JPH1097407A - Portable information equipment and display control method for icon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable information equipment which improves operation efficiency by determining the array order of icons according to the frequencies of selection of the icons. SOLUTION: When a user selects one icon in a menu application window 36 displayed on an LCD 21, a menu application program 32 is informed of that by an operating system 31 and counts up the frequency of start of the application program which is held in an application start counter 34 and corresponds to the icon. Then the menu application program 32, when displaying the menu application program 36, rearranges the icons by a use frequency sorting module 33 according to the start frequencies held in the application start counter 34 and then requests the operating system 31 to display them on the LCD 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information device having a function of displaying an application icon in a menu and a display control method of an icon applied to the device. The present invention relates to a portable information device and an icon display control method for improving work efficiency by determining an arrangement order.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a personal computer such as a notebook type or a palm top type which is easy to carry and can be operated by a battery, or a PDA (Person)
Various small information terminals referred to as al Digital Assistants have been developed. In this type of portable information device, icons representing these application programs are displayed so that frequently used application programs among a plurality of application programs installed in the system can be efficiently started. List them as menu items,
When the user selects any one of the icons displayed in the list, the user often has a menu display function of starting an application program represented by the icon. As a result, the user can efficiently perform the start-up work only by registering the icon of the desired application program as a menu item.

Recently, the miniaturization of portable information devices has been rapidly promoted, and with this miniaturization, the amount of information that can be displayed on a display screen at one time has been limited.
In such a situation, the menu display function described above
It has a mechanism to present all menu items by scrolling or page operation.

In the conventional menu display function, the display order is determined based on information registered in the file system, such as the order of registration of menu items or the order of names, sizes, types and dates. Therefore, it is quite possible that a menu item with a large number of selections (that is, a selection frequency is high) will not be listed on the top screen of the menu, and in this case, the user must scroll or page until the menu item appears. Operation has to be performed, and there has been a problem that work efficiency has been deteriorated. Further, even when the display order of the menu items can be set, the setting operation must be performed by the user each time, so that there is a problem that the usability is very poor.

[0005] Further, a user does not always use only a single application program for one work, and in fact, often uses a plurality of application programs for one work. For example, in the work of creating some kind of statistical table, a plurality of application programs such as “word processor software”, “database software”, and “spreadsheet software” are often used. However,
In the conventional menu display function, a unique icon is associated with each single application program, and this icon is used as a menu item to display a menu. In such a case, each menu item is selected. There was a problem that an application program had to be started.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional menu display function, the display order of the menu items is changed.
For example, menu items that are frequently selected are not listed on the top screen of the menu because they are determined based on information held by the file system, such as name order, size order, type order, and date order. There was a problem that scrolling and page operations were forced.

In the conventional menu display function, a single application program is associated with one icon, and the icon is displayed as a menu item in a menu display. There is a problem that the user has to select each menu item and start the application program.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a portable information device and an icon display for improving work efficiency by determining the arrangement order of icons based on the number of icon selections. It is an object to provide a control method.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a portable information device having a menu display function of displaying icons, which are identifiably represented by application programs, as menu items in the same window.
A counting unit that counts the number of selections of each of the icons; and an arrangement order determination unit that determines an arrangement order of the icons in the window based on the number of selections counted by the counting unit. And

According to the present invention, when the user selects any one of a plurality of icons, the number of selections is counted for each icon, and a menu is selected based on the counted number of selections. Determine the display order of the icons in the display. That is, the menu items are automatically displayed according to the user's selection tendency without the user having to reset the display order of the menu items each time according to the work situation at that time. Usability can be improved. Also, for example, when multiple icons are registered as menu items, and all of them cannot be contained in one screen, the icon that is likely to be selected is preferentially displayed on the top screen. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the need for the user to perform scrolling, page operations, and the like, and it is possible to dramatically improve work efficiency.

It is preferable that a plurality of application programs are provided as a set, and a means for assigning a single icon to the set is further provided. This makes it possible to activate all of these application programs by simply selecting an icon that uniquely represents these multiple application programs on the menu screen when a certain task requires multiple application programs. And the operability is further improved.
In addition, since the display order of these icons is determined in the same manner as other icons representing a single application program, appropriate display control according to the work situation is performed as described above.

In addition to using the number of times of selection independently for display control, it is effective to determine the display order in consideration of, for example, the weight (priority or the like) added to each icon and the last selection time. Yes (for example, determining the display order of icons when the number of selections is the same). Even if the number of selections is large, it is more appropriate to provide a means for initializing the number of selections when the elapsed time from the last selection time of the icon exceeds a predetermined time. Display control becomes possible.

