JPH0789272B2 - Multi-window display method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-window display method, and in particular, when a window that is separated or overlapped on a display screen is created, a set of overlapping windows is based on a chain of overlaps. It relates to a method of collectively certifying and operating, and changing only arbitrary windows without affecting the others.

[Background of the Invention]

OA (Office Automation), FA (Factory Automatio
With the development of n), it is expected that display devices will become more popular. In this case, there is a high possibility that a wider display screen will be realized than in the past, and collective operation of a plurality of information is essential. When dealing with multiple pieces of information using a multi-window system, there has been a conventional practice, for example, in “Small Talk 80” by Goldbark and Robson.
The Language and It's Implication (“Goldberg and Robson:“ Small Talk−80 The Langu
age and Its Implemation.) p550 ”, there has been proposed a method of operating by obtaining a window or a rectangle containing a specified point. However, it has been impossible to certify a set of overlapping windows by checking the overlapping information and to collectively certify them, or to perform a collective operation with simple designation. Further, in the conventional multi-window display, it is impossible to change the display of a window which is partially or entirely covered by another window. This is because the overlap may destroy the display of the upper window. Therefore, there is a problem that the window is operated for the convenience of the system regardless of the user's request. Conventionally, as shown in JP-A-58-225473,
There was the idea of clipping the part that does not appear on the screen when it is displayed on the display screen. However, occupying multiple rectangular areas on the display screen,
In a display system that treats each area as one screen, there is no attempt to clip an area partially or wholly covered by another area, and changing the display there may destroy the display contents of the other area. There is. Therefore, it is necessary to give the highest priority to the area whose display is to be changed, and it is necessary to pay attention to the overlapping state of the areas.

Since multi-window display that displays rectangular areas overlapping has become widespread, in the future, it will be possible to freely handle windows other than the window in which the entire area is displayed, that is, development of a system that makes each window independent Is required. Conventionally, in many systems, for example, when output occurs in a window that is not entirely displayed, the system stops, or the window suddenly becomes the topmost window.

[Object of the Invention]

An object of the present invention is to improve such a conventional problem, and certify any one window on a display screen in which a plurality of windows are superposed, independently of other areas, or all other windows. Further, it is to provide a multi-window display method capable of changing the display content of only the corresponding window.

[Outline of Invention]

In order to achieve the above object, a multi-window display method of the present invention is a multi-window display device that displays a plurality of overlapping windows on a display screen, and has a rectangular interior divided by the overlapping state of the windows. Each area is divided into a display area and a non-display area, and each information of position, superimposition, and display contents is stored in each information table, and the contents of the information table are referred to and updated, so that each window Of the window including the coordinate point on the display screen designated by the coordinate input device, the set of other windows that overlap the window, and the other windows that overlap each other in the set. It is characterized in that the set of windows is collectively identified based on the chain of overlaps by selecting the set.

Example of Invention

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a definition example of the internal area in the present invention.

In the present invention, each window is divided into rectangles called internal areas. For example, as shown in FIG.
If 0 is covered by another window 110, window 100
Is divided into several rectangles, and each is called an internal area. The inner area not covered by the window 110,
The display internal area and the covered internal area are defined as the non-display internal area. Even when the window 100 shown in FIG. 2 is replaced with the display internal area, it is divided into rectangles, and each divided area is also called an internal area. On the other hand, the hidden internal area is not divided thereafter unless the window directly covering it is removed. Information on these internal areas is stored as a table. In the present invention, when one window is designated by the coordinate input device, all windows that overlap the window or other windows that overlap with the window are stored, and the plurality of windows can be moved at one time.

First, a procedure for displaying a superimposed window as shown in FIG. 3 on the CRT display section where nothing is displayed initially will be described. The cursor is moved to the upper left position a of the window 200 created first, the key is pressed, the cursor is moved to the lower right position b, and the key is pressed. This allows the window
200 is displayed. Similarly, in order to display the window 210, when the cursor is moved to the upper left position c and the lower right position d and the key is pressed, the window 210 is displayed on the window 200.

