JPH02146819A - Key type display system on keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability in the multi-window environment in which changeover takes place frequency by changing the display automatically to that of key type suitable for an object every changeover of an active window. CONSTITUTION:A user defines key type display information 6 with a key type display means 2 at first. Then a window correspondence means 3 makes type information sets 1, 2 correspondent to windows A, B. When the window A is selected under such a condition, display according to the display information 1 is supplied to keys PF1-PF3 on a keyboard 32. When the operator selects the window B, key type displays 33-35 are changed according to the display information 2. Thus, the operability is much improved even under the multi- window environment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for displaying the types of keys on a keyboard, and more particularly to a method for displaying the types of keys on a keyboard useful in an Xa system having a multi-window function.

(Prior art) Conventionally, when changing the type of each key on a keyboard, a sheet or the like that describes the meaning of each key is placed on the keyboard, or characters or figures expressing the meaning of each key are placed on the screen. was displayed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Among the conventional methods mentioned above, here is a sheet that describes the meaning of each key! With the one-sheet method, in a multi-window environment, if the keys have different meanings for each window, you will need to replace the sheet each time you select a window.
The drawback was that the operability was very poor.

In addition, the method of displaying the meanings of keys on the screen can be used when the number of keys whose meanings are displayed is small, but when the number of keys whose meanings are displayed increases, the meanings of the keys on the screen may differ from the actual meanings. The problem was that it was difficult to understand the correspondence with the keys.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The key type display method on a keyboard according to the present invention includes a key type display definition means that defines a correspondence between each key on the keyboard and the contents of the type display, and and a combination of its type display content, a window compatibility means that defines which window the combination corresponds to, a window management means that monitors the operation of the window, and an active window that is switched by the window management means. When the active window is notified, the window correspondence selects a combination of a key associated with the notified active window and its type content based on information defined by a means, and selects a combination of a key and its type content on the keyboard. and key type display control means to automatically change the key type display on the keyboard according to the purpose of each window each time the active window is switched.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a key type display method on a keyboard according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the key type display information of FIG. 1. Furthermore, FIGS. 3(a) and (b) show the operation of this embodiment from the user's perspective, and FIG. 3(a) shows the state of the screen and keyboard when window A is active. Figure (b) shows the state of the screen and keyboard when window B becomes active.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

The multi-window user first defines key type display information 6 indicating the correspondence between a key and its type display using the key type display definition means 2. In this embodiment, the key type information display information is as shown in FIG. It is assumed that two sets of correspondence information are defined.

Next, for window compatibility in method 3, key type information 6
In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are two windows, window A and window B shown in FIG. 3, and key type information 1 and window B in FIG. Assume that it is associated with window B.

Under the above conditions, FIG. 3(a) shows a state in which window A is selected as the active window, and at this time, keys PFl, PF2 . PF3
The key type display 33, 34, and 35 are 5CAL, ROTA, and T, respectively, according to the key type display information 1 shown in Figure 2.
This shows that RAN is displayed.

In this state, when the operator switches the active window to B, the state changes to the state shown in FIG. 3(b).

That is, key PF1. on the keyboard. The key type displays 33, 34, and 35 of PF2 and PF3 are changed to INS, DEL, and FORM, respectively, according to the key type display information 2 shown in FIG.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention enables automatic change of key type display according to the purpose of the switched window each time the active window is switched. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the need to display explanations of keys on the screen, and to improve operability in a multi-window environment where active windows may be switched roughly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the key type display method on a keyboard according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the definition of key type display information in FIG. 1, and FIGS. b) is a diagram showing the operation seen from the user of this embodiment. 1... Window management means, 2... Key type display definition means, 3... Window compatibility means, 4... Key type display control means, 5... Keyboard-6... Key type Display information, 7... Window support information, 8...
・Window switching notification, 31...CR7 screen displaying multi-window, 32...Keyboard status, 33...PFI key type display, 34...P
F2 key type display, 35...PF3 key type display.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A key type display definition means that defines the correspondence between each key on the keyboard and the content of its type display, and a window correspondence that defines the combination of the defined key and its type display content and which window the combination corresponds to. a window management means for monitoring the operation of the window; and when an active window is switched by the window management means, the window that has become active is notified and based on the information defined by the window association means. a key type display control means that selects a combination of a key associated with the notified active window and its type content and sends the selected combination to the keyboard, and displays the type of keys on the keyboard according to the purpose of each window. A method for displaying the types of keys on a keyboard, which is characterized in that the types of keys on a keyboard can be automatically changed each time an active window is switched.