JPH0916574A - Layout correction system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] When correcting layout data via a communication network, the data amount of layout data to be communicated is compressed and a correction history is left. [Configuration] One of the communication terminals T receives basic layout data (basic data) from another terminal via the communication network N. Note that this basic data is held in other terminals. Next, in this one terminal, the basic data is subjected to a correction process, and thereby the corrected data is generated. Furthermore, in one terminal, the correction data and the basic data are compared with each other, and difference data representing a different portion is generated. When this process ends, one terminal transmits the generated difference data to another terminal. For other terminals, the basic data stored earlier,
The correction data is generated based on the transmitted difference data. In this way, the difference data is transmitted rather than the correction data itself, so that the amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced. Further, this difference data shows the history of correction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a layout correction system suitable for correcting display information representing a layout of printed matter via a communication line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of DTP (Desktop Publishing) for laying out a printed matter on a computer has been remarkably developed, and has been utilized for producing various printed matters. Then, a block copy is created based on the layout data created by the DTP, and a printed matter is produced using the block copy. In this case, even if the place where the layout is designed and the place where the block copy is made are separated, the layout data can be passed. Therefore, the layout data is stored in a recording medium such as a floppy disk or a magneto-optical disk, and the recording medium is exchanged.

[0003]

By the way, in printed matters such as leaflets and catalogs, due to price fluctuations, etc.
The layout data may be corrected immediately before printing. In such a case, when the layout data is transferred via the recording medium, it takes time to transfer the recording medium,
In some cases, the publication deadline cannot be met. Therefore, it is possible to send and receive layout data in real time via a communication line.

However, since the layout data having image information such as photographs in addition to the character information has a huge amount of data, it takes a considerable amount of time and cost to transmit the corrected layout data through the communication line. . Further, by simply transmitting the corrected layout data, it is not immediately known on the receiving side which part has been corrected. For this reason,
In some cases, the sender and receiver cannot communicate with each other and the responsibility for correcting layout data becomes unclear.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when correcting layout data via a communication network, compresses the amount of layout data to be communicated and leaves a correction history. It is an object of the present invention to provide a layout correction system capable of performing.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the structure according to claim 1, data is transferred between a plurality of terminals connected via a communication network to correct the layout. In the layout correction system, one terminal compares the corrected data with the basic data by generating a corrected data by performing a correction process on the basic data transmitted from another terminal, and a difference part. And a comparison unit that generates difference data that represents the basic data generation unit that generates the basic data that represents a layout, and the difference data and the basic data that are transmitted from the one terminal. Correction data regenerating means for regenerating the correction data based on the above.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the layout correction system according to the first aspect, the difference data has data represented in a text format.

Further, in the structure according to claim 3, in the layout correction system according to claim 1, the other terminal has means for generating data in a text format based on the difference data. Is characterized by.

Further, in the configuration according to claim 4, in the layout correction system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a process of correction processing performed by the correction data generation means instead of the comparison means. And a means for generating the difference data based on the above.

(Operation) In the structure according to claim 1,
The correction data generation means of one terminal performs correction processing on the basic data transmitted from the other terminal to generate correction data, and the comparison means compares the correction data and the basic data to obtain a difference indicating a different portion. Generate data. On the other hand, in another terminal, the basic data generating means generates the basic data representing the layout. Further, the correction data regenerating unit regenerates the correction data based on the difference data and the basic data transmitted from the one terminal.

Further, in the structure according to claim 2,
Since the difference data has data expressed in text format, the operator can easily recognize the difference.

Further, in the structure according to the third aspect, since the data in the text format is generated based on the difference data, the operator can easily recognize the different portion as in the second aspect. .

Further, in the structure according to claim 4,
Difference data is generated based on the course of correction processing.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A. Configuration of Embodiments The overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a layout correction system which is an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
N is a communication network, which is a general communication line or a dedicated line (for example, ISDN). Further, T is a communication terminal, which is connected to a plurality of other communication terminals via a communication network N,
A computer provided with a communication interface is used.

Next, the configuration of the communication terminal T will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a CPU, which is connected to various components via a bus, whereby the entire apparatus is controlled. Further, 3 is a mouse, and 4 is a keyboard through which various data and instructions such as connection with the communication network N are input. Further, 5 is a memory, and C
It is used as a work area of the PU 1 and stores various kinds of information. An external storage device 6 stores layout data created by the communication terminal and layout data received via the communication network N. Further, 7 is a display for displaying various image data, and 8 is a data I / F for exchanging layout data with the communication network N.
And 9 is a color printer for printing layout data and the like.

B. Operation of the Embodiment FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the correction system. The operation of the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, as an example of the operation of the correction system, the layout data created in one communication terminal T is transferred to another communication terminal T.
The case of correction will be described. In the following description, the terminal that first creates the layout data is called the transmitting terminal TS, and the terminal that corrects the layout data is called the receiving terminal TJ.