Next, the structure and updating method of the internal area table will be described. The internal area table is the window management table,
It is composed of a hidden internal area management table and a data table. The window management table is composed of window management records, the hidden internal area management table is composed of hidden internal area management records, and the data table is composed of internal area records.
The window management record WR shown in FIG. 4 (b) includes a window identifier W, upper left positions WX and WY of the window, horizontal WA of the window, vertical WB, and a start address P of an internal area record relating to a display internal area included in the window W.
1, the start address P2 of the non-display internal area management record of window W, the address to the next window management record
Composed of P3.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the hidden internal area management record includes the identifier V of the window directly covering the hidden internal area, the start address P4 of the hidden area internal area record, and the next non-displayed area. It consists of the address P5 to the display internal area management record.

As shown in FIG. 4 (d), the internal area record is composed of the upper left positions X and Y of the internal area, the horizontal length A and the vertical length B of the internal area, and the address P6 to the next internal area record. However, if you are at the end of a displayed or hidden internal area record, the address of the window management record of the window you belong to shall be entered in P6.

FIG. 4 (a) shows two overlapping windows W1 and W2.
, And the window W2 is shown above W1. W1 is IA1-I depending on the method of extending the horizontal side.
It is divided into four internal areas A4, IA1, IA2, and IA4 are display internal areas, and IA3 is a non-display internal area. X1, Y1, x, y, a, b,
c and d represent the length of each line segment. Fig. 4 (b)
The window management record WR of is described for W1. P1 is the start address of the internal area record of the display internal area of the window W1, that is, the address of the internal area record of IA1, and P2 is the address of the hidden internal area management record of the hidden internal area IA3. In the hidden internal area management record IA3 in FIG. 4 (c), W2 is assigned to the identifier V indicating which window is directly covered and hidden, and the address of the internal area record of IA3 is assigned to P4.
I put them in each. In this case, only one hidden internal area IA3 is described. The internal area record is described for IA3 as an example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of updating the internal area table.

FIG. 5 shows a case where a new window NW is created on top of W3 and W4 overlapping from the bottom. Examine the existing display internal area IA of W3 and the common part of NW. For the presence / absence of the common part, the internal area record of IA is set as X = x3, Y = y3, A = a3, B.
= B3, the upper left position of the NW is (x1, y1), and the lower right position is (x2,
y2), x1 <x3 + a3, x3 <x2, y1 <y3 + b3, y3 <y2
However, it is possible to know whether or not they all hold. If there is a common part, the display internal area record of W3 and the internal area record regarding the hidden internal area IA covered by NW are deleted. Next, the NW window management record is added to the window management table.

Hereinafter, a method of collectively recognizing a set of overlapping windows will be described. First, specify one window with the cursor. If the cursor position is (x0, y0),
The internal area record designated by the start address P1, or P1 of the internal area record relating to the display internal area of the window management record WR in FIG. 4B, and the internal area designated by the address P6 to the next internal area record. In the records, a record satisfying X≤x0≤X + E and Y≤y0≤Y + F is found while switching the window management records. Here, X represents the x coordinate of the upper left position of each window, Y represents the y coordinate, E represents the horizontally long, and F represents the vertically long. The window when this condition is satisfied is set as WR ₀ . This WR ₀ becomes the window for cursor specification.

To find another window that overlaps with WR ₀ , first use W
Find a set of windows overlaid on R ₀ . It is checked from the management record of the specified window WR ₀ whether there is a hidden internal area. If there is a hidden internal area, the hidden internal area management record is checked and the window identifier is stored. Further, the same operation is repeated considering this identifier as the designated window. The search is performed until there is no hidden internal area, and the window identifier of each hidden internal area management record is stored. If there is no hidden internal area, it means that there is no window overlaid on the window designated by the cursor.

Next, a set of windows that are overlaid under the set of windows found by the above operation is found. Let W be the window designated by the cursor, and let T be the set of windows and W placed on top of it. If the windows below W have an overlapping relationship with W, then at least one of the hidden interior areas of those windows must be covered by the windows belonging to T. So T
Is considered as a determination condition, and whether or not all windows other than T belong to T among the window identifiers of the non-display area management records is checked. If there is at least one, the window identifier of the window management record is stored as the judgment addition condition. If not, the search ends. Since T has already been determined for all windows, it is separately stored as a determined condition, the additional determination condition is replaced with the determination condition, and the same operation is repeated for all windows that are not included in the condition. Finally, the set of windows stored as the determined conditions is the set of windows that are stacked above and below the cursor-specified window, that is, the desired window set.

