JPH0651972A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To add and change an interlocking button by operating by interlocking another button being connected logically with a prescribed button by depressing a user on a window system especially without applying a program for such addition or change. CONSTITUTION:This processor includes a display means 3, an instruction input means 12 which accepts an instruction from an operator, a plotting means 23 which displays a display element by referring to a first file 27 including the identifier of the display element and information with respect to display prior to an operation, a connection table holding means 26 which holds information interlocked with the display element, a connection table generating means 29 which generates a connection table by referring to a second file 28 including the identifier and the information of interlocking, a correspondence holding means 24 between the display element and processing, a display element specifying means 25 which specifies the display element which becomes a target from accepted target designation, a first control means 21 which starts up the processing specified by the means 25, and a second control means 22 interlocked with the display element specified by a first display element specifying means and starts up corresponding processing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing device, and more particularly, when a user presses a predetermined button (self button) in a graphical user interface of an application operating on a window system, Other buttons that are logically linked to this are allowed to work in tandem as if they were pressed directly, and work in tandem without any programming for that. The present invention relates to an information processing device in which a button (another button) can be added / changed as necessary.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Known documents for facilitating the creation of a graphical user interface component by a programmer for a given system are, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2-254539 and 2-266.
No. 424 can be cited. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a system generally used in the application of this type of technology. The components of the system in FIG. 10 include a keyboard 1A having numeric keys such as 10 keys and function keys for issuing various instructions, a mouse 1B having various data input and command input functions, and the like. Input means 1, including the required input data and commands from the appropriate input means 1 to perform corresponding data processing, or store intermediate data or final data in a required format. The control means 2 has a function, and the display means 3 is a CRT or the like for performing a required display along with the execution of the data processing.

Now, it is assumed that a programmer creates a button as a graphical user interface component for the above system. As the buttons here, for example, the display means, the control means, and the keyboard and the mouse included in the input means are individually made to correspond. Looking at the handling of the button created in this way, the following operation is usually performed, for example. That is, the color of the button is reversed when pressed (eg, white to black, black to white, red to green, green to red, etc.); toggles; for menus (such as pull-down menus) Performs display operations; after performing these operations, the functions required to process the target are called. By the way, generally, the above operation involves only the pressed button, and does not interlock with other buttons. FIG. 11 shows an application example of the conventional technique, where 11E is a window displayed on the display screen of the display means. Buttons 11A (Button A) and 11B are placed at appropriate places on this window 11E.
(Button B), button 11C (Button)
C) and button 11D (Button D) are created and displayed. Reference numeral 11F indicates the name of the window 11E, which is an application window here. Here, when the button 11A (Button A) and the button 11B (Button B) are interlocked,
It is necessary to operate the program as understood from the flowchart of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the button 11A (Button A) is pressed first.
In FIG. 12A, execution of the program operation is started by performing an appropriate trigger operation (S12).
1). Button 11A (But) that is the previously pressed button
A button linked with (tonA) is searched from an internal table (described later) (S122). Next, the color of the button 11B (Button B) that is the linked button is reversed (S123). Subsequent to this, the button 11B (Button B) as the linked button calls a function to be originally processed (S124). Then, the operation related to the search for the button interlocked with a certain predetermined button ends (S125). FIG. 12B shows the internal table 12A.
FIG. This internal table 12A
Is created in the memory in the control means 2 in the system of FIG. 10, for example. In FIG. 12B, the button in the left column is the button to be pressed first. Also, the numbers in the middle row represent the number of buttons that interlock with the previously pressed specific button. Then, the buttons in the right column are the buttons that interlock with the previously pressed specific button. For example, it can be read from the internal table 12A that the number of buttons interlocking with the button 11A (ButtonA) is 1 and the corresponding interlocking button is the button 11B (ButtonB).

By the way, in such a conventional technique, the other buttons and the number thereof which are interlocked with a predetermined button are generally fixed, and as described above, for example, the button 11A (Button A). ) And the button 11B (Button B) are interlocked, it is necessary to prepare a predetermined program as illustrated in FIG. 12 (A) in advance. In addition, when the target to be linked changes or the number increases or decreases, reprogramming including coding, compilation, linking, debugging, etc. (that is, reprogramming related to the user interface) is required. Therefore, the contents of the internal table 12A in FIG. 12B must be changed appropriately.

