JPH1026964A - Menu display method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] When using a display screen having a different aspect ratio as a portrait screen installed in a portrait state or a landscape screen installed in a landscape state, the menu display content is changed according to the installation state of the display screen. Is to be able to do it. SOLUTION: A menu definition memory 2-2 defines a vertical menu item for designating processing contents suitable for a portrait screen and a horizontal menu item for designating processing contents suitable for a landscape screen. When one of the portrait / landscape screen is designated, the CPU 1 selectively reads a portrait or landscape menu item from the menu definition memory 2-2 in accordance with the orientation of the screen, and outputs the menu item.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for displaying a menu on a personal computer, an office computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a data processing device such as a personal computer displays a list of processing names (text menu) or a list of pictograms (icon menu), and when a desired menu item is selected from the list,
A corresponding processing program is started. Here, in the conventional menu display method, correspondences between various processing commands and processing names and pictograms substituted for the processing commands are registered in advance as a menu definition file. The names and pictograms are read out and displayed in a list.

[0003]

However, the contents of the menu definition file are not changed unless a special operation is performed.
Since the information is fixed, the amount of information increases, and information that is not suitable for the environment of the peripheral device may be displayed. In such a case, it becomes difficult to find a desired menu item from many menu items, and there is a possibility that the role of simplifying the operation at the time of starting the program may be impaired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to change a menu display content according to the installation state of a display screen when a display screen having a different aspect ratio is used as a portrait screen installed in a portrait state or a landscape screen installed in a landscape state. It is to be.

[0004]

The means of the first invention (the invention described in claim 1) is as follows. In a data processing device that can be used as a portrait screen in which display screens with different aspect ratios are installed in portrait mode or a landscape screen in landscape mode, a menu that indicates the processing content suitable for the portrait screen is defined as a vertical menu item. In addition, when a menu that indicates the processing content suitable for the landscape screen is defined as a landscape menu item, if either the landscape screen or landscape screen is specified, To select one of the vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item, and display the selected menu item. The means of the second invention (the invention of claim 2) is as follows. In a data processing device that can be used as a portrait screen in which display screens with different aspect ratios are installed in portrait mode or a landscape screen in landscape mode, a menu that indicates the processing content suitable for the portrait screen is defined as a vertical menu item. In addition, when the menu that indicates the processing content suitable for the landscape screen is defined as the landscape menu item, the portrait menu item and the landscape menu item are displayed and output on the same screen, and the portrait menu item is displayed. When one of the screen and the landscape screen is specified, one of the vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item is selected according to the specified screen orientation, and the selected menu item is replaced with another menu item. Is identified. Here, the identification display is arbitrary, such as changing the display color, changing the icon shape or size, or changing the font size. Therefore, according to the present invention, when a display screen having a different aspect ratio is used as a portrait screen installed in a portrait state or a landscape screen installed in a landscape state, menu display contents are changed according to the installation state of the display screen. be able to.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a data processing device such as a personal computer or an office computer. In FIG. 1, the data processing device includes a CPU 1, a RAM 2, an input unit 3, a display unit 4,
Printing unit 5, storage device 6, storage medium control unit 7, storage medium 8
And a display rotation detecting section 9. CPU
A (Central Processing Unit) 1 is a central processing unit that controls the overall operation of the data processing device according to a program stored in a storage device 6.

[0006] The storage device 6 has a storage medium in which programs, data and the like are stored in advance, and this storage medium is constituted by a magnetic or optical storage medium or a semiconductor memory. The storage medium is fixedly provided in the storage device 6 or is detachably mounted. The storage medium includes a window system program, various application programs corresponding to the window system, a menu display program, and a printing process. A program and data processed by each processing program are stored. The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium may be configured to be received and stored from another device connected via a communication line or the like. A storage device provided with the above storage medium may be provided on the side of the device, and the program and data stored in the storage medium may be used via a communication line. The storage medium control unit 7 has a function as a storage medium driving device that drives and controls a storage medium 8 (for example, a floppy disk) shown in the figure. The storage medium control unit 7 drives the storage medium 8 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 1 and issues a write instruction. Is input, the specified data is written to a specified storage area in the storage medium 8, and when a read instruction is input, the specified data is read from the storage medium 8, and is read from the RAM 2 or the storage device 6. Write to the specified storage area.

