JPH04216594A - Character gap adjustment method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To optimally adjust the gaps between characters by displaying the amount of shift on the character specific information table at the time of output and showing the portion of the shape, in which the characters located right next to each other, in terms of numerical values divided into plural regions. CONSTITUTION:First, A1 to A3 which are the distances between the virtual character frame and the top of 'a' (Japanese cursive kana character) and B1 to B3 which are the distance between the frame and the bottom of the same character are measured. Likewise, C1 to C3 and D1 to D3 for the left and right hand sides are measured. When the characters are placed in longitudinal, B1 to B3 values of the character right before and C1 to C3 values of the character right after are referenced. When 'yu' (Japanese cursive kana character) is placed in lateral, the amount of left and right shift values G is recorded in the character specific information table. Likewise, when alphabet 'y' is placed in lateral, the amount of up and down shift value H is recorded in the table. Thus, the gaps between characters are optimally adjusted even though there is a character shift.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to character font output on an output device, and more particularly to a method for adjusting character spacing when outputting a relatively large outline font to the above-mentioned output device.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in the field of dealing with alphanumeric characters, there have been techniques for equally spaced placement that performs constant forwarding regardless of the character's inherent width, and for grouping each character's own character width into several groups. Some use proportional spacing processing to classify and advance according to the content. Furthermore, Japanese kana and kanji characters are usually arranged at equal intervals with constant character feeding regardless of character width or height. Even if the character spacing can be adjusted, the user must perform individual operations to specify the character spacing for each character.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When handling Japanese character strings in the above-mentioned conventional technology, other characters such as syllables, consonants, "he" in vertical writing, "ku" in horizontal writing, etc. If there are many spaces before and after the characters, the spacing between the characters will appear to be uneven, and the spacing between the characters in the output character string will be unnatural and difficult to read. Also, even if proportional spacing is applied when handling alphanumeric characters, if the letter “A” follows a “V”, there will be many spaces between the characters due to the combination of the unique shapes of the letters. If they are too wide apart or too close together, it will look unnatural and difficult to read. moreover,
Regarding the method in which the user sequentially manipulates the character spacing for each character, there is a problem that the operation becomes too complicated.

An object of the present invention is to not only perform proportional spacing processing but also to perform proportional spacing processing when outputting Japanese characters, alphanumeric characters, and symbols as vertical or horizontal text, or character strings containing a mixture of these. By even performing character spacing adjustment processing that takes into account the partial shape of the adjacent sides of matching characters, we have developed a method for optimally adjusting the character spacing in a string to obtain natural and easy-to-read character output. It is about providing.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The character spacing adjustment method according to the present invention is a processing method for controlling the character spacing when outputting a character string to an output device. By storing the difference between the virtual character frame and the actual character in each area when divided into multiple areas, the amount of left/right shift in vertical writing, and the amount of vertical shift in horizontal writing as a character-specific information table, A means for numerically recording the shape of the part adjacent to other characters, a means for calculating the amount of left/right or up/down shift depending on whether the character to be output is in vertical or horizontal writing, and the above character Equipped with a means for calculating a unique character width and a character spacing for a combination of two characters by determining each area of adjacent sides of two characters from a unique information table and a shift amount, and outputting it as a character string to an output device. When attempting to do so, the shift amount calculation unit calculates the horizontal or vertical shift amount for each character in one line of character strings, and the character spacing calculation unit calculates the character spacing. It is something.

The above character-specific information table divides the four sides of the virtual character frame for each character into a plurality of areas, and for each area, calculates the difference between the virtual character frame and the actual character, and the left and right positions in vertical writing. It is a set of numerical values that express the shift amount and the vertical shift amount in horizontal writing as a ratio to the size of the virtual character frame, and the value can be easily obtained by corresponding to the character code according to certain rules. It is arranged. As with character fonts, there is one character-specific information table for each type of font, and if the character font is recorded in a separate file, the storage location of the character font, etc. The index information may also be recorded.

The shift amount calculation unit determines whether to adjust the horizontal shift amount or the vertical shift amount depending on whether the characters to be output are in vertical or horizontal writing, Furthermore, the value is calculated.

