JPH1011599A - Chart graphic processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve looks by coping with the editing of a character string in the graphic of a chart element by interactive operation and matching layout between the graphics of other chart elements. SOLUTION: A processing control part 1 receives instruction from a user, executes the processing of the start/finish of the whole system, executes data access to respective data holding parts 6 and 7 and rule holding parts 8 to 10, executes the processing of arranging the graphic of a chart element at a coordinate point for deciding a position to arrange the chart element to prepare a chart and executes the changing processing of various graphic shape with respect to the chart element. In such a case, the part 1 controls each function processing part 2 to 19 so as to perform processing through the use of the function processing parts 2 to 19 and executes the processing for controlling the flow of the whole processing. In this controlling processing, the part 1 successively assigns time for an instruction input receiving processing to respective function processing parts 2 to 5, 11 and 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chart graphic processing apparatus, and more particularly to a chart graphic processing apparatus which is used in a word processor or a CAD system and which electronically processes a graphic containing characters which is an element of a chart.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a chart for explaining a flow or a related content is created in document creation by a word processor, a CAD system, or the like.
In these charts, an expression (notation) in which a character string is surrounded by a graphic is often used as seen in an organization chart or a flowchart. In a system for creating such a chart electronically, graphic processing for changing the layout of character strings and graphics is performed according to addition or deletion of a character string in a graphic that is an element of the chart.

[0003] Regarding the graphic processing of this kind of chart,
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-240782, there is known a method of changing the size of a figure surrounding the character string in accordance with the addition or deletion of the character string. Also, for example, as in a "flowchart creation system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-161728, the font of a character string is changed so that it fits inside a figure.
For a character string that does not fit inside the figure, a part of the character string in the figure is replaced with a predetermined symbol, and the character string that does not fit inside the figure is displayed in a chart at a different position from the figure. A system for laying out a space is known.

[0004]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-2
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 40782, only the graphic including the changed character string is changed.
The layout alignment of the entire chart may be lost. In that case, the user has to change the size of another figure or change the arrangement of the figure.

In the method of the "flowchart creation system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-161728, a character string that does not fit inside the figure is much smaller than other parts. Or the string may be suddenly interrupted and placed in a completely different position. In that case, the readability of the created chart is extremely low, and a chart of poor visual design quality is created.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to cope with editing of a character string in a graphic of a chart element performed by a user through an interactive operation. It is another object of the present invention to provide a chart graphic processing apparatus which improves the appearance by matching the layout between the graphics of other chart elements.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a chart graphic processing apparatus according to the present invention has a first feature that a character string is associated with a figure surrounding the character string in one form. A chart element holding means (7) for holding as a chart element, a coordinate point holding means (6) for holding a coordinate point for determining a position where the chart element is to be arranged, and a graphic and a character string of the chart element being arranged at the coordinate point Arrangement processing means (1,13,17,19), shape rule holding means (8) for holding a rule of a shape of a chart element, and a first relation for defining a relationship between the coordinate points and the shape of the figure. A first relational rule storage means (10) for storing rules, a second relational rule storage means (9) for storing a second relational rule for defining a relation between a character area and a figure shape, and a chart element storage means. Any inside Over a string changing means for changing a string of bets element (11), a character string region determining means for the modified character string to determine the character string region to be laid (1
(6, 17), shape changing means (18, 19) for changing the shape of the figure in relation to the character string area in which the character string has been changed based on the second relation rule, and a chart element in which the character string has been changed Element selecting means (1) for selecting a chart element having a dependency relationship based on a coordinate point at which a character is arranged and the first relational rule, an area held by the shape rule holding means and an area determined by the character area determining means A first graphic shape changing means (1, 18) for changing the shape of the graphic of the chart element in which the character string has been changed, and a rule held in the shape rule holding means and the first graphic shape change. A second graphic shape changing means (1, 19) for changing all chart elements selected by the element selecting means according to the shape changed by the means.

Further, the chart graphic processing apparatus of the present invention
As a second feature, when the shape of the chart element graphic is changed by the second graphic shape changing means, the rule held in the shape rule holding means and the second graphic shape changing means are changed. A character string area position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the character string area in which the character string of the chart element selected by the element selecting means is laid out with respect to the figure in accordance with the shape.

Further, the chart graphic processing apparatus of the present invention
As a third feature, the shape of the chart element graphic is changed by the position rule holding means for holding the rule regarding the position of the graphic of the chart element, and the first graphic shape changing means and the second graphic shape changing means. In this case, there is provided an element position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the graphic of the chart element in the chart element holding means according to the rule held by the position rule holding means.

In the chart graphic processing apparatus of the present invention having such features, the chart element holding means holds a character string and a figure surrounding the character string as one chart element in association with each other. Point holding means holds coordinate points for determining a position where the chart element is arranged.
The arrangement processing means arranges the chart element graphic and character string at the coordinate points.

The shape rule holding means holds a plurality of rules for the shape of the chart element graphic, and the first relational rule storage means defines the relationship between the coordinate points and the shape of the graphic (graphic offset). Remembers the first relational rule,
Since the second relation rule storing means stores the second relation rule defining the relation between the character area and the shape of the figure (character area offset), the character string changing means allows any character in the chart element holding means to be stored. When the character string of the chart element is changed, the character string area determining means determines an area in which the changed character string is laid out, and the shape changing means changes the character string based on the second relation rule. Change the shape of the figure in relation to the area.

Then, the element selecting means selects the chart element having a dependent relationship based on the coordinate point at which the chart element whose character string has been changed and the first relation rule, and in that case, the first element is selected. The graphic shape changing means changes the shape of the graphic of the chart element in which the character string has been changed according to the rule held by the shape rule holding means and the area determined by the character area determining means. Further, the second graphic shape changing means changes all chart elements selected by the element selecting means according to the rule held by the shape rule holding means and the shape changed by the first graphic shape changing means. .

