JPH05314103A - Document processing apparatus and area connecting order determination method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a document processing device having a layout editing function, when a plurality of areas exist in a sheet, an area that automatically continues to another area when the area is full The linking process is performed automatically. In order to automatically perform a region concatenation process, region concatenation order determining means 6 for determining a region concatenation order from region position information is provided, and as a result, region concatenation is performed according to the obtained region concatenation order. did. [Effect] Since the areas are automatically connected, it is not necessary to perform the connection processing one by one, and the operation becomes simple.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing device having a layout editing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Document processing devices have been used as word processors. FIG. 12 shows a general configuration of the document processing device. The apparatus shown in this figure comprises a processing control unit 1, an input unit 2, a data storage unit 3, a display unit 4 and a printer 5.

The processing controller 1 comprises a microprocessor and a ROM. The microprocessor executes control processing of the entire device. The ROM stores the program executed by the microprocessor. The input unit 2 is a device that inputs document data and control data for editing, and is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse. The data storage unit 3 stores the document data and the like input and edited by the input unit 2. The display unit 4 is a device that displays document data being input or edited, and is, for example, a CRT or L.
For example, a CD. The printer 5 prints the created document data.

Further, as a document processing apparatus, conventionally,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a device having a layout function in which characters and figures can be freely arranged on one sheet of paper. FIG. 13 shows the flow of the operation of the document processing apparatus having such a layout editing function, particularly the operation of the layout editing process.

In this apparatus, when the layout editing process is activated, the process control unit 1 displays a display for function selection on the display unit 4. For example, functions such as area creation, area connection, and character editing are selected. When there is a function selection input from the input unit 2, the processing shifts to each function processing according to this input (step 1).

When the area creation is selected, as shown in FIG. 14, the cursor 501 is moved to the positions of the start point 505 and the end point 506, for example, to arrange the areas 502 (step 2). This process is performed based on the input from the input unit 2. Further, the operator sets each item in the format shown in FIG. 15 in the created area 502 (step 3). When the processing related to this setting ends, the operation of the processing control unit 1 returns to step 1. When creating a plurality of areas, the operator selects the area creation function again and repeats the above processing. For example, the cursor 501 is moved to the start point and the end point to arrange the area 503, and the created area 503 is formatted.

When the area connection is selected, the operator moves the cursor 501 to select the start area to be connected (step 4), and further moves the cursor 501 to select the end area to connect. Select (step 5). The connecting line 504 is displayed during the connecting operation, and the area connecting information is stored in the data storage unit 3 (step 5).

Then, when the character edit is selected,
The operator moves the cursor 501 to an area for input and selects it (step 6), and the data from the input unit 2 by key input or the like for the area is stored in the data storage unit and displayed on the display unit 4. To be done. In parallel with this, the process control unit 1 executes kana-kanji conversion and editing processes such as moving, copying, and deleting to create document data. At this time, if the areas are connected, when the selected area becomes full, the succeeding document data is input to the next connected area (step 7).

[0009]

However, in such a structure, when there are a plurality of areas on the paper, when the text data input to the area becomes full, another area automatically enters. In order to do so, it is necessary to select each area and perform an operation of connecting the areas to each other, and there is a problem that the operation is troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a document processing apparatus which does not require a region connecting operation even when a plurality of regions exist.

[0011]

In order to achieve such an object, the first aspect of the present invention comprises area connecting order determining means for determining the connecting order between areas based on the coordinate value of each area to be connected. It is characterized by

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the area connection order determination is executed with an area divided by graphic data as an object of connection.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the region concatenation order determination is executed for regions having the same format setting as a concatenation target.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the regions to be connected are sorted by the row coordinates of the start point or the end point, and the plurality of regions having the same row coordinates are further sorted by the column coordinates of the start point or the end point so that the connecting order between the regions is determined. It is characterized by making a decision.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, among the areas to be connected, the areas in which the ranges of row or column coordinates do not overlap are sorted in the order of row or column coordinates, and the overlapping areas are sorted by the column coordinates of the start point or the end point. It is characterized in that the connection order between the regions is determined by performing the following.

[0016]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the order of connecting the regions is determined based on the coordinate values. Therefore, since the area connection is automatically performed, the connection operation is not necessary and the operation is simplified. Further, as described in claim 2, it is possible to obtain this effect by setting the area divided by the graphic data as the connection target area.

