JPH04195471A - Allocation processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily recognize for which object allocation correcting operation is being carried on by making two kinds of area display when an allocation state is corrected. CONSTITUTION:When an operator specifies an object to be corrected, a 1st area display 30 is displayed on a display. Namely, when a specific correction indication is inputted from an allocation indication input means 5 to an allocation processing means 3 and an allocation processing means 3 recognizes the object to be corrected, an area display means 4 makes a display indicating the current allocation state of the object as the 1st area display 30. When a cursor 20 is moved in this state, a 2nd area display 40 appears getting out of the 1st area display 30 and then moves together with a cursor 20. Consequently, it is easily recognized which object the allocation correcting operation is carried on for.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a layout processing device, and more particularly to a layout processing device that can use a computer to layout product information to be published on printed materials such as flyers and catalogs.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART Along with the spread of electronic devices, techniques for creating block copies using computers have been developed in the field of printing. In particular, in printed materials such as flyers and catalogs that contain information about many products, one flyer or one
It is necessary to allocate photos and explanatory text of some products to predetermined positions in a catalog page. In order to efficiently perform such layout work, layout processing devices using computers have been used. These devices usually input images such as photos of products as image data from a scanner, input text such as product descriptions as character data from an input device such as a word processor, and perform layout based on these digital data. work is being done. That is, the operator performs the layout work while displaying a product image corresponding to the input image data and a description of the product corresponding to the input character data on the layout screen formed on the display. For example, the operator selects a product image to be allocated, and instructs the computer about the position, orientation, size, etc. to which this product image should be allocated. The computer performs layout processing on the input data in order to perform layout according to the operator's instructions, and displays the results on the display.

In this way, the operator can immediately confirm the instructed layout result on the display screen, and, if necessary, can give correction instructions for the layout position, orientation, size, etc. Once the final layout work is completed, the computer can automatically output the block copy.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the work using the above-mentioned allocation processing device, the operator usually proceeds with the work while repeating trial and error several times. For this reason, various functions are provided for modifying the layout state of objects that have been allocated once. These functions are performed by an operator providing instructions to the computer in the form of commands. For example, commonly used are a "move command" to modify the layout position, a "magnification command" to modify the size, and a "rotation command" to modify the layout direction. The operator specifies the object to be corrected, and while displaying the corrected virtual layout state of this object on the display, decides what kind of layout state should be the final state of the object. However, with conventional layout processing devices, there is a problem in that it is difficult to recognize which object is currently being modified.゛Particularly in the layout work of flyers, catalogs, etc., images and explanatory texts for many products are displayed on the layout screen, making it extremely difficult to immediately recognize what needs to be corrected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a layout processing device that can easily recognize which object is undergoing layout correction work.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention provides an allocation processing device that includes: a memory that holds data regarding an allocation object and data indicating the allocation state of the allocation object; a display that displays an allocation screen corresponding to the data in the memory; an allocation processing means for performing data processing related to allocation on data in the memory based on instructions; an allocation instruction input means for giving instructions from an operator to the allocation processing means; and an allocation screen from the allocation instruction input means. A layout correction instruction for correcting the layout status of the layout target object displayed above is input, and when the layout processing means performs correction processing based on this layout correction instruction, the layout target object to be modified is input. The present invention is provided with area display means for displaying a first area display on a display to show a current layout state and a second area display to show a revised layout state.

[For production]

In the layout processing device according to the present invention, when modifying the layout state of the layout object displayed on the display, two types of area display are performed. The first area display shows the current layout status of the layout object to be corrected, and this display allows the operator to easily determine which object the layout correction work is currently being performed on. can do. In addition, the second area display shows the layout state of the layout object to be modified after the modification, and this display allows the operator to easily discuss what the result of the modification will be. be able to. Further, by comparing the first area display and the second area display, it is also possible to compare the layout state before and after modification.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the allocation processing device of the present invention. This device includes a display 1, a memory 2,
Allocation processing means 3, area display means 4, allocation instruction input means 5
, is composed of. In this embodiment, the memory 2, the allocation processing means 3, and the area display means 4 are realized by the main body of a personal computer, the display 1 is a display device connected to this personal computer, and the allocation instruction input means 5 is realized by the main body of a personal computer. This is an input device such as a keyboard or mouse connected to this personal computer.