The reason for additionally storing as the determination condition will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a display system showing an embodiment of the present invention, that is, a method of collectively recognizing a set of overlapping windows.

When the collective certification is defined, the terms “collective certification” and “collectively certification” in the present specification mean that windows having a chain are grasped as one set.

FIG. 1A shows a state in which six windows are superposed. A window 320 is a window for which a cursor is designated, and a window 330 is a window in which the entire window is covered. In order of the numbers attached to the windows,
It is assumed that the window management records are lined up. In this case, T is the window 300, 310, 32 by the method described above.
It is 0. Here, it is only the window 350 that the window covering the non-display inner area of the windows 330 to 360 belongs to T. If you cancel without adding the judgment conditions, there should be windows 330 to 350 as a set of windows placed under the cursor specification window, but all of them cannot be found. .

Next, a specific method for collectively recognizing a set of overlapping windows will be described. WR1 to WR7 in Fig. 1 (b)
Is a window management record of windows 300 to 360, and the start address of the internal area record relating to the display internal area is omitted. In addition, (301) in FIG. 1 (c)
(305) to (305) are non-display internal area management records, and the start address of the internal area record is omitted. First,
From the non-display internal area management record (302) of the cursor designation window 320, the window 310 is entered in T. From the hidden internal area management record (301) of the window 310, it can be seen that the window 300 further belongs to T. Since there is no start address (P2) of the internal area related to the non-display internal area of the management record of the window 300, the search is stopped. Therefore, the initial judgment condition T is the window 300, 31
It becomes 0,320. Next, with respect to the windows 330 to 360, when the window identifier of each hidden internal area management record is examined, the window 350, which is the window identifier of the window management record, becomes the determination addition condition from (305). Windows 300-320 are judged conditions, 35
0 is stored as a new judgment condition. When the other windows 330, 340, and 360 are checked again, the windows 330 and 340 become the additional judgment condition, and the window 360 has no hidden internal area, so the search ends here. Therefore, the windows 310, 300, 320, 35
It can be seen that six of 0,330,340 are a set of windows that overlap each other above and below the cursor designation window.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are flow charts showing the procedure of the method for collectively recognizing overlapping windows according to the present invention.

First, it is judged whether or not a window is created (step 10
1) If so, it is determined whether or not the new window NW overlaps the display internal area IA of the already displayed window (step 102). If they overlap, after creating the internal area record, delete the IA record (step 10).
3,104). If the IA and the NW do not overlap, it is determined which of the next display internal areas NA is, and again whether the IA and the NW overlap (steps 105 and 102). Next IA
If there is not, a window management record for NW is added (step 106). If the window is not created, or if the window is created and the management record is added, then one window W is designated by the cursor (step 107). Then, the window overlaid on W is searched (step 108, see Sub1 in FIG. 7). If the determination condition is T, a cursor designation window is added to this T (step 109). Next, look for a window that is placed under T (step 110, FIG. 8).
See Sub2). Next, T is added to the determined conditions (step 111). Finally, it is recognized as a set of windows placed on W for which the determined condition is obtained (step 112).

To look for other overlapping windows above W,
As shown in FIG. 7, it is checked whether or not there is a non-display internal area (step 121), and if not, the process ends (step 1).
twenty five). If so, the window identifier V of the hidden internal area management record is stored in the judgment condition T (step 12).
2). Next, Sub1 is called for the identifier V. In other words, considering the window with the identifier V specified,
The same operation as 121 is repeated to search until there is no hidden internal area, and the window identifier V of each hidden internal area management record is stored in T (step 123). Then, it is checked whether or not there is the next non-display internal area, and if there is, the process returns to step 122, and if there is not, the process ends (step 124).

Further, in order to find the window that is placed under the judgment condition T, as shown in FIG. 8, first, in the windows other than the judgment condition and T, the window identifier V of the hidden internal area management record is It is checked whether there is any belonging to T (step 131). If not, the process ends (step 137). If there is at least one, the window identifier of the window management record is stored as a judgment addition condition (step 132). Then, it is checked whether or not there is the next window (step 133). If there is, repeat steps 131 and 132. If there is no more, the search is terminated, and since T has already been determined for all windows, it is separately stored as a determined condition (step 134). Also,
The judgment additional condition is replaced with the judgment condition, and the same operation is repeated for all the windows that are not included in the condition (step 135). Next, FIG. 8 is started again by calling Sub2 for the new T (step 136).

