JPH0394323A - Document output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of the document output device by converting a character string in accordance with the deformation or modification information and displaying it responding to the combination direction of the designated character strings when the combination direction of the character strings displayed and outputted by the document information is designated and the deformation or the modification information is inputted to the character string. CONSTITUTION:The document output device is constituted of a CRT display part 1, a video memory 2, a display control part 3, a microprocessor 4, a main memory 5, a hard disk device 6, a bus 7, a keyboard 8, a pointing device 9, a printer 10, an image scanner 11, and a floppy disk device 12. When the combination direction of character strings for displaying document information is specified, the character strings are displayed responding to the direction, and when the deformation or modification information of respective characters of the character strings is specified, these character strings are converted responding to the combination direction of the character strings and the converted character strings are displayed. Consequently, the operation can be simplified.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a document output device that displays and outputs character strings.
In particular, the present invention relates to a document output device that displays and outputs a display with modifications such as italics and shadows.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, devices that handle characters, such as word processors, are configured so that characters are displayed from left to right in the order in which they are input. Even on devices that can display vertical writing (vertical writing), the images are simply displayed sequentially from top to bottom. Furthermore, in computer graphics, characters are displayed in a designated area in a predetermined order. Furthermore, in recent years, there has been a growing demand for displaying and outputting characters with higher quality in these devices, since the quality of characters displayed and output and the design of the characters affect the value of the finished printed matter. The resolution of printed characters has been considerably improved by the realization of high-resolution devices such as laser printers. Regarding character design, please refer to JP-A-58-145986 and JP-A-60.
Although improvements are being made as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 263189, the designation of these character designs is still limited to character units. Recently, devices have been realized that can store characters as vectors and transform or modify them without degrading the quality of the characters.However, although the degree of freedom in character transformation is large, it requires the operator to specify various parameters. increasing burden.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In addition to the above-mentioned problems, in such conventional character output devices, problems may occur in the alignment of output characters. For example, as shown in Figures 13(a) to (c), horizontal writing (
Character strings in horizontal writing are arranged from left to right, and character strings in vertical writing (vertical writing) shown in FIG. 13(d) are arranged from top to bottom. However, as shown in Figure 14 (a), when each character is mirror-reversed in horizontal writing, or when each character is mirror-reversed in horizontal writing as shown in Figure 14 (a), If a character string is rotated 90' as shown in Figure (b), the character arrangement will be reversed as a result, which is different from the principle used when arranging characters. Therefore, when transforming or modifying characters, The disadvantage was that the characters had to be entered in the reverse order. Also, as mentioned above, in conventional character display devices that can transform and modify the character arrangement, basically italicization (slant) for each character The direction, amount of deformation, and size of the shadow had to be specified.

For this reason, when the character arrangement state is changed as shown in FIG. 15, it is necessary to designate each character according to each arrangement, which is extremely troublesome in terms of operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and provides a document output device that can change the direction of character arrangement with a simple operation, and can easily designate and change transformations and modifications according to the direction of arrangement. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the document output device of the present invention has the following structure. That is, a document output device for displaying and outputting input document information or graphic information, comprising a composition direction specifying means for specifying a composition direction of a character string to be displayed and outputted in the document information; The character string is converted and displayed in accordance with the transformation or modification information in accordance with the character string composition direction specified by the manual means for inputting character transformation or modification information and the composition direction specifying means. and control means for controlling.

[Operation] In the above configuration, when displaying and outputting document information, if the direction in which a string of characters to display and output the document information is set is specified, the character string can be displayed and outputted in accordance with that direction. Also,
If transformation or modification information for each character of the character string is specified, the character strings can be converted and displayed and output in accordance with the direction in which the character strings are composed.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a character output device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a CRT display unit that displays characters, images, etc. using the rask scan display method, 2 is a video RAM (VRAM) that stores display pattern information for one screen, and 3 is a VRAM.
This is a display control unit that controls writing of pattern information into the RAM 2 and reading from the CRTI. 5 is a main memory having an area for storing control programs and document data as shown in FIG. 9, and 4 is a microprocessor (MPU) which performs main control of the apparatus. Connected to the MPU 4 are a keyboard 8 for inputting character data, etc., and a pointing device (PD) 9 for specifying a position on the CRTI, inputting and editing graphic data, etc. Reference numeral 6 denotes a hard disk device in which document files, character fonts, etc. are stored. Reference numeral 10 denotes a printer for printing out created document data, reference numeral 11 an image scanner for reading images such as images, and reference numeral 12 a floppy disk device for storing document files and the like. Each of these constituent blocks is connected to the MPU 4 via an engineering/0 bus 7.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the character output device of this embodiment.

