard disk device is used as an auxiliary storage device for holding programs, data files, etc. These devices also have interfaces 213 and 213, respectively.
214 to the system bus.

215 is a high resolution output device for printing documents.

For example, it is an LBP (laser beam printer).

It is also connected to the system bus via printer interface 216. 217 is a communication interface for connecting the computer system to an external network or communication line.

Note that other hardware configurations are possible, and it is also possible to implement the present invention with some changes.

FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a multi-window system in one embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, in accordance with display control commands from the business program 301 and user operations, the multi-window system 302 performs window control processing such as creating, deleting, moving, resizing, and changing the display priority of windows, and displays information inside each window. Performs data display processing.

This multi-window system 302 consists of a display control command analysis section 303, an input analysis section 304, and a content data management section 3.
05. Window management section 306. Consists of a user interface control section 307 and a drawing command generation section 308.

The display control command analysis unit 303 executes a business program; 301
It receives a display control command in the form of an escape sequence from , analyzes it, and starts the corresponding process. The input analysis unit 304 converts input from the user using the keyboard 208, mouse 209, etc. to the keyboard interface 21.
0, the data is analyzed and classified into input data for the business program and operation instructions for the window system, and each is transferred to the business program 301 or the user interface control unit 307. The content data management unit 305 manages the data (character strings, 9 figures, 2 images, etc.) displayed inside the windows according to instructions from the business program, and controls the display inside each window. The window management unit 306 manages the position and size of each window.

It manages data such as display priority and controls the display state of each window on the screen. The user interface control unit 307 includes a drawing command generation unit 3 that performs processing corresponding to various operation commands from the user (menu display, direct operation on windows, organizing (organizing display) processing, etc.).
08 outputs an appropriate drawing command sequence for updating the display screen corresponding to the various data display processing and window control processing described above, and transfers this to the bitmap processor 206. The bitmap processor 206 rewrites the frame memory 203 according to the received drawing command sequence,
The content is converted into a display signal by the CRT controller 204 and sent to the CRT 205 to update the screen.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data format of window management information in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 401 is a window management table that manages the status of each window. Window management table 40
Each of the windows 1 corresponds to one window, and holds the usage status 2 display status 1 position, size, and content data pointer of that window.

Here, the usage status indicates whether the window is currently being used for displaying data or is vacant (unused). When a new window is generated to display data, an empty entry in the window management table is allocated and used. Further, the display state indicates whether the window is currently displayed on the screen or whether the window is temporarily hidden from display.

The position of each window is Wf4 of the upper left corner of the window in the orthogonal coordinate system with the origin at the upper left corner of the display screen.
Expressed using FJ. The horizontal axis (X-axis) of this coordinate system is directed toward the right side of the screen, and the vertical axis (y-axis) is directed toward the bottom of the screen as a positive direction, and the unit is pixels.
It is. Furthermore, the unit of window size (width and height) is also pixels.

The content data pointer is a pointer that indicates the address of a data area that holds various display data such as two character strings, two figures, and two images displayed inside the window.

In the example shown here, there are four windows (referred to as window 0, window 2, window 3, and window 4, respectively, using the index of each entry on the window management table 401).
It can be seen that one window is actually displayed on the screen, and the remaining window (window 3) is temporarily erased from display.

In this embodiment, the size (width and height) is stored as the window size, but instead of this size, the coordinates of the lower right corner of the 5 windows may be stored. . In this case, the size (width and height) of the window is calculated by subtracting the coordinates of the upper left corner point from the coordinates of the lower right corner point of the window.

FIG. 4 402 is a display priority table that manages the overlapping order of windows displayed on the screen.

The display priority table 402 is an array of pointers indicating the address of each entry included in the window management table 401, and the order of the pointers on this array indicates the overlapping order of the corresponding windows. In other words, the window corresponding to the pointer located at the beginning of this array has the highest display priority.The window corresponding to the pointer located at the end of this array has the highest display priority. This is the window with the lowest ranking, that is, the lowest window. Here, the end of this array is a null pointer (NUL) after it.
L pointer).

In the example shown here, the window 2 is located at the top, and windows 4. It can be seen that window O is located at the bottom. Here, since window 3 is in a state where the display is temporarily erased, it does not appear on the display priority table 402.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart 1 to diagram showing the entire process of organizing (organizing and displaying) windows in one embodiment of the present invention. The overall flow of the organizing (organizing display) process in the present invention will be described below with reference to this diagram.

First, the number of windows currently displayed on the screen,
The area of each window is determined (501). Next, determine whether the obtained number of windows is less than or equal to 1 (502), and if so, there is no I < multiple of the windows on the screen, and the 4 sorting (organizing display) process is unnecessary. Therefore, the entire process is terminated. Otherwise, proceed to step 503. In step 503, the display priority table 402 is arranged so that the display priority of each window matches the ascending order of its area. Next, the windows are redisplayed in order from the lowest order according to the arranged display priority. (504), the entire process ends when all windows have been redisplayed.

Next, step 501 in FIG. 5, that is, the process of calculating the total number of windows displayed on the screen and the area of each window will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart specifically showing the procedure of this process. From now on, the display priority table 40
2 is represented by an array P, and an array S is prepared as an area for holding the area of each window. P[1] and S[
:il represents the i-th element of arrays P and S, respectively.