[0005]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, a predetermined program is prepared in advance in the graphical user interface of the application operating on the window system, and an object to be interlocked with. It is necessary to redo the required programming according to the change in the number and the increase or decrease in the number, and to correct the contents of the internal table used, etc., and the problem is that the execution is complicated and time-consuming. there were.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in a graphical user interface of an application operating on a window system, the user has a predetermined button (self button).
When is pressed, other buttons that are logically linked to it are allowed to work in tandem as if they were pressed directly, and without programming for that, It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus capable of easily adding / changing a button (another button) that operates in conjunction with the above.

[0007]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit 3, a target designation input unit 11 for receiving a target designation on the display unit from an operator, and an instruction for receiving an instruction from the operator. The input means 12, the drawing means 23 for displaying the display element on the display means by referring to the first file 27 including the identifier of the display element and the information about the display of the display element prior to the start of the operation, A join table holding unit 26 that holds information about interlocking,
Prior to the start of the operation, a connection table generating means 29 for generating a connection table by referring to the second file 28 containing the identifier of the display element and the information regarding the interlocking of the display element, and the correspondence holding for holding the correspondence between the display element and the processing Means 24, display element specifying means 25 for specifying a target display element from the received target specification, and first control means 21 for activating a process corresponding to the display element specified by the display element specifying means. Second control means 22 for activating a process corresponding to a display element that is interlocked with the display element specified by the display element specifying means when the process is started by the first control means. To do.

[0008]

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, in the graphical user interface of the application operating on the window system, the buttons related to each other (the buttons include, for example, a CRT, a processor, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.). It is possible to provide interlocking movements among those that perform the functions of (1) on the display screen, and it is also possible to add or change the interlocking movements of the buttons when creating the user interface. Therefore, a specific programming / reprogramming for that is unnecessary.

[0009]

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the display means 3 is composed of, for example, a CRT device, a liquid crystal display device, or the like, and displays a predetermined button in various windows described later. The target designation input unit 11 and the instruction input unit 12 are included in the input unit 1 including, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and the target designation input unit 11 which is the former is the target displayed on the display unit 3 (currently displayed). The designated buttons) that are designated by the system operator, and the latter instruction input means 12 functions to receive a required instruction from the system operator. . The first control unit 21 to the connection table generation unit 29 are included in the control unit 2, and the drawing unit 23 displays the identifier (button name) of the display element and the display of the display element prior to starting the operation of the system. The function of displaying the corresponding display element on the display means 3 is performed with reference to the first file 27 containing the information (button information) regarding. The binding table holding unit 26 has a function of holding information (link number, number, button name associated with link) relating to linking of display elements. The combination table generation means 29 refers to the second file 28 containing the identifier (button name) of the display element and the information (interlocking button name, number of interlocks) regarding the interlocking of the display element prior to the start of the operation of the system, and the connecting table Fulfills the function of generating. The correspondence holding unit 24 has a function of holding a correspondence between a predetermined display element (for example, a button representing a processor) and a process (for example, a predetermined arithmetic operation process). The display element specifying means 25 has a function of specifying a target display element (a desired button name) from the received target specification (for example, a certain required application window). The first control unit 21 has a function of activating a process (for example, a predetermined arithmetic operation process) corresponding to the display element (for example, a button representing a processor) specified by the display element specifying unit 25. Then, the second control means 22 starts the processing by the first control means 21 and the display element specifying means 2
The function of activating the process corresponding to the display element interlocked with the display element specified by 5.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a button information table applied in the embodiment of the present invention. This button information table 21A is used when a desired user interface is created using a predetermined tool for creating a user interface (hereinafter referred to as an editor).
The contents of a button created by appropriately using a mouse or a keyboard in the system are stored in an appropriate external file attached to the control means 2 in FIG. In FIG. 2, the information stored in the button information table 21A is a button name; an attribute value including position, width, height, color, etc .; and a combination number. Here, referring to the first column of FIG. 2, button name (Button A); position (10 10), width (50), height (30), color (1
0); bond number (1); The other columns can be similarly read. Now, when linking is specified for a given button, specify the button of the link destination on the editor with the cursor, press the key assigned to the link on the keyboard, and specify the button of the link destination with the cursor. Fulfills the intended purpose. That is, the binding numbers of Button A and Button B in FIG. 2 are both 1, which means that they have an interlocking relationship. Similarly to this, Button C and Bu
The binding numbers of ttonD are all the same (here, 2), and they also have an interlocking relationship. The contents of the button information table 21A are changed at the same time when the user interface is changed. That is, when the interlocking relationship between the target buttons changes or disappears, corresponding contents of the button information table 21A are automatically changed as described above, and accordingly, the corresponding changes are made. To be done.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the operation mode of the above embodiment. FIG. 3A is a simplified flowchart for explaining an application program based on the user interface created by the above editor. In FIG. 3A, execution of the program operation is started by performing an appropriate trigger operation (S31). Following this, the button information table is read from the external file (S32). Following this, a required window is created (S32). Then, the required buttons are arranged in the window according to the contents of the button information table, and the connection table (see FIG. 3B) is created accordingly (S34). next,
It waits for an event (incident; event) that occurs from now on, and presses a predetermined button if necessary (S35). Following this, a (program) package for performing the processing corresponding to the pressed button is called (S36).
That is, the inversion operation of the corresponding button is performed, and the package is called to call the original function.
Following this, a (program) package for processing buttons having the same binding number is called (S3).
7). That is, a button that works together is searched for and a package corresponding to the button is called. Thus, the required interlocking of the buttons is achieved. Then, the process goes to the step S35 to wait for the next event. Figure 3
The information stored in the combination table 31A shown in (B) is the combination number; number; name 1; name 2; Looking at this in the first combination table 31A1, the combination number (1); number (2); name 1 (Button)
A); Name 2 (Button B); The same applies to the second connection table 31A2.

FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 are examples of the modes of the editor screen in the above embodiment. First, in FIG.
Four buttons, ButtonA, ButtonB, ButtonC, and ButtonD, are created and displayed on the editor screen 41 as a user interface. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the mouse as the input means of the system is moved to move the cursor 42 to the Button B43, and the mouse is clicked. Then, a predetermined function key designated for interlocking with the editor is pressed as the interlocking key. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the mouse 42 is moved to move the cursor 42 to the Button A 44, and the mouse is clicked. By the operations shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation for linking Button A and Button B is completed. At this time, as described above, in the button information table 21A, B
The binding number for ButtonA is made the same as the binding number for ButtonB. Then, the button information table 21A here is stored in an appropriate external file after the corresponding editor operation is completed.

FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 are examples of the mode of the application screen in the above embodiment. First, in FIG. 7, on the application screen 51, ButtonA, ButtonB, and Button created by the editor are displayed.
Four buttons, nC and ButtonD, are displayed as the user interface. It should be noted that this user interface is created based on the contents of the button information table created in FIGS. At this time, a combined table for linking buttons is created from the contents of the button information table. Next, in FIG. 8, the mouse is moved to move the cursor 52 to ButtonA5.
4. Move to the top of 4 and click the mouse. Then, in FIG. 9, Button A 54 flashes, [I'm Button A. ] The function that displays the character string is called. Like this, Button
B53 is also flashed, [I'm Button B. ] The function that displays the character string will be called.

[0014]

As described above, in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, in the graphical user interface of the application operating on the window system, the interlocking operation between the buttons related to each other can be performed. It is also possible to add or change the interlocking of the operation of the buttons when creating the user interface, thus eliminating the need for specific programming and reprogramming. That is, in the graphical user interface of the application operating on the window system as described above, when the user presses a predetermined button (self button), another button logically connected to this button is It is possible to work as if they were pressed directly, and add / change the buttons (other buttons) that work in tandem as needed without programming for that. Therefore, there is an effect that the work flexibility is increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an information processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a button information table applied in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a mode of operation of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an editor screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an editor screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an editor screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an application screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an application screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of an aspect of an application screen in the above embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a system generally used in application of this type of technology.

FIG. 11 shows an application example of a conventional technique.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a conventional application mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 --- Input means; 11 --- Target designation input means; 12 ---
Instruction input means; 2--control means; 21-first control means; 22-second control means; 23-drawing means; 24
--- Correspondence holding means; 25 --- Display element specifying means; 26-
-Join table holding means; 27 --- First file; 2
8--second file; 29 --- join table generating means; 3--display means.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 7, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 8]

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11

[Fig. 12]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A display unit, a target designation input unit that receives a target designation on the display unit from an operator, an instruction input unit that receives an instruction from the operator, an identifier of a display element prior to the start of an operation, and the display. Drawing means for displaying the display element on the display means by referring to the first file containing information on the display of the element, combined table holding means for holding the information on the interlocking of the display elements, and display element prior to the start of the operation Connection table generation means for generating a connection table by referring to a second file containing information on the interworking of the display element and the display element, correspondence holding means for holding the correspondence between the display element and the processing, and the received target designation Display element specifying means for specifying a target display element from, and activating a process corresponding to the display element specified by the display element specifying means And a second control means for activating a process corresponding to a display element that is interlocked with the display element identified by the display element identifying means when the process is activated by the first control means. Processing equipment.