In the figure, first, in the transmission terminal TS, the operator operates the mouse 3 and the keyboard 4,
When the layout of the printed matter is determined by inputting characters or moving the layout of figures, the CPU 1 stores the layout data in the external storage device 6 (step S).
1). This layout data is data corresponding to the layout before correction and is called basic data DS.

For example, the basic data DS corresponding to the uncorrected layout shown in FIG. 4 is generated corresponding to each of the areas 10, 20, 30 and becomes the one shown in FIG. In the basic data DS shown in FIG. 5, the first character starts with “N” and the first character starts with “n”. The former is a header indicating the start of data for one area, and the latter is an end mark indicating the end of the data. That is,
The data inserted from “N” to “n” becomes the basic data DS corresponding to one area. Also, the numbers following "N" have different numbers. They are,
It is an ID (identification information) assigned so as to correspond to each area. In this example, "1" is in area 10 and "2" is
Corresponds to the area 20, and “3” corresponds to the area 30.

Further, in the data of ID = 1, that is, the data of the area 10, the first character S is followed by "MOJ001".
There is data expressed as. This data is information that specifies a character image as a layout target. In this information, "001" following "MOJ" is the file name of character drawing data. This drawing data is composed of character text information, typeface information, character size information and the like.
Next, the data whose first character starts with "A" is "001".
This is information indicating at which position on the page the drawing data specified by is arranged, and indicates the X and Y coordinates of the upper left vertex P1 (see FIG. 4) of the area 10. In addition, the data starting with the first character “H” is the flat mesh% (the density of the mesh when the fine lines are drawn in a mesh shape and the color is applied) when drawing the layout object (character in this case). It is color designation data to be designated, and is composed of four data corresponding to each color of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (sumi).

Further, ID = 2, that is, the data for the area 20 is constructed in the same manner as the data for the area 10 described above, but "0" following "MOJ" is added to the area 20.
02 ”is applied. Also, I
In the data of D = 3, that is, the area 30, there is data represented by "IMG001" after the first character S. This data is information for designating a photographic image as a layout target. In this information, "001" following "IMG" is the file name of the drawing data of the photograph.
Further, "25, 30" following this represent the widthwise and heightwise magnifications of the photographic image, respectively. Further, “1.0, 0.0” is given after that, but these numerical values represent the tilt angle θ when arranging the photographic image, the former being sin θ and the latter being cos θ.

Next, in step S2 shown in FIG.
When the transmitting terminal TS transmits the basic data DS to the receiving terminal TJ via the data I / F 8, the receiving terminal TJ stores the basic data DS in the external storage device 6 to create a duplicate (step S3). As a result, the basic data DS is shared by the transmitting terminal TS and the receiving terminal TJ.

When the operator operates the mouse 3 or the keyboard 4 at the receiving terminal TJ to input a correction processing start instruction, the CPU 1 accesses the external storage device 6 to read the basic data DS and stores it in the memory 6. Transfer and display the layout in the display. While referring to this, the operator inputs a correction portion to change the layout. The changed layout data is
It is called correction data DR and is stored in the external storage device 6 (step S4).

Here, a case where the layout before correction shown in FIG. 4 is subjected to correction processing to change the layout after correction will be described as an example. In this case, the operator operates the mouse 3 and the keyboard 4 to change the area 1 to be corrected.
If you select 0, delete the uncorrected character "I am a college student." And add "I am" to create the corrected character "I am a college student."
U1 gives a new file name "003" to the corrected character. Next, when the worker selects the area 30 and moves it to the left side, the coordinates in the basic data DS are changed according to the movement amount. The correction data DR thus generated is as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S5 shown in FIG.
The CPU 1 accesses the external storage device 6, reads the basic data DS and the correction data DR, compares them, and generates the correction batch processing data DB and the history data DQ that represent the difference. After that, both data are stored in the external storage device 6. The correction batch processing data DB is a list format data like the basic data DS and the correction data DR. On the other hand, the history data DQ is data indicating where and how the corrected portion is corrected for each correction item, and is described as text in a bulleted form. That is, the history data DQ is represented in a format that allows the operator to understand the correction contents at a glance.

For example, the correction batch processing data D generated from the basic data DS and the correction data DR shown in FIGS.
B is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, there are areas to be corrected “N 1” and “N 3”, which specify the areas to be corrected. In this example, ID = 1, ID = 3, that is, the areas 10 and 30 have been subjected to correction. The data "MOJ003" following the first character "S" represents the corrected file name applied to the area 10, and the data following this represents its contents (not shown in the example of the figure).

