JPH10187352A - Multiwindow system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiwindow system in which the operability of a pointing device can be improved by automatically moving a pointing device cursor to an active window at the time of changing the active window. SOLUTION: In a multiwindow system in which plural windows are simultaneously displayed on a display part, a pointing device coordinate for each window storage table 11 which stores pointing device coordinates in the windows corresponding to the plural windows is prepared. Then, the table 11 is retrieved at the time of changing an active window, and a pointing device cursor is moved to the pointing device coordinate of the changed window by a means 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-window system for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows, and more particularly to a method for moving a pointing device cursor when an active window is changed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional multi-window system for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows is disclosed in, for example,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 150934/1988 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-68922 are known. In a conventional multi-window system, even when the active window is changed by a keyboard input or the like on the multi-window screen, the pointing device cursor generally does not move within the active window. The cursor is moved in the window.

[0003]

In the prior art, when the active window is changed, the pointing device cursor does not move in the active window at the same time. Therefore, the pointing device is operated to manually move the pointing device cursor in the active window. It is moving. Therefore, every time the active window is changed, the cursor must be manually moved into the active window, resulting in poor operability.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-window system capable of automatically moving a pointing device cursor in an active window when an active window is changed, thereby improving operability of a pointing device. And

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multi-window system for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit, the window corresponding to each of the plurality of windows. And a means for storing the pointing device coordinates in the table and means for retrieving the table when the active window is changed and moving the pointing device cursor to the pointing device coordinates of the window after the change.

[0006]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the multi-window system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a display device such as a CRT. In the present embodiment, a multi-window system for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows on the display device 1 is provided. The display of the display device 1 such as the display of the multi-window and the display of the cursor of the pointing device is entirely performed by the control unit 4. Controlled. 2 is an input device such as a keyboard, and 3 is a pointing device for inputting position information of a cursor position. A mouse or the like is used as the pointing device 3.

The control unit 4 analyzes input information from the input device 2 and the pointing device 3 and outputs the message as a message. The message control unit controls each unit according to the message from the device control unit 5. Means 6, a table search means 7 for searching the pointing device coordinate storage table 11 for each window based on the control of the message control means 6, and a table updating means 8 for updating the table 11 similarly under the control of the message control means 6. .

The control means 4 comprises a message control means 6
Window control means 9 for controlling the display of the window on the display device 1 based on the control of the display device 1, and display control means 10 for controlling all the display of the display device 1 such as the display of the pointing device cursor on the display device 1. . The window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11 stores pointing device coordinates in a window for each of a plurality of windows displayed on the display device 11.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the pointing device coordinates (X1, X1) corresponding to the window A are stored in the window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11.
Y1), coordinates (X2, Y2) corresponding to window B,
Pointing device coordinates are stored for each window name, such as coordinates (X3, Y3) corresponding to window C. Note that the coordinates (0, 0) of the initial position of each window are stored as the initial values of the pointing device coordinates for each window. These coordinates are updated each time the pointing device coordinates change in the active window, as described later in detail.

In this embodiment, as will be described later in detail, when the active window is changed, that is, when the window on which the current operation is being performed on the display device 1 is changed to another window, the pointing device coordinate storage table for each window is set. 11, and the pointing device cursor is automatically moved within the active window.

Next, a specific operation of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows the flow of the processing of this embodiment. In FIG. 2, first, it is assumed that a plurality of windows are simultaneously displayed on the display device 1, and the work is currently being performed in any one of the windows. The window in which the work is currently being performed is called an active window. In this state, when information is input by the input device 3 or the pointing device 3, the input information is analyzed by the device control unit 5, converted into a message, and sent to the message control unit 6.

When receiving the message, the message control means 6 determines the type of the message and determines whether the message is a change message of the active window (step 201). Here, if the message is an active window change message, that is, a message notifying that the window in which the work is currently being executed has been changed to another window among a plurality of windows on the display device 1. In this case, the message control means 6 controls the table search means 7 to search the window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11 with the changed window name (step 202). That is, it is searched whether the information on the window after the change is registered in the window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11.

Next, the message control means 6 determines whether or not the changed window is in the window-specific pointing device location storage table 11 based on the search result of the table search means 7 (step 203).
Here, if the window after the change is registered in the window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11, the message control means 6 controls the display control means 10 so that the pointing device cursor is searched for in the searched window after the change. Display at the coordinate position (Step 2
05).

That is, in the message control means 6,
The pointing device coordinates corresponding to the corresponding window are read from the table 11 and sent to the display control means 10 to display the pointing device cursor at the coordinate position in the changed window. For example, if the active window is changed from the window name A to the window name C in the table 11 of FIG. 1, the message control means 6 reads the coordinates (X3, Y3) corresponding to the window name C, and places the pointing device at this coordinate position. Display the cursor. By doing so, when the active window is changed, the pointing device cursor can be automatically moved within the changed active window.

If the window after the change is not registered in the table 11 as a result of the search of the table 11 in the step 203, the message control means 6 controls the table updating means 8 to newly store the table in the table 11. The window name and coordinates are registered (step 204). Thereafter, the message control means 6 controls the display control means 10 to display a pointing device cursor in the active window (step 205).

On the other hand, if the message type is not an active window change message in step 201, the message control means 6 determines whether the message is a pointing device movement message (step 2).
06). That is, it is determined whether or not the pointing device cursor position has been changed by the operation of the pointing device 3. If the message is a pointing device movement message, the message control means 6 determines whether the pointing device coordinates have moved within the active window (step 207).

That is, it is determined whether the pointing device coordinates have moved within the currently executed active window. If the pointing device coordinates have moved within the active window, the message control means 6 causes the table updating means 8 to update the table updating means 8. By controlling, the pointing device coordinates of the corresponding window in the window-specific pointing device coordinate storage table 11 are updated to the coordinates after the movement (step 208). Therefore, when the next operation is performed in the same window, the pointing device cursor moves to the previous pointing device coordinates, so that it is not necessary to move the pointing device cursor to that position, and the operability can be further improved.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of windows and pointing device coordinates are tabulated, the table is searched when the active window is changed, and the pointing device cursor is moved to the pointing device coordinates of the window after the change. Thus, when the active window is changed, the pointing device cursor can be automatically moved within the changed window. Therefore, it is not necessary to move the cursor in the active window by operating a pointing device such as a mouse when the active window is changed, and operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a multi-window system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 display device 2 input device 3 pointing device 4 control means 5 device control means 6 message control means 7 table search means 8 table updating means 9 window display control means 10 display control means 11 window pointing device coordinate storage table

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A multi-window system for simultaneously displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit, a table storing pointing device coordinates in the windows corresponding to the plurality of windows, and searching the table when an active window is changed. Means for moving a pointing device cursor to the pointing device coordinates of the window after the change. 2. The multi-window system according to claim 1, further comprising means for updating, when the pointing device coordinates move within the active window, the pointing device coordinates of the corresponding window in the table to the coordinates after the movement. Multi-window system characterized by the following.