First, a variable i is set to O (601). Next, P[
It is determined whether il, that is, the pointer which is the i-th element of the display priority order table 402, is an empty pointer (NULL) (602).

If so, that is, if the end of array P has been reached, the process proceeds to step 605. Otherwise, proceed to step 603.

In step 603, the area (width x height) of the window pointed to by the pointer P[il, that is, the window with the i-th display priority, is determined and assigned to S[il.

That is, if P[il→W represents the width of the window indicated by pointer P[il, and P[i]→h represents its height, then S[11=CP[il-*w)(
Next, the variable i is incremented (604) and the process returns to step 602.

In step 605, the value of variable i is assigned to entry variable N, and the process ends.

When the above processing is completed, the area of each O in toe is stored in the array S in an order corresponding to the arrangement of pointers in the array P. Furthermore, the entry variable N stores the total number of windows displayed on the five screens.

Next, step 503 in FIG. That is, the process of arranging the display priority table 402 so that the display priority of each window matches the ascending order of its area will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart specifically showing the procedure of this process.6 First, set O to the variable j- (701)
, assign the value of i to variable 4j and variable k, and set variable S w
The value of S[il is assigned to in (702).

Next, the variable j is incremented (703).

Next, we need to judge whether the value of j has reached N70
4) If so, proceed to step 707; otherwise proceed to step 705.

In step 705, it is determined whether the value of S[j is smaller than the value of Srsin, and if so, Sm
The values of SIl and jl are assigned to in, and the value of j is assigned to variable k (706). Otherwise, the process returns to step 703.

When step 707 is reached as described above, S
The minimum value in the range from [il to S[N-11 is S s
In is set to in, and the index of the element having the minimum value is set to variable k. Therefore, it is first determined whether the values of i and k are equal, and if so (if S[il itself is the minimum value), step 710
Proceed to. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 708.

In step 708, the values of S[il and S[kl are exchanged so that S[il has the minimum value within the above range. That is, the value of S[il is assigned to S[kl, and the value of S win is assigned to S[1]. Next, in step 709,
In step 708, the pointer array P is rearranged corresponding to the rearrangement of the area array S by 1llL. That is, the values of P[il and P[kl are exchanged. Here, first save the value of [Pick] to the variable P tamp, and then save the value of P
Assign the value of P[il to ['k], then 1) [i to P
Assign the value of tamp.

Next, the variable i is incremented and it is determined whether the value of 710)-1 has reached N (711). If so, end the process, otherwise step 70
Return to 2.

When the above processing is completed, the window area array S is arranged in ascending order of the values, and the array P, that is, the display priority table 402 is also arranged in the 6th order in the corresponding order. , step 50 in FIG.
4, that is, the process of re-displaying windows in order from the lowest order according to the display priority table arranged in ascending order of area will be described in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing specific steps in this process. First, the entire screen is erased (801), and a variable i is set to N-1 (the index of the last element of the array P) (802).

Next, the window indicated by the pointer P[i] is redisplayed (803), that is, after drawing the frame of the window and erasing the inside of the window, the content data is displayed within the frame.

Next, the variable i is decremented (804) and it is determined whether the value of iΦ is greater than or equal to 0 (805).

If so, the process returns to step 802, and if not, the process ends.

Through the above process, after the entire screen is erased, the window with the largest square area appears on the screen, and then the window with the next largest square area can be seen above it, and so on. A window will appear.

In this embodiment, when arranging the display priority table, the minimum value is simply calculated and replaced (method is used), but other arranging methods such as the quick sort method may be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, in a multi-window system that displays a plurality of rectangular display areas (windows) on a screen by overlapping them, organizing (organizing display) processing is performed according to instructions from the user, By switching the display priority so that windows with larger areas are placed at the bottom, windows that have been hidden behind other windows can be made visible again without disrupting the screen layout and with a simple operation. can.

Improves operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the arrangement of windows (organized display) according to the present invention.
An explanatory diagram showing an example of processing operation, FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer system for implementing the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a multi-window system in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data format of window management information. Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart showing the entire process of organizing windows (W-process display), and Fig. 6 is a process of calculating the total number of windows displayed on one screen and the area of each window. Flowchart diagram showing the procedure, No. 7
The figure is a flowchart showing the procedure for arranging the display priority table so that the display priority of each window matches the ascending order of its area. FIG. 1 is a flowchart 1 diagram illustrating a procedure for re-displaying in order from the beginning. 401...Window management table (table that holds usage state 2 display state 9 position, size and content data pointer of each window), 402...display priority table (overlapping order of each window displayed on the screen) table). Ward No. 2 Second Sen No. 5 Houki Wa Concave No. Otsu Concave ■

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a multi-window system that performs display using a plurality of windows that can overlap with each other, information indicating at least the position and size of each window on the screen;
and a storage means for storing window management information consisting of a display priority (overlapping order), a state control means for updating the window management information stored in the storage means, and a state control means for updating the window management information stored in the storage means; display updating means for changing the state of each window; and command input means for inputting a window rearrangement command, and in response to the window rearrangement command input from the command input means, the state control means: The window management information is updated so that a window with a larger area has a lower display priority, and the display updating means updates the screen display to a state corresponding to the updated window management information. Multi-window display control method. 2. When the display update means changes the state of each window on the display screen, the display screen is erased entirely and redisplayed in order from the lowest display priority window to the highest display priority window. A multi-window display control method according to claim 1.