JPH0447326A - Menu management method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve workability by moving a menu to a desired display area by changing the display area information of the menu to display plural selectable items. CONSTITUTION:By changing the display area information of the menu to display plural selectable items, the menu is moved to the desired display area. Namely, the menu is moved to the desired display area by changing the display area information of the menu to display plural selectable items. Thus, the menu can be moved to the desired area such as the area not to exercise an effect upon work, or the area where the movement of a pointer device, etc., can be lessened as so on, and the workability can be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a menu management method and apparatus suitable for operating a menu displaying a plurality of selectable items.

<Prior art> Conventionally, computers have been used, and cathode rays (hereinafter referred to as C
In systems that have a display device such as RT (abbreviated as RT), there is a function that displays a menu on the display device and selects the desired process from among the multiple items included in the menu, which is a so-called interactive human power function. Often included.

When using a system with such a built-in function, there is no need to input items included in the menu using a keyboard, but simply using a pointer such as a mouse. Since it is only necessary to select the relevant item in the menu using the device, work efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, by increasing the number of items included in the second key, detailed input can be achieved while -3 workability can be improved.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 10, a horizontally elongated menu bar (72) is displayed above a window (71) that occupies the main five parts of the screen, and an axially long control menu is displayed on the left side. (73) is provided. The contents of the control menu (73) are automatically changed depending on which item on the menu bar (72) is selected using a pointer device or the like. Therefore, select an item on the menu bar (72) while looking at the display in the window (71),
By selecting a desired item from the corresponding control menu (73), the desired process, for example drawing a square, drawing a triangle, etc., is instructed, and then the window (71) is moved using a pointer device or the like. By specifying the position, size, etc. inside, the corresponding drawing can be automatically performed.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> In the conventional menu management method described above, as the number of system functions, setting information, etc. increases, the number of menus and information display windows displayed on the screen must be increased. Therefore, the screen size of the display device must be increased or a pop-up menu format must be adopted.

If such a configuration is adopted, there is an increased possibility that the selection operation using the pointer or device will have to be performed over almost the entire range of the screen, and the amount of movement of the pointer/device itself will have to be increased, which will reduce work efficiency. The problem is that it becomes worse. Furthermore, if the menus are nested, it is likely that a newly called menu will obscure at least part of the previous menu, which the operator must remember. Because it has to be
- Layer workability deteriorates.

In addition, the items included in each menu are limited to those closely related to a specific program, so the frequency of use by the operator is not taken into account at all.As a result, it is difficult to call up frequently used items. Since the menu has to be called up several times, the work efficiency deteriorates.

<Object of the invention> This invention was made in view of the above problems,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new menu management method and device that can freely change the display position of a menu type and freely change the items included in the menu according to the frequency of use by an operator.

Means for Solving the Problem> In order to achieve the above object, the menu management method of the first invention is to manage the menu by changing the display area information of the menu that displays a plurality of selectable items. This is a method of moving to a desired display area.

In the menu management method of the second invention, each item of a menu displaying a plurality of selectable items is provided with at least display area information and function information to be activated when an item is selected. This is a method of displaying a desired item on a menu by changing the information for that item.

However, in these cases, it is preferable that the change operation be performed interactively using a pointer device.

The menu management device of the fourth invention includes menu information including at least display area information corresponding to the entire menu, at least parent menu information and display area information corresponding to each item displayed on the menu, and activated when an item is selected. item information including function information to be displayed, a selection means for selecting the entire menu or each item, a changing means for changing information corresponding to the selected part, and a display for displaying the entire menu based on the changed information. It includes means.

However, it is preferable that the selection means and the change means perform the selection operation and the change operation based on data inputted interactively through a pointer device.

Effect> In the menu management method of the first invention, the menu is moved to the desired display area by changing the display area information of the menu that displays a plurality of selectable items, so it does not affect the work. It is possible to move the menu to a desired area, such as an area where it does not affect the screen, an area where the amount of movement of a pointer device, etc. can be reduced, and work efficiency can be improved.

In the menu management method of the second invention, each item of a menu that displays a plurality of selectable items is provided with at least display area information and function information that is activated when an item is selected, and is already assigned to the menu. The desired item is displayed on the menu by changing the information for the item that is displayed, so if the item that can be selected is frequently used by displaying multiple menus with a nested structure, the corresponding item can be displayed. This can be displayed in a shallowly nested menu instead of an item that is used less frequently, improving work efficiency.

With the menu management method of the third aspect of the invention, changing the display area and display items can be done interactively using a pointer device, thereby simplifying the changing work.

With the menu management device of the fourth invention, menu information including at least display area information corresponding to the entire menu, and at least parent menu information, display area information, and item selection corresponding to each item displayed on the menu. Since the menu has item information including function information that is activated when Since the entire menu is displayed by the display means based on the information, the display area of the menu and the items displayed in the menu can be displayed on the screen of the display device in a changed state. Therefore, it is possible to freely move the menu to an area that is easy to operate, an area that does not hide the processing screen, etc., and it is also easy to display frequently used items instead of less frequently used items. You can increase your sexuality.