[0008] The above-mentioned character spacing calculation unit uses the size of the virtual character frame of the character to be output, the above-mentioned character-specific information table, and the calculated shift amount value to calculate the distance between the end side of the previous character and the next character. Determine the correspondence between the sides of the characters to be output that should face each other, then evaluate each area of those two sides, use the minimum character spacing that does not overlap two characters as the standard, and set the space between the characters to that value. By adding constant spacing to the exponent, the value at which the actual characters in the character string should be evenly spaced is calculated between each character. Furthermore, even if the size of each character in a character string is not uniform, by adjusting the spacing between characters to an equal ratio to the average size of two adjacent characters,
The character spacing can be increased or decreased in proportion to the character size.

[0009]

[Operation] In the character spacing adjustment method of the present invention, the amount of shift at the time of output is represented on the character-specific information table, and the shapes of the preceding and following characters and adjacent parts are represented by numerical values divided into multiple areas. Therefore, by comparing the shape of the terminal part of the immediately preceding character with the shape of the adjacent part of the next character, it is possible to optimally adjust the character spacing for any combination.

[0010] This allows the user to output character strings with natural and harmonious character spacing for any combination of character strings in any font without having to sequentially manipulate the character spacing for each individual character.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which a processing program 104 loaded into a central processing unit 102 is operated by an operation unit 101, and an output unit 10 is operated.
3 outputs the desired character string. Operation unit 101
inputs the target character string, attributes such as transformation and enlargement for each character, and output start position, and operates the processing program 104 loaded into the central processing unit 102. The shift amount calculation unit 105 and character spacing calculation unit 106 used in the character spacing adjustment method of the present invention are read into the central processing unit 102 as part of the processing program 104, and perform predetermined calculations with reference to the character specific information table 107. By doing this, the character output position is determined and the character font 108 is developed. An output unit 103 such as a display device, plotter, or printer outputs (displays, draws, or prints) a character string in accordance with a control signal sent from the central processing unit 102.

The character specific information table 107 has information on each of the four sides of the virtual character frame for each character (301 in FIG. 3).
and 3 in the example of 302).
For each area, the difference between the virtual character frame and the actual character,
It is a set of numerical values that express the horizontal shift amount in vertical writing and the vertical shift amount in horizontal writing as a ratio to the size of the virtual character frame.By corresponding to the character code according to certain rules, the specified character They are arranged so that the desired value can be easily obtained from the character code.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the meanings of values included in the character specific information table and a method for calculating character spacing. 301
In the example 302, the four sides around the virtual character frame of the hiragana character "a" are each divided into three areas, and the difference between the virtual character frame and the actual character in each area is obtained. In 301, the upper and lower sides are divided into three parts, and in each area, the difference A1, A2,
Differences between A3 and the lower part of the entity of the letter "a" B1, B2,
I'm looking for B3. In step 302, C1, C2, C3 and D1, D2, D3 are similarly obtained for the left and right sides. In this case, the actual character is not only the physical area of the character that occupies within the virtual character frame, but also
It also includes blank areas that are aesthetically necessary in characters such as . In the case of vertical writing, the values B1, B2, B3 for the immediately preceding character and the values A1, B3 for the next character,
A2 and A3 are referenced, and in the case of horizontal writing, the values D1, D2, D3 of the immediately preceding character and the value C1 of the next character
, C2, and C3 are referenced. Furthermore, as shown in 303, the amount G that is shifted left and right when writing the syllable "u" etc. vertically, and the amount that is shifted up and down when writing the alphabet "y" etc. vertically as shown in 304. By recording H in the character-specific information table, even if there is a character shift in the vertical or horizontal direction between adjacent sides of consecutive characters, it is possible to determine which area mainly opposes which area. The character spacing can be optimally adjusted by determining the character spacing and performing predetermined calculations on the opposing areas.

FIG. 2 is an example of the flow of processing when the block diagram in FIG. 1 is used.

First, in order to output the first character in the character string, the processing program 104 outputs the immediately preceding consecutive characters (
(hereinafter referred to as the immediately preceding character) character information is initialized. Next, the character that you are trying to output this time (
The attributes such as the font, size, deformation, and writing direction of the character (hereinafter referred to as the character) are obtained from the operation panel or from a pre-created file, and the character-specific information table 10
The corresponding character specific information is read from 7.

