JPH08115192A - Data editing processing method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve the operating performance and to reduce the operating frequency when the data are edited by means of a mouse by displaying a menu at a point near the position designated in an editing area for the necessary number of practicable command groups against an editing subject element. CONSTITUTION: The coordinate input devices such as a mouse, etc., and the operator's operation information inputted from a keyboard are fetched at an input control part. An operation control part and a command control part control a document editing control part based on the operator's operation information. The document editing control part performs its operations to the characters and graphics based on the information on both control parts and displays these operation results on a display via a display control part. At the same time, the pointer coordinates pointed by a mouse via the input control part are given to the display control part and a painter is shown at the corresponding position on the display in response to the pointer coordinates. Thus an operator operates the mouse while looking at the pointer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic document editing system such as a word processor and a drawing system such as CAD, and more particularly to drawing and editing using a pointing device (coordinate input device) such as a mouse. The present invention relates to a data editing processing method and a system therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a document editing system or CAD system using a workstation, a personal computer or the like is used for editing work, a command area for displaying a list of commands used for editing is provided in addition to the editing area for actual editing. The element to be edited in the editing area is designated by the mouse, and then the mouse is moved to the command area to select the corresponding command. However, such a mouse operation requires a long movement distance for each mouse operation (the movement distance for each operation is the distance between the editing area and the command area), and the operability is poor. There was a problem.

Therefore, conventionally, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-289973, when an element is designated, one of the possible commands is executed for the element and the execution command is not fixed. I am asking about the command function of the next candidate. In other words, the "circle" of the figure as the editing target
When "is specified" is specified, for example, "delete" is executed out of the executable commands for that "circle", and if the operator does not confirm this "delete", the function of "enlarged display" is explained as the next candidate. I'm trying to ask questions.

[0004]

The above-mentioned conventional technique is
The command is executed simply by specifying the element with the mouse, so there is an advantage that the mouse does not have to be moved. However, since the command is executed at the same time as the element selection, there is no problem if the executed command is the command intended by the operator, but there is a problem that the operation when it is different is troublesome. In addition, when performing editing work, if the commands that can be executed other than the target command are displayed as a menu, you can operate while considering the relationship with the command processing that must be performed next, so display the menu. Editing will be easier if you do.

Therefore, in the prior art described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-137722, selectable commands are displayed as an edit menu near the selected element. However, like the pop-up menu that is generally used, this edit menu is not displayed until you perform a predetermined operation such as double-clicking the left mouse button, so move the mouse between the edit area and the command area. The distance traveled by the mouse will be shorter than
There is a problem that the number of operations increases.

There is also a problem in what order the commands displayed in the edit menu should be arranged.
For example, it is conceivable to add a learning function to select the conversion character in a word processor and display the previously selected command as the first place, but it is not necessary to repeat the same command during editing work, It is also a problem to apply the learning functions such as "etc." to editing work as they are.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a data edit processing method and system for reducing the movement distance of a pointing device with a small number of operations.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a data editing processing method and system capable of displaying commands in an order suitable for editing work.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The first object is that when an edit target element is designated by a pointing device on an edit area of a screen and a command for the edit target element according to the designation is selected by the pointing device. In the data editing process of executing the command for the edit target element, when the edit target element is designated by the pointing device, at the same time as the designation, a required number of command groups executable for the edit target element are written. This is achieved by displaying a menu near the position related to the designation in the editing area.

The second purpose is that when an edit target element is designated by the pointing device, a required number of command groups that can be executed for the edit target element are pasted to a predetermined position in the edit area. This is achieved by displaying the menu in the order of the commands with the highest selection frequency.

The second object is to display a required number of command groups in a higher hierarchy among the command groups executable for the edit target element when the edit target element is designated by the pointing device. It is also achieved by displaying a required number of command groups in the lower hierarchy corresponding to the command when the command is selected in the menu.