Thus, when an arbitrary character string in the chart element is changed, not only the figure surrounding the character string is adjusted, but also other chart elements having a dependency on the figure and size of the chart element. Is also changed to an appropriate size, and the layout of a character string surrounded by the changed size is appropriately adjusted.

The chart graphic processing apparatus here is further provided with character string region position adjusting means. The character string region position adjusting means is provided with the second graphic shape changing means to change the graphic of the chart element. When the shape is changed, an area in which the character string of the chart element selected by the element selecting means is laid out according to the rule held by the shape rule holding means and the shape changed by the second graphic shape changing means. Adjust the position with respect to the figure.

In the chart graphic processing device,
Further, a position rule holding unit and an element position adjusting unit are provided, and the position rule holding unit holds a rule relating to the position of the graphic of the chart element, so that the first graphic shape changing unit and the second graphic When the shape of the chart element graphic is changed by the shape changing means, the element position adjusting means sets the chart element graphic and text in the chart element holding means in accordance with the rule held in the position rule holding means. Adjust column position.

As described above, according to the chart graphic processing apparatus of the present invention, when an arbitrary character string in a chart element is changed, not only is the graphic of the chart element surrounding the character string adjusted, but also Other figures that are dependent on the figure and the size of the chart element are also changed to an appropriate size, and the layout of a character string surrounded by the changed size is also adjusted appropriately. Further, the positions of the graphic and the character string are appropriately adjusted according to the change in the size of the graphic. Therefore, the layout of each chart element can be matched according to the editing of the character string in the chart element performed by the user through the interactive operation. In this case, as the change of the character string, addition and deletion of a character and change of a layout attribute can be similarly treated.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a chart graphic processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a control processing unit, 2 is an element generation instruction unit, 3 is an element arrangement instruction unit, 4 is an element deletion instruction unit, 5 is a color instruction unit, 6 is a coordinate data holding unit,
7 is an element data holding unit, 8 is a figure shape rule holding unit, 9 is a character string layout rule holding unit, 10 is a coordinate position rule holding unit, 11 is a character string input unit, 12 is a rule selection unit, and 13 is a coordinate position selection. , 14 is a screen display unit, 15 is a chart printing unit, 16 is a character string region calculation unit, 17 is a character region offset calculation unit, 18 is a figure shape calculation unit, 19 is a figure offset calculation unit, and 20 is each functional processing. It is a bus that logically connects the units.

In the chart graphic processing apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a control processing unit 1, an element generation instruction unit 2, an element arrangement instruction unit 3, an element deletion instruction unit 4,
A color instructing unit 5, a coordinate data holding unit 6, an element data holding unit 7, a figure shape rule holding unit 8, a character string layout rule holding unit 9, a coordinate position rule holding unit 10, a character string input unit 11, a rule selecting unit 12, A coordinate position selector 13, a screen display 14,
The respective function processing units of the chart printing unit 15, the character string region calculation unit 16, the character region offset calculation unit 17, the graphic shape calculation unit 18, and the graphic offset calculation unit 19 are connected, and the graphic processing for the chart element is performed here. Is performed.

The processing control unit 1 receives an instruction from a user, performs a process of starting and ending the entire system, performs data access to each data holding unit and rule holding unit, and determines a position where a chart element is arranged. The processing of arranging the graphic of the chart element at the coordinate point to be determined is performed, the processing of creating a chart is performed, and the processing of changing various graphic shapes for the chart element is performed.

In this case, each of the function processing units (2 to 19)
Is performed, processing is performed using the function processing unit, and processing for controlling the overall processing flow is performed. In the process for controlling the flow of the entire process, each of the function processing units (the element generation instruction unit 2, the element arrangement instruction unit 3, the element deletion instruction unit 4, the color instruction unit, and the like) which performs a process of individually receiving instructions from the user. 5, the character string input unit 11 and the rule selection unit 12)
The time of the instruction input receiving process is sequentially allocated, and in each of the function processing units to which the processing time is allocated, when there is an input from the user, the processing time to the other function processing unit until the processing by the request is completed. Control to suspend the assignment.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are flow charts showing the flow of processing by the processing control unit of the main part of the chart graphic processing apparatus of the embodiment. With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the flow of control of the overall processing of the chart graphic processing apparatus will be described. When the chart graphic processing apparatus starts the process, first, in step 21, the process control unit 1 determines whether or not the user has instructed to end the process. When the user instructs the end of the process, the process is terminated. If the end of the processing has not been instructed, the process proceeds to step 22, and it is determined whether or not the element generation instructing unit 2 has instructed the generation of the element by the user. When the generation of the element is instructed by the user, the process proceeds to step 23, the data of the new chart element is generated, and the data of the generated chart element is added to the element data table (chart element holding table 50; FIG. 5). Perform processing, then step 3
Proceed to 6. Then, in step 36, the display screen is redrawn to reflect the processing result on the display screen. Next, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated.

If it is determined in step 22 that the user has not instructed the generation of the element, the process proceeds to step 24, and it is determined whether or not the user has instructed the element deletion instructing section 4 to delete the element. When the user instructs to delete the element, in the next step 25, a process of deleting the data of the specified chart element from the element data table (chart element holding table 50; FIG. 5) is performed. Next, the process proceeds to step 36, in which the display screen is redrawn to reflect the processing result on the display screen. Then, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated. If it is determined in step 24 that the user has not instructed to delete the element, the process proceeds to step 26.

In step 26, it is determined whether or not the element arrangement is instructed by the element arrangement instruction section 3 from the user. When the placement instruction is given, the process proceeds to step 27,
The value of the “arrangement coordinates” of the specified chart element is updated in the element data table (chart element holding table 50; FIG. 5). Next, the process proceeds to step 36, where the display screen is redrawn to reflect the processing result on the display screen. Then, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated. Further, in the determination processing in step 26, when the instruction of the arrangement of the elements is not issued, the process proceeds to step 28.

