JPH06282605A - Layout device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a layout device capable of easily allocating data such as photographs, sentences and the design of a space, etc., to the space at the time of producing the space of a catalog. CONSTITUTION:This layout device is provided with a storage device 2 for indicating the arrangement positions of the photographs, the sentences and the design to be laid out to the space by the coordinates of a prescribed coordinate system and storing a lot of arrangement patterns provided with the coordinates as data bases 2a, 2b and 2c and a processor 6 for dividing a space area into plural data areas corresponding to merchandise to be printed on the space. Also, the processor 6 is provided with a function for retrieving the data bases 2a, 2b and 2c, the function for setting layout areas for laying out the photographs, the sentences and the design in the respective data areas based on the retrieved arrangement patterns and the function for laying out the photographs, the sentences and the design to the layout areas as the data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, when producing a page of a catalog, a leaflet, etc. on which a large number of products, shops, etc. are printed on a single page, the arrangement of photographs and texts of the articles, etc. to be posted on the page and the page Layout device that determines the design of

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, when producing books such as catalogs and magazines, leaflets, etc., the layout and design of these papers may be performed on the screen of a computer display. The layout work on the paper surface on the screen is as follows, for example.

First, a description of a product or the like (sometimes referred to as a specification including the product performance, price, etc.) and articles, photographs, and the like to be published on the paper are stored in advance in a computer as character data or image data. Input to storage device. Next, display the paper surface area that constitutes the paper surface on the screen of the computer display, and in order to post multiple character data and image data in this paper surface area, correspond to the products posted on the paper surface in the paper surface area Divide into multiple data areas that have been created (create a configuration block).

Then, the arrangement positions of the image data and the character data are determined in each of the data areas (thumbnail creation). Then, by allocating the image data and the character data called from the storage device to the determined arrangement positions, the layout on the paper surface is performed.

[0007] Further, not only the layout of the image data and the character data is laid out on the paper surface to create the paper surface, but also when the photograph of the image data is a cut-out photograph cut out along the outer periphery of the product, There are design works such as coloring the back, inserting a ruled line at the boundary between the data of each product, and giving the same color to the back of a plurality of image data and character data. Then, based on the created paper, a hard copy is output or a film for printing is created and printed in the printing process (first school creation).

The layout work and the design work by such a computer are mainly carried out by using the desk top publishing (DTP) function of the computer. Data such as images, characters, and ruled lines used in such catalog design work is generically referred to as material data in this specification. In addition, the layout of a catalog such as mail order is an important item that affects the sales volume of the products listed in the catalog.

[0007]

By the way, as described above, in the layout work, the paper area is divided into a plurality of data areas, and the image data and the character data are individually arranged in each divided data area. The work is performed in consideration of the above, and although it is labor-saving by using a computer, it is an extremely laborious work.

Further, in the above-mentioned catalog layout work, at a stage in the middle of the work or at the end of the work, there are problems in layout and design, a change in the importance of the product to be posted, a change in the product to be posted, etc. Therefore, the number of products to be posted on the page may be increased, or the size of the region of some of the products to be posted may be changed. In such a case, the number of areas included in the page and the size of a part of the areas are changed, and the size and position of the image data and the character data assigned to the area whose size is changed are changed. There is a need.

When the number of areas is increased or the size of a part of the areas is changed, the size of most of the areas included in the page is individually changed in consideration of the balance of the entire page. It is likely that there will be a need. Then, when the size of most of the areas included in the page is changed, the allocation of the image data and the character data included in the area whose size has been changed as described above is redone. Further, if the number of areas or the size of areas is changed, it is necessary to change the page design. Therefore, when the size of some areas is changed or the number of areas is changed, it is necessary to perform a work similar to re-doing the layout work from the beginning.

Further, as described above, the layout work is time-consuming, and even a slight change in the layout may take time to restart the layout from the beginning. It takes a lot of time to create a layout of multiple patterns and select the optimal layout from among those in the catalog layout work, or change the layout through trial and error to determine the optimal layout. It was difficult because it required time and effort.

Therefore, it is necessary for the designer to manually create a rough showing a finish image on the paper and perform layout work along the rough so that the data area is not changed after completion of the first school. there were. That is, in the layout work, it is necessary to create a rough work by hand, and it is necessary to perform layout so that the size and the number of data areas are not changed later. Unless you are an experienced designer who created the catalog page, it was difficult to create the catalog page as you intended.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a layout apparatus which can easily perform an optimum layout on a paper by simplifying the layout work on the paper of a catalog. Is to provide.

