JPH04267424A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily control duplication order when windows are duplicated in a system provided with a multi-window display function. CONSTITUTION:A duplication control program controlling the duplication order of duplicated windows stores and displays the titles of all the displayed windows (excluding that of itself) as a list 35 in the order of duplication. The duplication order of the duplicated windows is as shown in the order of arrangement of the titles within the list 35. Accordingly, by operating the list, the order of the windows can be easily re-arranged. Furthermore, an optional window can be arranged at the head of the windows without changing the order of the other duplicated windows.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-window system used in personal computers, workstations, etc., for example.

0002

[Prior Art] In a conventional multi-window system,
When you want to select one of multiple windows displayed in an overlapping state for processing, you must first activate the target window. Therefore, it specifies the target window and gives a command to make it active. In reality, by placing the mouse cursor on a part of the target window and clicking the mouse button, you can display the target window on top so that part of the window is not hidden by other windows. . At that time, the window system activates the window and accepts input from the user. The user can then perform various input processes on that window.

On the other hand, when the target window is displayed at the top, the window that was previously displayed at the top and active is redisplayed as a second window hidden behind the top window. Becomes inactive.

[0004] When such operations by the user are repeated, newly opened windows are stacked on top of each other. This is a method for controlling overlapping of multiple windows in a general window system.

[0005]

In the conventional example described above, for example, when a higher-level window covers all the windows below it, it is troublesome to handle the hidden windows. First, you cannot tell by looking at the screen that a hidden window is being displayed (that is, a process using the window is being started). If you want to see everything, you have to close the top windows one by one and reopen them, or move them one by one to make sure they don't overlap.

[0006] In addition, in a normal window system, the upper window covers the window below it, so the only problem is the relationship between the top window and other windows, but by making the window transparent, The problem is the vertical relationship of all windows. Making a window transparent means that an image displayed in the window below can be displayed through a portion of the window that is designated as ``transparent''. This transparency allows images drawn in multiple windows to be superimposed and combined. At this time, for example, the image drawn as the background must be at the bottom and cannot be moved to any other location.

[0007] In this way, when overlapping is performed while taking into account the order of all windows, it is very troublesome to manipulate (change images, etc.) the windows located below. Even if it is transparent, the active window is limited to the topmost one, so when you first activate the window you want to operate, it becomes the topmost window. When returning to the original position after completing an operation, you must activate not only the target window but all windows above the target window in order from the bottom.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and even when a plurality of windows are displayed overlapping each other, the titles and overlapping order of the displayed windows can be easily grasped and changed. The purpose is to provide a means.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. An image processing device having a function of displaying a plurality of windows in an overlapping manner, comprising an ordering means for ordering the plurality of windows being displayed, and controlling the windows to be displayed in the order assigned by the ordering means. and control means.

0010

[Operation] With the above configuration, when a plurality of windows are displayed simultaneously, the order in which the windows are stacked is the order set by the ordering means.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a personal computer (PC) implementing the present invention. 1 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire system. 2
3 is a CRT display for displaying windows, 3 is a keyboard for inputting character strings, 4 is a mouse as a pointing device, and 5 is a memory. The memory 5 includes a read-only memory (ROM) 6 that contains a part of the operating system (OS) that controls the input and output of the entire system, character fonts for display, and an area or work area for loading and executing programs. The video RAM (VRAM) 8 stores display image data to be displayed on the CRT display 2. 9 is an external storage device in which a large amount of software and data are stored. 10 is a printer for recording characters and images on paper.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram when the PC of the system shown in FIG. 1 displays four drawing program windows overlapping each other.
This is a memory map of RAM7. 20 is an OS that controls input and output of the entire PC. Reference numerals 21, 22, 23, and 24 are drawing programs d, c, b, and a having the same function, and on the CRT display 2, four windows of the drawing programs are displayed, each displaying a different image. 25 is an overlap control program that controls the overlap of displayed windows. Specific functions include activating a specific window and displaying it at the top according to a user's instruction, restoring the overlapping order after that, and changing the overlapping order. 26 is program 20
・This is the work area of 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an overlapping control method in a conventional window system. Figure 3(a)
The four windows are windows a, b, c, and from the top.
d, the user presses the mouse cursor 3
I am about to click the mouse button to align 0 with part of the third window c from the top. FIG. 3(b) shows the state immediately after the user clicks the mouse button in the state of FIG. 3(a). Window C is now at the top and is active. After performing some processing on window c, the user wants to return to the overlapping order shown in FIG. 3(a), so he places the mouse cursor 30 on a part of window a and tries to click it. However, if you click here, Figure 3
In the display state shown in FIG. 3(c), window a is displayed at the top and becomes active, but the windows below it are in the order of c, b, and d, and the display state in FIG. 3(a) is It shows that it won't come back.

