JPH11161480A - Method and system for automatic generation of image and document layout - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically generate layout, etc., of a title, item names, and item layout at the time of screen document layout generation and to decrease man-hours for the layout by allowing a layout generation part which has received respective pieces of information to output a layout information file including item information, coordinate information, etc., such as title information. SOLUTION: A definition part 10 defines an object definition file 11, a dictionary file 12, an environment file 13, and option information 14 first. Then the object definition file 11, dictionary file 12, and environment file 13 defined by the definition part 10 are passed to a generation part 20. A layout information generation part 21 analyzes the 'object name' of the object definition file 11, 'the group information of data items', and 'data item information' by a definition analysis part 22 to generate a layout information file 30 according to a layout generation rule. The layout generation rule is changeable with the information of the environment file 13 and option information 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for creating screens and forms in a data processing apparatus, and more particularly to a method and system for automatically creating screens and form layouts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, positioning of screen and form items in a data processing apparatus has been performed exclusively by manual work. Some recent GUI (Graphical User Interface) development tools have a simple automatic layout creation function, but the arrangement of items is limited to horizontal arrangement only or vertical arrangement only.

[0003] Further, since the coordinate information of the items is difficult to understand and it is not possible to specify the arrangement of the items, there is a problem that the items arranged on the line are difficult to see.

[0004] Therefore, the layout generated by using the automatic creation function cannot be effectively used, and it is necessary to correct and rearrange the layout manually again.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-290198 discloses an arrangement form designating means for designating the arrangement form of each item to be arranged and output on a sheet. A layout that has a layout position calculation method corresponding to each layout format that can be specified by the specification means, selects the layout position calculation method according to the layout format specification means, calculates the layout position of each item on the paper, and creates a form layout A form creation device including a position calculation unit and an output unit for arranging and outputting each item according to a form layout created by the arrangement position calculation unit has been proposed. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-19695, a coordination information file defining the contents of a data file to be constructed and a construction method is created, and all information necessary for creating a screen form definition body is extracted from the coordination information file. There has been proposed a screen form definition body automatic generation processing method for automatically generating a screen form definition body.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned conventional simple automatic creation function of screen form layout, the arrangement of items is limited to only horizontal arrangement or only vertical arrangement.
Since the coordinate information of the items is difficult to understand and cannot specify the arrangement of the items, there is a problem that the items arranged on the line are difficult to see. For this reason, the layout generated using the automatic creation function cannot be used effectively, and a manual correction and rearrangement work is required again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to automatically generate titles and item names when creating a screen form layout, and to arrange items horizontally. It is an object of the present invention to provide a layout automatic creation method and method which enables a vertical layout, a mixed layout of both, and a layout reduction man-hour.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a screen and form automatic layout method according to the present invention.
Screen name, object name used as title of form name, data item name, type of the item, group information between data items are defined as definition information in object definition file, and screen name and form name are associated with the object name Define the screen name and form name in the dictionary file to define the form, and set a line break in any item, define the line break information and format information in the environment file to set the screen and form size, and define the object definition The information of the file, the dictionary file, and the environment file is passed to a layout creating unit, and the layout creating unit that receives the information, layout information including item information such as title information, group information, labels, and types, coordinate information, and the like. File, and the layout image creation unit analyzes the layout information file to And outputs the over-di.

An automatic screen / form layout method according to the present invention is an object definition file including a screen name, an object name used as a title of the form name, a data item name, a type of the item, and group information between data items as definition information. And a dictionary file for specifying a screen name and a form name and defining them in association with the object name, line feed information,
An environment file for specifying format information, line feed at any item, setting screen and form size, option information for specifying screen / form, the object definition file, dictionary file, environment file, and options Enter each information of the definition information, title information, group information,
Layout information creating means for outputting a layout information file including label, item information such as type, coordinate information, etc.,
A layout image creating means for inputting the layout information file and outputting a layout image.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The screen and form automatic layout method of the present invention, in a preferred embodiment, includes a screen name, an object name used as a title of the form name, a data item name, a type of the item, and group information between the data items in an object definition file. Defined as definition information, screen name,
To define the form name in association with the object name, define the screen name and form name in the dictionary file, break the line at any item, and set the line break information and format information in the environment to set the screen and form size. Define in file.