In the third aspect, the areas having the same format setting are the areas to be connected. Therefore, when it is desired to connect only the areas of a certain format, these areas can be automatically connected and the usability is improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the area connecting order is determined by sorting the row coordinates of the start point or the end point. At that time, the plurality of areas having the same row coordinates are sorted by the column coordinates of the start point or the end point. Thereby, the connection order is suitably determined.

Further, in the present invention, the region connection order is determined by sorting the row or column coordinates. In the case of this claim, a range of row or column coordinates is taken into consideration when sorting. In other words, for areas where row or column coordinate ranges overlap, sorting is performed according to the column coordinates of the start point or end point. Thereby, the connection order is suitably determined.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 12 to 15 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a document processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the processing control section 1 has a region concatenation order determining means 6 built therein. The area connection order determination means 6 executes the area connection order determination processing shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, first, the area concatenation order determining means 6 searches for an area existing within a page or a column, and when there are a plurality of areas, sorts the row coordinates of the starting points of the areas in ascending order. Perform (step 10). When there are areas having the same row coordinates of the starting points (step 11), the area concatenation order determining means 6 sorts the areas having the same starting point coordinates in ascending order of the column coordinates of the starting points to obtain the concatenation order. (Step 12).

For example, the area 10 shown in FIG.
When step 10 is applied to 1 and 102, the connection order becomes the order of the areas 102 and 101. When step 10 is applied to the areas 201 to 203 shown in FIG. 3B, the connecting order becomes 203, 202, and 201. Figure 3
When step 10 is applied to the areas 301 to 304 shown in (c), since the starting point row coordinates of the areas 301 and 304 are equal, step 12 is applied to these two areas,
The connection order is 301, 304, 302, 303.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of areas are present in the paper, it is not necessary to select the areas one by one and perform the operation of connecting the areas. Therefore, the operation is simplified and the load on the operator is reduced.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 4 shows the flow of operations of the document processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, particularly the area concatenation order determining means 6.

In this embodiment, first, the area concatenation order determining means 6 searches for an area existing within a page or a column, and if there are a plurality of areas, sorts the row coordinates of the end points of the areas in ascending order. Perform (step 20). When there are areas having the same end point row coordinates (step 21), the area concatenation order determining means 6 sorts the areas having the same end point coordinates in ascending order with respect to the end point column coordinates, and sets the concatenation order. (Step 22).

For example, the area 10 shown in FIG.
When step 20 is applied to 1 and 102, the connection order becomes the order of the areas 102 and 101. When step 20 is applied to the areas 201 to 203 shown in FIG. 5B, the connection order becomes 203, 202, and 201. Figure 5
When step 20 is applied to the areas 301 to 304 shown in (c), since the end point row coordinates of the areas 301 and 304 are equal, step 22 is applied to these two areas,
The connection order is 301, 302, 304, 303.

As described above, according to this embodiment as well, the operation is similarly simplified and the load on the operator is reduced.

Third Embodiment FIG. 6 shows a flow of operations of the document processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, particularly the area concatenation order determining means 6.

In this embodiment, first, the area concatenation order determining means 6 searches for an area existing within a page or a column, and when there are a plurality of areas, sorts the row coordinates of the starting points of the areas in ascending order. Perform (step 30). When there is an area where the range from the start point to the end point overlaps with respect to the row coordinates (step 31), the area concatenation order determination means 6 re-sorts the area where the row coordinates overlap with respect to the column coordinates of the starting point in ascending order. , Concatenation order (step 3
2).

For example, the area 10 shown in FIG.
Applying step 30 to 1, 102, region 102,
The order is 101. Since the row coordinates do not overlap in step 31, the connecting order is the order of the areas 102 and 101. When step 30 is applied to the areas 201 to 203 shown in FIG. 7B, the areas 203, 202 and 201 are arranged in this order. At this time, when it is determined in step 31 that the row coordinates overlap, the areas 203 and 202 overlap and the area 2
Since 02 and 201 overlap, in step 32, the area 20
For 3, 202 and 201, the column coordinates of the starting point are re-sorted in ascending order (the areas 203 and 201 do not directly overlap but are treated as indirectly overlapping). As a result, the connection order is 201, 202, 203.
Step 3 is performed in areas 301 to 304 shown in FIG.
When 0 is applied, the areas 301, 304, 302, 303
(Regarding the regions 301 and 304, since the row coordinates are the same,
The one with the smaller column coordinate is given priority). If it is determined in step 31 that the row coordinates overlap, the area 301
And 304 overlap each other and the areas 302 and 304 overlap each other, so that in step 32, the column coordinates of the starting points of the areas 301, 304, and 302 are re-sorted. As a result, the connection order is 301, 302, 304, 303.

