JPH03186842A - Layout device for kind of flyer and catalog - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the exact assignment of one point on a contour line having a width by providing an assignment point converter which converts the assignment point to the point on the boundary of the contour line of graphics in accordance with the graphic data in a memory device when the assignment to indicate the boundary is made from a mode assigning device and applies this point to a layout instruction input device. CONSTITUTION:A mode to indicate a center and a mode to indicate the boundary are selected by the mode assigning device 8. The inputted assignment point is handled as the point to indicate the point on the center line of the contour line of the graphics in the same manner as with the conventional devices if the mode to indicate the center is selected. The inputted assignment point is converted to the point on the contour line on the boundary of the contour line of the graphics by the assignment point converter 11 and is applied to the layout instruction input device 2 when the mode to indicate the boundary line is selected. An operator is able to exactly assign the one point on the contour line having the width by executing the assignment point input with the mode indicating the boundary in such a manner.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a leaflet/catalog layout device, particularly a leaflet/catalog layout device that performs layout work interactively while looking at a display screen.
This article relates to a catalog device.

[Conventional technology]

In printed materials such as flyers and catalogs, it is necessary to neatly divide photographs, character strings, or desired figures of many products into one printed material.

Recently, layout devices have been used that can perform such layout work using a computer. In this type of device, photographs and character strings for each product are input into a computer as digital data. Then, an image based on these data can be displayed on the display screen to perform layout work. The operator is
While looking at the display screen, you can specify where to place a photo or text about a specific product, and you can change the magnification and tilt as necessary. Further, regarding graphics, by inputting a predetermined instruction, a desired graphic can be created at a desired layout position on the display screen.

The allocation results obtained in this way are held in the form of data stored in the computer's memory, so
Layout correction work can also be easily performed, and the operator can proceed with the layout work by interacting with the computer.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, conventional layout devices have a problem in that they cannot freely specify one point on the outline of a figure. Generally, a graphic is stored in a memory divided into line information and width information regarding the line. In other words, a figure surrounded by a wide outline is displayed on the display screen, but information about the center line of this outline and information about the width are stored separately in memory. Become.

Therefore, in the conventional device, when attempting to accurately specify one point on the outline of a figure, a point on the center line ends up being specified. However, depending on the designer in charge of the layout design of a flyer or catalog, the layout position of another layout object may be specified based on the inside or outside position of the outline of a certain figure. In this case, the operator cannot accurately specify the reference position specified by the designer on the display screen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a flyer/catalog layout device that can accurately specify one point on a wide contour line.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention includes a product data input device for inputting product data regarding products to be published in flyers and catalogs, an allocation instruction input device for inputting allocation instructions from an operator, and a method for inputting product data based on the input allocation instructions. A layout work device that performs layout work, a graphic data input device that inputs graphic data regarding a shape consisting of a contour line with a width, dividing it into line information and width information related to the line, and a layout device. A storage device that stores work results and input graphic data as layout results, an layout result output device that outputs the layout results, and a display device that displays on screen the work progress of the layout work and the input progress of the graphic data. , a designated point input device for inputting one point on the display screen of the display device as a designated point; and a designated point input device for inputting a point on the display screen of the display device as a designated point; A mode specifying device that specifies whether to indicate the center or the boundary of the outline of a figure; and when a boundary is specified by this mode specifying device, the figure data in the storage device is The invention further includes a designated point conversion device that converts the designated point into a point on the boundary of the contour of the figure based on the specified point and provides the converted point to the layout instruction input device.

[For production]

In the flyer/catalog layout device according to the present invention, the mode specifying device allows selection between a mode indicating the center and a mode indicating the boundary. When the mode indicating the center is selected, the input specified point is treated as indicating a point on the center line of the outline of the figure, as in the conventional device.

On the other hand, when the mode indicating a boundary is selected, the specified point conversion device converts the input specified point into a point on the boundary of the figure's outline, and then inputs it to the layout instruction input device. Therefore, by inputting a designated point using the mote that indicates the boundary, the operator can accurately designate one point on the wide contour line.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments.

Basic Structure of the Apparatus FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic structure of the leaflet/catalog layout apparatus of the present invention. The product data input device 1 is a device for inputting product data regarding products to be published in flyers and catalogs.