The layout information creating means inputs object definition file, dictionary file, environment file, option information for designating screen / form, and inputs item information such as title information, group information, label, type, etc. A layout information file including coordinate information, repeated display information, and the like is output.

The layout image creating means inputs a layout information file and outputs a layout image.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 1 and 2 are functional block diagrams for explaining an automatic layout system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a definition unit 10 for creating definition information, a creation unit 20 for creating a layout information file 30 from the definition information, and a layout image 50 output from the layout information file 30. And a layout image creation subsystem 50.

The definition unit 10 comprises an object definition file 11, a dictionary file 12, and an environment file 13.
Define in a text file.

The object definition file 11 defines object names, data item names, data types, group information between data items, and the like. This information is the basic information of the items displayed on the layout.

The dictionary file 12 can be given a title with an arbitrary name by defining a screen name and a form name in association with an object name.

In the environment file 13, by defining line feed information and format information, it is possible to set a line feed at an arbitrary item and set the size of a screen and a form.

The creation unit 20 receives the object definition file 11, the dictionary definition file 12, the environment definition file 13, and the option information 14 which are the files created by the definition unit 10 as arguments, and creates a layout information file 30.

The layout information creating section 21 includes a definition analyzing section 22 for analyzing definition information, and a dictionary (dictionary definition file).
A dictionary conversion unit 23 that performs conversion according to the following, a layout information output unit 24 that outputs the layout information file 30,
Is provided.

Layout image creation subsystem 40
Inputs the layout information file 30 created by the layout information creating unit 20, analyzes the layout information file 30, and outputs a layout image 50 including titles, items, field positions, and the like.

The layout information file 30 has a screen name /
Form name information, group information, item information, coordinate information, and repetition information are output in this format when a layout image created from the object definition file 11 is created, so that it can be used by other applications. I have.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, an object definition file 11, a dictionary file 12, an environment file 13, and option information 14 are defined.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the object definition file 11. In the example of the object definition file shown in FIG. 7, the object name is "call details" and is used as the title of the screen name and the form name.

In FIG. 7, a block starting with [BODY] is an item for setting the arrangement method to "vertical arrangement".
The block starting with [DETAIL] is an item for setting the arrangement method to “horizontal arrangement”.

An item name and field attributes are defined for each item, and the creating unit 20 creates a layout information file based on this information.

The object definition file 11, dictionary file 12, and environment file 13 created by the definition unit 10 are transferred to the creation unit 20.

In the layout information creating unit 21, the definition analyzing unit 22 analyzes "object name", "data item group information" and "data item information" of the object definition file 11, and outputs the layout information based on the layout creating rule. Create the file 30.

The layout creation rule is defined in the environment file 1
3 and the option information 14.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the layout information file 30.
Shown in In FIG. 8, the title is “call detail management”, blocks beginning with [BODY] are items with “vertical arrangement”, and blocks starting with [DETAIL] are items with “horizontal arrangement”. Item name, field attribute (eg char is a character type)
And coordinate information.

The layout creation rules include a screen, a method of arranging the size and title of a form, a method of arranging items and fields in one line, a rule of page break (for a form), and the like.

A layout is created by the layout image creation subsystem 40 based on the layout information file 30. Since the information of the layout information file 30 includes information such as screen name / form name (title) information, item information (labels and fields), coordinate information, and repetition information, the layout image creation subsystem 4 A layout is created based on the information.

One embodiment of the present invention having the above-described structure is a method for efficiently and automatically creating a screen and a form layout, and has the following operational effects.

1. Automatically generate titles (screen names, form names), item names, and field coordinate positions when creating screens and form layouts.

The items of the screen and the form can be defined as items of one object. In the object, item names and attributes of each item are defined.

By standardizing the standard expressions of screens and forms, screens and form layouts can be created from object definition files that define screens and form objects.

2. The arrangement of items can be “vertical arrangement”, “horizontal arrangement”, or “mixture of horizontal arrangement and vertical arrangement”.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of items in one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in (1) vertical arrangement, item names and fields are arranged vertically. (2) In the “horizontal arrangement”, item names are arranged in the horizontal direction, and corresponding fields are arranged below the item names. “(3) Mixed horizontal and vertical arrangement” is an arrangement using both (1) and (2).

