JPH06348444A - Pulldown menu defining system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a user to easily define a pulldown menu and to improve the using efficiency of a program by allowing a computer having a graphical interface to interactively define the pulldown menu displayed by a program. CONSTITUTION:A menu information storing part 31 storing information relating to a pulldown menu displayed by a program in each user is prepared and updated by a data processor 20. A function information storing part 32 stores a list of function names to be registered in the pulldown menu by a user and the execution parameters of respective functions and an optional function is selected from the list of function names through a menu definition window displayed on a menu information displaying means 23 and a display character string or a keyboard selecting mnemonic character corresponding to the selected function is inputted. At the time of determining the execution parameter of each function through a parameter specifying window displayed by a function information display means 24, a variable parameter specified by the user can be determined.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pull-down menu definition system, and more particularly to a pull-down menu definition system for interactively defining information displayed in the pull-down menu and conditions for executing from the pull-down menu.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many application programs using a graphical user interface of an engineering workstation, when a user designates a function from a window, a pull-down menu is displayed to select the function to be executed. In general,
The display of the pull-down menu and the functions that can be selected and executed from it are fixed to the application program.However, depending on the application program, the source file that describes the information that displays the pull-down menu is published, and the pull-down menu may be modified by the user. Some can define menus. In the conventional pull-down menu definition system of this method, when the user changes the display content of the pull-down menu, the content of the source file is modified using an editor.

[0003]

In the conventional pull-down menu definition system described above, the file in which the pull-down menu information is described is unique to each program, so the user must understand the description method. I won't. Further, since the user uses the editor to correct the information regarding the pull-down menu, there is a problem that an error is easily made.

It is an object of the present invention to interactively define a pull-down menu display function and a selection execution function.
You can easily build your own user interface,
It is to provide a pull-down menu definition system that can improve the operation efficiency of application programs.

[0005]

A pull-down menu definition system according to the present invention stores (A) information necessary for displaying a pull-down menu and executing a selected function with a program name and a user name as keys. A menu information storage unit to be set, (B) a function information storage unit that stores a list of all function names that can be executed from the pull-down menu for each program, and information on execution parameters necessary to execute each function; (C) Function information input means for acquiring a list of function names of a specified program or execution parameter information of the specified function from the function information storage section,
(D) Display the menu definition window for interactively inputting the information required to display the pull-down menu,
Menu information display means for selecting a necessary function name from a list of function names acquired from the function information storage section via the function information input means, processing interactive input to determine and output information necessary for display And (E) when a function name is specified from the menu information display means and a process is requested, information on execution parameters related to the function name is acquired from the function information storage section via the function information input means, (F) a function information display means for displaying a parameter specification window for interactively inputting changeable execution parameters, and transferring the information of the execution parameters confirmed by processing the interactive input to the menu information display means. In the case of updating by judging whether it is newly created or updated, information of the designated program name and user name is acquired from the menu information storage unit and the menu is stored. Fed to over the information display means, and is configured of information created or updated and a menu data output means for storing into said menu information storing unit by the menu information display means and the function information display means.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the pull-down menu definition system of the present embodiment is a storage device for storing information such as an input device 10 including a keyboard and a mouse, a data processing device 20 operated by program control, and a magnetic disk. It is composed of a device 30 and a display device 40 such as a display. Further, the data processing device 20 includes a menu data input / output unit 21, a function information input unit 22, a menu information display unit 23, and a function information display unit 24, and the storage device 30 includes a menu information storage unit 31. , And a function information storage unit 32.

The menu information storage unit 31 is a file for storing and holding information (hereinafter referred to as menu information) necessary for displaying the pull-down menu and executing the selected function, and the application program refers to this. Display the pull-down menu and execute the function selected from the pull-down menu. The menu information is stored with the program name and the user name as keys, and the pull-down menu definition system of this embodiment creates and updates the menu information stored in the menu information storage unit 31 in an interactive manner. .