The memory 2 stores data regarding the layout object and data indicating the layout state of the layout object. Here, the data regarding the allocation target is, for example,
This data corresponds to the layout object itself, such as image data about a product or character data as a product description. Furthermore, the data indicating the layout status of the layout target object is data obtained as a result of the layout work for each layout target object, and includes data such as the layout position, orientation, and size of the layout target object. . Display 1 has
Two areas are provided: a layout screen 1a and an instruction screen 1b. The layout screen 1a displays a screen showing the layout status of each layout object corresponding to the data in the memory 2, and the instruction screen 1b displays various instructions necessary for performing the layout work. The allocation processing means 3 has a function of performing actual allocation processing, and performs data processing related to allocation on the data in the memory 2 based on an operator's instruction given from the allocation instruction input means 5. Further, the area display means 4 has a function of displaying a predetermined area on the display 1 when the allocation processing means 3 is performing correction processing. The feature of the present invention lies in the area display by the area display means 4, and this feature will be described in detail later.

Now, one aspect of the use of the allocation processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be explained based on FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the champions of the customer 100, the printing company 200, and the design company 300 are shown as blocks, and the creation of flyers or catalogs is performed by these champions. A customer 100 requests a printing company 200 to create a flyer or a catalog.

The printing company 200 is equipped with a host computer 210, and information regarding products given by the customer 100 is input into this host computer as data.

For example, photos of a large number of products provided by the customer 100 are captured in the form of digital data using a scanner or the like and held as an image database, and descriptions of a large number of products are captured in the form of digital data using a word processor or the like. , which is maintained as a character database. The actual allocation work is done by design company 300.
carried out by. This design company 300 is equipped with a sorted processing bag W310 according to the present invention. Data can be sent and received online between the printing company 200 and the design company 300, or data can be sent and received via a data recording medium such as a floppy disk. , an image database and a character database within the host computer 210 can be utilized. Therefore, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, necessary data is transferred into the memory 2 from a database prepared in the host computer 210. That is, data regarding the product presented by the customer 100 will be transferred into the memory 2. At the design company 300, an operator performs layout work using the layout processing device 310. When this layout work is completed, the layout designation sheet 311 showing the results of this work can be outputted from the layout processing device 310. In this case, the printer or XY
It is necessary to connect an output device such as a plotter. By presenting the layout specification sheet 311 output in this way to the customer 100, the customer 100 can confirm the layout before the printing company 200 starts the actual printing process. At this time, if there are any corrections, the layout is corrected at the design company 300. In this way, when the final layout is completed, the data in the memory 2 is transferred to the host computer 210, and based on the data output from the host computer 210, a draft 211 is output. printing company 2
00, printing will be performed based on this draft.

Now, the function of the area display means 4, which is a feature of the present invention, will be explained. For example, assume that a display as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the layout screen 1a of the display 1. As mentioned above, the display screen of the display 1 is divided into two areas, the layout screen 1a and the instruction screen 1b.The layout screen 1a includes, for example, the space of one flyer, the space of one page of a catalog, Or it corresponds to the display of a part thereof. Further, various commands for performing layout work are displayed on the instruction screen 1b. On the layout screen 1a shown in FIG. 3, four objects that have already been allocated are displayed.

In other words, Kapocha image 11, "Kapocha ¥300J
12 characters, 13 apple images, and ``apple ¥2''
00'' character 14.

Now, assume that the operator wishes to modify the layout state of the Kapocha image 11. In the device of the second embodiment, the modification command is "
"Move command", "Transformation command" to transform the shape of the object (transformation is performed by changing the ratio of height and width)
There are four commands available: , a "magnification command" to modify the size of the object, and a "rotation command" to modify the orientation of the object. All of these commands are for modifying the allocated object already displayed on the layout screen 1a of the display 1.