Here, the product data is data such as a photo of the product, a character string indicating the product name, price, etc. Specifically, in this embodiment, an input scanner device is used as a device for inputting photos of products, and a word processor is used as a device for inputting character strings. In the case of a photograph, it is input as image raster data, and in the case of a character string, it is input as a character code (including series and font code). The layout instruction input device 2 is a device for inputting layout instructions from an operator, and can use a device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The layout work device 3 is a device that performs layout work on input product data based on the input layout instructions, and is specifically realized by hardware that constitutes a computer body and software that operates this. The final result of the assignment (=I work) is output from the assignment result output device 4, but the progress of the work is sequentially displayed on the screen on the display device 5.The assignment result output device 4 may include an output scanner device or a printer. Normally, after the operator completes the assignment (=1 task), the operator gives an output instruction to the assignment result output device 4. On the other hand, the display device 5 always displays the assignment status at that point. It has a display function.Therefore, the operator can use the allocation instruction input device 2.
When an allocation instruction is input from , and the allocation device 3 performs a task of allocating predetermined product data to a predetermined position in accordance with this instruction, the result is immediately displayed on the display device 5 . Since the operator can confirm the assignment result according to the instruction given by the mekugi's Ij and the received instructions on the display device 5, the operator can perform the assignment (:1) work in an interactive manner. A storage device 6 is connected.This storage device 6 is a memory used in a computer constituting the allocation work device 3, and stores the results of one work as data.

The features of this device further include a graphic data input device 7, a mode designation device 8, a graphic data conversion device 9, and a designated point input device 1.
01 designated point conversion device 11 is provided. Specifically, each of these devices can be realized by directly using the computer used as the layout work device 3 and its input device, and by preparing dedicated software for each. Note that the functions of each of these devices will be described in detail below.

Figure Input Work Next, we will explain the figure input work that is a feature of this device. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a layout screen displayed on the display device 5. As shown in FIG.

In this example, a photo 11 of a product and a description 12 of the product are allocated within a rectangle 10. Here, the photograph 11 and the explanatory text 12 are input from the product data input device and allocated to this position based on an operator's instruction given from the allocation instruction input device 2. A rectangle 10 is a figure input by an input operation unique to this apparatus. This rectangle 10 is actually composed of a contour line with width. In this example, this rectangle 10 is
[Photo 1] and explanatory text 12, but in flyers and catalogs, figures expressed by such wide outlines are often allocated for various purposes. Such graphic layout is performed by the graphic data input device 7, mode designation device 8, and graphic data conversion device 9.

0 Before explaining the actual figure layout work, it will be explained what kind of data the allocated figures are stored in the storage device 6. FIG. 3 shows a rectangle 20 expressed by an outline having a width W. In FIG. Here, for convenience of explanation, the width W is shown as a fairly large value. Here, the center line 21 of the contour line having this width is shown by a chain line. Now, there is an outer boundary line 2 outside this center line 21.
2 and an inner boundary line 23 on the inside, it can be seen that this rectangle 20 is expressed by a contour line of width W formed in the area between the outer boundary line 22 and the inner boundary line 23. Become. Data of such a rectangle 20 is stored in the storage device 6 at four vertices P1 . ．． P2. P3.
It is stored in the form of the coordinate value of P4 and the value of width W. If such a format is adopted, the amount of data will be extremely small and it will be efficient. Generally, graphic data of a polygon is stored in the form of coordinate values of each vertex of the polygon and line width values. In addition, in the shape data of a circle, the coordinate value of the center point,
It is stored in the form of a radius value and a line width value, and in the case of ellipse graphic data, it is stored in the form of a center point coordinate value, elongated and thin lengths, short lengths, and line width values. In any case, a contour figure with a width is expressed by data defining the center line of the contour of the figure and line width data. The allocation work device 3 is an allocation result output device 4
When outputting this figure to the display device 5, the data defining the center line and the line width data are read out from the storage device 6, and an outline figure with actual width is generated from these data. and output it.

Now, in order to input a figure such as the rectangle 20, the operator inputs line information and width information regarding this line into the figure data input device 7. The feature of this device is that inputted line information is transferred to the center line 21, outer boundary line 22, and
It is possible to treat this information as any information on the inner boundary line 23.

In the conventional device, input line information is always treated as center line 21 information. Which information to treat the input line information as is specified by the mode] 2 specification device 8. The mode designation device 8 includes
Center line mode, outer border mode, inner border mode,
There are three modes available, and the operator must specify one of them.

In item 6 for inputting the rectangle 20 shown in FIG. 3, in each mode, the operator may perform the following operations.

(1) When the centerline mode is specified, rectangular data consisting of the centerline 21 and the value of the width W are input into the graphic data input device 7. For rectangular data, for example, the coordinate values of four vertices (PI to P4) may be specified, or the coordinate values of one vertex and the length of a side (for example, length L2 for the top and bottom sides) may be specified. good.