The input unit 13 corresponds to the keyboard 8 or a hard disk, and character data inputted from the input unit 13 or character font data from the hard disk 6 are temporarily stored in the page data storage unit 14.

These stored data are sent to the page configuration section 15,
Arrangement, layout, etc. are determined. These pieces of information are then sent to the page address table 16 and output to the character generator 17 along with the character code 19 and transformation and modification information 20.

A character generator (CG) 17 outputs and displays a character string on a display unit 18 according to the contents of the page address table 16. The above-described page data storage section 14, page configuration section 15, and page address table 16 are set by a control program in the main memory 5 (FIG. 1), and data control is performed by the MPU 4.

Figure 3 shows the character generator (CG) 17 in Figure 2.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining in detail the functions of FIG.

Character code 1 sent from page address table l6
9 is input into the character address table 21. The character address table 21 includes the following information corresponding to the character code 19.
Addresses of font data in the vector font storage section 22 are stored. As a result, vector font data corresponding to the input character code 19 is addressed and output from the storage section 22 to the transformation circuit 23.

The transformation circuit 23 transforms the coordinate data of the vector font data into transformation modification information 2 from the page address table 16.
According to the transformation information of 0, for example, in the case of rotation, an affine transformation or the like is performed. The coordinate data thus converted is sent to the outline drawing section 24, and outline data of characters and the like is created.

The created contour line is composed of closed curves, and the character modification section 25 fills in the inside of the contour line, adds area types such as halftone dots, and superimposes it on already generated character data. . The filling inside the outline can be done by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-41017, and the area sorting and overlapping of characters can be done by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-23193. A method can be used.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a vector font deck consisting of sample points obtained by sampling the kanji character "ai" using the B-spline method.

In the figure, sample points for the kanji character "ai" are shown as small circular dots, and here they are arranged in a matrix of 5 1 2 x 5 1 2 dots. In this way, it can be seen that the contour line data is composed of a closed loop. Note that the above-mentioned B-spline method is a method in which a spline is created using the starting point and end point of a certain curved section as fulcrum points, and creating a spline inside the sample point as the apex.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the page address table 16.

The page address table 16 is created individually for each page or for each attribute of data such as document data, graphic character data, etc. In the case of graphic data, it is created for each character record of the graphic. In the case of graphic character data, it is created while referring to the attribute information in the graphic data. y in the diagram
a r X o...y. , x. is the first character of the line, y
coordinates and X coordinates.

Offset 1. ,...Each of the offsets 1l is
This is the offset value of the X coordinate from the beginning of the line. By adding each of these offset values to the corresponding x0...XI, the X coordinate of each character can be determined. Further, each of the modifications 10, . . . , 11 is information regarding modification and modification of each character. The information regarding the transformation includes how much to italicize the characters in terms of x+y, the length ratio, the flat ratio, etc. Further, the information regarding the decoration includes the basic character brain, hatching designation of the shadow part, direction of the shadow, size, etc.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining one operation of this embodiment.

Assume now that a character string with a shadow on the lower right side as shown in FIG. 6(a) is displayed on the CRT display unit 1 (FIG. 1), arranged from left to right. Here, when the function for designating the assembly direction is selected, the assembly direction menu shown in FIG. 6(b) is displayed on the CRT display section 1. For example, if the pointing device 9 moves the cursor 63
to change the menu specification position from the current column 61 (left to right specification) to column 62 (right to left specification). As a result, the character string is rearranged from right to left as shown in FIG. 6(c), and the direction of the shadow of each character also changes and is placed on the lower left side of each character.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of operation of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7(a), it is assumed that character strings shaded at the lower right side are displayed on the CRT display unit 1 in a manner arranged from left to right. Here, as in the case of FIG. 6, when the function for specifying the assembly direction is selected, the CRT display section 1 as shown in FIG.
The assembly direction menu shown in b) is displayed. Here, move the cursor 63 using the pointing device 9,
The menu specification position is changed from the current column 61 (left to right specification) to column 64 (center point specification). As a result, as shown in Fig. 7(c), for example, if the character "U" is specified as the center point of a character string, the direction and amount of character deformation/modification will be determined depending on the direction and distance from the center character "U". is determined and displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining in detail modification information of the address table 16 shown in FIG. 5.