[0013]

A layout device of the present invention, when producing a paper surface of a catalog, a leaflet or the like, has a plurality of paper surface regions constituting the paper surface corresponding to products etc. to be published on the paper surface. Dividing into data areas, and allocating material data such as image data and character data related to the product etc., or design data such as design data on paper such as colors, patterns and ruled lines to the divided data areas, Display means a for displaying an image of the paper area or the like
A dividing means b for dividing the paper surface area into a plurality of data areas; and an area for allocating the material data such as image data, character data, design data, etc. in the data area as an allocation area. A storage unit d for storing a layout pattern of a plurality of types of allocation areas defined by the coordinates as coordinates in a predetermined coordinate system as a database c, and an arbitrary layout pattern from the database stored in the storage unit d. Selection means e for selecting, an area setting means f for setting an allocation area in each data area based on the coordinates of the arrangement pattern selected by the selection means e, and the area setting means f Data allocation means g for allocating the material data to each allocation area is provided. Was the title of the resolution means.

Further, the layout device of the present invention has a correction means h for correcting the division of the paper surface area, and the area setting means f is an allocation area to the data area of the paper surface area corrected by the correction means h. Was set as the means for solving the above problems.

[0015]

According to the above construction, the arrangement pattern of the allocation area for allocating the image data, the character data and the design data is stored in the storage means d as the database c in the data area formed by dividing the paper surface area. At the same time, by selecting an arrangement pattern from the database c, an allocation area is set in each data area by the area setting means f based on the coordinates indicating the position of the allocation area included in the arrangement pattern, and data is set in the set allocation area. Since each data is allocated by the allocating means g, the layout and design of the paper surface can be performed only by determining the division position of the paper surface area and selecting the arrangement pattern of each data from the database c.

Further, since the correction means h for correcting the position of the data area in the paper surface area and the like are provided, and the area setting means f resets the allocation area to the corrected data area, the paper surface area is corrected. In the work, it is not necessary to reset the allocation position of each data in each data area. Although the present invention has been described with reference numerals shown in FIG. 1 in the above-mentioned “means for solving problems” and “action”, the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. Is.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the layout apparatus of this embodiment, and FIGS. 3 to 13 show screens of a display 1 described later for explaining a layout method by the layout apparatus of this embodiment. It is a drawing shown.

The layout device of this embodiment allocates image data and character data to the surface of a catalog or leaflet in which photographs and explanations of a large number of products are printed on one sheet of paper, and at the same time, the background of the sheet is It is designed to add colors and ruled lines.

Then, the layout device actually allocates image data and character data to the paper surface area,
In advance, divide the paper surface area into a large number by dividing lines (create a layout block), set an area for inserting a title in the paper surface area, and take a photograph of the product allocated in one data area. Determine the positional relationship with the specifications,
In each data area, set the area (image area) to which the photo is to be allocated and the area (character area) to which the spec is to be allocated (create thumbnails), and then allocate the background color or pattern in each data area, or the image area. Or draw a ruled line to delimit the character area, and assign actual photo or text data or dummy data to each image area or character area (rough, creating the first school).

That is, the layout apparatus of this embodiment automatically creates a rough showing the finish image of the paper surface of the catalog which has been manually done up to now by simply giving a simple instruction, and the rough is created. By outputting as a printing film or the like, it can be used as it is as the first school on the page of the catalog.

As shown in FIG. 2, the layout device of this embodiment displays the layout result of the paper surface area, the dividing line, the data area, the image area, the character area, and the like, and displays the same image as the actual paper surface. A display (CRT) that serves as a display means for displaying characters, ruled lines, and colors in the paper surface area
1 and the layout result, data of products to be printed on paper, and the like, and a spec pattern database 2a and a title pattern database 2b described later.
And a storage device 2 serving as a storage means such as the design pattern database 2c, an input means for inputting characters and numerical values during layout work, and a keyboard 3 serving as an instruction means for giving an instruction to the layout device during layout work.
A mouse 4 as an instruction means for instructing coordinates on the screen of the display 1 during the layout work and selecting an instruction given to the layout device from the menu screen on the display 1, and an output for hard-copying the layout result and the like. It comprises a printer 5 as means and an arithmetic processing unit 6 for performing arithmetic operations relating to layout work.