The display of the pull-down menu requires the following information as illustrated in FIG. The menu character string 51 is a character string necessary for determining the function to be executed when the user of the program selects a menu using an input device such as a mouse. Mnemonic character 5
Reference numeral 2 is a character indicating a key to be typed when the user selects a menu from the keyboard. Separator 53
Is a ruled line for dividing the menu items displayed in the pull-down menu into functional groups.

The following information is required to execute the function from the pull-down menu. The first is the type of function to perform. The type of function to be executed differs for each program, and for example, in the case of a program that accesses a database, there are functions such as search and registration. Secondly, there is an execution parameter for each function to be executed. Execution parameters differ depending on the function. For example, in the case of the database search function, parameters such as the table name to be searched and the search condition expression are registered in the database. Parameters such as data to be stored are required.

In the function information storage unit 32, a list of all types of functions (function names) that the program can execute from the pull-down menu, and information on execution parameters necessary to execute each function included in the functions (hereinafter, referred to as parameters). Information) is stored for each program. Some parameter information is fixed to the program and some can be set by the user at run time, but the user's setting part is enclosed in delimiters "" (double quotation marks). For example, in the case of the database search function, the table name and the search condition expression can generally be set by the user for each execution. Therefore, in the function information storage unit 32, the parameter information is stored in the form of "..." table name "," search condition expression "...", and the portion surrounded by double quotation marks is:
When the user defines the pull-down menu, the menu item can be defined in advance.

The menu data input / output unit 21 determines from the input device 10 whether to newly create or update, and in the case of updating, the menu information of the designated program name and user name from the menu information storage unit 31. The menu information is acquired and supplied to the menu information display means 23, and the newly created or updated menu information is stored in the menu information storage unit 31.

In the case of updating, the menu information display means 23 displays on the display device 40 the menu definition window shown in FIG. 3 in which the menu information supplied from the menu data input / output means 21 is entered, and the menu information display means 23 receives the information from the input device 10. The dialog information is processed and the determined menu information is returned to the menu data input / output means 21. In the middle of the process, the function information input unit 22 and the function information display unit 24 are called in response to a request to request the process. In the case of new creation, the menu definition window in which no menu information is entered is displayed on the display device 4
Display at 0.

When the function information display means 24 is requested to process by designating the function name from the menu information display means 23, the function information input means 22 is called and the parameter information relating to the function name is obtained from the function information storage section 32. From the acquired parameter information, the parameter designation window shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display device 40, and the input device 10
The parameter information determined by processing the interactive input from is returned to the menu information display means 23.

The function information input means 22 receives instructions from the menu information display means 23 and the function information display means 24,
The function information storage unit 32 has a function of acquiring a list of function names of a specified program and parameter information of the specified function name and passing the parameter information.

Now, the menu definition window displayed by the menu information display means 23 will be described with reference to FIG.

OK button 61 and cancel button 62
Is a button for ending the menu information display means 23. The function name button 63 is a button for displaying a function selection window for selecting a function to be executed from the pull-down menu and for designating the function name displayed on the left side. If this button is pressed while the function name is not displayed on the left side using the mouse of the input device 10, the menu information display means 23 calls the function information input means 22 and the program is stored in the function information storage section 32. A list of executable function names is acquired, and a function selection window as shown in FIG. 4 displaying the acquired function names is displayed on the same screen. When the button is pressed while the function name is displayed on the left side, the function name is designated and the entire area of the button is in the light emitting state. When the button in the light emitting state is pressed again at the time of updating, the function selection window is displayed.

The menu character string field 64 is a field in which the user inputs a menu character string to be displayed in the pull-down menu from the keyboard. The mnemonic field 65 is a field for the user to enter and define a mnemonic character representing a key to be used when selecting a menu item from the keyboard. The separator button 66 is a button for the user to select whether or not to display a separator (reference numeral 53 in FIG. 2) on the menu character string, and selects either "present" or "absent". (Black indicates selected state).