Also, "5, 50" following the first character "A"
Represents a new coordinate of the photo information applied to the area 30.
In the corrected batch processing data DB thus obtained, the portion overlapping with the basic data DS is deleted, so that the data amount thereof is compressed as compared with the correction data DR. On the other hand, since the correction batch processing data DB has all the information about the corrected portion, the correction data DR can be generated by combining the correction batch processing data DB and the basic data DS.

In the above example, the history data D
Q is as shown in FIG. In the figure, "coordinates (10,
The character 70) ”represents the coordinates of the character information of the area 10. In addition, “I am → I” and “typeface and series are the same” are generated by comparing the data specified by the file name “MOJ001” with the data specified by the file name “MOJ003”. It Further, "file name IMG001" indicates that the photograph in the area 30 has been corrected. Then, "coordinate (15,50) →
"(5,50)" means moving this photo from coordinates (15,50) to (5,50), and "Same magnification and rotation" means that there is no change in the magnification and rotation of the photo. Is represented. Since the history data DQ represented in this way represents the state before and after the correction, it is convenient to confirm the correction.

After that, the process proceeds to step S6 shown in FIG. 3, in which the CPU 1 in the receiving terminal TJ accesses the external storage device 6 and corrects the batch processing data DB and the history data DQ.
Are read out and these data are returned to the transmitting terminal TS via the data I / F 8. The transmission terminal TS that receives these stores the corrected batch processing data DB and the history data DQ in the external storage device 6 and at the same time, stores the external storage device 6 in the external storage device 6.
Then, the basic data DS is read out, and the correction data DR is generated based on the basic data DS and the correction batch processing data DB. By this, the receiving terminal TJ to the transmitting terminal TS
The correction data DR can be obtained at the transmitting terminal TS without returning the correction data DR to.

Next, in step S7, when the operator inputs a print instruction of the basic data DS and the correction data DR, both data are transferred to the color printer 9, where the layouts before and after correction are printed respectively. . After this, the operator confirms the printed layout before and after correction while referring to the history data DQ displayed on the display 7 (step S9).

FIG. 9 shows the above processing in a comprehensive manner, and the reference numerals attached thereto correspond to the processing steps of FIG. 3 described above. As shown in S8 of FIG. 9, in the transmitting terminal TS, the basic data DS and the corrected batch processing data DQ
Since the correction data DS can be regenerated from
It is not necessary to transfer the normal data DS having a huge amount of data from the receiving terminal TJ to the transmitting terminal TS. Further, as shown in S6, the data transferred from the receiving terminal TJ to the transmitting terminal TS is the correction batch processing data DB and the history data DQ, so compared with the case where the correction data DR is transferred,
Less data to transfer. As a result, it is possible to transfer necessary data in a short time, reduce the influence of a transmission error occurring in the communication line, and further reduce the communication cost.

C. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications described below are possible. In the above embodiment, the correction batch processing data DB is generated by detecting the difference between the basic data DS and the correction data DR. However, the correction processing process is sequentially stored, and the correction batch processing data DB is generated based on this. You may.

In the above embodiment, the history data DQ is returned from the receiving terminal TJ to the transmitting terminal TS in addition to the corrected batch processing data DB, but only the correcting batch processing data DB is returned and the correcting batch processing data is sent at the transmitting terminal TS. The history data DQ may be generated from the DB. In this case, the amount of data and time required for the return can be further reduced.
Further, the data returned from the receiving terminal TJ to the transmitting terminal TS may be only the history data DQ. In this case,
The correction batch processing data DB may be generated from the history data DQ in the transmission terminal TS.

[0033]

As described above, according to the configurations of claims 1 to 4, the correction data regeneration means regenerates the correction data based on the difference data and the basic data transmitted from one terminal. Therefore, it is possible to compress the data amount of the layout data to be communicated and to leave the correction history.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a layout correction system which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal used in the layout correction system.

FIG. 3 is a sequence flow diagram of the layout correction system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a layout before and after correction.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of basic data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of correction data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of corrected batch processing data.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of history data.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of the layout correction system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 TJ receiving terminal (one terminal) TS transmitting terminal (other terminal)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A layout correction system for transmitting / receiving data between a plurality of terminals connected via a communication network to correct a layout, wherein one terminal corrects basic data transmitted from another terminal. Correction data generating means for generating correction data by performing the above, and comparison means for comparing the correction data with the basic data to generate difference data representing a different portion, and the other terminal represents a layout. A basic data generating unit that generates the basic data; and a correction data regenerating unit that regenerates the correction data based on the difference data and the basic data transmitted from the one terminal. Layout correction system to do. 2. The layout correction system according to claim 1, wherein the difference data includes data represented in a text format. 3. The layout correction system according to claim 1, wherein the other terminal includes means for generating text format data based on the difference data. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, instead of the comparing means, means for generating the difference data based on a course of correction processing performed by the correction data generating means. Layout correction system described.