The display 1, the keyboard 3, the mouse 4, the printer 5, etc. are used in a computer system such as a well-known workstation. Also,
The printer 5 also includes a film output device or the like that is an original plate for printing. The storage device 1 stores in advance, as a spec pattern database 2a, a plurality of arrangement patterns of relative positions between a photograph on paper and a spec for explaining the photograph, that is, relative positions of an image area and a character area. ing. The layout pattern of the relative position is a pattern in which the character region is arranged on the right side of the image region, a pattern in which the character region is arranged below the image region, or the like.

Further, the actual data of the arrangement pattern of the character area and the image area in the database 2a is such that the coordinates of the lower left vertex of this area are (0, 0) in an arbitrary rectangular area, and An orthogonal coordinate system in which the coordinates of the vertices are (1, 1) is provided, and in this coordinate system, the image area and the character area are assumed to be rectangular, and the relative positions of the image area and the character area are set to the lower left of each. It is represented by the coordinates of the vertex of and the coordinates of the upper right vertex.

Therefore, as will be described later, the coordinates of the lower left vertex of the data area divided by the arithmetic processing unit 6 are (0,
0), and an orthogonal coordinate system in which the coordinates of the upper right vertex are (1, 1) are provided, and the database 2 is used in this coordinate system.
The image area and the character area are allocated to the data area by providing a rectangular area having vertices at the positions corresponding to the coordinate values of the two vertices of the image area and the character area in the arrangement pattern in a. You can set the area for.

That is, by providing an orthogonal coordinate system in the data area, in which the coordinates of the vertices of the data area have the same values as the coordinates of the vertices of the rectangular area, regardless of the size of the data area. In addition, the vertical and horizontal lengths of the arbitrary rectangular area and the vertical and horizontal lengths of the data area can be treated as the same, and the arrangement pattern in the database 2a can be used as the data area regardless of the size of the data area. It can be assigned.

The database 2a of the relative positions of the image area and the character area stores the direction of the character area with respect to the image area (for example, up, down, left, and right), the distance between the character area and the image area, (for example, the character area and the image area). Whether there is a gap between them and whether they overlap, etc.), the processing unit 6
You can search from.

Further, in the storage device 2, a title pattern database 2b in which insertion positions of title allocation areas (title areas) on the paper area are input in a large number of patterns is stored in advance.

For example, the pattern is a pattern in which the title area is arranged at the upper right of the paper surface area, a pattern in the center of the paper surface area, or the like, and the pattern includes a vertical writing pattern and a horizontal writing pattern. There is. The position of the title area is stored in the storage device as the coordinates of the coordinate system provided in the paper area. Specifically, in the coordinate system in which the position of the title area is (0, 0) at the coordinates of the lower left vertex of the paper area and the coordinates of the upper right vertex is (1, 1), the position of the rectangular title area is The coordinates are stored in the storage device 2 as the coordinates of two facing vertices.

Database 2b of this title pattern
Is the insertion position (upper, lower, left, and right) in the paper area 10, the size of characters used in the title, the number of characters in the title, the name of the ordering source, and instructions such as vertical writing or horizontal writing.
You can search from.

In addition, in the storage device 1, the background color of each area of the paper surface, the ruled line surrounding the image area, the ruled line drawn below the image area and the character area, and the like are registered in various patterns. The created design pattern database 2c is stored. In addition, these design patterns are basically allocated to the data area (including the title area), each image area and character area in the data area,
For example, when allocating an irregular-shaped image such as a cutout photograph to the rectangular image area, a data area including the image area or the image area is provided with a specific color or pattern color area as a background of the photograph, or , Surrounding the image area with a ruled line, or drawing a ruled line below the character area.

The color area data in the design pattern data is a coordinate system in which the coordinates of the lower left vertex of the area to which the design pattern is assigned are (0, 0) and the coordinates of the upper right vertex are (1, 1). It is composed of position data represented by coordinates and a code number for specifying the type of color or pattern of the color area.

For example, the data of the design pattern when colors are assigned to the entire image area in the data area is composed of coordinates (0, 0) (1, 1) and a code number for designating a specific color.

As described above, the positions of the color areas and the ruled lines stored in the design pattern database 2a of the storage device 2 are, in an arbitrary rectangular area, the coordinates of two opposite vertices of this area. A coordinate system fixed to the value is provided, and it is represented as the coordinate of this coordinate system. Further, in the design pattern, it is determined whether the rectangular area corresponds to the data area, the image area, or the character area, and one design pattern is assigned to each area. It may have coordinates in a coordinate system of a plurality of corresponding areas.