(2) When the outer boundary line mode is specified, rectangular data consisting of the outer boundary line 22 and the value of the width W are input into the graphic data input device 7.

For example, the rectangle data may specify the coordinate values of four vertices of the outer boundary line 22, or may specify the coordinate values of one vertex and the length of a side (for example, the length L3 for the top and bottom sides). good.

3 (3) When specifying the inner boundary line mode, input rectangular data consisting of the inner boundary line 23 and the value of the width W to the graphic data input device 7.

For example, the rectangle data may specify the coordinate values of four vertices of the inner boundary line 23, or may specify the coordinate values of one vertex and the length of a side (for example, the length Ll for the top and bottom sides). good.

No matter which of the above-mentioned input operations (1), (2), and (3) are performed, the graphic data input into the storage device 6 is the same data. That is, the coordinate values and width value W of the four vertices P1 to P4 of the center line are stored in the storage device 6. Therefore, when input is performed in the center line mode (1), the input data may be stored in the storage device 6 as is. However,
When input is performed in each of the boundary line modes (2) and (3), it is necessary to convert the input pig into data regarding the center line and then store it in the storage device 6. The graphic data conversion device 9 is a device that performs this conversion work. That is, when center line mode 4 is specified by the mode specifying device 8, the graphic data (line information and width information) input to the graphic data input device 7 is provided as is to the storage device 6, but the boundary line If a mode is specified, the process of converting the mode and applying it to the storage device 6 is performed.

The conversion work is as follows.

For example, the data of a line indicating a rectangle 3o as shown in FIG. 4 is the coordinate values of the four vertices R1 to R4! j is given, and the width value W is given as a numerical value.

At this time, if the inner boundary line mode is specified, the graphic data conversion device 9 converts the rectangle 31 located outside the rectangle 30 at a distance of W/2, as shown in FIG. Find the coordinate values of the four vertices R1 to R4 of the rectangle 30,
The coordinate values of the four vertices P1 to P4 of the rectangle 31 may be converted and stored in the storage device 6. On the other hand, if the outer boundary line mode is specified, the graphic data conversion device 9 calculates a rectangle 32 located inside the rectangle 30 at a distance of W/2, as shown in FIG. , the coordinate values of the four vertices R1 to R4 of the rectangle 30 may be converted to the coordinate values of the 45 vertices P1 to P4 of the rectangle 32 and stored in the storage device 6. Generally speaking, conversion of any polygon can be performed as follows.

Given an arbitrary polygon 40 as shown in FIG.
If this is the inner boundary mode, draw parallel lines on the outside of the polygon 40 at a distance of W/2 on each side of the polygon 40, find the coordinates of the intersection of these parallel lines, and store it. What is necessary is to store it in the device 6. If you are in outer border mode,
Similar parallel lines may be drawn inside the polygon 40.

If a circle 50 as shown in FIG. 8 is input, the data conversion task is easier. In the case of a circle of 50, the center point O
Since the input is in the format of the coordinate value of plus 5 yen
1, and if the outer boundary line mode is specified, as shown in Figure 10,
What is necessary is to subtract W/2 from the radius value r and convert it into data regarding the circle 52. Furthermore, when an ellipse 60 of 6 as shown in Fig. 11 is input, the data is input in the form of the coordinate value of the center point O, the length of the long sleeve a, and the length of the short axis b, so the inner boundary If the line mode is specified, as shown in the figure, it is only necessary to convert the data to the ellipse r"16], which is the length of both axes plus W/2. Also, if the outer boundary line mode is If specified,
It is sufficient to convert the data to data regarding an ellipse (not shown) obtained by subtracting W/2 from the lengths of both axes.

As mentioned above, in the figure input work using this device, the input of a figure consisting of a wide outline can be specified by the inner dimension of the figure, or by the outer dimension. Of course, it is also possible to specify the size of the center line as in the conventional device.

Therefore, input can be made in a manner that is most convenient for the operator.

Point Designation Work Next, a point designation work unique to the present invention will be explained. The point designation work described here involves the operator looking at the display device 5 and using an input device such as a mouse to move a cursor on the screen to place a point on the outline of the figure displayed on the screen. This is a task of specifying one point. As mentioned above, the work of allocating leaflets and catalogs is carried out in an interactive manner with the computer, so the operator often has to specify a point on the screen while looking at the display screen of the display device 5. be exposed. In particular, when assigning another layout object to a predetermined position based on a figure laid out on the screen, a point on the outline of this figure is often designated as the reference point. For example, in FIG. 2, if you want to allocate some sort of layout object to a position separated by a predetermined distance on the left side of rectangle 10, specify point Q on the outline of rectangle 10, and use this point Q as the reference point. It is common to specify the layout position. However, it is difficult for the operator to accurately specify a point on the outline of the rectangle 10 on the display screen of the display device 5 using an input device such as a mouse.