The above is a method of recognizing all the windows overlapping with one window when a window is designated on the display screen where the windows are overlapped and performing an operation such as changing the position at one time.

Next, in the same manner, when one window is designated by the coordinate input device on the display screen on which the windows are superimposed, a set of windows that overlaps with that window excludes some of the subsequently designated windows. A method of recognizing a set and performing operations such as changing the position at one time will be described. In FIG. 2, when one window is designated by the coordinate input device (this is referred to as a cursor designation window), first, a window which does not need to be moved with respect to that window is determined by designation from the coordinate input device. ,Remember. Next, of the windows that overlap the cursor-designating window or other windows that overlap with the cursor-designating window, the set of windows that do not need to be moved is stored, and the operation such as moving to multiple windows at once is performed. It can be so.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a window set collective certification system for implementing the present invention.

In FIG. 9, 1 is a storage device, 2 is a reference / update device,
3 is a certification device. The storage device 1 stores the internal area table, and is updated by the reference / update device 2 based on the rectangular division of the window shown in FIG. The certifying device 3 is a device for collectively certifying a set of windows.

First, a superimposed window as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the CRT display section where nothing is displayed. The cursor is moved to the upper left position a of the window 200 created first, the key is pressed, the cursor is moved to the lower right position b, and the key is pressed. At this time, the window 200 is displayed. Similarly, in order to display the window 210, when the cursor is moved to the upper left position c and the lower right position d and the key is pressed, the window 210 is displayed on the window 200. These are as described above. Further, the configuration and update method of the internal area table are almost the same as described above.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the internal area table according to the present invention.

As described above, the internal area table is composed of the window management table of FIG. 10 (b), the hidden internal area management table of FIG. 10 (c), and the data table of FIG. 10 (d). There is. The difference between Fig. 10 and Fig. 4 is that
The record WR that constitutes the window management table in FIG. 10B is the window identifier W and the upper left position of the window.
WX, WY, horizontal WA of window, vertical WB, start address P1 of internal area record relating to display internal area included in window W, start address P2 of non-display internal area management record of window W are the same as those in FIG. However, the next window operation temporary inhibition flag area P3 is newly provided. Next address to window management record P4
Is the same as in FIG. That is, P3 contains "1" indicating that it is ON when it is specified that it is not necessary to move.

Next, the method of updating the internal area table is as described above with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram specifically showing a method of collectively recognizing the windows except the designated windows among the windows that are placed one on top of the other.

FIG. 11 (a) shows a state in which six windows are superposed. The window 320 is a cursor designation window, and the window 330 is a window covering the entire window. It is assumed that the window management records are arranged in the order of the numbers attached to the windows. In this case, as described above, the initial determination condition T is the window 300,
It is 310,320. Here, all windows except T 3
The window covering the hidden internal area of 30 to 360,
Only window 350 belongs to T.

WR1 to WR7 are window management records of the windows 300 to 360, and the start address P1 of the internal area record regarding the display internal area is omitted. Also, (301) ~ (305)
Is a hidden internal area management record, and the leading address P5 of the internal area record is omitted. Cursor designated window is set to 320, and then window 3 that does not require movement
It is assumed that 00,350 is specified by the cursor. First, the window
From the non-display internal area management record (302) 320, the window 310 is entered in T. The window 300 further belongs to T from the hidden internal area management record (301) of the window 310. Since there is no start address P2 of the internal area related to the hidden internal area of the window 300, the search is stopped. Therefore, the initial judgment condition T is the window 300, 310, 320.
Becomes Next, when the window identifiers of the respective non-display internal area management records are checked for all windows 330 to 360 other than T, from (350), the window 35 which is the window identifier of the window management record.
0 is the additional judgment condition. The windows 300 to 320 are stored as the determined conditions, and the window 350 is stored as the new determination condition. When the other windows 330, 340 and 360 are checked again, the determination additional conditions of 330 and 340 are set, and since there is no hidden internal area in 360, the search ends. Therefore, windows 310,300,320,35
0,330,340 is the judged condition after the search is completed. When the window operation temporary inhibition flag area P3 of the window management record of these windows is examined, the window 300
And 350 are “1”, so these are excluded 310,320,330,3
40 is a window set that overlaps the upper and lower sides of the cursor designation window 320 and excludes the designated window.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a series of steps from window creation to overlapping recognition of overlapping windows to collective recognition excluding specified windows.