Note that general ruled line data includes coordinates of two end points at both ends of the ruled line, ruled line thickness, and ruled line color data. In addition, these design patterns include
Various conditions are set, for example, when a ruled line is drawn below the character area, no ruled line is provided in the character area at the bottom of the paper area, or multiple characters are added to one data area. When inserting a region, a ruled line is not drawn below the character region. That is, the condition is to change the position of the ruled line, the position of the color region, the presence / absence of the ruled line, and the presence / absence of the color region depending on the arrangement of each region where the ruled line and the color region are provided.

Further, in the design pattern, each image area or character area is arranged in a row horizontally, or each data area is equally divided, and the image area and character area inside each data area are divided. In the case where the arrangement positions are the same, there is an area in which a solid color is applied between the image areas or a ruled line is provided. In such a case, basically, the color area data and the ruled line data are the same as those in the above case,
The end point of each ruled line and the end of the color area reach the dividing line that divides the data area of the lowermost layer, and the color area and the ruled line of the adjacent lowermost data areas are connected. There is.

Even in such a design pattern, the end points of the ruled lines are different from each other under various conditions, for example, when there is no data area adjacent to the data area to which the design is allocated or when the data area of the lowermost layer is not arranged in a line. Some of them have conditions such as being placed before the dividing line. Database 2c consisting of design patterns as described above
Are classified according to the colors and patterns used in each design pattern, the position of basic ruled lines, etc., and these can be searched as search items.

As described above, the arithmetic processing unit 6 performs arithmetic processing relating to the layout work, and basically has the following three functions. First,
A division line that can extend vertically and horizontally is displayed in the paper surface area on the screen of the display 1 by an instruction such as input from the mouse 4 or the keyboard 3, and a rectangular shape surrounded by the outer boundary of the paper surface area and the division line is displayed. The area is used as a data area, and it has a function of storing the position of the dividing line and the position of the data area on the paper surface area in the storage device 2 (configuration table generation function 6a).

Secondly, it has a function of setting a title area in the paper area and an area for allocating character data and image data in each data area (thumbnail creating function 6b).

Thirdly, a design pattern is searched from the design pattern database 2c stored in the storage device 2 by an instruction such as input from the mouse 4 or the keyboard 3, and this is searched for in the data area in the paper surface area or these data. It has a function of allocating to the image area and the character area within the area, and also allocating the image data and the character data to the image area and the character area (rough, initial school creation function).

Next, the above-mentioned component layout creating function 6a will be described. When providing the dividing line and the data area in the paper surface area, the arithmetic processing unit 6 divides the paper surface area by the dividing line to provide a plurality of first data areas, and the dividing line in the first data area. To provide a second data area, a function of hierarchically repeatedly providing a lower data area in the upper data area is provided.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 determines the position of each dividing line and the position of the data area within the area one layer above the dividing line and the data area, that is, within the paper surface area in the first data area. In the second data area, the coordinates are represented by the Cartesian coordinate system provided in the first data area.

In the coordinate system, for example, the coordinates of the lower left apex of the rectangular area in which the coordinate system is to be provided are (0,
When the area is expanded, reduced, or moved by fixing the coordinates of the upper right vertex to (1, 1), the coordinate system is also expanded, reduced, or moved. Therefore, the dividing line inside the area and the coordinates of the data area are
It is a relative position where the area is enlarged, reduced, or moved as the area is enlarged, reduced, or moved.

In the present embodiment, the dividing lines are drawn vertically and horizontally, that is, the lines are parallel to the X-axis or the Y-axis in the Cartesian coordinate system, so that the regions can be enlarged, reduced, or moved. The dividing position of the dividing line represented by the coordinate system is represented by the X coordinate or the Y coordinate of the point included in the dividing line.

In addition, the relative position of the data area in the coordinate system is defined by the two opposite vertices of the data area in the coordinate system, for example, the coordinates of the lower left vertex and the upper right vertex of the data area. It is represented by coordinates and. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 6 determines the absolute position of the data area and the dividing line in the paper surface area, that is,
When displaying the data area and the dividing line on the paper surface area, the actual positions of the data area and the dividing line on the paper surface area are handled as follows.