The shift amount calculating unit 105 determines whether to adjust the left/right shift amount or the vertical shift amount depending on whether the character is in vertical or horizontal writing, and further calculates the value. calculate. Character spacing calculation unit 10
6 is the size of the character and the character specific information table 10 above.
Using the value of 7 and the value of the calculated shift amount, the correspondence between the end side of the immediately preceding character and the side that should face the current character is determined, and then each region of the two sides is evaluated. The values of the character specific information table are added for each of the facing areas, and the minimum character interval between the two characters is calculated by overlapping the following characters by the minimum value. For example, “u” 303 and “y” 304 in Figure 3
When writing the two characters horizontally, the character "y" 304 becomes H
By shifting the opposing areas downward by the value of '' (total width of the virtual character frame) and F3, and calculate the minimum value among these values. If the vertical character shift amount H is small and the opposing areas do not shift, D1 and C1
, D2 and C2, and D3 and C3. Based on the minimum character spacing obtained by this, if the character in question is not the first character in the string, add a certain amount of space between the characters to that value to determine the actual character of the character in the string. Calculate the values that should be evenly spaced.

The processing program 104 develops the character font 108 to a desired size according to the output start position determined above, and outputs the desired character by sending a signal to the output unit 103. When the output of one character is completed, the character unique information of the current character is set as the character unique information of the immediately preceding character in preparation for calculating the spacing of the next succeeding character.

[0019] The above describes the output of one character, but it is necessary to judge whether or not this character is the last character in the string, and if there is a subsequent character, perform the same procedure for the next character. Execute processing. The above process is repeated for all characters in the character string to be printed, resulting in an output result in which the font pattern of each character is approximately equally spaced at the closest point, as shown in 401 in Figure 4. can be obtained. Comparing with the output example shown at 402 in Figure 4 in which the virtual character frames are arranged at equal intervals, if they are arranged at equal intervals, there will be parts where the character spacing is too empty, such as between "pa" and "-". , there are parts that are too crowded, such as between "-" and "g", but with the character spacing adjustment method of the present invention, natural character spacing is obtained because the characters are arranged like 401. It is something that can be done.

In the above embodiment, the character position is calculated for each character, and the character font 108 is output to the output unit 10.
3 to obtain the output, but it is not limited to this. For example, by not developing and outputting the character font, but only calculating the total length and area required in the direction of the character string when actually output, it is possible to match the overall size of the desired character string. This can also be applied to changing individual character sizes and character spacing.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the virtual character frame is divided into three areas to express the shape of the outer periphery of each character.
It is not limited to this. The more the number of divisions is increased, the more accurately the character spacing is equalized, but on the other hand, the character-specific information table becomes larger, which takes up more space on the storage device, and the access time required to refer to the character-specific information table increases. It will take a while. The character spacing adjustment method of the present invention is as follows:
By taking into consideration the processing power of the central processing unit 102, the capacity of the storage device, the access speed, etc., and setting the number of divisions of the virtual character frame optimally, it is possible to convert a low-speed, small-capacity device into a high-speed, large-capacity device. It can also be applied to

[0022]

As explained above, according to the character spacing adjustment method of the present invention, the device automatically calculates and outputs the optimal spacing between each character, so the user can sequentially adjust the spacing between each character. Since it is no longer necessary to perform adjustment operations, operability is significantly improved. In addition, since the process is performed without depending on the user's experience or intuition, it is possible to always obtain uniform results without depending on the user's skill.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing example of a processing program 104.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the meanings of values in a character specific information table 107.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of outputting a character font using the method of the present invention and regular spacing.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Operation unit 102 Central processing unit 103 Output unit 104 Processing program 105 Shift amount calculation unit 106 Character spacing calculation unit 107 Character specific information table 108 Character font 301 An example of dividing the upper and lower sides of a virtual character frame into three areas is shown. Figure 302 Figure 302 shows an example of dividing the left and right sides of a virtual character frame into three areas Figure 303 shows an example of character shifting in the horizontal direction and a method for calculating character spacing Figure 304 shows an example of character shifting in the vertical direction and a method for calculating character spacing Figure 401 shows an example of outputting an outline font according to the method of the present invention 402 an example of outputting an outline font with equal spacing

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] When outputting a string of Japanese characters, alphanumeric characters, symbols, and figures (hereinafter referred to as a character string) to an output device using a character font, the effective dimensions of the characters, symbols, etc. This is a processing method for optimally controlling the character spacing by considering the shape of the adjacent surfaces of two characters, and it uses an outer frame (hereinafter referred to as a virtual character frame) to define the shape of each character font. When each of the four sides is divided into multiple areas, the difference between the virtual character frame and the actual character in each area, and the shift amount in the horizontal direction in vertical writing and in the vertical direction in horizontal writing, are stored in a character-specific information table. By storing it in a storage device as a character string, the shape of the side where the character is adjacent to other characters is expressed numerically. A character spacing adjustment method characterized by obtaining character spacing and a unique shift amount for each character.