FIG. 4 shows FIGS. 3(a) to 3(b), FIG.
This is a simple diagram showing the transition of the overlapping order of windows as shown in FIG. This indicates that when a certain window is selected, that window always moves to the first position, and the window that was previously the first window moves to the second position. In other words, it is a concept that always builds up.

Using this concept, to return from the state of FIG. 3(b) to the state of FIG. 3(a), the user first selects window d, then selects window c, then b, then a. You have to make choices one after another.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a window of the duplication control program 25, which is an embodiment of the present invention. 30 is the mouse cursor, 31 is the screen frame, 32 is the window title,
33 is an end mark. 35 is a list of titles of other windows, arranged in the order desired by the user. 34 is a title highlighted in this list, indicating that the window with this title is located at the top and is in an active state. The order of duplication can only be determined by duplicating windows, but it is possible to order them administratively even if the windows are separated from each other and displayed without any duplication. Therefore, a single duplication control program can manage even if the items are displayed overlappingly in multiple locations. In the example of FIG. 9, there are three overlaps, and for example, it is meaningless to order windows a and window e, but it is possible to uniquely order windows a, b, c, d, and e.

36, 37, 38, and 39 are duplicate windows of the drawing program, 36 is the window with the title "Balloon," 37 is the window with "People," 38 is the window with "Background picture 1," and 39 is the window with the title "Speech bubble." This is the window for "Background Picture 2". In the overlap control window 32, when the user places the mouse cursor 30 on the end mark 33 and clicks the mouse button (selects "end"), the overlap control program 25 ends and the window 32 closes. Furthermore, when the user selects one of the titles in the title list 35, the highlighted title becomes standard display, and at the same time, the selected title is displayed in reverse video. However, the display order of the titles does not change. The window display with the newly highlighted title becomes the top level and becomes active. Figure 6
shows the state immediately after "background image 1" is selected from the title list 35 of the overlap control window 32 in FIG. Figure 6
In order to return to the state shown in FIG. 5 from the state shown in FIG. The duplication control software 25 performs control to arrange the windows below the topmost window, that is, the window of the highlighted title, in the display order of the title list. Therefore, simply selecting the "Balloon" title in FIG. 6 returns to the state shown in FIG. 5. As explained in Fig. 3, in the conventional window system, the "speech bubble" window is selected in the state shown in Fig. 6 (the state in which the overlap control window 32 is removed from Fig. 6 because overlap control is not used) and placed at the top. When brought in, the second window becomes the "background picture 1" window and does not return to the window stacking order in FIG. 5.

The overlap control window 32 also has a function to change the order of overlapping windows. for example,
In the state shown in FIG. 5, move the mouse cursor 30 to "Background picture 2" in the title list 35 and drag it to the second "Person" position from the top. “Picture 2” / “People” / “Background painting 1
” in order. In other words, the selected title has been moved and inserted into the desired position in the title list. In this case, the inverted display becomes the title of "background picture 2" which has been selected and moved. At the same time, the stacking order of the window display changes, and the topmost window becomes "Background Image 2" and its process becomes active, and the following windows display "Balloons" and "Balloons" according to the display order of the title list 35 of the overlap control window 32. "People" and "Background Picture 1" are displayed.