In step 28, it is determined whether or not the user has instructed the color instruction section 5 to change the color of the element. If the user has instructed to change the color of the element, in the next step 29, the "chart inside color", " Figure outline color ”,“ Font color ”
Update the value of. Next, the process proceeds to step 36, where the display screen is redrawn to reflect the processing result on the display screen. Then, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated. If the instruction to change the color of the element has not been issued in the determination processing of step 28, the process proceeds to step 30.

In step 30, the rule selecting section 12
To determine whether the user has changed the application of the rule. If the user changes the application of the rule, in the next step 31, the value of the "application" of the specified rule (application flag)
Then, the value of the “application” (application flag) of the rule having the exclusiveness with this is updated, and the process proceeds to step 32. If the user does not change the application of the rule, the process directly proceeds to step 32. In step 32, the character input unit 11 determines whether the user has changed the character string.
When the user has changed the character string, in the next step 33, a process of changing the graphic of the chart element and the layout of the character string in accordance with the change of the character string is performed, and then the process proceeds to step 36. Then, in step 36, the display screen is redrawn to reflect the processing result on the display screen. Then, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated.

If it is determined in step 32 that the user has not changed the character string, then in step 3
Then, in step 34, the chart printing unit 15
Then, it is determined whether or not printing of a chart has been instructed by the user, and if printing of a chart has been instructed, the process proceeds to the next step 35, where printing processing of the chart is performed. Then, the process returns to step 21, and the processing from step 21 is repeated. If it is not determined in step 34 that a chart printing instruction has been given,
Returning to step 21, the processing from step 21 is repeated.

As described above, in the control of the processing by the processing control unit 1, an instruction from the user is received, and the control of each of the function processing units (2 to 19) is performed to execute the processing for controlling the overall flow of the processing. Do. In this case, in each processing step, an instruction from the user is individually received by each function processing unit, and control of the processing by each function processing unit is repeatedly performed.

Next, individual processing in each of the function processing units (2 to 19) will be specifically described. In order to facilitate the understanding of the description, the operation of each function processing unit and the features thereof will be partially described in a bullet style.

(Coordinate data holding unit 6) The coordinate data holding unit 6 holds data of coordinate points on a two-dimensional plane on which the chart elements are arranged. Here, the coordinate point data includes a coordinate ID for specifying a coordinate point on a two-dimensional plane, and a coordinate ID of the coordinate ID.
And a value (attribute value) indicating a position on the dimensional plane. The coordinate ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying the position of the coordinate point. Specifically, it is represented by a set of binary positive values, for example, {1,1}.

The value indicating the position (attribute value) represents the azimuth and the distance from another coordinate point as a measurement target. The coordinate point to be measured is one point. The coordinate point of the measurement target is represented by a coordinate ID, and the value indicating the azimuth is a value indicating in which direction the coordinate point of the measurement target is viewed from itself. In other words, the value indicating this azimuth indicates a clockwise angle, with the direction going up during screen display or printing being 0 degrees. The value indicating the distance indicates a non-negative positive value in units of "point" which is a unit of printing of the document image on which the chart element is printed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a value indicating a position. Describing in a specific example, as shown in FIG. 4, for a coordinate point 41 having a coordinate ID of {1, 2}, a coordinate I
A coordinate point 40 in which D is {1, 1} is set as a measurement target, and a value 41a indicating the position is set as “coordinate ID of self position:
{1, 2}, coordinate ID of observation target: {1, 1}, azimuth:
135, distance: 102 ”is held.

As for the coordinate point 42 whose coordinate ID is {2, 1}, similarly to the coordinate point 41, the coordinate ID is {1, 1}.
Is a coordinate point 40, which is a measurement target, and a value 4 indicating the position thereof
2a, “Coordinate ID of self-position: {2, 1}, coordinate ID of observation target: {1, 1}, azimuth: 270, distance: 1
44 "is held. Also, if the coordinate ID is $ 2,
For the coordinate point 43 that is 2｝, the coordinate ID is {2,
The coordinate point 42 of 1｝ is set as an observation target, and a value (attribute value) 43a indicating the position is set as “coordinate ID of self-position:
2}, coordinate ID of observation target: {2, 1}, direction: 18
0, distance: 72 ”is held.

In the chart graphic processing apparatus of this embodiment, in order to avoid complicating the description, the number of coordinate points which can be arranged is fixed, and as shown in FIG. However, it goes without saying that the number of these coordinate points can be increased or can be made variable by a user's instruction.

(Element data holding unit 7) The element data holding unit 7 holds each data constituting the chart element. The data of the chart element here is held in a table format. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of the chart element holding table. As shown in FIG. 5, in the chart element holding table 50, one row (record) is data indicating one chart element. The chart element holding table 50 includes an element ID field 50a, an arrangement coordinate field 50b, a graphic field 50c, a graphic offset field 50d, a graphic internal color field 50e, a graphic outline color field 50f, a character string field 50g, a character string area field 50h, and a character. It consists of a column area offset field 50i and a character color field 50j. Item data of each field is "element ID", "arrangement coordinates", "graphic (graphic shape)", "graphic offset", "graphic inside". Color ”,“ shape outline color ”,
The data values of ten items of “character string”, “character string area”, “character string area offset”, and “character color” are stored. These data constitute one chart element.

The data of "element ID" stored in the element ID field 50a is data for uniquely identifying a chart element. As will be described later, it is used to specify a chart element to be processed in a processing command sent by each processing function unit. In this embodiment, a non-overlapping positive numerical value is used as the value of the “element ID”.

The data of "arrangement coordinates" stored in the arrangement coordinate field 50b is coordinate point data indicating at which coordinate point the chart element specified by the element ID is arranged. As the value of “arranged coordinates”, the value of the coordinate ID (FIG. 4) of the coordinate point held in the coordinate data holding unit 6 is used.

The "graphic (graphic shape)" data stored in the graphic field 50c is data indicating the graphic shape of the chart element specified by the element ID. In the chart element of this embodiment, since only a rectangle is handled as a figure shape, the horizontal length of the rectangle is used as a first element,
It is represented by a set of data whose vertical length is a second element. For example,
The graphic shape {200, 100} represents a rectangular shape having a horizontal length of 200 points and a vertical length of 100 points. The unit of the numerical value here is a point.