Here, the long body ratio and flat body ratio indicate the degree (%) of reducing the character horizontally or vertically, and as shown in the figure, "O" is 100%.
, "1" is defined as 50%, etc. X mirror image,
The y mirror image is the presence or absence of mirror image reversal in the X direction and y direction (O: none,
1: Yes). The X diagonal direction and the y diagonal direction indicate the direction in which the diagonal is applied. For example, "O" indicates the tenth side, and "1" indicates an example. The X angle and y angle indicate the oblique amount angle, and are defined as O when it is “O” and 10 when it is 1°.
The y shadow direction indicates the direction in which a shadow is cast; for example, "O" indicates the 10th side, and "1°" indicates the - side. Furthermore, the X shadow amount and the y shadow amount indicate the size of the shadow. In addition, there are 1-sided shadow types, 2-sided shadow types, and 3-sided shadow types. , indicates that up to three types of shadows will be added, and the type of hatching pattern for each type of shadow surface is stored.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing character display processing in the character output device of this embodiment, and a control program for executing the processing of this embodiment is stored in the main memory 5.

First, in step S1, document or graphic data is inputted from the input section 13 such as the keyboard 8, and is taken into the page data storage section l4 constituted by the main memory 5. Next, in step S2, a page address table 16 is created based on the input data. Next, the process proceeds to step S3, and while referring to the information in the page address table 16, the character string is displayed on the CRT display unit 1 at the position indicated by this information using the transformation and modification information.

Next, in step S4, a key input from the keyboard 8 or PD 9 is waited for, and if there is a key input, steps S5, S6, S13. The process branches to S14. If a character string is selected in step S4, the process advances to step S5, where a character string selection process is performed, and various functions for the character string can be accepted, and the process returns to step S4.

Further, if a function is input in step S4, the process proceeds to step S6, and the type of the input function is checked. For example, in the case of the "assembly direction" function, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is determined whether the character string is selected or not. Determine. If the character string is not selected, the process returns to step S4. If the character string is in the selected state, the process advances to step S8, and the type of function of "composition direction" is checked. If the function is "left to right", the direction of the character string is changed from left to right in step S9, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), and if the function is "right to left", step SIO
Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(C), the direction in which the character string is assembled is changed from right to left. Further, if the function is "specify center point", in step Sll, as shown in FIG. 7(C), the assembly direction is changed to the center point, and in step S4
Return to

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that it is another function, the process advances to step Sl2, where processing corresponding to each function is performed, and the process returns to step S4.

If it is a character input in step S4, input editing processing such as creation and insertion of a new record of characters is performed and the process returns to step S4. Further, if there is an input indicating termination in step S4, the process advances to step S14 and the present process is terminated.

FIG. IO is a flowchart illustrating in more detail step S9 of FIG. 9 (processing for rearranging character strings from left to right).

In step S15, the current assembly direction is checked and if it is "left to right", the assembly direction will not change, so the process moves to return. If the current character string composition direction is "right to left" or "center point specification", in step S16, each character is composed sequentially from the left, and the direction of the transformation and/or modification information is set from left to right. Calculate the offset value from the left edge. Next, the process advances to step S17 to update the page address table 16, and in step 318, while referring to the information in the page address table 16, a character is added to the position indicated by this information using the transformation/modification information indicated by that information. After redisplaying, return to the main routine.

FIG. 11 (A) is a detailed flowchart explaining in more detail the right-to-left rearrangement process in step SIO in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of rearranging from right to left.

In step S19, the current assembly direction is checked and if it is "right to left", the assembly direction will not change, so the process moves to return. Otherwise, proceed to step S20, and if it is "left to right" or "center point specification", the given character string is used to set only the direction of transformation/modification from right to left, and incorporate it in order from the left. . Next, in step S21, the left end (the 11th
S. in figure (B). ) to the left end of each character (S2, Ss
) to find the offset value (S2 S+ , S3-S,). Next, the process proceeds to step S22, and the offset value of the right end (e3) of the last character of the character string is determined. Then, in step S23, based on the offset values calculated in steps S21 and S22, a starting offset value {e=−(S2−S+)} when the character string is assembled from the reverse is determined.
, {e3-(S-S1)}. In step S24, the page address data 16 is updated, and in step S25, while referring to the information in the page address table 16, the CRT is
The character string is redisplayed on the display unit 1 and the process returns.