Here, T represents a determination condition, and S represents a finally obtained window set.

First, it is judged whether or not a window is created (step 14
1) If so, it is determined whether the existing display internal area IA and the new window NW overlap (step 141).
If they do not overlap, the process returns to step 141 again, and the next IA is judged (step 144). If they overlap, the internal area record is created and the IA record is deleted (steps 142 and 143). In this way, when the IA to be examined is gone, a window management record regarding NW is added (step 145). After creating the window, specify the window W with the cursor (step 14
6) In the same way, specify a window that does not need to be moved with the cursor (step 147). When specified, the window operation temporary suppression flag in the window management record for that window is set to ON (step 14).
8). To find a window that overlaps W, first find the set of windows overlaid on W (step 149). This process (step 149) is exactly the same as the operation described in FIG. Next, a cursor designation window is added to T (step 150). Next, a window set placed under the window set found by the above operation is found (step 151). This process (step 151) is represented by the Sub2 flow chart shown in FIG. Next, since the T found in this way has been judged for all windows, it is stored as a judged condition (step 15).
2). Next, of the windows stored as the determined conditions, the window operation temporary inhibition flag area of the window management record is checked, and the windows that are ON are stored in the final window set S (step 15).
3,154). Check if T has the next window,
If it is stored in S repeatedly, if there is no ON window, it is recognized as the set for S (steps 155, 15).
6).

The above is a description of a method of collectively recognizing and operating a set excluding the window designated by the coordinate input device for a plurality of overlapping windows on the display screen.

Next, by identifying the part of each area that is not covered by other areas as a set of rectangles that do not intersect with each other,
A method for changing the display content of any one or more areas at any time regardless of other areas will be described.

This is done by dividing each region into multiple rectangular internal regions that do not intersect each other according to how they overlap, so long as the position, size, and overlap of each region do not change. It changes the display without any effect.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a display device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 13, the display device includes a keyboard 21 and a CRT display unit 22, and the keyboard 21 is provided with a cursor movement key 211, a cursor position coordinate input key 212, and a region creation key 213. There is.

FIG. 14 is an internal block diagram of FIG.

The display device includes a plurality of storage devices 13 to 1 based on the CPU 10.
6. Bitmap processor for image processing (hereinafter referred to as B
MP) 5, a screen buffer 4, a register 7, a display driver 6, a scanner 23, and a CRT display device 22, and further registers 9, 11, 12, a keyboard driver 8, and a keyboard 21. .

Press the cursor movement key 211 on the keyboard 21 to move the cursor. In order to change the screen display, the BMP 5 changes the contents of the screen buffer 4, and the scanner 23 scans the contents to display them on the CRT display unit 22. The position information of the cursor on the CRT display unit 22 is stored in the register 7 by the display driver 6. To create a new area NA
When the operator presses the area creation key 213, a code is generated by the keyboard driver 8 and the code is stored in the register 9. The CPU 10 activates the program in the storage device 16 from the code in the register 9. The program first waits for the input of the coordinate positions of the two diagonal points that specify the position and size of the area. When the operator presses the cursor position coordinate input key 212 to input the coordinate positions of two diagonal points, the contents of the register 7 at that time are first registered in the register.
11 and then in the register 12 in sequence. The program defines the identifier of the new area under the identifier of the two-dimensional plane currently displayed on the screen, and this identifier and register
The contents of 11 and the register 12 are stored in the storage device 13. Then, the content stored in the storage device 13 has a higher priority than any other area, and with respect to the new area NA, the area itself is stored in the storage device 14 as the only internal area of the NA, and The record of the internal area of each of the other areas stored in the device 14 is updated.

FIGS. 15 (a) to 15 (d) are diagrams showing examples of each identifier record.