The input unit 3 has a key input device for inputting slip data and the like and a pointing device such as a mouse for inputting various commands. The slip data and the like input from the input unit 3 are taken into the CPU 1 and displayed. The data is displayed on the unit 4 or stored in the data memory 2-1 in the RAM 2. The display unit 4 is a liquid crystal display device, a CRT display device, or the like, and has display screens having different aspect ratios. Here, by rotating the display unit 4, the operator can freely use the display screen as a portrait screen in which the display screen is installed in the portrait state or a landscape screen in which the display screen is installed in the landscape state by the rotation mechanism. Here, in the effective display area of the display screen, the aspect ratio is made different by making the maximum number of dots that can be displayed in the horizontal direction different from the maximum number of dots that can be displayed in the vertical direction. The display rotation detecting unit 9 detects the installation state of the display screen by mechanical or optical switch means using a changeover switch or an attitude sensor for detecting whether the display screen is installed vertically or horizontally, and the like. A detection signal is given to CPU1. The printing unit 5
Is a thermal printer or the like that prints out the contents of the data memory 2-1 and performs data printing in a predetermined form when printing a form.

The RAM has a data memory 2-1, a menu definition memory 2-2, a work memory 2-3, and the like, and the data memory 2-1 stores input slip data and the like. In the menu definition memory 2-2, a menu for instructing processing contents suitable for a vertically long screen is defined as a vertical menu item, and a menu for instructing processing contents suitable for a horizontally long screen is defined as a horizontal menu item. The user inputs the menu definition memory 2-2 from the input unit 3.
Arbitrarily set the contents of FIG. 2 shows menu definition memory 2
2 illustrates the contents of a menu corresponding to a form creation operation. Here, the menu definition memory 2-2 is divided into two types of menu definition files corresponding to a horizontal form creation business and a vertical form creation business.
In addition to the title name, a menu item name (form name) and its processing command are stored in correspondence with the menu number. FIG. 2A shows menu contents of a horizontal form creation business as horizontal menu items, and FIG. 2B shows menu contents of a vertical form creation business as vertical menu items. The character string in parentheses added to the menu item name indicates the paper size and paper orientation of the form. When displaying the menu of the form creation business, the CPU 1 discriminates whether it is installed on the portrait screen or the landscape screen in accordance with the detection signal from the display rotation detecting unit 9, and according to the discrimination result, the menu of the landscape form creation business. An item or a menu item of a vertical form creation business is selected and displayed in a list.

Next, the operation at the time of menu display will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. A program for realizing each function described in this flowchart is stored in a fixed manner in the storage device 6 in the form of a program code readable by the CPU 1 or is stored in a storage medium under the control of the storage medium control unit 7. 8 to the storage device 6. Now, assuming that a form creation operation is designated, the operation menu is displayed in a list according to the flowchart in FIG. That is, the CPU 1 captures the detection signal from the display rotation detection unit 9 and checks the installation state (spin top state) of whether the display screen is installed vertically or horizontally (step A).
1, A2). Here, if it is set on the landscape screen, C
The PU 1 selects a horizontal menu definition file from the menu definition memory 2-2 (step A3), and selects a vertical menu definition file from the menu definition memory 2-2 if installed on a portrait screen (step A5). . Then, a spin top flag is set in the work memory 2-3 to indicate whether the display screen is currently installed in the portrait or landscape orientation (steps A4 and A6).

Next, a list of the contents of the selected menu definition file is displayed on the display screen (step A7). FIG. 4 shows a display example in this case. When the screen is set on the landscape screen, the menu contents of the horizontal form creation business are displayed in a list (see FIG. 4A), and the menu is set on the portrait screen. In this case, the menu contents of the vertical form creation business are displayed in a list (see FIG. 4B). Here, the menu item name is displayed together with the menu number in the icon (rectangular frame indicating the form image).

In the state where the contents of the horizontal menu definition file or the vertical menu definition file in the menu definition memory 2-2 are displayed in a list according to the spin-top state of the display screen, the CPU 1 rotates the display again. A detection signal from the detection section 9 is taken in, and it is checked whether the spin top state has changed by referring to the spin top flag set in the work memory 2-3 (step A8). Here, when the direction of the display screen is switched, the process returns to step A1. For this reason, the menu display is also changed from vertical to horizontal or from horizontal to vertical according to the switched spin-top state. On the other hand, if the spin top state does not change, the current menu display is continued. Here, it is checked whether an arbitrary menu item is selected from the menu display screen by a mouse click operation or the like (step A9). If no menu selection is made, the process returns to step A8, but an arbitrary menu item is selected. And the corresponding processing command is read out from the menu definition memory 2-2, and the form is started to create a business (step A10).