[0012]

Since the menu for selecting the command is displayed in the vicinity of the designated position at the same time when the element is designated, the operation for displaying the menu other than the designated operation is unnecessary, and the operability is improved. Further, since the commands are displayed in the menu in the order of the past selection frequency, the command that is most likely to be selected is displayed in the menu, improving the operability and reducing the number of operations. Furthermore, since the commands are displayed hierarchically, the target command can be efficiently reached.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is an external view of an apparatus of a general computer system. The operator uses the mouse 3 as an input device.
Using the keyboard 4 and the keyboard 4, editing operation (creating, processing, etc.) of characters, graphic information and the like displayed on the display 1 is performed.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the document being edited on the screen. Generally, multiple documents can be displayed simultaneously on the display. However, here, description will be given focusing on one document. One window 1-1 is assigned to one document. This window 1-1 is divided into an editing area 1-2 and a command area for displaying a command menu 1-3, and a selected element editing menu 1-4 which is displayed only during element selection is in the editing area 1-2. Displayed when the element is specified near the corresponding element of.
Further, the pointer 1-5 of the coordinate input device such as a mouse is shown in the form of an arrow. The operator moves this pointer with a mouse or the like to specify a character or figure displayed in the editing area, or to instruct a command in the menu 1-4. In the present embodiment, the operability is improved by simply performing the command instruction operation in the menu 1-4.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a document editing processing system such as a word processor in the data editing processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operator operation information input from the coordinate input device such as the mouse 3 or the keyboard 4 is captured by the input control unit. Based on the operator operation information, the operation control unit and the command control unit control the document edit control unit,
The document edit control unit operates on characters and figures based on these information, and displays the operation result on the display 1 via the display control unit.

At this time, the coordinates of the pointer designated by the mouse via the input control unit are given to the display control unit, and the pointer is displayed at the corresponding position on the display corresponding to the coordinates. The operator operates the mouse while looking at this pointer. In this embodiment, a work memory is provided to manage command information for displaying the selection element edit menu 1-4 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing stored information in the work memory shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, an executable command group is stored for each element. For example, a command group such as "delete" or "copy" is stored for the element "character".

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the input control unit shown in FIG. Information from the operator is given by the keyboard and mouse. The information given from the keyboard is a key code corresponding to a key of the keyboard, and is used for inputting a character string or the like on a document. The information from the mouse is composed of information indicating the amount of movement of the pointer and the button state of the mouse, and is used for specifying a command, selecting an operation target on a document, and the like. The input control unit performs the following processing based on these input information. First, the coordinates of the pointer are obtained from the amount of movement of the mouse (step 5-1), and the coordinates are passed to the display controller for displaying the pointer (step 5-2).

Next, if the input information is a keyboard input, the key data is passed to the operation editing section (step 5-4). Then, the button state of the mouse is determined and the process branches (step 5-5). When the state of the mouse button changes from OFF to ON, the coordinates are passed to the operation control unit (step 5
-6), otherwise return to step 5-1.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the input control section shown in FIG. First, the type of data output from the input control unit is determined (step 6-1), and if the data is keyboard data, the key data is passed to the document editing control unit for processing such as character input (step 6-).
2).

If the data type is mouse data, it is judged whether or not the selection element edit menu 1-4 (FIG. 2) has already been displayed (step 6-3). It is judged whether it is in the editing area 1-2 or the command area (step 6-4). If it is in the command area, it is determined that the command menu has been selected and the mouse data (coordinates) is passed to the command control section (step 6).
-5). That is, when the operator uses the mouse to select a command in the command menu 1-3 (FIG. 2), the mouse data is passed to the command control unit by the above processing.

In step 6-3, the selection element edit menu 1
-4 is determined to have been displayed, it is determined whether or not the input coordinate is out of the menu (step 6-9), and if it is out of the menu, the selection element edit menu deletion is passed to the display control unit. (Step 6-10). If it is in the menu 1-4, the command for the input coordinate is fetched (step 6-11), the selection element edit menu deletion is passed to the display control section (step 6-12), and the fetched command is passed to the command control section (step 6-12). Steps 6-13). That is, when the operator uses the mouse to select a command in the selection element edit menu 1-4, the command is passed to the command control unit.