The sorting order based on the number of selections may be positioned as one of the display order setting options together with the last selection time order, for example, and adopted when set by the user. preferable. Also,
It is preferable that the plurality of sorting orders can be set in multiple stages by assigning priorities. As a result, it is possible to increase the user's operational flexibility.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of the portable information device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the portable information device of the embodiment includes a CPU 11, a system controller 12, a system memory 13, a BIO
S-ROM 14, keyboard controller (KBC) 1
5, a magnetic disk drive (HDD) 18 and a display controller 19 are provided.

The CPU 11 controls the execution of application programs including an operating system and utilities stored in the system memory 13. The system controller 12 controls the memory and I / O in this system.
This is a gate array for controlling O. The system memory 13 stores an operating system executed and controlled by the CPU 11, an application program including utilities, user data created by the application program, and the like.

The BIOS-ROM 14 has a system-BI
This is for storing an OS and a VGA-BIOS, and is constituted by a flash memory so that a program can be rewritten.

The keyboard controller 15 detects the operation contents of the keyboard 16 and the mouse 17 and converts it into input data and takes it into the system. Therefore, a selection instruction for the menu application window 36 (a list of program icons is displayed in the menu application window) displayed on the LCD 21 as shown in FIG. 2 is fetched through the keyboard controller 15.

The magnetic disk device 18 is a large-capacity secondary storage device for transmitting and receiving data to and from the system memory 13. Then, the display controller 19 controls the LCD 21
And a display for controlling the CRT 22 and the CPU.
11 receives the display data from the VRAM 20
Write to. That is, the menu application window 36 shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the LCD 21 by the display control.

FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the portable information device of the embodiment having such a device configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, in the portable information device of the embodiment, the operating system 31 controls the entire system. Further, the menu application program 32 is configured to include a use frequency sorting module 33, and after the icons displayed in the menu application window 36 are sorted by the use frequency sort module 33 according to a predetermined rule described later, It requests the operating system 31 to display the menu application window 36 on the LCD 21. On the other hand, when one of the icons in the displayed menu application window 36 is selected by the user, a notification to that effect is received from the operating system 31 and the application program corresponding to the selected icon is displayed in the application group. It is learned by referring to the management table 35. Then, while requesting the operating system 31 to start the learned application program,
The application activation counter 34 counts up the number of activations of the application program.

Here, the operation principle of the usage frequency sorting module 33 will be described. The usage frequency sorting module 33 is a module that sorts the icons displayed in the menu application window 36 based on the number of times the application program has been started stored in the application start counter 34. Here, a method of converting the number of times of activation into a relative score and arranging the icons according to the order of the score will be described as an example.

First, the score given as the initial value is distributed so that the total score becomes a constant value from the current order. This is called the basic score. This basic score can be obtained, for example, by equation (1).

[0022]

(Equation 1)

Here, A indicates the basic score, M indicates the total score, and N indicates the number of rearrangements. The relationship between M and N is M ≧ N. Then, the order of the required basic score is set to the number O.

After that, the order of the use frequency is calculated from the number of times the application program has been started, and converted into an equal score based on the order. This is called a usage frequency score.
The total use frequency score is set between 10% and 50% of the total score. This ratio is called the point change rate. This use frequency score can be obtained, for example, by equation (2).

[0025]

(Equation 2)

Here, U is a usage frequency score, M is a total score, S is a score variation rate, and N is the number of rearrangements. The relationship between M and N is M ≧ N. O ′ is the order when the items are arranged in descending order of the number of uses. In addition, the one with the largest number of uses is set to 1.

Here, a value obtained by subtracting the score corresponding to the score variation rate from the basic score is referred to as a carryover score. In addition, the larger the score change rate, the larger the order change. Then, the sum of the carryover score and the usage frequency score is calculated as a new score. This is called an addition score. This addition score can be obtained, for example, by equation (3).

[0028]

(Equation 3)

Here, A 'indicates an added score, S indicates a score change rate, and U indicates a use frequency score. By rearranging in the order of the added points, the points can be sorted in descending order of the use frequency. In addition, this addition score (A ')
Is held as the next basic score (A).

FIG. 4 shows an example calculated according to this method. The calculation condition in this case is the total score (M)
Is 10,000 points, the number (N) is 8, and the score variation rate (S) is 30%. The fractional part is rounded down.

As described above, according to the portable information device of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional sorting rules (sort type), such as name order, size order, type order, and date (time ) In addition to the order, it is possible to select the order of use frequency, so that icons having a high possibility of being selected can be displayed preferentially. For example, a plurality of icons are registered as menu items, and all of these are registered as menu items. When it is not possible to fit within one screen, the work efficiency can be particularly improved.