That is, the absolute positions of the data area and the dividing line in the paper area are the coordinates indicating the relative position of the data area and the dividing line, and the data areas hierarchically provided above the data area and the dividing line. Is represented as a chain of the coordinates indicating the relative position of each of the. For example, the chain of coordinates indicating the absolute position is (a) which is the coordinate indicating the relative position of the dividing line provided in the second data area, and (b) is the coordinate indicating the relative position of the second data area. ) And the coordinates indicating the relative position of the first data area including the second data area are (c), the absolute position of the dividing line in the paper area is (c) (b) (a). It is what

This chain of coordinates indicates the relative position of the first data area by the coordinate system indicating the relative position of the first data area, that is, the coordinate system provided on the paper surface area. By limiting the position within the first coordinate system and indicating the relative position of the second data region by the coordinate system provided in the first data region, the dividing line can be located inside the first data region. The position of the dividing line in the paper surface area can be specified by further limiting the inside of the second data area and indicating the relative position of the dividing line by the coordinate system provided in the second data area. ing.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 moves the dividing line provided in the paper surface area, inserts a new dividing line, and exchanges the positions of two data areas arranged at different positions. It has a correction function of erasing the data area, moving the position of the data area, and reducing / enlarging the data area.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 not only indicates the position of the dividing line with the mouse 4 or the like when drawing the dividing line in the area, but also the dividing pattern for each dividing number stored in the storage device in advance. , Has a function of providing a dividing line so as to search by inputting the number of divisions from the keyboard 3 and divide an area in accordance with this division pattern. Also,
The arithmetic processing means 6 receives the number of vertical and horizontal divisions of the area to be divided, calculates the position of a dividing line that can divide the area to be divided evenly by the division number, and divides the area evenly. have. The number of division patterns for one division number does not have to be one, and one division pattern may be selected from a plurality of division patterns corresponding to the number of divisions.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 treats the lowermost data area in which no dividing line is provided in the area as an area for actually allocating the product data, and during the layout operation, the lowermost data area is processed. Is displayed on the display 1 screen as the number of product points, and the storage device stores the number of product points as the number of product points to be published in the paper space.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 stores the data such as the product name and code number of the product to be posted on the paper stored in the storage device in advance by the instruction from the mouse 4 or the keyboard 3 in each data area of the lowermost layer. It is designed to be assigned to. Then, the data such as the product name assigned to the lowermost data area is displayed on the screen of the display 1.
The data is displayed in the data area and is stored in the storage device as the data of the data area in the lowermost layer.

Next, the thumbnail creating function 6b of the arithmetic processing unit 6 will be described. The arithmetic processing unit 6 retrieves the pattern of the relative position from the database 2a of the relative position of the character region and the image region which is stored in the storage unit 2 in advance, and allocates this to the data region of each lowest layer in the paper surface region. Have a function. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 6 has a function of allocating the same pattern to a plurality of paper surface areas or all the lowest data areas in one paper surface area. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 has a function of allocating the same pattern in all the data areas of the lowermost layer under the specific data area in the paper surface area. Further, the arithmetic processing device has a function of allocating different patterns to the respective data areas of the lowest layer.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 has a function of changing all the patterns assigned to a plurality of paper surface areas or all the data areas of the lowest layer in one paper surface area to the same pattern. Further, the arithmetic processing unit has a function of changing the patterns allocated in all the data areas of the lowermost layer under the specific data area in the paper surface area to the same pattern. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 has a function of individually changing the pattern assigned to the data area of the lowermost layer to a different pattern.

Then, the arithmetic processing unit 6 searches the pattern of the insertion position of the title area stored in the database 2b for a pattern suitable for the catalog to be produced, and inserts the title area into the space area 10. Have. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 6 has a function of automatically reducing the data area around the title area in order to secure an area into which the title area is inserted.

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 sets the layout pattern of the image area, the character area, and the title area selected for one paper surface area at a position such as a dividing line different from the one paper surface area. It has the function of directly allocating to other paper areas.

Next, the rough and initial school creating function 6c of the arithmetic processing unit 6 will be described. The arithmetic processing unit moves the position of the ruled line or the color area according to the arrangement in the paper surface area 10 of the data area of each lowermost layer according to the conditions attached to each design pattern of the database 2a as described above,
It has the function of determining the presence or absence of ruled lines and color areas. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 6 stores the image data and the character data of each product stored in the storage device in advance in the image area or the character area as the data of the lowermost data area including the image area and the character area. It has a function of allocating corresponding product name and code number.