The "graphic offset" data stored in the graphic offset field 50d is data indicating the positional relationship between the graphic and the coordinate point. This indicates how far the position of the coordinate point at which the graphic of the chart element is arranged is away from the reference point of the graphic. In the chart element of this embodiment, the upper left corner of the rectangle is set as the reference point of the figure, and the positional relationship between the reference point and the coordinate point is set as a set of horizontal and vertical distances (FIG. 5). For example, when the value of the "graphic offset" is {-100, 50}, the horizontal distance of the first element is -100 points, and the vertical distance of the second element is 50 points. It indicates that Note that, as in the case described above, the unit of the numerical value here is a point, and the first element has a positive direction when the right (azimuth 90 degrees) is
In the second element, the upper direction (azimuth 0 degree) is defined as a positive direction.

The data of "graphic internal color" stored in the graphic internal color field 50e is data indicating the color of the internal area of the graphic of the chart element at the time of screen display or printing. The value indicating this color is represented by RGB values (256 gradations for each color) such as {0, 100, 255}.

The data of "graphic outline color" stored in the graphic outline color field 50f is data indicating the color of the outline of the graphic of the chart element at the time of screen display or printing.
This color value is a value expressed by RGB values (256 gradations for each color) in the same data format as the data of “internal color of figure”.

The "character string" data stored in the character string field 50g is data indicating the character string of the chart element. That is, it is character string data to be put in the graphic of the chart element, and this value is a sequence of character codes.

The data of the "character string area" stored in the character string area field 50h is data indicating a rectangular area occupied when the character string of the chart element is laid out. The value is a value in the same data format as the data of the “figure”, and the value is a set of data in which the horizontal length of the rectangle is the first element and the vertical length is the second element. Expressed by For example, the character string area {30, 50} represents a rectangular area having a horizontal length of 30 points and a vertical length of 50 points. The unit of the numerical value here is a point.

The "character string area offset" data stored in the character string area offset field 50i is data indicating the positional relationship between the character string area and the coordinate points. This data indicates how far a coordinate point serving as a reference for arranging chart elements is from the reference point of the character string area. This value is a value indicating the distance between the upper left corner point of the character string area and the coordinate point, similarly to the data of “graphic offset”.

The "character color" data stored in the character color field is data indicating the color of a character during screen display or printing. The color value is an RGB value (256 gradations for each color) in the same data format as the data of the “graphic internal color”.
Is a value represented by

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the arrangement of the chart element graphic and the character string area with respect to the coordinate points.
As shown in FIG. 6, in one chart element in which a figure and a character string are combined, the coordinate point 60, the figure 61,
Regarding the positional relationship of the character string area 62, a figure horizontal offset 63, a figure vertical offset 64, a character string area horizontal offset 65, and a character string area vertical offset 66 are set respectively. By variously changing the data of these positional relationships, the arrangement of the character strings in the graphic of the chart element can be variously changed. In this case, the arrangement of the figures with respect to the coordinate points is aligned at the center in both the upper, lower, left and right directions.
On the other hand, in the arrangement relationship shown in FIG. 6A, the character string regions are also centered in the upper, lower, left, and right directions. FIG.
In the arrangement relationship shown in (b), the character string area is vertically centered and left and right is left aligned. Also,
In the arrangement relationship shown in FIG. 6C, the character string area is vertically aligned on the top and left and right on the left.

(Element generation instructing unit 2) Element generation instructing unit 2
Receives an instruction to generate a new chart element and issues an instruction to generate a chart element. In other words, the user
According to the processing function of the interactive input operation by the element generation instructing unit 2, first, a coordinate point at which the chart element to be generated is arranged is selected, and the generation of the chart element is instructed. Since the element generation instruction unit 2 issues an element generation instruction, the control processing unit 1 performs chart element generation processing in accordance with the instruction. That is, the element data holding unit 7
New row (record data) for the new chart element in the chart element holding table (50: FIG. 5)
And set the value as follows: “Element ID”: a positive numerical value that does not overlap with data in other element data holding units. “Placement coordinates”: coordinates I of the coordinate point selected at the time of generation instruction
D. "Figure": {100,100} "Figure offset": {-50, 50} "Figure internal color": {255, 255, 255} "Figure outline color": {0, 0, 0} "Text color" : {0,0,0} "Character string": Blank "Character string area": Blank "Character string area offset": Blank. At this time, the graphic of the chart element is generated, but the “character string”, “character string area”, and “character string area offset” for the character string to be entered are blank. RGB value of this figure internal color 図 形 255, 255, 25
5｝ is a white value, which is the RG of the figure outline color and the character color.
The B value {0,0,0} is a black value.

(Element arrangement instructing unit 3) Element arrangement instructing unit 3
Receives an instruction to change the arrangement of chart elements, and issues a processing instruction to change the arrangement of elements. According to the processing function of the interactive input operation by the element arrangement instructing unit 3, the user
An arbitrary chart element is selected, then a coordinate point to be changed is selected, and a layout change command is issued. The control processing unit 1 performs a process of updating the value of “arrangement coordinates” of the chart element selected according to the command to the coordinate ID of the selected coordinate point.

(Element deletion instructing unit 4) Element deletion instructing unit 4
Receives the instruction to delete the chart element, and stores the chart element holding table (50: FIG. 5) in the element data holding unit 7.
Issue an instruction to delete the chart element from. That is,
The user selects an arbitrary chart element and instructs the deletion of the chart element according to the processing function of the interactive input operation by the element deletion instruction unit. In accordance with this instruction, the control processing unit 1 deletes a row corresponding to the selected chart element from the chart element holding table of the element data holding unit 7.

