JPH03194554A - Device for allocating leaflet and catalog or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select a mode which is the most appropriate for an allocation operation by preparing three kinds of modes: a real font mode, a line display mode and a contour mode, as a character display mode. CONSTITUTION:Character data consisting of a character code showing a character itself and a function code showing the size and the type of the character is inputted in a character data input device 1. In such a case, character display in any one of the real font mode, the line display mode and the contour mode is specified by a character display mode specifying device 11. In the case of inputting graphic data in a graphic data input device 3, it is desirable that either a raster mode or a vector mode is allowed to be specified by a graphic display mode specifying device 12.

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 invention relates to a catalog sorting device.

[Conventional technology]

In printed materials such as flyers and catalogs, it is necessary to skillfully allocate photographs, character strings, or desired figures for a large number of products onto a single 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 photos and text for a specific product, and you can change the magnification and tilt as needed.

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 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 of poor operability due to the slow display speed of the display device. Characters used in printing flyers and catalogs are expressed using fairly high-density font data. Therefore, when characters are displayed on a display device using this font data, it takes a considerable amount of display time. Furthermore, regarding graphics, conventional devices treat them as graphics consisting of lines with width, and display them using raster data on the display device.

Therefore, it takes a considerable amount of time to display the figure.

A feature of this type of layout device is that the operator can proceed with the operation interactively with the computer.
Decrease in display speed is a major factor that impairs operability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a flyer/catalog layout device that improves the display speed of characters and graphics on a display device and is easy to operate.

[Means to solve the problem]

(1) The invention in Application Box 1 is a layout device for flyers and catalogs, which includes: a character data input device for inputting character data related to products to be published; a layout instruction input device for inputting layout instructions from an operator; and a layout instruction input device for inputting layout instructions from an operator. an allocation processing device that performs an allocation operation on character data based on the assigned allocation instruction; an allocation result output device that outputs the result of this allocation operation as an allocation result; and a display device that displays the work progress of this allocation operation on a screen. , a character display mode specifying device that specifies one of the three modes for displaying characters: real font mode, line display mode, and outline mode; and a character display mode specifying device that specifies one of three modes for displaying characters; It has the function of displaying characters on a display device based on the
When actual font mode is specified, characters are displayed based on font data prepared for each character, and when line display mode is specified, characters are displayed based on line display data prepared for displaying characters as line drawings. and a character display device that displays only the outline of the entire group of characters when outline mode is specified.

(2) The second invention of the present application is a graphic data input device for inputting graphic data regarding a graphic to be published in a layout device for leaflets and catalogs by dividing it into line information and width information regarding the line. , an allocation instruction input device that inputs allocation instructions from an operator; an allocation processing device that performs an allocation operation on graphic data based on the input allocation instructions; and an allocation result output device that outputs the results of this allocation operation as an allocation result. An output device, a display device that displays the progress of this layout work on a screen, and a figure display mode designation device that specifies one of two modes, raster mode and vector mode, for displaying figures. It has the function of displaying figures on the display device based on the figure data allocated by the layout processing device, and when raster mode is specified, it uses the raster data created by line information and width information. The present invention includes a graphic display device that displays a graphic and, when a vector mode is specified, displays the graphic using vector data created only from line information.

[For production]

(1) According to the first invention of the present application, three modes are prepared as character display modes. If displayed in the real font mode, the display can be performed using high-density fonts, similar to conventional devices, and the operator can confirm the layout state using a highly accurate image that is close to the actual printed matter. Furthermore, if the text is displayed in line display mode, the characters are displayed as line drawings, so although it is not possible to confirm the exact font, etc., the display speed becomes faster. Furthermore, when displayed in outline mode, the characters themselves are not displayed, but only the approximate layout positions of a group of character strings are shown, but the display speed becomes extremely fast. Since the operator can select the mode most suitable for the allocation operation to be performed, operability can be improved.

(2) According to the second invention of the present application, two modes are prepared as graphic display modes. If displayed in raster mode, it is possible to display using high-density raster data, similar to conventional devices, and the operator can confirm the layout status using a highly accurate image that is close to the actual printed matter. On the other hand, if the figure is displayed in vector mode, the figure is displayed as a line drawing, so the exact shape with width cannot be confirmed, but the display speed becomes faster.

