JPH0651932A - Window system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Configuration] In order to realize the help function of the window manager, first, a help button 10 is added to the title bar 9. When you start window 1, help button 1
0 appears. Icon buttons and size buttons also appear. The customization of the help button 10 can be defined in the resource code file just like any other window manager function. The help button function can be customized by other functions (applications). No-Operation can also be defined. Use this help button to provide help information for your application. [Effect] Help buttons are displayed in all windows, and the user interface of the help function is standardized. In addition, window application designers can customize help features.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a window manager using a title bar, for example, and realizes a standardized window manager help function by adding a help button to the title bar. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, many computer systems are equipped with a windowed system. These systems have a window manager as a feature. The window manager provides the user with a consistent and regular user interface. This user interface usually consists of a title bar, window names, size buttons, etc. Furthermore, user customization of the window system is possible through the window manager. The shape of most window systems is relatively standardized, and in many cases the user can easily adapt the window with a new window manager.

[0003] Such a typical interface is
It is shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional typical window. In the figure, 1 is a window displayed by the window manager. 2 is a window name in which the name of window 1 is entered. Three
Is a size button for changing the display size of the window 1. Reference numeral 4 is an icon button for making the window 1 into an icon or opening and displaying the window as shown. Reference numeral 5 denotes a scroll bar for scrolling the area displayed by the window 1. Reference numeral 6 is a title bar of the window 1 in which the size button 3, the icon button 4 and the like are displayed on the window name described above. Reference numeral 100 is a window operation area for operating the window, which is composed of both the scroll bar 5 and the title bar 6. Reference numeral 200 denotes a shaded portion in the drawing, which is an operation area in which the application program operates.

Next, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an application program is operating in the conventional typical window as shown in FIG. In the figure, 7 is a command bar displayed by the application program, and 8 is a help menu similarly displayed by the application program on the command bar 7. The command bar 7 always provides the user with various functions. One of them is the help function. As an existing method, the user uses the method of displaying the help menu 8 or calling the help function from a function key (not shown).

In addition, existing techniques for help functionality often describe how to display help information. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-23241
No. 2 publication is provided in a computer system,
The normal help interface is described. This example is a representative sample that describes how to display help information. In this example, a help main routine for displaying help information and a help file that actually stores help information are prepared in advance. This help main routine is called by a help menu, a function key, etc. by each application, and help information is called from a specific help file corresponding to the application and displayed on the screen. In this case, the system designer can confirm that the help main routine was able to select and call the correct help file and that the correct help information was displayed for the application to ensure correct operation of the help function. To check. It should be noted that there are generally many different help modes possible, but when using a particular help mode, the user may not be able to continue the application until the help operation is complete. Also, the way the help information is displayed and the various help modes are fairly standardized depending on the application that provides the help,
Applications do not always provide help.

[0006]

Generally, some help functions are required in computer systems. Conventionally, what kind of help function is added depends on the design of the application program designer. However, this makes the user interface inconsistent. That is, even in the same window system, the access method of the help function changes variously depending on the application. Also, as mentioned above, many of the conventional technologies focus on how to provide the help information to the user effectively, not on how to standardize the calling of the help information. ing.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides help for a plurality of types of application programs operating in the same window system under the same user interface. The purpose is to obtain a window system for operating the functions.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A window system according to the present invention is, for example, an application running on a window when a help button is pressed by constantly displaying a help button on the title bar of the window. The help information can be output corresponding to the program, and has the following elements. (A) A window manager that displays a window having an operation area for operating the window and an operation area in which the application program operates, and (b) a help button is displayed in a part of the operation area of the window displayed by the window manager. Help button display means,
(C) Customizing means for customizing the help button so as to output help information corresponding to the application program operating in the operation area of the window to the help button displayed by the help button displaying means.

[0009]

In the window system according to the present invention, the window manager displays the operation area used for operating the window and the operation area in which the application program operates as the area forming the window. Since the help button display means displays the help button in a part of the operation area of the window displayed by the window manager, the help button unified in the window system can be displayed regardless of the type of application program. Further, the customizing means customizes the help button so that when the help button displayed by the help button displaying means is pressed, the help button is customized so that the help information corresponding to the currently operating application program is output. With this, it becomes possible to display help information corresponding to each application program even with the help button commonly displayed in the window system.