In one embodiment of the present invention, one of the characteristics is that a line feed can be performed in a designated item in the case of horizontal arrangement.

In the horizontal arrangement, as described above, when items are automatically arranged by the conventional method, there is a problem that related items cannot be arranged on the same line.

In one embodiment of the present invention, by specifying an item to be broken, related items can be arranged on the same line. The line feed is specified using the environment file 13.

FIG. 4 shows an example of line feed designation in one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, line breaks can be made by specifying items in the environment file.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, by associating the screen name and the form name with the object in the dictionary file 12, the screen name and the form name can be set with arbitrary names.

In principle, the titles of screens and forms use object names, but are used when a different name is desired depending on the application.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a title in one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, the title can be replaced with an arbitrary name. This function is performed by associating the object name in the object definition file 11 with an arbitrary name. As described above, this association is performed in the dictionary file 12. And
The position of the coordinates to be arranged is recalculated according to the replaced name.

The layout image 50 is created by the layout image creation subsystem 40 based on the layout information file 30. This is a function of expressing an actual layout image in a text format (a format using a character code) based on information in the layout information file 30.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a layout image created in a text format by the layout image creation subsystem 40.

As another embodiment of the present invention, information such as the size and color of a character is specified in the object definition file 11 for the label of an item or the attribute of a field to add information to the layout information file 30. Can be.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

A first effect of the present invention is that a layout image can be automatically created based on a layout information file. In particular, a screen, a title (screen name, form name), an item name when creating a layout of a form, That is, the coordinate position of the field can be automatically generated.

A second effect of the present invention is that the item arrangement can be "vertical arrangement", "horizontal arrangement", or "mixture of horizontal arrangement and vertical arrangement". In the case of, line breaks can be made in the specified item.

A third effect of the present invention is that a screen name and a form name can be set by arbitrary names by associating a screen name and a form name with an object in a dictionary file.
That's what it means.

As a fourth effect of the present invention, the first
According to the third effect, the man-hours required for layout creation can be significantly reduced, and the productivity of software can be improved by modifying and reusing the definition part.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention;
It is a figure showing an example of item arrangement.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention;
It is an explanatory view of a line feed specification.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of title arrangement.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an object definition file according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout information file according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Definition part 11 Object definition file 12 Dictionary file 13 Environment file 14 Option information 20 Creation part 21 Layout information creation part 22 Dictionary conversion part 23 Layout information output part 30 Layout information file 40 Layout image creation subsystem 50 Layout image

Claims (6)

[Claims] A screen name, an object name used as a title of a form name, a data item name, a type of the item, and group information between data items are defined as definition information in an object definition file, and the screen name and the form name are defined. To define the screen name and form name in the dictionary file to define in association with the object name, and to set line breaks in arbitrary items, and to define the line break information and format information in the environment file to set the screen and form size Then, each information of the object definition file, the dictionary file, and the environment file is transferred to a layout creating unit, and the layout creating unit receiving the information converts the item information such as title information, group information, label, and type, coordinate information. Output a layout information file containing the layout information file, etc. A screen / form automatic layout method, wherein a layout image is output. 2. The screen / form automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein said layout image creation section outputs the layout image in a text format. 3. An object definition file including a screen name, an object name used as a title of a form name, a data item name, a type of the item, and group information between data items as definition information, and a screen name and a form name are specified. A dictionary file for defining in association with the object name, a line feed information and format information, a line feed for any item, an environment file for setting screen and form sizes, and a screen / form specification Input the object definition file, the dictionary file, the environment file, and the option definition information, and input a layout information file including title information, group information, item information such as labels and types, coordinate information, and the like. Means for creating layout information to be output, and inputting and analyzing the layout information file and Screen-form automatic layout method of the layout image generation means for outputting a preparative image, further comprising a said. 4. A definition analyzing unit for analyzing the definition information of the object definition file, wherein the layout creating means analyzes the definition information of the object definition file.
2. The screen / form automatic layout method according to claim 1, further comprising: a dictionary conversion unit that performs conversion based on the contents of the dictionary file; and a layout information output unit that outputs layout information. 5. The screen / form automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein a line feed is started at the designated item by designating an arbitrary item in the environment file. 6. The screen / form automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein said layout image output means outputs a layout image in a text format.