(Color Instructing Unit 5) The color instructing unit 5 receives an instruction to change the color of the graphic of the chart element and the color of the character, and issues an instruction to change the color of the graphic and the character. The user selects an arbitrary chart element in accordance with the processing function of the interactive input operation by the color instruction unit 5, determines the RGB values of the internal color, outline color, and character color of the graphic of the chart element, and Order change. Control processing unit 1
Then, in accordance with the instruction to change the value of the color data, the values of the “graphic internal color”, “graphic outline color” and “character color” of the selected chart element are updated to the values determined by the user.

(Character string input unit 11) Character string input unit 11
Is an input processing unit for adding / deleting a character string of an arbitrary chart element. The user selects an arbitrary chart element according to the processing function of the interactive input operation by the character string input unit 11 and inputs a character string to be entered therein. The control processing unit 1 updates the value of the “character string” of the selected chart element according to the character string input from the character string input unit 11.

(Graphic Shape Rule Holding Unit 8) The graphic shape rule holding unit 8 holds a rule applied when the graphic shape of the chart element is changed. The rules held in the figure shape rule holding unit 8 are rules regarding the setting of the length of the side of the rectangle which is a figure surrounding the character string, and rules regarding the positional relationship with the coordinate points of the rectangle. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data of rules held by the figure shape rule holding unit 8. As shown in FIG. 7, the figure shape rule holding unit 8 holds the data of each rule in a tabular data structure.
That is, the figure shape rule table 70 includes a rule ID field 71, a rule description field 72, a rule description field 73, an application flag field 74, an exclusive start flag field 75, and an exclusive end flag field 7.
6, the data of the items of each field include “rule ID”, “rule description”, “rule description”, “application flag”, “exclusion start flag”, and “exclusion end flag”. One rule is constituted by holding five items of data. Only the value of the "application flag" in the rule data can change the value during editing. The data of other items have fixed values.

The “rule ID” held in the rule ID field 71 is identifier data for uniquely identifying a plurality of rules held by the figure shape rule holding unit 8.
As the value, a unique value in which the English character "F" is followed by a positive number is taken here. In the following description, for example, “Rule F1
A rule whose rule ID is “Fxx”, such as “1”, is called a “rule Fxx”.

The item data of "rule description" held in the rule description field 72 takes as its value a text (text) explaining to the user what the rule is. As will be described later, this item data is used to be displayed on the screen as a guide when the user selects a rule to be actually applied to the chart currently being created in the rule selecting unit 12.

The item data of “rule description” held in the rule description field 73 is script data (program) describing the execution procedure of the rule. A program that can be interpreted by the offset calculator 19 is used as a value. As a matter of course, the execution result of the program specified in the "rule description" of a certain rule matches the meaning of "rule description" which is a text explaining the rule.

The "application flag" held in the application flag field 74 takes a value of "0" or "1". When the value is "1", the rule changes the graphic shape of the chart element being created. Is performed, and when the value is "0", it is not applied. The setting of this value is performed in accordance with the user's selection in accordance with the processing function of the interactive input operation by the rule selecting unit 12, as described later. As will be described later, when the graphic shape calculation unit 18 and the graphic offset calculation unit 19 perform processing, only the rule in which the value of the “application flag” is “1” is used. When the system is started, all the values of the “application flag” are initialized to “0”.

The “exclusive start flag” and “exclusive end flag” held in the exclusive start flag field 75 and the exclusive end flag field use these values as a set, and a plurality of rules are mutually exclusive. Shows what is exclusive. The value of the “exclusive start flag” and “exclusive end flag” takes a value of “0” or “1”. That is, a plurality of rules from the rule in which the “exclusive start flag” is “1” to the rule in which the “exclusive end flag” is “1” are mutually exclusive. That is,
In the rule during which each row (rule) of the graphic shape rule table 70 is continuous, this means that only one value of the “application flag” can take “1”.

A specific example will be described. In the rules shown in FIG. 7, rules F1 to F3, rules F4 to F8
This indicates that the rules from rule F10 to rule F13 have exclusiveness among the rules. Here, among the three rules from the rules F1 to F3, only the rule F1 has a value of “1” for the “application flag”.
When the rule F1 is applied among the three rules up to 3, it means that the rules F2 and F3 of the other two rules are not applied. As described later, the rule selection unit 1
When setting the value of the “apply flag” according to the processing function of the interactive input operation by No. 2, the values of the “exclusive start flag” and “exclusive end flag” are used, so that the exclusivity of the rule is maintained. Settings are made.

(Character string layout rule holding unit 9) The character string layout rule holding unit 9 holds rules regarding layout when displaying or printing a character string of a chart element on a screen. In other words, the character string layout rule holding unit 9 holds a rule on setting of a font of a character string and a rule on a character set of the character string.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of rule data stored in the character string layout rule storage unit 8. The data structure of each rule held by the character string layout rule holding unit 9 holds data of each rule in a tabular data structure, similarly to the above-described figure shape rule holding unit 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the character string layout rule table 80 includes a rule ID field 81, a rule description field 82, a rule description field 83, an application flag field 84, an exclusive start flag field 85, and an exclusive end flag field 86. You. The item data stored in each of these fields include “rule ID”, “explanation of rule”,
One rule is configured by holding data of six items of “rule description”, “application flag”, “exclusion start flag”, and “exclusion end flag”. Only the value of the "application flag" in this rule data can change its value during editing. The values of other items have fixed values.

The role of the data of each item in the data structure is almost the same as that of the figure shape rule holding unit 8 described above. However, in the character string layout rule holding unit 9, the value of the "rule ID" is a unique value in which the English character "L" is followed by a positive number. The values of the “description of rule” and the “application flag” are used by the character string region calculation unit 16 and the character string region offset calculation unit 17.