[0010]

【Example】

Example 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a window system according to the present invention, in which 9 is a title bar. Reference numeral 10 is a help button added to the title bar 9. A window operation area 100 is used for operations such as window movement, iconing, and scrolling. Reference numeral 200 is an operation area in which the application program operates. In order for the window manager to execute the help function, the following auxiliary functions need to be added to the window manager program. 1. First, the help button is displayed in the window operation area 100 at a position similar to the display of buttons such as other icon buttons and size buttons that are currently available. For example, as shown in the figure, the help button 10 is designed to be added next to the size button on the title bar 9. 2. Next, change the shape of this button, like any other button,
Make it immediately recognizable by the user. For example, possible icons include (H), (HEL
P), (?), (I), (information),
(Help) etc. For example, the shape of the help button added to the title bar 9 of the window is made the same as that of the size button as shown in FIG. 3. The customization of the help button is executed from a special file as a help function of a window manager other than the normal window manager. Here, as a special file, UNIX (UNIX is UNI
X System Lab. , INC. An example of the registered trademark system is the resource code file.
This resource code file is rc fil
I will call it e. To customize the help button: In the rc file, it is necessary to define resources for the shape of the menu, some sub-function (application) operation functions, and a new help window. No-operation that occurs when the help button is pressed without preparing the help information
Also,. It can be defined as one resource in the rc file.

A general resource code file will be described below. The general default behavior of windows is. It is defined in rc file. For example, if the window manager is "this window manag
If it has the name "er", then ". A .rc file with the name "twmrc" is set as the file with the default resources. Next, some examples of customized mouse button devices in the resource code file are shown in FIG. Reference numeral 11 indicates the type of mouse button, 12 indicates the current cursor position, and 13 indicates the function to be executed when the mouse button 11 is pressed at the current cursor position 12. As shown in Fig. 2 (a), when the cursor is placed at a place called "title", pressing button 1 can move the title, and as shown in Fig. 2 (b), the cursor can be moved. If the buttons 1, 2, and 3 are pressed when the frame is placed in the frame, the frame is moved or moved down, or As shown in Fig. 2 (c), when the cursor is pointing to an icon, the buttons 1, 2 and 3 are pressed to move the respective icons, or It is possible to perform operations such as opening the icon or moving the icon up and down.As described above, the resource code file is used when the mouse button or the like is input under certain circumstances. It can be used for customization to perform various operations according to the type of button.

Next, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which the resource code file can issue a normal command. FIG. 3 shows a case where a menu is displayed and a command is issued corresponding to the item selected from the menu. Figure 3 shows a menu with the name "tools", and the contents of that menu are my-ed
It defines to display a three-line menu of iter, my-mail, and calculator. Then, when each menu is selected, it is defined that the command 16 corresponding to the menu is issued. For example, when calculator is selected from the menu, it is possible to start a calculation program called xcalc. As described above, FIG. 3 shows a case where the program can be started from the menu by using the resource code file.

As described above, by using the resource code file as described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the help button is added to the title bar, and the window manager is modified so that it can be properly handled. If so, it is possible to call the help function from the resource code file.

However, since the window manager and the application program are essentially different programs, even if the window manager and the application program operate while communicating with each other, the help button displayed by the window manager. Therefore, in order to display the help information corresponding to the application program, a method different from the conventional one must be considered.

That is, the application program must provide the help information suitable for its own program through the help button displayed on the window using the conventional communication mechanism between the window and the application program. The communication between this window and the application program depends on the implementation of the window system, but it is possible to suggest to some extent how the help function is added.

For example, consider an icon button. Window managers must manage icons for different application programs. The application program can prepare the icon pattern used in the application program by using the appropriate resource prepared by the window system. The resources for creating such an icon pattern depend on the implementation of the window system.
There are various ways to create the icon pattern, but they are not important here and will not be described. The important thing is that the application program can customize the behavior of the window manager to some extent. That is, taking the case of the above-mentioned icon as an example, the window manager performs the display operation of the icon based on the icon pattern defined by the application program. The window manager will be able to perform the operation of that help button defined by the program.

Further, the designer of the application program can allow the user to arbitrarily select the resource used in the application. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a special file that can be recognized by both the window manager and the application program. In the figure, 17 is an application program for performing mail processing, the name of which is mym
It is ail. Reference numeral 18 is a resource used in the application program mymail. Further, 19 is an actual resource value used for the resource 18. For example, the application program mymail has a resource for shading, and here, the shading is defined to be black. Alternatively, the background of the mailbox in the application program is defined to be displayed in green. Thus, FIG. 4 shows an example of the special file defined for each application program,
The user can customize the application program by arbitrarily selecting the resource value for the resource.

From the above, it is possible to define the help function by adding a new resource similar to the special file shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where a help function is defined as one of resources by a special file, 20 is an application program, 21 is a sub resource in the application program 20, and 22 is a help resource in the sub resource. . Reference numeral 23 indicates the directory and file name (path name). FIG. 5 defines that when the help button is pressed when the application program called my-application is displaying the sub-resource called window1, the file 1 specified by the path name is displayed as help information. There is something. Similarly my
When the help button is pressed while the application program called -application is displaying the sub resource called window2, it defines that the file 2 specified by the path name is displayed as help information. .