When the process of designing the paper surface and the shooting of each product and the setting of the price are simultaneously performed, the arithmetic processing unit 6 does not necessarily have to use the image data of the product in the design of the paper surface. The character data may not be in time, and in preparation for such a case, the storage device 2 may be used in advance.
It has a function of allocating dummy image data and character data corresponding to the product name stored in. For example, when the product name is a chair, the image data of the chair stored in the storage device 2 is assigned regardless of the chair printed on the paper. Further, it has a function of arranging dots having a size substantially the same as that of a character, in place of the character data, in the character area so as to resemble the character.

An example of a layout method for the surface of a catalog using the layout device of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 13. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the layout device is activated and the menu display 10
From the above, the creation of the composition table is selected by the mouse 4. At this time, the paper surface area 11 is displayed, but the vertical and horizontal lengths of the paper surface area can be changed to arbitrary lengths. By selecting the configuration plan layout, the layout device is in a state where the configuration plan creation function 6a of the arithmetic processing unit 6 can be used.

By supporting the positions of the dividing lines 12 with a mouse or the like or by inputting the number of divisions from the keyboard 3, the paper surface area 11 displayed on the screen of the display 1 is displayed as shown in FIG. It is possible to divide into a plurality of data areas 13 by the dividing lines 12. At this time, the data areas 13 ... Are divided hierarchically. For example, first, the vertical dividing lines 12, 12 divide the paper area into three areas.
It is divided into one data area 13 ...
... can be divided vertically by horizontal dividing lines 12, and two data areas of the data areas 13 formed by being divided vertically can be further divided vertically by horizontal dividing lines 12. Has become.

The positions of the data areas 13 are stored as a chain of coordinates indicating the positions of the data areas 13 formed hierarchically as described above, and are actually displayed on the screen. It is stored as the position of the coordinates provided in the paper area 11. At the same time when the dividing lines 12 are drawn by the support from the mouse 4 or the keyboard 3 described above, the dividing lines 12 are displayed on the screen based on the position of the coordinates provided in the paper surface area 11.

Since the data areas 13 ... Are hierarchically formed and the positions of the respective data areas 13 ... Are stored as a chain of the above coordinates, the shape and position of the upper layer data areas 13 ... In this case, the position and shape of the lower data area 13 included in the upper data area 13 are automatically changed by changing the coordinates indicating the relative position of the changed upper data area included in the chain of coordinates. Will be changed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the menu display 1
Call 0 and select thumbnail creation. By selecting the thumbnail creation, the thumbnail creation function 6b of the arithmetic processing unit 6 is ready for use. Here, the specification database 2a in which the patterns of the arrangement positions of the image area 14 and the character area 15 are stored is searched. At this time, for example, a search item is input from the keyboard 3 and the layout pattern corresponding to the search item is searched from the database 2a. Then, the layout pattern corresponding to the input search item is displayed in the menu display 10 on the screen as a list of names assigned to each layout pattern, or the screen is switched to display an image showing the layout pattern as shown in FIG. It is displayed as shown in.

By selecting one of the displayed names or an image with the mouse 4, the arithmetic processing means 6 allocates the image area 14 and the character area 15 to the data areas 13 of the lowermost layer of the paper surface area 11. . At this time, regarding the positions of the image area 14 and the character area 15, the coordinates of the two vertices indicating the positions of the image area 14 and the character area 15 are the last in the chain of coordinates indicating the absolute position of the data area 13 of the lowermost layer. Are stored in the storage device 2 as a new chain of coordinates. Then, this chain of coordinates is converted into the coordinates of the paper surface area 11, and as shown in FIG. 7, the image area 1 is included in the data area 13 ...
4 and the character area 15 are displayed.

Since the image area 14 and the character area 15 are stored as a chain of coordinates as described above, the image area 14 is stored as in the case of the lower data area 13 described above.
When the size and position of the data area 13 including the character area 15 and the character area 15 are changed, the sizes and positions of the image area 14 and the character area 15 are automatically changed. Further, since the arrangement pattern of the image area 14 and the character area 15 is set to the coordinates of the coordinate system provided in the arbitrary rectangular area, at the end of the chain of coordinates indicating the position of the data area, the image area The data area 13 can be allocated by simply adding the coordinates of 14 and the character area 15.