As described above, a vertical menu item suitable for a vertically long screen or a horizontal menu item suitable for a horizontally long screen is selectively displayed according to the spin top state. In other words, the menu display content automatically changes according to the orientation of the display screen, and only the menu items suitable for the orientation of the display screen are narrowed down and displayed. Therefore, when a desired menu item is selected from the menu screen, Furthermore, the selection can be performed efficiently. In the above-described embodiment, the menu display of the form creation operation is described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to an initial menu or the like at the time of starting the system, and a sub window is opened on the display screen to display the menu. May be performed.

Further, in the first embodiment described above,
Although the horizontal and vertical menu definitions are set in separate memories, each definition item may be duplicated by being merged into one definition memory. That is, the above example is horizontal /
Although the configuration is divided into the vertical menu definition memory 2-2, a horizontal menu item and a vertical menu item may be stored in one menu definition memory. FIG. 5 shows the contents of the menu definition memory.
The menu definition memory is configured to store a menu item name, a horizontal start command, and a vertical start command corresponding to a menu number. In this case, the horizontal start command indicates a processing program to be executed when installed on the landscape screen, and the vertical startup command indicates a processing program to be executed when installed on the portrait screen. This is a start command. The menu item for which the horizontal start command is set is a horizontal menu item, and the menu item for which the vertical start command is set is a vertical menu item. Note that the menu items for which the horizontal / vertical start commands are respectively set indicate horizontal menu items and vertical menu items.

When the menu is displayed, the spin top state is detected, and in the case of the landscape screen, the menu number and the menu item name for which the horizontal start command is set are read out from the menu definition memory and displayed in a list (FIG. 6). (A)
reference). In this case, the horizontal start command “A001”,
The menu contents corresponding to "B001" and "D001" are displayed in a list along with the icons imagined on the horizontal form. On the other hand, when the menu is set on the portrait screen, the menu number and the menu item name for which the portrait startup command is set are read out from the menu definition memory and displayed in a list (see FIG. 6B). In this case, the menu contents corresponding to the vertical activation commands "A002", "C002", and "D002" are displayed in a list together with icons that image a vertical form. By using the menu definition memory configured in this way, when setting a menu item name, enter an identifier for specifying whether the form is a vertical form or a horizontal form, or enter the same item name in a vertical form, Since it is not necessary to specify each of the horizontal forms separately, the registration operation to the menu definition memory can be greatly simplified, and
A small memory is sufficient for the menu definition memory.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment described above, the vertical menu items and the horizontal menu items are displayed separately in a list. In the second embodiment, the vertical menu items and the horizontal menu items are mixed on the same screen. This is displayed. Now, assuming that a form creation job is designated, a list of job menus is displayed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the spin top state of the display screen is captured (step B1), and it is checked whether the screen is a landscape screen or a portrait screen (step B2). If it is set on the landscape screen, a horizontal menu item is selected and read from the menu definition memory shown in FIG. 8 (step B3). If it is set on the portrait screen, a vertical menu item is selected and read from the menu definition memory (step B5).

Here, the menu definition memory stores the menu No.
The vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item are not separately stored in separate definition memories as shown in FIG.
The configuration is such that each is stored in one menu definition memory. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, even if the same menu item name (quotation form) is used, whether the menu is a horizontal menu or a vertical menu is expressed by the character string in parentheses (paper size and paper orientation of the form) added thereto. I have to. In the figure, “event” and “response when an event occurs” described on the right side of the menu definition memory are used to explain how the corresponding menu items are identified and displayed according to the spin-top state. They are listed for convenience.

When the horizontal or vertical menu items are selectively read from the menu definition memory in accordance with the spin top state, a spin top flag is set in order to store and hold the current spin top state ( Steps B4 and B6). Then, icons (rectangular frames indicating a form image) corresponding to the selected menu item are identified and displayed, and a list of horizontal and vertical menu items is displayed on the display screen (step B7). That is, FIG.
(A) shows a menu display example in the case of being installed on a landscape screen. In this case, an icon corresponding to a horizontal menu item is displayed with high brightness, and an icon corresponding to a vertical menu item is displayed with low brightness. You. Conversely, when the screen is installed on the portrait screen, the icon corresponding to the vertical menu item is displayed with high brightness and the icon corresponding to the horizontal menu item is displayed with low brightness as shown in FIG. 9B. You.