Here, as an example, a process of correcting the layout position of the Kapocha image 11 using a "move command" will be described.

The operator first inputs a "movement command" displayed on the instruction screen 1b.

This can be done by, for example, moving the cursor displayed on the display 1 to the position of the "move command" and pressing the mouse button to instruct the user to execute the "move command". In other words, the layout modification instruction "move" has been input using the layout instruction input means 5. The allocation processing means 3 performs a predetermined correction process based on this instruction. In the device of this example, the "movement command"
When inputting , the operator specifies the object to be moved with the cursor, and then specifies the position to be moved with the cursor. Therefore, the operator
As shown in the figure, the user moves the cursor 20 to the Kapocha image 11 to be moved, and performs an operation for specifying the object by, for example, pressing a mouse button.

When the operator identifies the object to be corrected, the fourth
As shown, a first area representation 30 is displayed on the display. That is, when a predetermined modification instruction is input from the layout instruction input means 5 to the layout processing means 3, and furthermore, when the layout processing means 3 recognizes the object to be modified, the area display means 4 displays the current state of this object. The first area display 30 is a display indicating the allocation state of the area.

This first area display may be any type of display that can indicate the area corresponding to the current layout state of the object designated as a correction target. In this example,
In order to clearly display the position, size, and orientation of the object, this first area is displayed using eight small squares located on the circumscribed rectangle of the object. It consists of For example, as in the above example, when the Kapocha image 11 is specified as a correction target, as shown in FIG. A circumscribed rectangle (with two sides parallel to R and two sides parallel to the vertical axis Y) is calculated, and small squares are displayed at the four vertices of this circumscribed rectangle R and the midpoint on each side. This 8
The two small squares are the first area display 30, and from this area display, the current rough layout position, size, and orientation of the Kapocha image 11 can be recognized.

A feature of the apparatus of the present invention is that in addition to the first area display described above, a second area display described below is also performed.

As mentioned above, following the "move command", cursor 2
When the object to be moved is specified by 0, a first area display 30 as shown in FIG. 4 appears. In this state, cursor 20
When the cursor 20 is moved, the second area display 40 appears in a manner that is removed from the first area display 30, and moves together with the cursor 20. This state is shown in FIG.

The second area display 40 shows an area having exactly the same shape and size as the first area display 30.

Therefore, like the first area display 30, it is composed of eight small squares, and is a completely congruent graphic pattern. However, in order to distinguish between the two, in the device of this embodiment, both are displayed in different colors (in the figure, the small squares that make up the first area display 30 are outlined, and the second display area 40 The small squares that make up the square are shown filled in black).

Now, as shown in FIG. 6, the first area display 30 is displayed around the Kapocha image 11 that is the object of movement,
It remains displayed at this position regardless of the movement of the cursor 20. On the other hand, the second area display 40 always moves together with the cursor 20. In other words, the relative position between the second area display 40 and the cursor 20 does not always change. Such a display mode significantly improves the operator's work efficiency. First, the first advantage is that the operator can recognize which object is currently being corrected by the first area display 30. That is, in this example, it can be immediately recognized that the correction work is being performed on the Kapocha image 11 within the area indicated by the first area display 30. In the example shown in Figure 6, only four objects 11 to 14 are displayed, but in actual layout work for flyers and catalogs, a large number of objects are displayed on the layout screen, so it may be necessary to make adjustments. Displaying the first region representation 30 to indicate the object is extremely effective.

As a second advantage, the operator can predict the layout state after correction by using the second area display 40. As mentioned above, the second area display 40 is a congruent graphic pattern with the first area display 30, so after correction, it is difficult to determine which position, size, and orientation of the Kapocha image 11. , it is possible to easily understand what is assigned.