When the operator designates an arbitrary position on the screen with a mouse or the like, a selection element edit menu for displaying selectable commands is displayed in the vicinity thereof and the command in the menu is selected. It is possible to specify the created element and display the menu with one operation, and the operator can select and execute the command with a minimum mouse movement.

When there is no element at the specified position, "none" is considered as one element, and a command group that can be created from this is made to correspond. In addition, when creating a document, moving, copying, expanding,
Editing operations such as attributes occupy a large weight. Comparing the pop-up menu of the prior art and the selected element edit menu of this embodiment, in this embodiment, the menu is displayed by the operation of designating the element, so that a special operation for displaying the menu is not necessary and one operation is performed. Can be omitted, and there is a large difference in operability from the viewpoint of document creation as a whole.

In the present embodiment, the commands displayed in the selected element edit menu are displayed in order from the command with the highest frequency of use. The selection element edit menu of FIG. 1 displays the first to fourth commands that have been frequently used until then. In order to enable such display, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of times selected by the operator for each command is stored in the work memory.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing from element selection by the operator to command execution.
First, the operator inputs a mouse button on the created element in order to edit the created element on the screen (step 9-1), and extracts the element by the mouse coordinates (step 9-2). . For example, if the element is a "circle" drawn on the screen, the extracted element "circle"
The executable command corresponding to, for example, a command type such as “enlarge”, “reduce”, “delete” and the number of times the command type was selected in the past are read from the work area (step 9-3). Next, the display order of the commands is determined in order from the highest command selection count (step 9
-4) Then, the command data according to the order is passed to the display control unit to display the selected element edit menu (step 9-5).

Further, the operator designates the command in the selection element edit menu with the mouse (step 9-6), and updates the number of times of selection of the target command in the work area for the designated command (step 9-7). )
The selection command is executed (step 9-8). Note that Step 9-1 and Step 9-6 are input processing from the operator, and Step 9-2 to Step 9-4, 9-
7 is a process in the operation control unit, and Step 9-5 is
This is a process in the display control unit, and step 9-8 is a process in the command control unit.

In the embodiment described above, the command is displayed in the selection element edit menu according to the frequency of use of the command. Next, an embodiment in which the selection element edit menu is displayed in a hierarchical manner will be described with reference to FIG. To do. FIG. 10 is an internal block diagram of the work memory. In the storage area of the work memory, the command information to be managed is stored in hierarchies corresponding to the elements.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a command selection processing procedure using the work memory of FIG.
The process until the selection element edit menu is displayed is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 6. Here, the process after the selection element edit menu is displayed will be described. First, the operator performs a command in the selected element edit menu by inputting a mouse button (step 11-1), and if there is a lower menu for the command (step 11-2), the display is switched to the lower menu. Therefore, the command data is passed to the display control unit (step 11-3). If there is no lower-level menu, the deletion of the selection element edit menu is passed to the display control unit (step 11-4), the selection command is passed to the command control unit, and the command is executed (step 1).
1-5).

[0030]

According to the present invention, an editing command that is frequently used can be selected with a minimum amount of movement of the mouse and the number of operations, which is extremely effective in improving the efficiency of the operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display example of a selection element edit menu.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen usage example of the display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a data editing processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an information configuration diagram in a work memory shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an input control unit shown in FIG.

6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the operation control unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a computer system.

FIG. 8 is an information configuration diagram in a work memory in consideration of usage frequency.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a selection element edit menu processing procedure according to usage frequency.