As described above, according to this embodiment as well, the operation is similarly simplified and the load on the operator is reduced.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 8 shows the flow of operations of the document processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, particularly the area concatenation order determining means 6.

In this embodiment, the area concatenation order determining means 6 first searches for an area existing within a page or a column, and when there are a plurality of areas, sorts the row coordinates of the starting points of the areas in ascending order. Perform (step 40). When there is an area where the range from the start point to the end point overlaps with respect to the row coordinates (step 41), the area concatenation order determination means 6 re-sorts the column coordinates of the start point in ascending order with respect to the area where the row coordinates overlap. (Step 42). Then, the region concatenation order determination means 6 determines whether or not there is a region where the range from the start point to the end point overlaps the column coordinates (step 43). The data is sorted in ascending order (step 44).

For example, the area 10 shown in FIG.
Applying step 40 to 1, 102, region 102,
The order is 101. Since the row coordinates do not overlap in step 41, the connecting order is the order of the areas 102 and 101. When step 40 is applied to the areas 201 to 203 shown in FIG. 9B, the areas 203, 202 and 201 are arranged in this order. At this time, when it is determined in step 41 that the row coordinates overlap, the areas 203 and 202 overlap and the area 2
Since 02 and 201 overlap, the area 20
For 3, 202 and 201, the column coordinates of the starting point are re-sorted in ascending order. When it is determined in step 43 that the column coordinates overlap, the column coordinates do not overlap, so the connection order is 201, 202, 203. And
Step 4 is performed in the areas 301 to 304 shown in FIG.
When 0 is applied, the areas 301, 304, 302, 303
(Regarding the regions 301 and 304, since the row coordinates are the same,
The one with the smaller column coordinate is given priority). If it is determined in step 41 that the row coordinates overlap, the area 301
And 304 overlap each other, and the areas 302 and 304 overlap each other. Therefore, in step 42, the column coordinates of the starting points of the areas 301, 304, and 302 are re-sorted. Then, 30
The order is 1, 302, 304, 303. Step 4
If it is determined in 3 that the column coordinates overlap, regions 301 and 3
02 overlap, so in step 44, areas 301 and 302
Re-sort about the starting point row coordinates. as a result,
The connection order is 301, 302, 304, 303.

Other Embodiments In the above example, the number of times of re-sorting is fixed. However, the overlapping of coordinates is determined until the number of areas to be re-sorted is not reduced. Good.

FIG. 10 shows areas 301, 302, 303 and 3
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a format is set for each area in 04. An area 301 is an area in which the font size is set to 11 points and the font is set to Mincho font in horizontal writing. A region 302 is a horizontal writing mode with 11-point character size in Mincho type, a region 303 is a horizontal writing mode with 11-point character size, and a region 304 is vertical writing mode with a character size of 12 points.
It is set to Mincho type of point. In this case, only the areas 301 and 302 having the same set format may be subjected to area linking. In the above example, the areas in which the horizontal writing / vertical writing, the character size, and the font are all the same are the target areas to be connected, but the areas that match a specific format item may be the target to be connected.

Further, FIG. 11 shows an example of a case where the character area is divided by the graphic data in the document data in which the character data and the graphic data are mixed. In the figure, 601 is a circle which is graphic data, 602 is a straight line which is graphic data, and 603 to 606 are divided character areas. The above-described area concatenation processing may be executed on the character areas 603 to 606. The regions 603 and 604, or the regions 603 to 604 may be divided into regions so as to be treated as one region.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the connection order between areas is determined based on the coordinate value of each area, the connection operation is unnecessary by the automatic area connection, and the operation is simplified.

According to the second aspect, this effect can be obtained by using the area divided by the graphic data as the connection target area.

According to the third aspect, since the areas of the same format setting are automatically connected as the areas to be connected, when only the areas of a certain format are to be connected, these can be automatically connected and the usability is improved. To do.