The operator displays the second area display 4 with the cursor 20.
0 can be moved to determine the corrected optimal layout position. Furthermore, as a third advantage, by comparing the first area display 30 and the second area display 40,
You can see how many corrections will be made.

In this way, once the final position of the second area display 40 is determined, press the mouse button at that position, etc.
Give instructions to actually make the corrections. For example, if this instruction is given in the state shown in FIG. 6, the layout position of the Kapocha image 11 will be corrected as shown in FIG.

That is, the Kapocha image 11 is displayed in the second area display 40.
allocated within. At the same time, the first area display 30 and the second area display 40 disappear. The operator can thereby recognize that the processing of the "movement command" has been completed.

The operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has been described above by taking the "movement command" as an example, and the operation is the same when other modification commands are executed. For example, Kapocha image 11
When the "rotation command" is executed to correct the layout direction of the image, as shown in FIG. The area display 40 is displayed in an overlapping manner on the layout screen la. The second area display 40 is displayed at a different angle each time the angle designation is changed. In addition, if you execute a "zooming command" that corrects the size of the object, the second
The area display 40 is a graphic pattern similar to the first area display 30, and is displayed with a different size each time the size designation is changed. Furthermore, when a "transformation command" is executed to change the aspect ratio of the object to transform its shape, the second area display 40 becomes a graphic pattern with the aspect ratio changed from that of the first area display 30, Each time the deformation rate specification changes, the shape changes and is displayed.

The present invention has been described above based on an illustrative embodiment:
However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be implemented in various other ways. for example,
In the above embodiment, eight small squares placed on the circumscribed rectangle of the object were used as the area display, but this is only shown as an example, and any other form of area display may be used. You may also use For example, if the object to be corrected is a simple ruled line, a pattern in which one small square is placed at each end of the ruled line is sufficient for displaying the area. In short, it is possible to display a predetermined area in which objects are to be allocated, and the operator can determine the position, size,
Any display format may be used as long as the orientation can be recognized. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first area display and the second area display are distinguished by changing colors, but this may also be done in any form. For example, it may be displayed by changing the brightness rather than the color, or one may be configured with an array pattern of small squares, and the other may be configured with an array pattern of small triangles.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the layout processing device according to the present invention, when performing the layout correction work on the layout target object, the first area display indicating the current layout status of the target object and the first area display indicating the layout status after correction are displayed. 2 area display, and
It becomes possible to easily recognize which object is undergoing layout correction work.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the layout processing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram explaining one mode of utilization of the layout processing device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the layout shown in FIG. 1. A display screen diagram showing an example of the allocation result by the processing device, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen in which the first area display is displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first area display. 6 is a diagram showing the screen on which the second area display is displayed based on the move command to the screen shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state where correction work has been performed, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen in which a second area display based on a rotation command is displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 4. 1...Display, 1a...・Layout screen, 1b...
・Instruction screen, 2...memory, 3...allocation processing means,
4... Area display means, 5... Allocation instruction input means, 1
1...Image to be allocated, 12...Character to be allocated, 13
...Image to be allocated, 14...Character to be allocated, 20.
...Cursor, 30...First area display, 40...
Second area display, 100...Customer, 200...Printing company, 210-...Host computer, 211...
Block copy, 300... Design company, 310... Layout processing device, 311... Layout specification paper, R... Circumscribing rectangle. Patent applicant Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. Applicant agent Patent attorney Hiroshi Shimura Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A memory that holds data regarding an object to be allocated and data indicating an allocation state of the object to be allocated; a display that displays an allocation screen corresponding to the data in the memory; an allocation processing means for performing data processing related to allocation on the data in the memory based on the data; an allocation instruction inputting means for giving instructions from an operator to the allocation processing means; When a layout correction instruction for correcting the layout state of the layout object displayed on the screen is input and the allocation processing means performs correction processing based on this layout correction instruction, the layout object to be corrected is input. It is characterized by comprising area display means for displaying on the display a first area display for showing the current layout state of objects and a second area display for showing the corrected layout state. allocation processing device.