Next, the menu display 10 is called to select rough or first school creation. As for the layout device, the rough of the arithmetic processing device 6
The initial school creation function 6c is ready for use. Here, the position of the color area 16 and the code No. of the color or pattern assigned in the color area 16. , The design pattern database 2c storing the pattern at the position of the ruled line 17 is searched.

The search for the design pattern is performed in the same manner as the search for the spec pattern, and the searched pattern is displayed as a column of names assigned to each pattern or as an image of the design pattern. By selecting these names or design patterns, the design pattern is allocated to the paper surface area 11 as shown in FIG.

The design pattern is the image area 14
Alternatively, the character area 15 or the lowermost data area 16
Therefore, in order to perform the design over the entire paper surface area 11, it is necessary to set the conditions as described above. After selecting the design pattern from the database 2c, the conditions are input from the keyboard 3.

Like the data area 13 and the dividing line 12, the position of each color area 14 ... and the position of the ruled line 17 ... Are expressed as a chain of coordinates. That is, the coordinates of the relative positions of the color area 16 and the ruled line 17 input to the database 2c as the design pattern represent the absolute position of the image area 14 or the character area 15 or the data area 13 to which the color area 16 or the ruled line 17 is assigned. A new coordinate chain added at the end of the coordinate chain is created, and this coordinate chain is added to the color area 16 or the ruled line 17.
Is stored in the storage device as the absolute position of.

Further, the chain of coordinates is converted into the coordinates of the coordinate system provided in the paper surface area 11, and the color area 16 ... And the ruled lines 17 ... Are displayed in the paper surface area 11 on the screen. At this time, the color or pattern of the color area 16 is the code number.
The color area 16 is displayed in a state in which the color area 16 is determined and colored or patterned. Similarly, the ruled line 17 is also displayed in a state in which the thickness of the ruled line 17 is determined by the data in the database 2c and is colored. And
Similar to the image area 14 and the character area 15, the color area 16
The positions and shapes of the and ruled lines 17 are automatically changed when the shapes and positions of the data area 13, the image area 14, and the character area 16 including them are changed.

Next, the image data and the character data input to the storage device in advance are allocated to each of the image area 14 and the character area 16. At this time, the product name or the product code No. attached to the data area 13 of the lowest layer. Based on such data, each image data and character data is allocated to the image area 14 and the character area 15 in the data area 13 of the lowermost layer. It should be noted that the image data and the character data do not necessarily have to be photographs or texts to be actually published in the catalog, but may be dummy data for confirming the layout and design of the entire paper surface.

That is, at the stage when the layout work or design work of the catalog is started, the dummy image or the image of the paper space area 11 to which the text is allocated is viewed even if the actual product photographing and the price setting are not completed. Also, it is possible to determine whether the layout and design need to be modified, and this can be used as a rough.
When the image data and character data actually printed on the paper are used, the layout and design results are
Can be used as a first school.

Further, the layout apparatus can shift the position of the dividing line 12 during or after finishing the layout and design work on the paper. When the position or shape of the data area 13 is changed, the data area 13, the image area 14, the character area 15, the color area 16, which are included in the data area 13 ,.
The ruled line 17 is the data area 13 in which the position or shape of the chain of coordinates indicating the absolute positions thereof is changed as described above.
By changing the coordinates of, the position and shape are automatically changed. Then, the chain of the coordinates of each area is converted into the coordinates of the paper surface area 11 so that the display on the display 1 is performed again.

It is also possible to change the arrangement pattern of the image area 14 and the character area 15.
It is possible to redo the selection from the specification database 2a storing the arrangement pattern of the character area 15 and the character area 15. And when you select a new pattern from the database,
The arithmetic processing unit 6 allocates the layout pattern to each data area 13 in the lowest layer of the paper surface area, and allocates the previously selected design pattern to the image area 14 or the like again. Further, by the arithmetic processing unit 6,
The image data and the character data are allotted again, and the layout and design are corrected.

Further, the design pattern can be changed, and the selection of the design pattern from the design pattern database 2c can be redone. After selecting the design pattern again, the image data and the character data are automatically reallocated as described above, and the layout and design are corrected.

Further, when the number and positions of the products to be posted in the paper area 11 are changed at the stage where the layout and design work is completed as described above, and it is necessary to make a large change in the composition plan. As shown in FIG. 11, the menu display 10 is displayed, and the configuration table change is selected.

