JPH06309135A - Menu item arrangement control system and interactive system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of a menu by switching the arranging order of a menu item to be displayed in sequence of large number of times of selection. CONSTITUTION:When an interactive system including a display means 37 and an input means 31 to perform information input interactively based on the display content of the display means 37 is formed, a display control means 36 to display the menu item on the display means 37, a storage means 32 which stores the number of times of selection of the menu item, and a menu screen generating means 34 to switch the order of the menu item displayed on the display means 37 based on the storage information of the storage means 32 are provided, and the operability of the menu item can be improved by switching the menu item in sequence of large number of times of selection of the menu.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a menu item arrangement control technique, and more particularly to an interactive system provided with an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and a technique effective when applied to a workstation, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of an interactive system for interactively inputting information based on display contents, CAD (Co
There is a computer aided design), and an automatic layout device using this CAD arranges a given circuit element in an allowable space and determines the position of a connection terminal of each circuit element, and between the terminals whose positions have been determined. It is designed to determine the wiring route. With CAD,
Various parts can be placed and wired on a graphic screen connected to a computer, a logic circuit diagram can be created, and data can be retained on the computer. Based on the logic circuit diagram created in this way, a netlist necessary for various simulation tools can be created on a computer. Such a technique is used as a logic circuit diagram input editing system, for example,
"Ultra LSI Dictionary: Science Forum, Inc .: Published March 31, 1988".

[0003]

The frequency of selection of menu items in an interactive system differs depending on the operator (user). A menu item that is rarely used by an operator is displayed in a position where it is easy to select in an actual system, or even a menu item which is frequently used, even though it is difficult to select. I will go. Further, even if the arrangement of the menu items can be changed by executing the customization program or the like, it takes time to make the correction if the change is done manually.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the operability of menus.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0006]

The outline of the representative one of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, the information on the number of selections of the menu items displayed on the display means is stored, and based on the stored information, the arrangement order of the menu items displayed on the display means in descending order of the number of menu item selections. To be replaced.

Further, when the interactive system is formed to include the input means for interactively inputting information based on the display content of the display means, the number of selections of the menu items displayed on the display means is stored. And a menu screen generation means for changing the order of the menu items displayed on the display means based on the information stored in the selection count storage means.

[0009]

According to the above-mentioned means, the order of the menu items displayed on the display means is exchanged in the order of the largest number of menu selections, which improves the operability of the menu.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows a workstation which is an embodiment of the present invention.

Many programs for design automation of semiconductor integrated circuits have been processed by a time-division system or a batch system using a general-purpose computer. To design a large-scale system such as VLSI, A faster design environment is essential and a designer workstation as shown in FIG. 2 is used.

The workstation for the designer is composed of a high-performance microprocessor, a large-capacity magnetic disk, a high-resolution display, and an input device including a mouse in terms of hardware, and is functionally configured as follows. .

The workstations are functionally roughly divided into circuit diagram input and layout processing. The former circuit diagram input process includes the process from the circuit diagram input to the generation of the verified circuit diagram and connection information file, and the latter layout process, the generated circuit diagram to LSI. Layout and wiring, and work to create a verified mask pattern.

The circuit diagram editor and the text editor 2 are realized by executing a predetermined program for the circuit diagram input process. The circuit diagram editor is used for inputting and editing the hierarchical circuit diagram of the LSI, and the text editor is used for text inputting process and further editing process thereof. The circuit diagram database 3 is referred to as necessary for inputting and editing the circuit diagram.
The circuit diagram rule checker 1 checks the input or edited circuit diagram for wiring defects, short circuits between output terminals, and the like. Any errors found by such checks will be immediately reported to the operator for correction. Further, since the circuit simulator 4, the logic simulator 5, and the timing verifier 6 are provided so that an error in the circuit diagram and a timing margin shortage can be found, a circuit without an error is finally obtained. A figure is obtained.

Next, the circuit diagram obtained as described above
Layout work is performed based on the connection information 7. For this layout, the automatic routing 8 and the drawing editor 10 for enabling automatic placement and routing are used, and the layout database 9 is referred to as necessary. Also,
Various checkers such as the design rule checker 11, the electrical rule checker 12, and the circuit diagram / layout matching checker 13 perform mask overlapping, check for short-circuited parts, and check matching between the layout and the circuit diagram.
When an error is found, it is promptly corrected by the drawing editor 10 or the like.