With the menu management device of the fifth invention, the effect of the fourth invention can be achieved simply by performing interactive operations using a pointer device, and it also provides workability for changing the display area and display items. can be increased.

<Example> Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a menu management method. In step (2), a menu display program displays a predetermined menu based on display area information included in menu management information, and Wait until the entire displayed menu is pointed to by a pointer device that does not move, then step ■
Wait until a new display area is indicated by the pointer device in step 2, replace the original display area information with the indicated display area information in step 2, and then repeat step 2
Process.

The above menu information has the configuration shown in FIG. 2, for example,
It is defined using C language as follows.

typedef struct aenuf int menu-1d; int box-no; AREA Iarea; int (t+e-dsp)( ); int (hon5-ers)(); jnt (honzen-exe)(): jnt *1info; l MHulnf 'o; That is, int 5enu-id indicates the menu identification ID, int box-no indicates the box number within the menu, AREA marea indicates the menu display area, and int (zero w-dsp) () indicates the menu display function. , int (*a+-ers)() indicates the menu deletion function, and int (book m-exe)()
indicates a menu function, and int *m1nfo is an area for setting modals and necessary information that can be changed by the menu function.

Therefore, when the corresponding menu is selected by the pointer device, a function that changes the menu display area from the input library is called, and the pointer device
Wait until the device indicates a new display area.

When a new display area is pointed to by the pointer device, the contents of the menu display area are updated by the called function. Therefore, after that, the menu is displayed in the display area indicated by the pointer device because the menu display program configured using the functions in the output library based on the menu information continues to display the menu. be done.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a menu display screen, and by instructing to change the display area using a pointer device for each menu that was initially distributed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, all menus can be stacked and accumulated, and the amount of movement of the pointer device can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, since the window in which drawing is actually performed is no longer hidden behind the menu, the workability of drawing, etc. is improved.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the menu management method of the present invention, in which a plurality of menus are displayed by the menu display program in step (■), and a new blank menu is created in step (■). Wait until one of the multiple menu items is pointed to by the pointer device in step ■, wait until a display area in the new menu is pointed to in step ■, and wait until the display area in the new menu is pointed to in step ■. Assigns the specified item to the corresponding display area of the menu, and determines whether data indicating that there are no more items to be specified has been input in step 2. If not, performs the process of step 2 again. .

On the other hand, if data indicating that there are no more items to specify is input, the menu information is changed in step ■ to prohibit the display of the original menu and display the newly created menu instead. do.

In addition, menu information is created corresponding to the new menu, and item information in the same format as the menu information is created for each item of the menu. Of course, item information is also created for the items in the original menu.

Therefore, from now on, only a new menu will be displayed, and if an item in the menu is selected using a pointer device, the function stored in the corresponding item information can be called to perform the corresponding process. .

Specifically, for example, one menu shown in FIG. 5(B) can be created by selecting only the frequently used menu from among the three menus shown in FIG. 5(A).

As a result, the menu displayed on the screen is simplified as a whole, significantly improving work efficiency, and
Work efficiency can also be improved from this point of view by narrowing the range hidden by the menu. In addition, you can save the newly created menu by giving it a name, and you can select the personal name of the menu creator, a name indicating the best use, etc. as the name. This allows you to easily call up the desired menu.

Although a specific example of creating a new menu has been described above, it is also possible to replace some items of an already existing menu with items of another menu.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, if the first item and fifth item on the menu are replaced with items for displaying points and lines, respectively, the menu The information is Menu101=f 101 .

0° 11(10, lO[1,2(10,5(101.

MDsplOl.

NULL.

MExelol.

, Minfolol.

); , and the item information of item 1 is PaintMenu” 1 101° ■.

rloo, 132, 150, 182+.

NULL.

NULL.

DrawPoint.

NULL.

); and the item information of item 5 is LineMenu = ( 101° 5゜ +1 (10,232,150.282).

NULL.

NULL.

Dravljne.

NULL.

); becomes.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of selecting item 1, displaying points, and selecting item 5 using the menu created in this way.
Menu identification 1d-101゜Menu box number 1
Recognizes that has been selected, and selects Men
Execute the functional function MExelo1 of ulol. Then, in step ■, the processing information corresponding to the box number 1 in the menu is searched based on the information of Minf'o101, and in step ■, it is detected that PointMenu corresponds, and DraνPa1nt is executed,
Wait until the position of the point is specified in step ■, determine whether the instruction by the pointer device is a point or a menu in step ■, and if it is a point, display the point in the step ■, Perform the process in step (2) again.

Conversely, if it is determined in step ■ that the instruction by the pointer/denograph is a menu, it is found that menu identification 1d-101 and box number 5 in the menu have been selected in step ■. In step (2), the item information is stacked and the process in step (2) is performed again.