When changing the composition table, the screen display is the display of the composition table showing the dividing lines 12 ..., and the division of the paper surface area 11 is redone from the beginning as in the case of creating the above composition table allocation. You can do it.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Redo the division of 1. Then, when the configuration layout change is completed, the arrangement pattern of the image areas 14 ... And the character areas 15 selected as described above and the arrangement pattern of the color area 16 are reset in the paper surface area 11. That is, since the selected layout and design are directly allocated to the respective data areas 13 ... After changing the composition plan, the designer only needs to change the composition plan.
Layout and design modifications are complete.

As described above, according to the layout apparatus of this embodiment, if the designer retrieves and selects the layout pattern from the databases 2a, 2b and 2c after the layout is divided, the arithmetic processing means 6 This can be done by allocating the selected pattern to each data area 13 ... Further, even after the layout and design work is completed, even if the number of products to be posted on the paper surface or the size occupied by each product is changed and the division of the paper surface area 11 is significantly changed, the arithmetic processing unit 6 Reallocates the layout pattern, so the designer only needs to change the layout of the components.

Further, even when the arrangement pattern of the image area 14 and the character area 15 is changed and the design pattern is changed, only the search and selection of each pattern from the database are redone, and the arithmetic processing unit 6 performs the subsequent steps. This can be done easily. Therefore, since it is possible to easily make corrections in each step of the layout and design work in a short time, the designer makes trial and error while changing the layout and design of the catalog page and makes a final layout and layout of the catalog page. The design can be decided.

Further, by using one table layout configuration, a plurality of paper surface areas 11 of a plurality of catalogs in which different specification patterns and design patterns are selected can be produced, or the table areas having the same specification pattern and design pattern and different table layouts can be produced. It is also possible to easily create a plurality of paper areas of the configuration in a short time. Therefore, it is possible to prototype the paper surface areas 11 having various layouts and designs in advance, select an optimum one from the prototypes, or combine several layouts and designs to determine the optimum layout and design. Therefore, even a designer who is not experienced in catalog layout can easily perform layout of the catalog on a paper sheet in a short period of time.

[0080]

As described above in detail, according to the layout apparatus of the present embodiment, after the paper surface area is divided into a plurality of data areas, the material data such as image data, character data, design data, etc. are stored in the database. Since the allocation area to which each data is allocated is set only by selecting the layout pattern of, the layout and design of the paper surface area can be easily performed.

That is, according to the layout apparatus of the present invention, the layout and design work of the paper surface area can be performed only by dividing the paper surface area and selecting the arrangement pattern from the database, so that the paper surface area can be designed in a short time. Layout and design can be performed. Therefore,
You can easily change the layout and design in the paper area, create multiple paper areas with different layouts and designs, decide the optimal layout and design from them, and make trial and error. By changing the layout and design of the paper surface area, the optimum layout and design can be finally determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a layout device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a layout device of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a layout method by the layout device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 display (CRT) (display means a) 2 storage device (storage means d) 2a spec pattern database (database c) 2b title pattern database (database c) 2c design pattern database (database c) 6 arithmetic processing unit (correction means h) ) 6a Arrangement scissor creation function of the arithmetic processing device (dividing means b) 6b Thumbnail creating function of the arithmetic processing device (selecting means e, area setting means f) 6c Rough of the arithmetic processing device, first-school creating function (selecting means e, Area setting means f, data allocation means g)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. When producing a paper surface of a catalog, a leaflet or the like, a paper surface area constituting the paper surface is divided into a plurality of data areas corresponding to products or the like to be published on the paper surface,
A layout device for allocating material data such as image data and character data related to the product or the like, or design data for designing a paper surface such as colors, patterns, and ruled lines to the divided data areas. Display means for displaying an image, dividing means for dividing the paper surface area into a plurality of data areas, and areas for allocating the material data such as the image data, character data and design data in the data area as allocation areas , A position of the allocation area is used as a coordinate of a predetermined coordinate system, and an arbitrary arrangement pattern is selected from a storage unit that stores a plurality of types of arrangement patterns defined by the coordinates as a database and a database stored in the storage unit. Based on the coordinates of the selecting means and the arrangement pattern selected by the selecting means. And a layout comprising area setting means for setting an allocation area in each data area, and data allocation means for allocating the material data to each allocation area set by the area setting means. apparatus. 2. A correction means for correcting division of the paper surface area, wherein the area setting means resets an allocation area to a data area of the paper surface area corrected by the correction means. The layout device according to item 1.