(Coordinate position rule holding unit 10) The coordinate position rule holding unit 10 holds rules applied to setting of coordinate positions. The rules held in the coordinate position rule holding unit 10 are rules regarding the azimuth and distance of the coordinate data.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of rule data held by the coordinate position rule holding unit 10. As shown in FIG. The data structure of the rules held by the coordinate position rule holding unit 10 holds the data of each rule in a tabular data structure, similarly to the above-described figure shape rule holding unit 8. As shown in FIG. 9, the coordinate position rule table 90 stores the rule ID field 9
1, rule description field 92, rule description field 9
3, an application flag field 94, an exclusion start flag field 95, and an exclusion end flag field 96. As the item data stored in each field, data of six items of “rule ID”, “rule description”, “rule description”, “application flag”, “exclusion start flag”, and “exclusion end flag” Are held to constitute one rule. Only the value of the "application flag" in the rule data is changed during editing. The values of other items have fixed values.

The role of each item data in the data structure is almost the same as that of the figure shape rule holding unit 8 described above. However, in this coordinate position rule holding unit 10,
The value of the “rule ID” is a unique value in which the English letter “P” is followed by a positive number. The values of the “rule description” and the “application flag” are used by the coordinate position calculation unit 13.

For example, the rule whose rule ID value is “rule P1” shown in FIG. 9 is used in the coordinate position calculating unit 13, and the data of the coordinate point in the coordinate data holding unit 6 is shown in FIG. It is set as follows. In FIG. 10, arrows to which dots are added indicate values indicating the positions of the respective coordinate points. In the coordinate point of the coordinate ID {1, 3}, the observation target is the coordinate point of the coordinate ID {1, 2}, and the azimuth is “18”.
0 ° ”and the distance is“ 144 ”.

(Rule Selection Unit 12) The rule selection unit 12 processes the various rules stored in the figure shape rule storage unit 8, the character string layout rule storage unit 9, and the coordinate position rule storage unit 10 described above. A process for receiving an instruction for the user to select a rule actually applied to the target chart element is performed. In this case, when the user performs the selection operation,
The data of the text (text) of “rule explanation” in the rule explanation fields (72, 82, 92) in each rule holding table is displayed on the screen, and the data follows the “exclusion start flag” and “exclusion end flag”. Exclusivity is maintained.

(Character string area calculation section 16) The character string area calculation section 16 receives a request (command) from another function processing section.
According to the rules in the character string layout rule holding unit 9, the size of the character string region of the character string of the chart element in the element data holding unit 7 is calculated, and the size of the character string region field 50h of the element data holding unit 7 is calculated. The process of updating the value of the “character string area” is performed.

(Character string area offset calculating section 17) The character string area offset calculating section 17 holds element data in accordance with the rules in the character string layout rule holding section 9 in response to a request (command) from another function processing section. The offset of the character string area of the chart element in the section 7 is calculated, and the value of the “character string area offset” in the character string area offset field 50i of the element data holding section 7 is updated.

(Figure Shape Calculator 18) Figure Shape Calculator 1
Numeral 8 calculates the size of the graphic of the chart element in the element data holding unit 7 according to the rule in the figure shape rule holding unit 8 in response to a request (command) from another function processing unit, and stores the element data. A process of updating the value of “graphic (graphic shape)” in the graphic field 50c in the unit 7 is performed.

(Graphic Offset Calculator 19) The graphic offset calculator 19 requests (commands) from other function processing units.
In accordance with the rule in the figure shape rule holding unit 8, the offset of the figure of the chart element in the element data holding unit 7 is calculated, and the "graphic offset" in the figure offset field 50d of the element data holding unit 7 is calculated. Perform the process of updating the value.

(Coordinate position calculator 13) Coordinate position calculator 1
3 calculates the position of the coordinates in the coordinate data holding unit 7 in accordance with the rule in the coordinate position rule holding unit 10 in response to a request (command) from another function processing unit, and changes the value of the coordinate data holding unit 6 Perform the update process.

(Screen display unit 14) The screen display unit 14 interprets the chart element data of each field held in the element data holding unit 7 according to the screen rewrite command sent from the processing control unit 1, and displays the chart. Is converted to a raster image of RGB values, and the converted image data is displayed on the screen of the display. In addition, control is performed to display a cursor linked to the pointing device on the screen, and the pointing device is controlled to operate the cursor on the screen to perform various instructions / selections / inputs as described above. To directly select a chart element or a coordinate point on a display screen.

(Chart printing unit 15) Chart printing unit 1
5 interprets the chart element data held in the element data holding unit 7 according to the user's instruction, creates an image of the chart to be printed, converts it into a CMYK raster image, and converts the converted image into a paper / Print on OHP sheet.

Each of these function processing units, as described above,
It is controlled by the processing control unit 1. In order to use the processing function of each function processing unit, the processing control unit 1 controls each function processing unit and performs processing on the graphic of the chart element. Among these processing, the main processing is: This is a process of changing a chart element in accordance with the rule using the rule. In the process of the process control unit 1, particularly, when the user changes the character string of the chart element, the “chart element and graphic Character string layout change processing (step 33) ". Next, the change processing will be described.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the layout change processing of the graphic and the character string of the chart element. With reference to FIG. 11, the layout change processing of the chart element will be described. In this layout process, although not particularly specified, each item data of the chart element is calculated and updated. In this case, in the process of updating each item data, as described above, each rule by each calculation unit is used. Therefore, its value is calculated and updated. When the change process is started, first, in step 101, the value of the “character string” of the chart element is updated. In the next step 102, the size of the character string area of the chart element is calculated,
Update the value of "character string area". Next, in step 103, the offset of the character string area of the chart element is calculated, and the value of “character string area offset” is updated.

Then, in the next step 104, it is determined whether or not the graphic of the chart element can include the character string area in the updated character string area. As a result of this determination, if the chart element graphic can include the updated character string area, it is sufficient, and the processing here ends.
The process returns to the main routine. If the result of the determination in step 104 indicates that the chart element graphic cannot include the updated character string area, the processing from the next step 105 is performed to change the graphic shape and the layout of the character string area.