FIG. 10 is an information configuration diagram in the work memory when the selection element edit menu is hierarchized.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a hierarchical processing procedure of a selected element edit menu.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Display, 1-1 ... Window, 1-2 ... Editing area, 1-3 ... Command menu, 1-4 ... Selection element editing menu, 1-5 ... Pointer, 2 ... Workstation, 3 ... Mouse, 4 ... keyboard.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Masaaki Miura 5-2-1 Omika-cho, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Process Computer Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An edit target element is designated by a pointing device on an edit area of a screen, and when a command for the edit target element according to the designation is selected by the pointing device, the command is executed for the edit target element. In the data editing processing method, when an element to be edited is designated by the pointing device, at the same time as the designation, a required number of command groups executable for the element to be edited are provided in the vicinity of the position related to the designation in the editing area. A data editing processing method characterized by displaying a menu on the screen. 2. The data edit processing method according to claim 1, wherein the display in the menu is performed in the order of commands having a high selection frequency in the past. 3. The command group according to claim 1, wherein a command group selectable corresponding to an element is hierarchically stored in a memory, a command group of a higher hierarchy is displayed in the menu, and when the command is selected in the menu, the command is displayed. A data editing processing method characterized by displaying a command group of a lower hierarchy corresponding to. 4. An element to be edited is designated by a pointing device on the editing area of the screen, and when a command for the element to be designated is selected by the pointing device, the command is executed for the element to be edited. In the data editing processing method, when an edit target element is designated by the pointing device, a required number of command groups executable for the edit target element are selected at a required position in the edit area with a high frequency of past selection. A data editing processing method characterized by displaying a menu in the order of commands. 5. An edit target element is designated by a pointing device on an edit area of a screen, and when a command for the edit target element according to the designation is selected by the pointing device, the command is executed for the edit target element. In the data edit processing method, when an element to be edited is designated by the pointing device, a required number of command groups in a higher hierarchy of the command group that can be executed with respect to the element to be edited are displayed in a menu, and the command is displayed in the menu. When is selected, a required number of command groups in the lower hierarchy corresponding to the command is displayed in a menu, and a data editing processing method. 6. The data editing processing method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the menu display position is near the element designation position. 7. The data edit processing method according to claim 4, wherein the menu display is performed simultaneously with the element designation. 8. A storage medium storing a program for executing the data editing processing method according to claim 1. Description: 9. A pointing device for designating an element to be edited on an editing area of a screen, and a process for executing the command to the element to be edited when a command for the element to be edited according to the designation is selected by the pointing device. In a data edit processing system including means, when an element to be edited is designated by the pointing device, at the same time as the designation, a required number of command groups executable for the element to be edited are related to the designation in the editing area. A data edit processing system, comprising: a menu display means for displaying a menu near a position. 10. The data editing processing system according to claim 9, further comprising means for controlling the display in the menu in the order of commands having a high selection frequency in the past. 11. The memory according to claim 9, which hierarchically holds a command group selectable corresponding to elements, and a command group of a higher hierarchy displayed in the menu, and when the command is selected in the menu, the command is displayed. And a means for displaying a command group of a lower hierarchy corresponding to the above. 12. A pointing device for designating an element to be edited on an editing area of a screen, and a process of executing the command for the element to be edited when a command for the element to be edited according to the designation is selected by the pointing device. In the data edit processing system including means, when the edit target element is designated by the pointing device, a required number of command groups executable for the edit target element are provided at required positions in the edit area in the past selection frequency. A data editing processing system comprising means for displaying a menu in the order of higher commands. 13. A pointing device for designating an edit target element on an edit area of a screen, and a process for executing the command for the edit target element when a command for the edit target element according to the designation is selected by the pointing device. In the data edit processing system including means, when a target element to be edited is designated by the pointing device, a required number of command groups in a higher hierarchy among the command groups executable for the target element are displayed in a menu and the menu is displayed. A data edit processing system, comprising means for displaying a required number of command groups in a lower hierarchy corresponding to the command in a menu when the command is selected. 14. A data edit processing system according to claim 12, wherein the position of the menu display is in the vicinity of the position designated by the element. 15. The data editing processing system according to claim 12, wherein the menu display is performed simultaneously with the element designation.