JPH04137128A - Character string input system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the operation work volume for character string input by providing a menu system and a test editor, which edits a character string as the output of this system, to constitute a character string input system. CONSTITUTION:A menu system 1 calls a bit map display device 2 to display menu items and calls a mouse device 3 to wait for input. When a user uses the mouse device 3 to select a menu item, the menu system 1 sends a character string corresponding to the selected item to a text editor 4. The text editor 4 displays the sent character string on a bit map display device 2, and thereafter, the user edits it in accordance with the command inputted from a keyboard 5. The text editor 4 displays the editing process of the character string on the bit map display device 2. The character string whose editing is completed by the text editor 4 is sent to an application program 6, and execution of the application program is started. A series of these processings are executed repeatedly through discrimination of the end.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a character string input method in a computer system, and particularly to a character string input method in which a character string selected from a menu is input to an application program. It is.

[Prior Art] An example of a computer system using a conventional character string input method will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first conventional example, and is a block diagram of a system in which a character string input by the user from the keyboard 5 is directly input to the application program 6, where lO is the input character string. It is a display device that displays the following information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second conventional example, and is a block diagram of a system in which the character string corresponding to the menu item selected by the user in the menu system 1 is input to the application program 6; A bitmap display displays menu items, etc., and 3 is a mouse device for selecting displayed menu items. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the third conventional example,
1 is a configuration diagram of a system in which a text buffer 11 is provided inside a menu system 1 so that character strings can be input into some of the menu items.

Next, the operation will be explained.

In the first conventional method (FIG. 4), character strings must be input from the beginning of the character string to the application program. Even if the application program 6 saves the character strings that have been entered manually as history information, the history information can be saved one by one.
You cannot restore the string you want to reuse unless you go back in time.

In the second conventional method (FIG. 5), input to the application program 6 is limited to character strings corresponding to menu items displayed by the menu system 1. That is, only predetermined character strings can be input.

In the third conventional method (FIG. 6), when a specific menu item is selected, the text buffer 11 is called up, and it is possible to input a character string that does not correspond to the menu item through the text buffer 11. The input character string is output from the menu system 1 as a character string corresponding to the selected specific menu item. However, since the character string is input from the text buffer 11, the user must always input the character string from the beginning).In addition, in the second conventional method, the user can only manually input the character string by selecting it from the menu. Therefore, in the case of a system that requires input of complex contents, the system designer must make a detailed case for menu items. Along with this, an increase in the number of displayed menu items and the layering of menus inevitably increases the amount of operation work for users.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in the conventional character string input method, the user of the computer system is either only able to input a predetermined character string, or has to input the character string from the beginning. There was a problem.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is a character string input method that makes it possible to input a wide variety of character strings with a small amount of operation work while taking advantage of the ease of operation of the menu system. The purpose is to provide

[Means for Solving the Problems] A character string input method according to the present invention includes a menu system that allows menu items to be displayed on a screen and allows a user to select a menu item, and a character string that can be edited. The system is characterized in that the text editor is connected to a text editor, and the character strings output from the menu system are modified by the text editor and used as input to the application program.

[Operation] By using the above-described means, the present invention allows the menu system to select menu items and text/text strings that do not directly correspond to menu items.
It can be easily entered by post-editing using an editor.

[Example code] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a computer system using a character string input method according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a menu system that displays menu items on the screen and allows the user to select menu items, 2 is a bitmap display that displays menu items sent from menu system 1, and 3
4 is a mouse device for selecting a menu item displayed by the bitmap display 2; 4 is an input to which the output of the menu system 1 is connected; and 4 is an output from the menu system 1 corresponding to the selected menu item; 5 is a keyboard for inputting commands and character strings to the text editor 4; 6 is an application program that inputs character strings output from the text editor 4;

Next, the operation will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing flow of the embodiment. In step S1, menu system 1:
The bitmap display 2 is called up to display menu items, and the mouse device 3 is called up to wait for input. When the user selects a menu item using the mouse device 3 in step S2, the menu system 1 sends a character string corresponding to the selected item to the text editor 4. In step S3, the text editor 4 displays the sent character string on the bitmap display 2, and then edits it according to the command input by the user from the keyboard 5. The text editor 4 displays the character string editing process on the bitmap display 2. The character string that has been edited by the text editor 4 is sent to the application program 6, and execution of the application program proceeds to step S4. Such a series of processes is repeatedly executed after the end determination is made in step s5.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a character string input process realized by this embodiment. In FIG. 3, 7 is a menu item list displayed on the bitmap display 2. In FIG. Here, when the user selects a menu item on the second level, the character string 8 corresponding to that menu item becomes the input character string to the text editor 4. The user is
The text editor 4 replaces the FOO part of the input string 8 with the character ■ρ to obtain a new string 9 that is not in the menu item restore. When the editing work is completed at this point, the character string 9 is sent as an input character string to the application program 6.

In the above embodiment, the bitmap display 2 is used as a display device for menu items and character strings, and the mouse device 3 is used as a menu item selection device, but if other display devices or selection devices are used. The same effects as in the above embodiment can also be achieved.

Furthermore, by providing the text editor 4 with a kana-kanji conversion function, it becomes possible to input Japanese character strings.

Furthermore, by inserting a syntax analysis program consisting of a parser and a dictionary between the text editor 4 and the application program 6, it is also possible to realize an input method to the application program 6 in a natural language such as Japanese or English. It becomes possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the menu system is configured to include a text editor for editing the character string output from the menu system, so that the character string that the user wants to input can be edited. It becomes possible to select something similar to `` from the menu, edit it with a text editor, and use it as input to the application program, which has the effect of reducing the amount of operation work required for inputting character strings.

Additionally, by providing examples of typical character strings input to application programs in menu items, it is possible to eliminate the need for users to learn the syntax of character strings that can be input to application programs. be. In this case, a higher effect can be obtained by highlighting the parts that can be changed using a text editor, highlighting them in one color, underlining them, or adding diagonal lines to them.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer system using a character string input method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing flow in this embodiment, and FIG. 4, 5, and 6 are block diagrams showing the configuration of a computer system using a conventional character string input method. 1 is a menu system, 2 is a bitmap display, 3 is a mouse device, 4 is a text editor, 5 is a keyboard, 6 is an application program, 7 is a menu item list, and 8 and 9 are character strings. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent Patent Attorney Jun Miyazono Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Procedure Amendment - (Voluntary) 1991/Monday Noah Date

Claims (1)

[Claims] Enables editing of character strings in a computer system that has a menu system that displays menu items on the screen and allows the user to select menu items, and an application program that accepts character strings as input from the user. It also has a text editor that connects the output of the menu system to the input of the text editor, modifies the character string that is output from the menu system with the text editor, and inputs it to the application program. A character string input method that is characterized by the following.