The arrangement rule shown in FIG. 5 can be set by the user via a pop-up screen provided by a setup utility program, for example, and stored in any storage area that can be referred to by the usage frequency sort module 33. I just need. In addition, if the sorting rules can be set in multiple stages by assigning priorities, it is possible to expand the operational flexibility of the user.

Next, an example in which a single icon is assigned to a group composed of a plurality of application programs will be described. As mentioned above, the user
One task does not always use only a single application program, and in practice, a plurality of application programs are often used for one task. Therefore, in such a case, it is desirable to activate all of these application programs simply by selecting an icon that uniquely represents the plurality of application programs on the menu screen. As a method for realizing this, as shown in FIG. 6, a command line management database 38 for storing command lines corresponding to the respective program icons 37 listed in the menu application icon 36 is separately provided. Each command line stored in the command line management database 38 is
This is for starting an application program. Therefore, menu application icon 3
When (b) or (c) is selected in 6, a plurality of applications are activated by a single selection operation, and operability can be further improved.
In addition, since these icons do not make any distinction between a single application program and a group of application programs, appropriate appropriate display control is performed according to the number of selections.

It is to be noted that the sorting order is not limited to the above-described sorting rules, and the order of sorting is determined in consideration of, for example, the weight (priority, etc.) added to each icon and the last selection time, and the time elapsed since the last selection time of the icon. When the time exceeds a predetermined time, the number of selections can be initialized according to the operation of the system.

The method of controlling the arrangement of icons described in the present embodiment includes programs that can be executed by a computer, such as magnetic disks such as floppy disks and hard disks, optical disks such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and semiconductor memories. It is possible to store and distribute on a recording medium.

[0036]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when the user selects any one of a plurality of icons, the number of selections is counted for each icon, Since the arrangement order of the icons in the menu display is determined based on the selected number of times, the menu items are automatically displayed according to the user's selection tendency, thereby improving usability.

Further, by setting a plurality of application programs as a set and assigning a single icon to the set, all that is required is to select an icon that uniquely represents the plurality of application programs on a menu screen. Since the application program can be activated, the operability can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view showing a device configuration of a portable information device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing the appearance of the portable information device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing functional blocks of the portable information device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing a calculation result of the use frequency sorting module of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing sort types and processing contents according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing a main configuration example when a single icon is assigned to a group composed of a plurality of application programs of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 CPU, 12 system controller, 13 system memory, 14 BIOS-ROM, 15 keyboard controller (KBC), 16 keyboard (K
B), 17 mouse, 18 magnetic disk device (HD
D), 19: display controller, 20: VRAM, 21
... LCD, 22 ... CRT, 31 ... Operating system, 32 ... Menu application program, 3
3. Use frequency sort module, 34 application start counter, 35 application group management table, 36 menu application window, 37 program icon, 38 command line management database.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A portable information device having a menu display function of displaying icons that can be identified by an application program as menu items in the same window as a menu item. Portable information equipment comprising: means for arranging icons in the window based on the number of selections counted by the counting means. 2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an icon registration unit configured to group a plurality of application programs and to assign a single icon to the group, wherein a single application program and a group of application programs are mixed to form an icon. 2. The portable information device according to claim 1, wherein display control is performed. 3. An arrangement order of the icons in the window is determined from the weight given to each of the icons and the counted number of selections, wherein the arrangement order determination means determines an arrangement order of the icons in the window. The portable information device as described. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement order determining unit determines an arrangement order of the icons in the window from a last selection time of each of the icons and the counted number of selections. Portable information equipment. 5. A selection number management means for initializing the number of selections of any one of the icons when the elapsed time from the last selection time of the icon exceeds a predetermined time. Claim 1, characterized in that:
The portable information device according to 2, 3 or 4. 6. An area for storing data designating any one of a plurality of sorting rules including a last selection time order, a selection frequency order, and the like, wherein the sorting order determining means stores the data in the area. 6. The portable information device according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement order of icons in the window is determined according to an arrangement rule indicated by the data. 7. The portable information device according to claim 6, wherein the data for specifying the alignment rule can specify a plurality of alignment rules in multiple stages. 8. An icon display control method applied to a portable information device having a menu display function of displaying an icon in which an application program is identifiably expressed in a same window as a menu item. Counting the number of selections of each of the icons, and determining an arrangement order of the icons in the window based on the counted number of selections. 9. A program for controlling the display of an icon on a portable information device having a menu display function of displaying an icon identifiably represented by an application program as a menu item side by side in the same window. A computer-readable storage storing a program for controlling a computer to count the number of selections of each of the icons, and to determine an arrangement order of the icons in the window based on the counted number of selections Medium.