In the processing from step 105, first, in step 105, the value of the "graphic shape" of the chart element is calculated and changed. That is, the size of the chart element is changed so that the graphic of the chart element can include the character string area. Next, in step 106, the value of the "graphic offset" of the chart element is calculated and updated.
Next, the process proceeds to step 107, where it is checked whether there is a chart element having a dependency of the updated chart element with respect to the graphic shape, and the result is determined in the next step 108. Then, in the determination processing of step 108,
It is determined whether or not one or more chart elements in a dependent relationship have been found. If one or more chart elements have been found, the process proceeds to step 109 to change the “graphic shape” of the found chart element. Calculate and update. Then, in the next step 110, the “character string area offset” of the found chart element is calculated and changed, and the process proceeds to step 111.

If no chart element having a dependent relationship is found in the determination processing in step 108, the flow directly proceeds to step 111. Then, in step 111, the position of the coordinates with respect to the updated chart element is calculated and updated, and the layout update processing here ends.

The layout changing process of the graphic and the character string of such a chart element will be described with a specific example. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a first example in which the layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element, and FIG. 13 illustrates a second example in which the layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a third example in which the layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the layout is changed by deleting the character string of the chart element.

According to the layout change processing of the graphic and the character string of the chart element, for example, the rule of the graphic shape is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 7, the application of the rules F1, F7, F9, and 10 is selected, and the layout rules of the character strings are rules L1, L5, and L6 as shown in FIG. , Rule L9, rule L11, and rule L
16 are selected, and the rule P1 is selected as the rule of the position of the coordinate point, as shown in FIG.

When each rule is selected in this way (hereinafter referred to as “case 1”), as shown in FIG. 12, the layout of the chart element shown on the upper side When the character string surrounded by the graphic of the element 121 is increased from “I” to the character string “Iroha Niho,” the character string area in the graphic of the chart element 121 can include the character string “Iroha Niho.” Changed to
Accordingly, the graphic shape is changed, and the graphic shape of this chart element becomes a graphic-shaped chart element 122 as shown in the lower part of FIG. Accordingly, it is necessary to further change the layout of the chart element 123 and the chart element 124 which are dependent on the chart element 122, and the layout change process of “Case 1” is arranged at the lowest position. The heights of the three chart elements are aligned by the system.

As a layout rule of a character string, for example, instead of the rule L16 of “Case 1”, a rule L17
Is selected (hereinafter referred to as “Case 2”)
As shown in FIG. 13, from the layout of the chart element shown on the upper side, for example, the character string surrounded by the graphic of the chart element 131 at the lower right corner is changed from “I” to the character string “ When the number is increased to "Iroha Nihoni Ho", the character string area in the graphic of the chart element 131 is changed to include the character string "Iroha Nihoni Ho".
Accordingly, the shape of the graphic is changed, and the shape of the graphic of the chart element 131 becomes a graphic-shaped chart element 132 as shown in the lower part of FIG. As a result, the layout of the chart element 133 and the chart element 134 that are dependent on the chart element 132 needs to be further changed, and the layout of “Case 2” is arranged at the lowest position. The graphic heights of the three chart elements are aligned by the system, and the offset of the character string area is adjusted appropriately.

As a rule for the position of the coordinate point, for example, when rule P2 is selected instead of rule P1 of "case 1" (hereinafter referred to as "case 3"), FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, from the layout of the chart elements shown on the upper side, as in the case described above, for example, the character string surrounded by the graphic of the chart element 141 in the lower right corner is changed from “I” to
When the character string is increased to "Iroha Nihoniho", the character string area in the graphic of the chart element 141 is changed so as to include the character string "Iroha Nihoni Ho", and accordingly, the shape of the graphic is changed. Is changed, and the graphic shape of the chart element 141 becomes the graphic-shaped chart element 142 as shown on the lower side of FIG. As a result, the layout of the chart element 143 and the chart element 144 which are dependent on the chart element 142 needs to be further changed, and the layout of the “case 3” is arranged at the lowest position. The heights of the three chart elements are adjusted by the system, and the positions of the coordinate points are adjusted appropriately according to the rules.

Further, as another example, the application of the rule F8 is selected as the rule of the figure shape, for example, instead of the rule F7 of “Case 1”. If the application of rule P3 is selected instead of rule P1 (hereinafter referred to as "case 4"),
As shown in FIG. 15, from the layout state of the chart element shown on the upper side, when the character string surrounded by the figure of the chart element 151 at the middle left end is reduced from “Iroha Nihoni Hohe” to “I”, Accordingly, the character string area in the graphic of the chart element 151 is changed so as to include the character "i", and the shape of the graphic is changed. The shape of the graphic of the chart element 151 in “Case 5” is a graphic chart element 152 as shown in the lower part of FIG. Accordingly, the layout of the chart element 153 and the chart element 154 which are dependent on the chart element 152 need to be further changed. In accordance with the position rule, the height of the figure arranged at each coordinate point whose second original value of the coordinate ID is “2” is aligned by the system, and the position of the coordinate point is appropriately adjusted. .

Next, a modified example of each function processing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a shape other than a rectangle as a shape of a graphic handled as a chart element. In the description of the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which a rectangle was used as a graphic surrounding a character string as a chart element. However, as shown in FIG. An inscribed rectangle 163 having the same aspect ratio as the rectangle to be drawn is set to the maximum size that the character can include. With this, circles other than rectangles,
The present invention can be applied to chart elements using shapes such as ellipses, rhombuses, and triangles, and the layout of chart elements using these figures can be changed.

In the above-described embodiment, the same layout rules for character strings in all chart elements are applied. However, this may be modified to change the layout of character strings for specific chart elements. It can also be modified so that rules (fonts, character sets, etc.) can be changed individually. In accordance with this modified example, the system by each function processing unit changes the shape and arrangement of a figure surrounding a character string such as a character set in this layout and a figure of another chart element having a dependency relation to this figure. Configuration.