FIG. 1 shows main functional blocks of the drawing editor 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drawing editor 10 is not particularly limited, but is displayed on an input means 31 including an appropriate input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display means 37 for facilitating the operation. A menu screen generating means 34 for generating a menu screen for performing the operation, a counting means 33 for counting the number of item selections of the menu screen, and a storage means 3 for storing the counting information in a file format
2. A display control means 36 for controlling display on the display means 37 and a drawing editing means 35 for editing a drawing based on the input means 31.

FIG. 3 shows a flow of menu item arrangement control.

For example, the display means 37 displays a window as shown in FIG. In this window, a pull-down menu 41 is displayed by operating the mouse included in the input means 31 and clicking the edit button. The pull-down menu 41 includes processing items that can be executed by the drawing editor 10, such as copy, move, delete, enlarge / reduce, mirror, and rotate. The operator can edit the drawing by selecting a necessary item by operating the mouse. In this embodiment, each time a menu item is selected in this way, the number of times it is selected is counted, the count result is saved, and the menu items are rearranged according to the saved contents. ing. Specifically, it is performed as follows.

As shown in FIG. 3, the system is started to initialize each means (step 21), and the menu item selection count storage file is read from the storage means 32 (step 22). The number of times the menu item is selected is set in the counting unit 33 and also transmitted to the menu screen generating unit 34. The menu screen generation means 34 sets the array of menu items in descending order of the number of selections according to the current number of selections of menu items. The contents are displayed on the display means 37 under the control of the display control means 36 (step 24). After that, the process shifts to an event waiting loop (step 25), and it is determined whether or not this loop ends (step 26). In this determination, if it is not finished, the number of times the menu item is selected by the counting means 33 is counted up (step 2).
8), the number of selections of all menu selection items is compared,
Menu items are rearranged based on the comparison result (step 29). For example, the scaling process is selected 12 times, the move process is selected 10 times, the copy process is selected 6 times, the deletion process is selected 5 times, the rotation process is selected twice, and the mirror process is selected once. In such a case, the menu items are arranged in the descending order of the number of selections, as shown in FIG. Every time a menu item is selected, the event waiting loop counts up the number of item selections, and the result is reflected in the menu item rearrangement process. Then, when it is determined that the process is finished in the determination in step 26, the menu item selection count storage file is updated according to the menu selection count at that time (step 27).

By automatically rearranging the menu items according to the number of times the menu items are selected in this manner, the items are displayed in descending order of frequency of use. Since necessary items are often arranged, the cursor movement distance to the item is shortened, the time required for selecting the required item can be shortened, and the operability of item selection is improved. This becomes more remarkable as the number of items in the pull-down menu increases.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, and needless to say, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Yes.

For example, when there are a plurality of operators, it is advisable to form a menu item selection count storage file for each operator and perform appropriate menu item arrangement switching for each operator. The menu item selection count storage file for each operator can be made selectable at system startup.

In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to a workstation for a designer, which is a field of application which is the background of the present invention, has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It can be applied to general-purpose computers and various interactive devices.

The present invention can be applied on condition that at least display means for displaying the menu item is present.

[0026]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, the menu operation is performed by changing the arrangement order of the menu items displayed on the display means in the descending order of the number of menu item selections based on the information on the number of selections of the menu items displayed on the display means. The property is improved.

Also, a selection number storage means for storing the number of selections of the menu item, and a menu screen generation means for changing the order of the menu items displayed on the display means based on the storage information of the selection number storage means. By providing and, it is possible to provide an interactive system with excellent menu operability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main functional block diagram of a drawing editor included in a workstation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hull of the workstation.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of main processing in the drawing editor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the drawing editor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the drawing editor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Schematic rule checker 2 Schematic editor and text editor 3 Schematic database 4 Circuit simulator 5 Logic simulator 6 Timing verifier 7 Schematic / connection information 8 Automatic routing 9 Layout database 10 Drawing editor 11 Design rule checker 12 Electrical rule checker 13 Circuit Diagram / Layout Matching Checker 14 LSI Mask Layout 31 Input Means 32 Storage Means 33 Counting Means 34 Menu Screen Generating Means 35 Drawing Editing Means 36 Display Control Means 37 Display Means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. The number of selections of menu items displayed on the display means is counted, and the arrangement order of the menu items displayed on the display means is entered in descending order of the number of selections of menu items based on this selection frequency information. The menu item array control method that was changed. 2. In an interactive system including a display means and an input means for interactively inputting information based on the display content of the display means, the number of times the menu item displayed on the display means is selected. An interactive system comprising: a selection number storage means to be stored; and a menu screen generation means for changing the order of menu items displayed on the display means based on the storage information of the selection number storage means. . 3. The interactive system according to claim 2, wherein the information on the number of selections of the menu items is filed for each operator.