In other words, if a point outside the menu is specified after a menu item is selected, processing is performed on the specified point based on the selected item, and conversely, a menu item is selected within a certain function. If the selected item information is stacked, part of the selected item information is stacked and the process returns to the upper level process.In the higher level process, if there is any information left in the stack, processing is performed based on that information, but if there is some information left in the stack, processing is performed based on that information. requests selection using a pointer device.

As is clear from the above explanation, in the case of this embodiment, menu items and function functions that are not defined within the program are independent (see Figure 8). You can freely allocate items, and you can also freely execute the corresponding process by selecting the allocated item.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the menu management device of the present invention. an instruction determination unit (1) that determines whether an item is specified or an item outside the menu is specified;
A display position import unit (2) that imports instruction data outside the menu as new menu display position information based on a determination result indicating that the entire menu has been designated; and a display position import unit (2) that imports instruction data outside the menu as new menu display position information;
4) Display area information changing unit (
3), an item change determination unit (5) that determines whether or not a menu item change has been instructed, and an item change determination unit (5) that determines whether or not a menu item change has been instructed; Item instruction data holding unit (6
) and selects the corresponding menu item information (7) based on the previously obtained menu item instruction data, and then changes the selected menu item information based on the obtained menu item instruction data. an information change unit (8); and a processing unit (9) that performs processing based on the selected menu item on instruction data outside the menu based on a determination result indicating that a change in the menu item is not instructed. have. It also has a display section (10) for displaying information based on menu information.

The operation of the menu management device having the above configuration is as follows.

When the instruction determining unit (1) determines that the entire menu has been designated by a pointer device (not shown), the display position importing unit (■) captures the instruction data outside the menu as new menu display position information. The display area information changing section (3) changes the display area information in the menu information (4) based on the menu display position information. Therefore, after that, the menu can be displayed on the display section (10) based on the changed display area information. That is, the menu can be moved to any position.

Furthermore, when the item change determination section (5) determines that a menu item change has been instructed, the item instruction data holding section (6) holds the menu item instruction data for two times, and the item information change section ( 8) allows the menu item information instructed the first time to be changed based on the menu item information instructed the second time. That is, the menu items can be easily changed according to the operator's preference.

If the item change determination unit (5) determines that there is no instruction to change the menu item, the processing unit (9) performs processing based on the selected menu item on instruction data outside the menu. be able to.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the first invention can increase the degree of freedom in the menu display position, and can be used in areas such as areas that do not affect work, areas where the amount of movement of pointers, devices, etc. can be reduced, etc. By moving the menu to a desired area, a unique effect is achieved in that workability can be improved.

The second invention can increase the degree of freedom in combining menu items, and when an item that can be selected is frequently used by displaying a plurality of menus with a nested structure, the corresponding item can be selected with a high frequency of use. This has the unique effect of increasing work efficiency by displaying this item in a shallowly nested menu instead of a lower item.

The third invention has the unique effect of simplifying the work of changing the menu display area and menu items.

The fourth invention has the unique effect of increasing the degree of freedom in the menu display position, increasing the degree of freedom in combining menu items, and, in turn, significantly improving work efficiency.

The fifth invention has the unique effect of simplifying the work of changing the menu display area and menu items.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a menu management method, FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of menu information, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a menu display screen, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a menu display screen. A flowchart showing another example of the menu management method, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of changing a menu item, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of changing a menu item, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of changing a menu item. A flowchart showing the processing when selecting item 1, displaying a point, and selecting item 5 using a menu. Figure 8 is a diagram schematically showing the independence of menu items and functional function groups. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the independence of menu items and function groups. A block diagram showing an embodiment of the menu management device of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating conventional menu management. (1)...Instruction discrimination unit, (3)...Display area information change unit, (4)...Menu information, (5)...Item change discrimination unit, (7)...Menu item Information, (8)...
・Item information change section, (10)...display section

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A menu management method characterized by moving a menu to a desired display area by changing display area information of a menu that displays a plurality of selectable items. 2. Each item in a menu that displays multiple selectable items should have at least display area information and function information activated when an item is selected, and the information for items already assigned to the menu can be changed. 1. A menu management method characterized by displaying desired items on a menu. 3. The above claim 1 or 2, wherein the modification operation is performed by an interactive operation using a pointer device.
Menu management method described in section. 4. Menu information (4) including at least display area information corresponding to the entire menu, and at least parent menu information, display area information, and function information activated when an item is selected corresponding to each item displayed on the menu. Included item information (7)
and selection means (1) for selecting the entire menu or each item.
) (5), changing means (3) (8) for changing information corresponding to the selected portion, and display means (10) for displaying the entire menu based on the changed information. menu management device. 5. Selection means (1) (5) and change means (3) (8)
5. The menu management device according to claim 4, wherein the menu management device performs selection and change operations based on data input interactively using a pointer device.