In this case, for example, a field of one item data is further added to the data structure of the chart element holding table (50: FIG. 5) held in the element data holding unit 7, and “Character string layout” is added. The rule is modified to add the item data. As the value of this item data, the rule ID of the rule held in the above-described character string layout rule holding unit 9 for specifying the layout rule
Take. Thereby, the layout rule of the character string applied preferentially to a certain chart element can be designated.

In this case, the user can select a specific chart element by using the rule selecting section 12 and directly select a layout rule of a character string for this chart element. That is, based on this selection instruction, the selection instruction is accepted by an interactive input operation by the rule selection unit 12, and the added item data of the chart element holding table 50 held in the element data holding unit 7 is stored. Performs processing to update the value of the "character string layout rule" of the field.

In this case, the character string area calculation unit 16
When the character string area of a certain chart element is calculated, the rule indicated by the value of the “character string layout rule” added to the chart element holding table 50 held in the element data holding unit 7 is changed to the character string layout. The modification is made such that the value is applied in preference to the value of the “application flag” in the character string layout rule holding table 80 held in the rule holding unit 9. That is, when the rule Lxx is defined as the value of the “character string layout rule” of a certain chart element, even if the value of the “application flag” of the rule Lxx is “0”, the character of the chart element Rule Lx is used to calculate the column area
Let x be applied. At the same time, even if the value of the "application flag" of the rule Lyyy having the exclusiveness with the rule Lxx is "1", the rule Lyy is not applied to the calculation of the character string area of the chart element in order to maintain the exclusiveness. To

Then, in the processing flow of the processing executed by the processing control section 1, the processing in the processing is changed so as to correspond to the change in the layout rule of the character string for the specific chart element. Specifically, for example, the content of the determination processing in step 32 shown in FIG. 3 is set to “the user has changed the character string in the character input unit, or the rule selection unit specifies the rule of the layout of the character string of the specific chart element. Have you changed? " This allows you to not only add / delete strings,
From the change in the layout of the character string, a series of processing as shown in FIG. 11 is executed.

[0090]

As described above, according to the chart graphic processing apparatus of the present invention, when an arbitrary character string in a chart element is changed, only a figure surrounding the character string of the chart element is adjusted. However, other figures that have a dependency on the size and size of the chart element are also changed to the appropriate size. Also, the layout of the character string surrounded by the graphic whose size has been changed is appropriately adjusted. Further, the positions of the graphic and the character string are appropriately adjusted according to the change in the size of the graphic. Therefore, the layout of the chart can be adjusted according to the editing of the character string in the chart performed by the user through the interactive operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a chart graphic processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a first flowchart illustrating a flow of processing by a processing control unit of a main part of the chart graphic processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a second flowchart following the first flowchart of FIG. 2 showing a flow of processing by a processing control unit of a main part of the chart graphic processing apparatus of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the concept of a value indicating a position;

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a data structure of a chart element holding table;

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the relationship between the arrangement of a figure and a character string area with respect to the coordinate points of a chart element;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data of a rule held by a figure shape rule holding unit 8;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of rule data held by a character string layout rule holding unit 8;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of rule data held by a coordinate position rule holding unit 10;

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the arrangement of figures based on coordinate point data;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of layout change processing of a graphic and a character string of a chart element;

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a first example in which a layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element;

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a second example in which the layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element;

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a third example in which the layout is changed by adding a character string of a chart element;

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining an example in which a layout is changed by deleting a character string of a chart element;

FIG. 16 is a diagram exemplifying a graphic shape other than a rectangle as a graphic shape of a graphic handled as a chart element.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control processing part, 2 ... Element generation instruction | indication part, 3 ... Element arrangement instruction | indication part, 4 ... Element deletion instruction | indication part, 5 ... Color instruction | indication part, 6 ... Coordinate data holding part, 7 ... Element data holding part, 8 ... Graphic Shape rule holding unit, 9: character string layout rule holding unit, 10: coordinate position rule holding unit, 11: character string input unit, 12: rule selection unit, 13: coordinate position selection unit, 14: screen display unit, 15 ...
Chart printing unit, 16: character string region calculation unit, 17: character region offset calculation unit, 18: figure shape calculation unit, 19 ...
Graphic offset calculation unit, 20... A bus for interconnecting the function processing units.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A chart element holding means for associating a character string with a figure surrounding the character string as one chart element, and a coordinate point holding means for holding coordinate points for determining a position at which the chart element is arranged. An arrangement processing unit for arranging a chart element graphic and a character string at the coordinate point; a shape rule retaining unit for retaining a rule of the shape of the chart element graphic; and defining a relationship between the coordinate point and the graphic shape. A first relational rule storing means for storing a first relational rule; a second relational rule storing means for storing a second relational rule defining a relation between a character area and a figure shape; A character string changing means for changing a character string of the chart element, a character string area determining means for determining a character string area in which the changed character string is laid out, and A shape changing means for changing the shape of the graphic in relation to the character string region in which the character string has been changed, and a coordinate point for arranging the chart element in which the character string has been changed and having a dependency relationship based on the first relation rule. Element selecting means for selecting a chart element, and changing the shape of the graphic of the chart element in which the character string has been changed according to the rule held by the shape rule holding means and the area determined by the character area determining means. (1) A figure shape changing means, and a second figure for changing all chart elements selected by the element selecting means according to the rule held by the shape rule holding means and the shape changed by the first figure shape changing means. A chart graphic processing apparatus comprising: a shape changing unit. 2. The chart graphic processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rule held by said shape rule holding means when said second figure shape changing means changes a shape of a chart element graphic. Character string area position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the character string area in which the character string of the chart element selected by the element selecting means is laid out with respect to the graphic in accordance with the shape changed by the second graphic shape changing means. A chart graphic processing apparatus comprising: 3. The chart graphic processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a position rule holding means for holding a rule relating to a position of a graphic of a chart element; and said first graphic shape changing means and second graphic shape changing means. Changes the shape of the chart element,
A chart graphic processing apparatus comprising: an element position adjusting unit that adjusts a position of a graphic of a chart element in the chart element holding unit according to a rule held by the position rule holding unit.