Since the operator can select the mode most suitable for the allocation operation to be performed, operability can be improved.

〔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. Characters, photographs, and figures to be laid out are input to the layout processing apparatus 4 from a character data input device 1, a photograph data input device 2, and a graphic data input device 3, respectively. The layout processing device 4 performs a layout operation on the input character data, photo data, and graphic data based on the operator's layout instruction given from the layout instruction input device 5, and stores the results. Then, the final song allocation result is output by the allocation result output device 6.

On the other hand, the progress of the layout work is sequentially displayed on the display device 10 by the character display device 7, the photo display device 8, and the graphic display device 9. Therefore, the operator inputs the allocation result based on the instruction given to the allocation instruction input device 5.
This can be immediately confirmed on the display screen of the display device 10, and the assignment work can be carried out in an interactive manner.

The first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a character display mode specifying device 11 is provided, and the character display device 7 is provided with a function of displaying different characters in three modes. A feature of the invention is that a graphic display mode specifying device 12 is provided with respect to graphic display, and a function is added to the graphic display device 9 to display different graphics in two modes. Note that the input device and display device for photo data are also shown in FIG. 1 for convenience.
Since these operations are not the essence of the present application, detailed explanations will be omitted here.

The basic configuration of this device has been shown above using functional blocks, but the specific hardware configuration is, for example, as follows. As the character data input device 1, a word processor or a personal computer can be used, and as the photo data input device 2, an input scanner device can be used. In addition, as the allocation result output device 6,
A printer, film plotter, or output scanner device can be used. As the display device 10, a general display device for computers may be used. Other components including the layout processing device 4 can be configured by a computer and its input devices (for example, a keyboard and a mouse). Therefore, an instruction input operation using the layout instruction input device 5, a mode specifying operation using the mode specifying device 1112, and the like can be performed by an input method using a keyboard or by selecting a command menu on the display device 10 using a mouse. In reality, the individual functions of each component are
It is realized by software in the computer.

Display of Characters Next, the operation of displaying characters, which is the main point of the first invention of the present application, will be explained. As mentioned above, character data is input from the character data input device 1.

This character data includes a character code indicating the character itself,
It consists of a function code that indicates the font size, font, etc. The function code can be input together with the character code using the character input device 1, or can be added later using the layout instruction input device 5. In any case, the characters allocated by the allocation processing device 4 are expressed by a character code and a function code indicating the size, font, etc. of the character.

The operator uses the character display mode designation device 11 to
Three modes can be specified for character display. The display in each mode will be described in detail below.

(1) Actual font mode This is a display mode provided in conventional devices, and for example, the display is as shown in FIG.

As mentioned above, in addition to the character code, the characters allocated by the allocation processing device 4 have function codes indicating the character size, font, etc., and for each combination of character code and function code, Font data is provided for each.

For example, there is one character code for the character "su", but there is
Separate font data is available. In real font mode, display is performed based on this font data. Therefore, this display is displayed as it is outputted to the layout result output device 6, and a display screen that is close to the actual printed materials such as flyers and catalogs can be obtained.

However, as mentioned above, there is a problem that the display speed is slow.

(2) Line display mode This is a display based on line display data in which characters are expressed as line drawings, for example, a display as shown in FIG. 3.

Line display data is data made by connecting thin lines,
Regardless of the typeface, such as Mincho or Gothic, the same data will always be the same for the same character. For example, the upper part of FIG. 4 shows an example of an actual Mincho font for the character "-". In this way, in a real font, the contour line is expressed by a large number of line segments, which requires a considerably large amount of data. On the other hand, what is shown in the lower part of FIG. 4 is a display based on line display data. It is extremely simplified compared to the real font, and even Gothic fonts are displayed in exactly the same way. In this way, in the line display mode, the operator can recognize characters, but cannot perform a design check that takes fonts into consideration. However, the display speed will be faster than in real font mode.

(3) Outline mode This is a display of only the outline of the entire group of characters, for example, as shown in FIG.

In this example, the character string "Ringo ¥300" is treated as a group of characters. Generally, it is convenient to treat the explanatory text for one product as a group of characters.