The parameter button 67 is used for the function information display means 24 so that the user can input the execution parameter of the function.
Is a button for calling. When the parameter button 67 is pressed, the menu information display means 23 presses the function name button 63 and supplies the selected function name to the function information display means 24. Note that FIG. 3 shows a state in which the pull-down menu illustrated in FIG. 2 is defined.

Next, the parameter designation window displayed by the function information display means 24 will be described with reference to FIG.

OK button 71 and cancel button 72
Is a button for ending the function information display means 24. The character string 73 is a character string indicating the content of the parameter information that can be defined by the user. The input field 74 is a field in which the user inputs parameter information. For example, in the case of the database search function described above, the parameter information is stored in the function information storage unit 32 in the form of "..." table name "," search condition expression "...", but a table surrounded by double quotation marks. Only the name and the search condition expression are displayed in the parameter specification window.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

When editing the existing menu information, the menu data input / output means 21 acquires the menu information of the program name and the user name designated from the input device 10 from the menu information storage section 31, and the menu information display means. 23
Supply to. The menu information display means 23 displays the menu definition window shown in FIG. 3 in the state in which the supplied menu information is written on the display device 40. In the case of new creation, the menu definition window in which nothing is entered is displayed as described above.

When the menu definition window is displayed by the menu information display means 23, the user is prompted to enter the input device 10.
Enter the required information using the keyboard or mouse of.
Here, the case of newly creating the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 2 will be mainly described. When the user presses the function name button 63 in the uppermost row, the menu information display means 23 calls the function information input means 22 to obtain a list of function names that the user can select from the function information storage section 32, and FIG. Display the function selection window of. When the user selects a function name (for example, search) to be defined using the mouse from the function selection window, the selected function name is displayed in the function name field on the left side of the function name button 63, and the OK button is pressed. The function selection window disappears and the function name button 63 is in a light emitting state. If the cancel button is pressed, the function name displayed in the function name field is canceled.

When the user presses the parameter button 67 in the same row as the function name button 63 in the light emitting state with the function name displayed on the left side, the menu information display means 23 displays the selected function name as the function information. It is supplied to the display means 24. When the user does not select the function to execute,
Even if the parameter button 67 is pressed, the function information display means 2
4 does not work.

When the function name selected by the user is supplied to the function information display means 24, the function information display means 24 calls the function information input means 22 and the parameters related to the function name supplied from the function information storage section 32. Information is acquired, and the parameter designation window of FIG. 5 displaying the character string 73 and the input field 74 from the acquired parameter information (state not filled in the input field 74) is displayed. When the user inputs a parameter in the input field 74 and presses the OK button 71, the definition of the parameter is confirmed and the parameter specification window disappears. Normally, the parameter information in which the parameter to be specified at the time of execution is already confirmed is displayed in the menu. It is transferred to the information display means 23 and the function information display means 24 ends. In this case, it is not necessary to specify the parameter at the time of execution, and the selected function is immediately executed under the condition of the defined parameter.

When the user presses the OK button 71 in a state where no parameter is input in all or part of the input field 74, a message indicating that the parameter has not been input is displayed, but when the OK button 71 is pressed again, The parameter information in the state where the parameter is not specified is transferred to the menu information display means 23. In this case, it is necessary to specify the parameter again at the time of execution. When the user presses the cancel button 72, the parameter information is not defined and the function information display means 24 ends.

After the function names and parameters in the menu definition window are determined as described above, and after the input to the menu character string field 64 and the mnemonic field 65 and the selection by the separator button 66 are completed, the OK button 61 is pressed. The menu information display means 23 supplies the defined menu information to the menu data input / output means 21. The menu data input / output unit 21 is the input device 1
The menu information supplied from 0 to the specified program name and user name is saved in the menu information storage unit 31, and the pull-down menu definition system ends. When the user presses the OK button 61, although the function name is set using the function name button 63, the menu character string field 64 and the mnemonic field 65 are displayed.
Alternatively, when the separator information is not input to the separator button 66 and when the parameter information is not defined by the function information display means 24, the menu information display means 23 displays a message indicating that necessary data has not been input. To do. If the user presses the cancel button 62, the defined menu information is not saved and the pull-down menu definition system ends.