The overlap control program 25 is composed of a function for displaying a specific window at the top, a function for activating a specific window, a function for moving a specific window within an overlap of windows, etc. . These functions are typically included in the window system's development tools.

[0021] Furthermore, when the user gives an execution instruction by clicking a mouse button in line with the overlap control window 32, the overlap control program 25 is only active for a very short period of time when it is executed in accordance with the instruction. And most of the time it remains inactive. During that time, the top of the other windows in the overlap remains active.

As described above, even when operating windows that overlap and are hidden below, it is possible to easily maintain the overlapping order of display windows constant. It is also possible to easily change the overlapping order, which should be kept constant.

<Explanation of Flowchart> Next, the operation of the duplication control program 25 will be explained according to the flowchart.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the duplication control program 25. When the redundant control program is started, first open the redundant control window (S1)
. A list of window titles displayed on the screen is displayed in the opened window (S2). However, the redundant control itself is excluded. At this time, the order in which they are displayed corresponds to the order in which they overlap when windows overlap. Of course, not all windows are duplicated, but
In this embodiment, there is a rule that the active window is displayed at the top, so the order in which each window was activated last overlaps. To explain using Fig. 10, the windows p, q, r, s, t are p-q-r-p-s.
-rt is activated in the order, and the result is displayed as shown in (b). From the display in (b), window t
All I know is that is above p, r, s, but if you follow the order of activation, t-r from above as in (a)
It can be seen that the order is -s-p-q. Step S
The title ordering performed in step 2 is determined based on the "activated order" stored in the display order memory 27 in the work area 26. After displaying the titles of all windows, the topmost window is made active (S3). Up to this point, the process of opening the overlap control window is completed. In step S4, the process waits for some command to be input to the activated redundant control process. When the overlap control window is selected, this window becomes a state where it can accept input, that is, becomes an active state (S5). Since the input to the duplicate control window is of course a selection from a menu, we test what the selected command is. First, "end" is tested (S6). If termination is instructed, the topmost window displayed in the list of titles is made active (S8), the overlap control window is closed, and the process is terminated (S9). If there is no instruction to end, processing according to the instruction is performed (S7) and the process returns to step S3 to form a loop. As you can see from this flow, redundant control becomes inactive each time one instruction is executed.

Step S7 is explained in more detail in FIG. 7-2. As you can see from the flow, overlap control provides two functions. One is to make the specified window the top level only while the overlap control is activated, and the other is to rearrange the display order of the windows. Changing the display order of windows is to change the order stored in the display order memory 27. In steps S10 and S11, it is determined which one of these has been instructed. If any one from the list of titles 35 is specified, this is an instruction to make the window with the specified title the topmost one, and that title is displayed in reverse video (S13).
. At this time, the data identifying this title is stored in the priority memory 28.
Remember it. From then on, while the duplication control program is running,
The window displayed at the top is determined according to the contents of the priority memory 28. If one of the titles is designated and dragged to another position in the list, it is determined that the title is to be rearranged (S11), and the designated title is moved to the designated position and displayed in reverse video (S12). Of course priority memory 2
Rewrite the contents of 8 to match the reversed title. If neither is the instruction, there is nothing to be done. Step S
Once the processing in S12 and S13 is completed, the rest is the same. First, the window whose title is stored in the priority memory 28 (currently highlighted) is displayed at the top of the stack (S14), and the windows below it are displayed in the order in which they are displayed in the list 35. (S15). This means that one instruction has been processed, the duplication control becomes inactive, and step S7 ends (S16).

In the above explanation, the process in step S15, that is, the process of stacking windows in the order of the list of titles, is a very characteristic process in this embodiment, and will therefore be described in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of step S15 in FIG. 7-2. The window display in step S15 is performed based on the order stored in the display order memory 27. This flowchart uses a function to display a specific window at the top and a function to make a specific window active, based on the specification that the only way to change the stacking order of windows is to make the window the topmost. has been written. If a function could be used to move any window in any order, the flowchart of FIG. 8 would naturally have a different form.