In this embodiment, when a group of characters is input from the character data input device 1, an identification number is attached to each character.

In the display shown in FIG. 5, the outlines of this group of characters are displayed as rectangles with diagonal lines inside, and the identification number (C25 in this example) is also displayed. Although the operator can recognize the approximate position where characters are allocated and the identification number, he cannot recognize what kind of characters are actually allocated. However, the display speed becomes very fast.

By providing these three modes, the operator can select the most appropriate display mode depending on the work he is currently doing, thereby improving operability.

Graphic Display Next, the graphic display operation, which is the main point of the second invention of the present application, will be explained. As mentioned above, graphic data is input from the graphic data input device 3. In flyers and catalogs, shapes are used as frames for placing product photos and text, or as ruled lines. Therefore, the shapes of figures vary from polygons and circles to line segments and free curves. Such a figure can be expressed as line data, but as long as it is actually printed, the line will always have a width. Therefore, the graphic data input device 3
From then on, graphic data is input as line information and width information regarding this line, and the graphic data allocated by the layout processing device 4 also has line information and width information.

The operator can designate two modes for displaying graphics using the graphics display mode designation device. The display in each mode will be described in detail below.

(1) Raster mode This is a display mode provided in conventional devices, and provides a display as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

As described above, the graphic data allocated by the layout processing device 4 has line and width information, and raster data is generated from this information, and the graphic is displayed based on this raster data.

In other words, the figure is displayed as a collection of many pixels. Therefore, this display will display the state outputted to the allocation result output device 6 as it is,
A display screen that is similar to actual printed materials such as flyers and catalogs can be obtained. However, as mentioned above, there is a problem that the display speed is slow.

(2) Vector mode This is a display based on vector data generated only from line information, such as the display shown in FIG. 7, for example. Since the width information is not displayed, the operator can recognize the figure, but cannot perform a design check that also takes the width of the figure into consideration.

However, the display speed will be faster than in raster mode.

By providing these two modes, the operator can select the most appropriate display mode depending on the work he is currently doing, thereby improving operability.

C Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the leaflet/catalog layout device according to the present invention, several modes with different display speeds are provided for displaying characters and figures, thereby improving operability. can be done.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a flyer/catalog layout device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of character display in real font mode by the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. A diagram showing an example of character display in line display mode by the device shown in the figure,
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a comparison between actual font data and line display data, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of character display of outline motto by the device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a diagram of a raster motto by the device of FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of graphic display in vector mode by the apparatus of FIG. 1.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A character data input device for inputting character data related to products to be published in flyers and catalogs, and an allocation instruction input device for inputting allocation instructions from an operator; an allocation processing device that performs an allocation operation; an allocation result output device that outputs the results of the allocation operation as an allocation result; a display device that displays the work progress of the allocation operation on a screen; and a mode for displaying characters. a character display mode designation device that designates one of three modes: real font mode, line display mode, and outline mode; and a character display mode designation device that specifies characters on the display device based on character data allocated by the layout processing device. It has a display function, and when the real font mode is specified,
The characters are displayed based on the font data prepared for each character, and when the line display mode is specified, the characters are displayed based on the line display data prepared for displaying the characters as line drawings, and the outline A leaflet/catalog layout device comprising: a character display device that displays only the outline of an entire group of characters when a mode is specified; (2) A figure data input device that inputs figure data related to figures to be published in leaflets and catalogs separately into line information and width information related to the line, and an allocation instruction that inputs allocation instructions from an operator. an input device; an allocation processing device that performs an allocation operation on the graphic data based on the input allocation instruction; an allocation result output device that outputs the result of the allocation operation as an allocation result; and a work progress of the allocation operation. a display device that displays on the screen a graphic display mode specifying device that specifies one of two modes, raster mode and vector mode, as a mode for displaying graphics; It has a function of displaying a figure on the display device based on the figure data, and when the raster mode is specified, the figure is displayed using raster data created by line information and width information, and the figure is displayed using the raster data created by the line information and width information, and A layout device for leaflets and catalogs, comprising: a graphic display device that displays a graphic using vector data created using only line information when a mode is specified;