As described above, in this embodiment, the help button is displayed in the window system in a unified form to standardize the user interface, and the help button can be customized by the application program and also by the user. I explained.

The advantage of this embodiment is that the help button is displayed in every window. Also,
The benefit to the user is that the help method they are accessing is always visible on screen. That is,
Without the help feature, the application would not have to search the menu or submenu several times to find a help button or access other help features to find help information. Also, an advantage for system developers is that the means for calling help can be explicitly provided to the user. Furthermore, the help button for the user is always displayed, forcing the system developer or application program designer to add the user help function.

Example 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the window system according to the present invention. FIG. 6 shows an example of No-operation in which the designer of the application program does not prepare the help function in advance. As described above, the designer of the application program can display the help information when the help button is pressed by using the resource code file or the special file, but depending on the designer of the application program, the help information can be displayed. There are cases where such a help function is not needed. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6, the window manager may display a message that the designer of the application program has not prepared the help function. In this example, No-operation is shown as the help function, and a message is displayed in the pop-up window 26 to inform the user that the help information is not available at the moment. In addition, 28 is a Quit command button, and this Qui
This popup window will continue to be displayed until the t command button is pressed. It should be noted that displaying the No-operation in this way is not a desirable form from the user's point of view because help information is not provided. However, from the standpoint of providing a unified user interface, when the developer of the application program does not provide the help information, the unified user interface cannot be achieved unless the window manager displays something. No-operatio like
n is displayed.

Note that, as described above in this embodiment, Qui
Execution is suspended until the t command button is pressed.
This means whether to suspend the execution of the application program while the help window is being displayed,
It shows that the user can customize. That is, the default N provided by the window manager
Even if the display is o-operation, it means that the designer of the application program can customize the help mode.

Example 3. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a case where a developer of an application program tries to display help information on a help button. Window 2
When the help button is pressed in 9, the help window 31 is displayed. This help window 3
In 1, 1, 32 is the help button of the help window,
33 is an information display area for displaying help information, 34 is a scroll bar for scrolling the help information, and 35 is a scroll bar.
Is a Quit command button for ending the display of help information. The feature here is that the help button 32 is also displayed in the help window 31. Since the help window 31 is also displayed by the window manager as one of the windows, the help button 32 is displayed in the title bar, which is the operation area of the window, like the normal window.
Will be displayed. Even if the application program does not require the help button 32, unless a special instruction not to display the help button 32 is given,
The help button 32 is displayed by the window manager. The scroll bar 34 is for scrolling up or down the help information when the help information cannot fit in the scene 33 for displaying the help information. The Quit command button 35 is a button that is pressed when the user finishes viewing the help information or when the user does not need the help information. By pressing the Quit command button 35, the help window 31
Will be erased. In this way, the help button 32 and the scroll bar 34 are added to the help window 31.
Displaying and using the Quit command button 35 Not defined or not used is defined as a resource of the help button, and is defined as a resource in the resource code file or the special file as described above. It is a thing.

Example 4. In the third embodiment, the case where the help information is displayed on the screen has been shown. However, by customizing the help button, not only the case where the help information is displayed on the screen, but also the search for the information by the keyword or the information is performed. It is possible to customize such that only the summarized part of is displayed. It is also possible to execute a program as well as simply displaying the help information contained in the file. Further, not only the display of information but also a customization for achieving a help function by giving a message using, for example, a voice is possible.

Example 5. Although the help button is displayed next to the size button of the title bar in the same shape as the size button in the above embodiment, the position of the help button is a window operation for operating a window such as a title bar or a scroll bar. It may be displayed at any position in the area 100. That is, it is sufficient that the window manager displays the same position in the management display area and provides a standard interface to the user.

Example 6. In the above embodiment, the example of the help button is shown as the one that activates the help function, but the name is not limited to the help button.
Any interface that displays a help menu, a help bar, or some other help function doesn't really care about its name.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, in providing help information, it is possible to provide a standard interface to the user, and it is possible to provide an application program that is being executed despite the standard interface. It is possible to obtain a customizable window system that outputs corresponding help information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram in which a help button is added to a window of a window system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of customizing a mouse button using a resource code file.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of executing menu selection using a resource code file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of setting an application resource using a special file.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of setting a help resource using a special file of the window system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing No-operation of a help button of the window system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a customized help function of the window system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional typical window.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of accessing a conventional typical help.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Window 9 Title Bar 10 Help Button 31 Help Window 32 Help Button 100 Window Operation Area 200 Application Program Operation Area

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A window system having the following elements: (a) a window manager for displaying a window having an operation area for operating a window and an operation area for operating an application program; and (b) a window manager for displaying the window. Help button display means to display a help button in a part of the operation area,
(C) Customizing means for customizing the help button so as to output help information corresponding to the application program operating in the operation area of the window to the help button displayed by the help button displaying means.