In particular, when the display device 5 is displayed in a reduced size, the pixels on the display screen are thinned out, so it is theoretically impossible to specify an accurate position on the screen. be. Therefore, in a normal allocation device, conversion is performed to correct input errors.

That is, in FIG. 2, even if the operator specifies point S instead of specifying the correct point Q on the outline of rectangle 10, the system is equipped with a function to convert point S to point Q and recognize it. ing. That is, the point Q on the outline of the rectangle 10 that is closest to the point S actually input by the operator is calculated.

The outline of an actual figure is a line with width, as described above. Therefore, in reality, the rectangle 20 is composed of an outline having a width W, as shown in FIG.

In this case, the exact point on the contour line is
This is a point QO on the center line 21. That is, when the operator actually inputs a point S, since only data related to the center line 21 is stored in the storage device, in the conventional device, this point S is connected to the point QO closest to the center line 21. It will be converted and recognized. In other words, in the conventional device, the point Q1 on the outer boundary line 22 or the point Q on the inner boundary line 23''
2 cannot be specified. This becomes a major obstacle in specifying the position accurately while taking line width into consideration.

This device includes a mode designation device 8, a designated point input device 10,
And the specified point conversion device 11 allows points on any line to be specified accurately.

That is, if the mode specifying device specifies the center line mode, it is possible to specify the point QO on the center line 21, and if the outer contour line mode is specified, the point Q1 on the outer contour line 22'' can be specified, and the point QO on the inner contour line 22 can be specified. By specifying the mode, the point Q2 on the inner contour line 23 can be specified. The specified point input device 10 is a device for inputting actual specified points from the operator, and the coordinate values of the points input here are converted by the specified point conversion device 11, and the converted coordinate values are used as allocation instruction inputs. device 2. This conversion work is performed with reference to the graphic data stored in the storage device 6, and the content of the work differs depending on the mode designated by the mode designation device 8. The 0 conversion work when the centerline mode is specified is similar to the work in conventional devices.

For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG.
Since the data (coordinate values of 4 vertices P] to P4) are stored, calculations are performed to find the closest point QO on the center line 21 for the specified point S input by the operator into the specified point input device 10. That's fine. The feature of this device is that when the outer contour line mode or inner contour line mode is specified,
It has the ability to perform new conversion tasks.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of this new conversion work. First, in step S], a figure near the specified point S input by the operator into the specified point input device 10 (that is, a target figure for which the opaque intends to specify a point on the outline of the figure) is It is determined whether it is a polygon or not.

This can be easily determined by referring to the graphic data stored in the storage device 6. Here, if there is a polygon, a point P within radius r from the specified point S is searched for in step S2. Here, the radius r is a predetermined constant, and is set in advance in consideration of the operability 1 of the work. Further, the point P is a point stored in the storage device 6 as a vertex of a polygon. For example, if the target figure is a pentagon as shown in Fig. 13 and the designated point S is set at the position shown in the figure, then the radius r
It can be seen that point P4 is within the range. As mentioned above, only the coordinate values and the line width W of the points P1 to P5 shown in FIG. 13 are stored in the storage device 6. Although recognition can be done directly, recognition of the boundary line shown by the solid line cannot be done directly as it is. Point P4
has been searched, an affirmative determination is made in step S3. This is a case where the designated point S is in the vicinity of one of the vertices of the polygon (distance within radius r), and it is recognized that the operator's intention is to designate the vertex of the polygon.

Therefore, in step S4, parallel lines C2d are drawn respectively to the two center lines a and b passing through point P4. Here, the position where the parallel line is drawn differs depending on the designation by the mode designation device 8. That is, in the outer boundary line mode, parallel lines are drawn outside 2 of the target figure (parallel lines c and d in Figure 13), and in the inner boundary line mode, parallel lines are drawn inside the target figure. It will be destroyed. Further, parallel lines are drawn at a distance of W/2 from the center line (W is the line width value of this target figure stored in the storage device 6). Then, in step S5, the coordinate values of the intersection point Q of the two parallel lines c and d are calculated, and in step S6, this point Q becomes the designated point after transformation.

Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 13, when the operator specifies the outer boundary line mode and inputs the specified point S, the specified point is converted to Q. Conversely, when an operator wants to specify a point Q, if he inputs it in the outer bounding line mode, he will be able to specify the point Q accurately as intended, even if the position is slightly different from the actual specified point S. That will happen. Note that when trying to designate point Q', the input work can be performed in the inner boundary line mode, and when trying to designate the point P4, the input work can be performed in the center line mode.

On the other hand, if point P is not searched in step S3, the following will occur. In this case, as shown in Figure 14, the specified point S is not near the vertex of the polygon, and it is recognized that the operator's intention is to specify one point on the side of the polygon. become. Therefore, step S7
, draw a parallel line d to the center line closest to point S.

Similar to step S4, parallel lines are drawn at a distance of W/2 from the center line, either inward or outward, depending on the mode. Then, as shown in FIG. 15 (partially enlarged view of FIG. 14), in step S8, the closest point T of the designated point S is taken to the center line b'2 (this is done by dropping a perpendicular line from point S to the line). , its foot may be designated as point T), and then a perpendicular line is drawn from this point T to the parallel line d, and its foot is designated as point Q. Finally, in step S6, this point Q becomes the specified point after conversion. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 15, when the operator specifies the outer boundary line mode and inputs the specified point S,
The designated point will be converted to Q. Conversely, when an operator wants to specify point Q, if the input operation is performed in the outer boundary line mode, point Q can be specified accurately as intended even if the actual specified point S position is slightly off. That will happen.

In step S1, if the target figure is not a polygon, no vertex is specified, so steps S7 and S8 can be performed immediately. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, suppose that the center line e of a circle is defined by the coordinate values and radius values of the center point O, and the operator inputs a designated point S on the outer boundary line moto. Then,
In step S7, a parallel line f is drawn outside the center line e, separated by a distance W, and in step s8, the closest point T of the point S to the center line e'2 is taken, and a parallel line f is drawn from the point T. A perpendicular line is drawn to f, and its foot becomes point Q. In this way, designated point S is converted to point Q.

Other Embodiments Although the present invention has been described above based on an illustrative embodiment,
The present invention is not limited to this example only,
It can be implemented in various ways. For example, the mode specification is not limited to the three modes of center line mode, outer boundary line mode, and inner boundary line mode according to the above-described embodiment. If the figure is closed as in the previous example, it is possible to define the inside and outside, but when applied to an open figure,
It is sufficient to prepare a two-side boundary line mode, a lower boundary line mode, a left-side boundary line mode, and a right-side boundary line mode. Furthermore, although polygons, circles, and ellipses are used as figures in the above-described embodiments, the present invention can be similarly applied to other figures.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the leaflet/catalog layout device according to the present invention, the mode specifying device allows the operator to select between a mode indicating the center and a mode indicating the boundary. One point on the contour can be specified accurately.

6

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a flyer/catalog layout device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of both sides of the layout work in the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure shows an example of a figure made up of contour lines with line width, Figures 4 to 7 are diagrams showing a method of data conversion using the apparatus in Figure 1 for polygons, and Figures 8 to 7 FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a data conversion method for circles and ellipses using the device shown in FIG.
FIG. 16 is a diagram explaining the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12. 10... Rectangle, 11... Product photo, 12... Product description, 20... Rectangle, 21... Center line, 22
...Outer border line, 23...Inner border line, 30-32
...Rectangle, 40...Polygon, 41...Parallel line, 5
0 to 52... eyes, 60.61... ellipse, S... designated point, T... closest point, Q... point after conversion, W...
・Line width. Peng Bin 5 people Iya Rijin Zhan, Ki 4 Sanichi 7 Figure 15

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A product data input device for inputting product data regarding products to be published in leaflets and catalogs; an allocation instruction input device for inputting allocation instructions from an operator; An allocation work device that performs allocation work for product data, and figure data regarding figures consisting of contour lines with width, line information,
a graphic data input device that separately inputs width information regarding the line; a storage device that stores the result of the layout work and the input graphic data as a layout result;
a layout result output device that outputs the layout results; a display device that displays the work progress of the layout work and the input progress of the graphic data; and a designation for inputting one point on the display screen of the display device as a designated point. a point input device; and a mode specification for specifying whether the specified point indicates the center of the outline of the figure displayed on the display device or the boundary of the outline of the figure. a device, when a boundary is designated by the mode designation device, converts the designated point into a point on the boundary of the contour of the shape based on the graphic data in the storage device; A device for allocating leaflets and catalogs, further comprising: a specified point converting device for providing a specified point;