According to the fourth aspect, the area connection order is determined by sorting the row coordinates of the start point or the end point, and the plurality of areas having the same row coordinates are sorted by the column coordinates of the start point or the end point. The connection order can be determined.

According to the fifth aspect, the area concatenation order is determined by sorting the row or column coordinates, and the areas having overlapping row or column coordinate ranges are sorted by the starting or ending column coordinates. Therefore, the connection order can be appropriately determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of region connection order determination processing according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a result obtained by applying the region connection order determination process of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of region connection order determination processing according to the second embodiment.

5 is a diagram showing an example of a result of applying the region connection order determination process of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of region connection order determination processing according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a result of applying the region connection order determination process of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of region connection order determination processing according to the fourth embodiment.

9 is a diagram showing an example of a result of applying the region connection order determination process of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a case in which each area is formatted.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a case where a character area is divided by graphic data in a document in which graphic data and character data are mixed.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional document processing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of a layout editing function of a conventional document processing apparatus.

FIG. 14 is an example of a layout display displayed when an area is created and an area is connected in the layout editing function of the conventional document processing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of area format setting items.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Processing Control Section 2 Input Section 3 Data Storage Section 4 Display Section 5 Printer 6 Area Linking Order Determining Means

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 6, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, among the areas to be connected, the areas in which the ranges of the row or column coordinates do not overlap are sorted in the order of the row or column coordinates, and the overlapping areas have the column or row coordinates of the start point or the end point. It is characterized in that the connection order between regions is determined by sorting by.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0019

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, in the present invention, the region connection order is determined by sorting the row or column coordinates. In the case of this claim, a range of row or column coordinates is taken into consideration when sorting. That is, for areas where the row or column coordinate ranges overlap, sorting is performed according to the column or row coordinates of the start point or end point. Thereby, the connection order is suitably determined.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0037

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, FIG. 11 shows an example of a case where the character area is divided by the graphic data in the document data in which the character data and the graphic data are mixed. In the figure, 601 is a circle which is graphic data, 602 is a straight line which is graphic data, and 603 to 606 are divided character areas. The above-described area concatenation processing may be executed on the character areas 603 to 606. The region 603 and 60 5, or a region from 603 to 604 may be divided into regions so as to be treated as one region.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0042

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, according to the fifth aspect, the area connection order is determined by sorting the row or column coordinates, and for the area where the range of the row or column coordinates overlaps, the start point or end column or
Since the sorting is performed based on the row coordinates , it is possible to suitably determine the connection order.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A means for laying out an area related to a document on a screen and a means for connecting a plurality of areas laid out in one page, which are provided when a certain area is filled with a document. A document processing apparatus for migrating to a connected area, characterized by comprising area connection order determining means for determining a connection order between areas based on coordinate values related to each area. 2. A certain area is filled with a means for laying out an area related to a document on the screen by dividing it by graphic data and a means for connecting a plurality of areas laid out in one page. In this case, the document processing apparatus that shifts to the area connected to the area is provided with area connection order determining means for determining the connection order between the areas based on the coordinate value of each area divided by the graphic data. Document processing device. 3. A means for laying out an area related to a document on a screen, and a means for connecting a plurality of areas laid out in one page, which are connected to a certain area when the area is full. In a document processing apparatus that shifts to a different area, areas having the same format setting among a plurality of areas laid out in one page are to be connected, and area connection order is determined based on coordinate values of each area. A document processing apparatus comprising an order determining means. 4. A means for laying out a region related to a document, which is section-determined by starting point and ending point coordinates on the screen,
In a document processing device, which comprises means for connecting a plurality of areas laid out in one page, and when a certain area is filled with a document, the area is transferred to the connected area. A method for determining a region connection order, characterized in that the order of connection between regions is determined by sorting by the row coordinate of the end point and further by sorting by the column coordinate of the start point or the end point for a plurality of regions having the same row coordinate. 5. A means for laying out a region related to a document, which is sectioned on the screen by start point and end point coordinates,
In a document processing device, which comprises means for connecting a plurality of areas laid out in one page, and when a certain area is filled with a document, the area to be connected is changed to an area connected to the area. Among them, the areas in which the range of row or column coordinates do not overlap with each other are sorted in the order of row or column coordinates, and the areas with overlapping are sorted by the column coordinates of the start point or the end point to determine the connection order between areas. A method for determining the region connection order.