FIG. 9 shows a case where the display luminance is changed as an icon identification display. As shown in FIG. 10, an execution prohibition mark with a diagonal line inside a perfect circle is displayed in the icon. Alternatively, the identification display may be performed. FIG. 9A is a menu display example in the case of a landscape screen, and FIG. 9B is a menu display example in the case of a portrait screen.
Normal icons are displayed for selectable icons, but special icons with an execution prohibition mark are displayed for icons that cannot be selected. As other forms of identification display, icons may be enlarged / reduced, the shape of the icons may be changed, or the display colors of the icons may be changed.

Next, the process proceeds to step A8, where it is checked whether the spin-top state has been switched, and if it has been switched, the process returns to step B1 as in the first embodiment, and the menu display is switched. Here, a menu item is selected (step A9), and it is checked whether the selected menu item is a menu item suitable for the spin-top state of the display screen (step B10). Here, for example, assuming that the horizontal menu item is selected in the case of the landscape screen, it is determined that the item is appropriate in step B10, a start command corresponding to the item is read, and the form creation business is started. This is the same as in the first embodiment described above, but if a vertical menu item is selected in the case of a landscape screen, it is determined in step B10 that the menu item is inappropriate and the process proceeds to error processing (step B12). .

As described above, even if the horizontal menu item and the vertical menu item are displayed on the same screen, the icons corresponding to the horizontal / vertical menu items are identified and displayed according to the current spin-top state. Therefore, the selection target and the non-selection target can be easily grasped. In addition,
In the above example, the icons are identified and displayed, but the menu item names may be identified and displayed. In this case, the display color of the item name may be changed, or its font size, font type, or character type may be changed. Also, an underline or the like may be added to the icon or the item name, or the icon or the item name may be identified and displayed by reverse display or shaded display.

[0021]

According to the present invention, when a display screen having a different aspect ratio is used as a portrait screen installed in a portrait state or a landscape screen installed in a landscape state, menu display contents are set according to the installation state of the display screen. Can be changed, a menu item suitable for the orientation of the display screen can be easily selected and designated, and the menu selection operation can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a data processing apparatus capable of using a display unit as a vertically long screen and a horizontally long screen.

FIG. 2 shows the contents of a menu definition memory 2-2;
3A is a diagram showing a horizontal menu definition memory, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a vertical menu definition memory.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when a menu is displayed.

FIG. 4 is an example of a menu display according to a spin top state,
7A is a diagram showing menu display contents in a case of a landscape screen, and FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a modified application example of the first embodiment, showing the contents of a menu definition memory 11;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are menu display examples according to the contents of the menu definition memory shown in FIG. 5, in which FIG. 6A shows menu display contents in the case of a horizontal screen and FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of a menu display example in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of a menu definition memory in the second embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are menu display examples according to the contents of the menu definition memory shown in FIG. 8, in which FIG. 9A shows menu display contents in the case of a landscape screen and FIG.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show another menu display example according to the second embodiment, in which FIG. 10A shows menu display contents in the case of a horizontal screen and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 CPU 2 RAM 2-2, menu definition memory 3 input unit 4 display unit 5 printing unit 6 storage device 7 storage medium control unit 8 storage medium 9 display rotation detection unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a data processing apparatus which can be used as a portrait screen in which display screens having different aspect ratios are installed in a portrait state or a landscape screen which is installed in a landscape state, a menu for instructing processing contents suitable for the portrait screen is a portrait type. If one of the portrait screen and the landscape screen is specified when the menu that defines the processing contents suitable for the landscape screen is defined as a menu item and the menu that indicates the processing content suitable for the landscape screen is specified, A menu display method, wherein one of the vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item is selected according to a screen orientation, and the selected menu item is displayed. 2. A data processing apparatus which can be used as a portrait screen in which display screens having different aspect ratios are set in a portrait state or a landscape screen in which a display screen is set in a landscape state, wherein a menu for instructing processing contents suitable for the portrait screen is a vertical type. If the menu that defines the processing contents suitable for a landscape screen is defined as a horizontal menu item while the menu item is defined as a menu item, the vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item are displayed and output on the same screen, respectively. When one of the portrait screen and the landscape screen is specified in the state in which the menu item is selected, one of the vertical menu item and the horizontal menu item is selected according to the designated screen orientation, and the selected menu item is selected. A menu display method characterized in that is displayed for other menu items.