Next, the case where the parameter information is defined in the form of “parts table, material = aluminum” for the menu item “data search (S)” of the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 2 will be specifically considered.

On the menu definition window displayed by the menu information display means 23, the function name button 63 is pressed to display the function selection window of FIG. Next, if you select the character string “Search” from the function selection window with the mouse and press the OK button, the character string “Search” will be displayed to the left of the function name button 63, and the function name button 63 will be in the light emitting state. Next, the function selection window disappears. Here, the character string “data search (S)” to be displayed in the pull-down menu is displayed in the menu character string field 64, and the mnemonic character “S” in the pull-down menu is displayed in the mnemonic field 65.
Enter. Since the separator is not displayed above the menu character string "Data search (S)", the separator button 6
Press the "No" button in 6. Next, the parameter button 6
Press 7 to display the parameter specification window shown in FIG. 5, and enter "parts table" in the input field 74 where the character string 73 is "table name", and enter the character string 73 in the input field 74 of "search condition expression". After inputting “material = aluminum”, press the OK button 71 to display the function information display means 24.
To finish. This is the end of the definition regarding the display of the menu item and the execution of the function for “data search (S)”.

The user similarly defines menu information relating to other menu items, and finally, the OK button 6
Press 1. The menu data input / output unit 21 adds the program name and the user name and stores them in the menu information storage unit 31, and the definition of the pull-down menu ends.

When executing a program, the program searches the menu information storage unit 31 by the program name and user name, obtains the corresponding menu information, displays the pull-down menu defined therein, and displays the specific menu. When an item is selected, it executes according to the defined parameters.

[0034]

As described above, the pull-down menu definition system of the present invention interactively displays the menu information display means for defining information regarding the display of the pull-down menu and the definition information display for pre-designating the parameters at the time of execution. By providing the means, it is possible to easily construct a user interface unique to the user and improve the operation efficiency of the program.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pull-down menu display.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a menu definition window displayed by menu information display means.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a function name selection window displayed by menu information display means.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a parameter designation window displayed by the function information display means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 input device 20 data processing device 21 menu data input / output means 22 function information input means 23 menu information display means 24 function information display means 30 storage device 31 menu information storage unit 32 function information storage unit 40 display device 51 menu character string 52 mnemonic Character 53 Separator 61,71 OK button 62,72 Cancel button 63 Function name button 64 Menu character string field 65 Mnemonic field 66 Separator button 67 Parameter button 73 Character string 74 Input field

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A menu information storage unit for storing and holding information necessary for displaying a pull-down menu and executing a selected function with (A) a program name and a user name as keys, and (B) for each program. A list of all the function names that can be executed from the pull-down menu, a function information storage unit that stores information about execution parameters necessary for executing each function, and (C) a program specified from the function information storage unit. A function information input means for acquiring a list of function names of or the execution parameter information of the specified function,
(D) Display the menu definition window for interactively inputting the information required to display the pull-down menu,
Menu information display means for selecting a necessary function name from a list of function names acquired from the function information storage section via the function information input means, processing interactive input to determine and output information necessary for display And (E) when a function name is specified from the menu information display means and a process is requested, information on execution parameters related to the function name is acquired from the function information storage section via the function information input means, (F) a function information display means for displaying a parameter specification window for interactively inputting changeable execution parameters, and transferring the information of the execution parameters confirmed by processing the interactive input to the menu information display means. In the case of updating by judging whether it is newly created or updated, information of the designated program name and user name is acquired from the menu information storage unit and the menu is stored. A pull-down menu comprising a menu data input / output unit for supplying the information to the information display unit and storing the information created or updated by the menu information display unit and the function information display unit in the menu information storage unit. Menu definition system.