Figure 12 (A) is a detailed flowchart showing the center point designation process in step Sll in Figure 9, and Figure 12 (B) is a detailed flowchart showing the center point designation process in step Sll in Figure 9. It is a figure explaining processing.

First, in step S26, the central character "i" is selected.

Next, the process proceeds to step S27, where the amount and direction of deformation/modification of other characters and the pitch of the characters are determined based on the central character. In step S28, a character string is assembled based on the result of step S27, and in step S29, the offset value (S, +w
, Sl +w, +Wt). Next step S3
0 to update the page address table 16, and in step S31, while referring to the information in the page address table 16, the character string is redisplayed on the display unit 1 using the position and modification/modification information indicated by this information. and return.

In addition, in this example, the switching operation of the assembly direction and the deformation/
Although the modification direction switching operations are linked, it is also possible to perform each operation independently.

In addition, when specifying the center point, the center character is selected, but you can also specify any position in the current writing direction or the character string when writing from left to right, and start each character from that position. The setting values of various parameters may be changed based on the positional relationship with respect to the characters.

In addition, in the center point designation of this embodiment, the direction of deformation and modification is also directed toward the center point, but it is possible to set it in any direction by setting a certain rule.

Further, although the case of italic characters is shown as an example of character modification, and the shadow is used as an example of character modification, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications or modifications are possible.

Furthermore, the character string composition direction is "left to right", "
It goes without saying that you can set it in any direction, such as "right to left" or "top right to bottom left."

As explained above, according to this embodiment, with a simple operation,
The direction in which the character string is assembled can be changed, and even if a problem occurs in the direction in which the character string is assembled, for example, at 900 rotations, it can be easily changed.

Another advantage is that it is possible to easily designate or change the transformation/modification of each character in relation to the direction in which the character string is composed.

Furthermore, since transformation and modification operations can be performed for each character string, operations can be greatly simplified compared to the conventional case where different transformation and modification parameters were set for each character.

Furthermore, by specifying the center point, it is easy to transform and modify character strings that radiate from one point or are concentrated at one point, and various shapes and forms of character strings can be easily created.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to change the composition direction of the arrangement of document information with a simple operation, and it is also possible to easily specify and change the transformation and modification of each character according to the composition direction. There is an effect that can be done.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a character display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a character display device according to this embodiment, and FIG. Figure 4 is a diagram showing character sample points using the B-spline method, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the page address table in Figure 2, and Figures 6 and 7 are examples of this embodiment. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the page address table in Figure 2 and an example of modification information data. Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the character string conversion process of this embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing the recombination process from left to right in step S9 in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11(A) shows the recombination process from right to left in step SIO in FIG. 11(B) is a flowchart showing an example of recombining character strings from right to left; FIG. 12(A) is a flowchart showing center point designation processing in step Sll of FIG. 9; B) is a diagram showing an example of character string center point designation processing, and FIGS. 13 to 15 are diagrams for explaining the conventional method of assembling character strings. In the figure, 1...CRT display section, 2...video memory,
3... Display control unit, 4... MPU, 5... Main memory, 6... Hard disk device, 7... Bus, 8...
・・Keyboard, 9 ・・Pointing device, 1
0...Printer, 11...Image scanner, 13
... input section, 14... page data storage section, 15.
. . . Page configuration portion, 16 . . . Page address table, l 7 . . . Character generator, 23 .

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A document output device for displaying and outputting input document information or graphic information, comprising a composition direction specifying means for specifying a composition direction of a character string to be displayed and outputted in the document information, and for the character string, an input means for inputting transformation or modification information of each character; and a display output after converting the character string according to the transformation or modification information in accordance with the writing direction of the character string specified by the writing direction specifying means. A document output device characterized by comprising: a control means for controlling the output so as to perform the following steps. (2) When the control means is instructed by the writing direction specifying means to display the character string in the opposite direction, the control means changes the direction of transformation/modification of each character of the character string to correspond to the writing direction of the character string. 2. The document output device according to claim 1, wherein the document output device is configured to display and output the document after changing it. (3) A document output device for displaying and outputting input document information or graphic information, comprising a specifying means for specifying the direction in which a character string to be displayed and outputted in the document information is assembled based on a reference point of the character string. and an input means for inputting transformation or modification information of each character for the character string, and converting the character string according to the direction in which the character string is assembled and the transformation or modification information specified by the designation means. 1. A document output device comprising: a control means for controlling display output.