First, variables m and n are provided in the work area 26. As an initial value, m is the number of titles in the list 35 (i.e., the number of titles stored in the display order memory 27), and n is the title 34 designated to be displayed at the top (i.e., stored in the priority memory 28). Set the position of the displayed title (S3
0). Next, a test is made to see if there is a displayed window (S31). If not (NO), the process ends without doing anything, and if it is (YES), the process of step S32 is performed. As a preprocess for activating windows one after another, the overlapping display window is made inactive (S32). After doing this, the window with the mth title in the list 35 is first started, but since the nth window must be displayed at the top, if m=n, the process is postponed (S33). If m<>n, the window with the mth title (referred to as the mth window) is made active, and the other windows are made inactive (S34). The mth window is now displayed at the top. Once one window has been processed, the next (m-1)th window is processed (S35). If (m-1) becomes 0, it means that all windows except the n-th window have been displayed in order. Therefore, if m>0, the next window is displayed, and if m=0, the topmost window is displayed (S36). Finally, activate the nth window that should be displayed at the top and make the others inactive (S3
7) When all windows have been rearranged, return the overlap control window to active (S38) and proceed to step S.
End 15.

<Effects Unique to this Embodiment> In the conventional window system, it was not possible to make the lower window the topmost window unless a part of the lower window was visible. Therefore, in order to bring up a window that is completely covered by the upper window and cannot be seen at all, it is necessary to start by shifting the position of the upper window. However, in the embodiment described above, the vertical order of the displayed windows can be changed simply by manipulating the title in the duplicate window 32.

For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples in which four drawing windows are overlapped with each other with slight shifts. This 4
Even if two windows have exactly the same size and position and overlap four times, and the first window is visible but the second and subsequent windows are not, the window positions remain the same and the method of this embodiment is applied. The overlap order can be changed by operating the overlap control window 32.

[Other Embodiments] The overlap control program of the above-mentioned embodiment includes a function to place a specific window on top, a function to restore the order of overlaps, and a function to partially change the order of overlaps. Features were included. However, the functions are not limited to overlapping control, and for example, functions such as a function to terminate and close a window, a function to change the size of the window, a function to shift the display position of the window, etc. may be added. In this way, there is no need to operate the window display itself, and the display state of the window can be controlled simply by operating the overlap control window.

The present invention may be applied to a system consisting of a plurality of devices, or to a device consisting of one device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to cases where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or device.

[0033]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, even when a plurality of windows are displayed overlapping each other, the image processing device according to the present invention changes the title and overlapping order of the displayed windows to the actual window display. It can provide a means to easily understand and change without having to read the information.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a personal computer implementing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a memory map of RAM.

FIG. 3 is part 1 of an explanatory diagram of window overlap.

FIG. 4 is a second diagram illustrating window overlap.

FIG. 5 is part 1 of an explanatory diagram of an overlap control window.

FIG. 6 is part 2 of an explanatory diagram of an overlap control window.

[Figure 7-1],

FIG. 7-2 is part 1 of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the duplication control software.

FIG. 8 is part 2 of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the duplication control software.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a window display with multiple overlapping locations.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating ordering of non-overlapping windows.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... CPU 2... CRT display 3... Keyboard 4... Mouse 5... Memory 6... ROM 7... RAM 8... VRAM 9... External storage device 10... Printer 20... OS 21, 22, 23, 24... Drawing program 25... Duplicate control Program 26...Work area 30...Mouse cursor 31...Screen frame 32...Duplicate control window 33...End mark 34...One of the highlighted title lists 35...Standard display title list 36..."Balloon" window 37...""People" window 38..."Background picture 1" window 39..."Background picture 2" window

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image processing device having a function of displaying a plurality of windows in an overlapping manner, comprising an ordering means for ordering the plurality of windows being displayed, and an ordering means for displaying the windows in the order assigned by the ordering means. An image processing apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling display. 2. Without following the order by the ordering means,
2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for instructing to display a specific window at the top of a group of windows, and wherein said control means controls the display of the window in accordance with said instruction means.