FIG. 15A shows a record regarding the two-dimensional plane stored in the storage device 13. 301 is a two-dimensional plane identifier, and 302 is a pointer indicating the address of the first record of a list in which areas belonging to the two-dimensional plane are arranged in order from the lowest overlapping order. Figure 15 (b) shows
This is a record related to the area stored in the storage device 13.
401 is a region identifier, and is 402, 403, 404 and 405.
Indicates the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of the upper left corner and the lower right corner of the area, respectively, and 406 indicates a pointer to the next area. FIG. 15C shows a record related to the area stored in the storage device 14. 501 is a region identifier, and 502
Is a pointer to a list in which the internal areas belonging to that area are arranged. FIG. 15D shows a record regarding the internal area stored in the storage device 14. 601,602,603 and 6
Reference numeral 04 indicates the X coordinate and Y coordinate of the upper left corner and lower right corner of the internal area, respectively, and 605 indicates a pointer to the next internal area.

FIG. 16, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are operation flow charts of the method of updating the list of the internal area of the existing area accompanying the creation of the area.

When the area NA is newly created, if the area list LA having the existing areas belonging to the two-dimensional plane to which the NA belongs is not empty, the LA leading area EA and the EA internal area list LIA are taken (step 701) and make NLIA a new empty list (step 702). If the LIA is empty, the NLIA is newly set as the internal area list of the EA (steps 703 and 706), and after the processing related to the EA is completed, the same processing is performed on the area next to the LA (step 701). If the LIA is not empty, one internal area IA of the EA is taken from aLIA and this is deleted from the LIA (steps 703 and 704). NLIA is the internal area obtained by overlapping NA on IA
Update NLIA by adding to (step 70
Five). The above operation is continued until the LIA becomes empty. When a new area cannot be taken from the LIA, NA is used as the area record pointed to by the pointer of the record of the two-dimensional plane identifier, and the list added to the list LA is set as LA again, and a rectangle with the same position and size as NA is unique. The element list is the internal area list of NA (706).

FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are operation flow charts of processing when areas are overlapped on the internal area and processing of dividing the internal area into different internal areas due to overlap with other areas.

Here, a newly created area is added to the internal area IA of the area EA.
The updating process of the internal region list NLIA of the superposition of overlapping NAs is described. First, it is checked whether or not the new area NA and the internal area IA intersect, that is, whether or not they have a common part (step
801) If they do not intersect, the internal area IA is added as the last element to the internal area list NLIA (step 806), and the update processing is terminated. If the new area NA intersects the internal area IA (step 80
1), the following four processes (a) to (d) are performed. In addition,
In the coordinate system, the upper left corner is the origin, and the positive directions of the X axis and the Y axis are the right direction and the downward direction, respectively.

(A) Compare the X coordinate LEFT.IA on the left side of the internal area IA with the X coordinate LEFT.NA on the left side of the newly created area NA (step 802). If LEFT.IA <LEFT.NA, then After going through (1) in Figure 18, the X coordinate on the left side is IA.LEFT, the Y coordinate on the upper side is IA.TOP and NA.TOP, whichever is smaller, and the X coordinate on the right side is NA.R.
IGHT-1, an internal area (rectangle) whose Y coordinate of the lower side is the larger of IA.BOTTOM and NA.BOTTOM is created and added to the internal area list NLIA (steps 901 and 902). Then, returning to FIG. 17 through (2) in FIG. 18, the next processing is entered.

(B) Y coordinate TOP.IA of the upper side of internal area IA and new area NA
Compare Y coordinate TOP.NA of the upper side (step 803), T
If OP.IA <TOP.NA, the left side X coordinate is IA.LEFT, the upper side Y coordinate is IA.TOP, the right side X coordinate is IA.RIGHT, and the lower side is through (3) in FIG. An internal area whose Y coordinate is NA.TOP-1 is created and added to the list NLIA (steps 903 and 904). Then, after going through (4) in FIG.
The process returns to the next process in the figure.

(C) X coordinate RIGHT.IA on the right side of the internal area IA and a new area
Compare the X coordinate RIGHT.NA on the right side of NA (step 80
4) If RIGHT.IA> RIGHT.NA, go to (5) in FIG. 18 and the left side X coordinate is NA.RIGHT + 1 and the upper side Y coordinate is I.
The smaller of A.TOP and NA.TOP, the X coordinate of the right side is IA.RIGH
An internal area is created such that the Y coordinate of T and the lower side is the larger of IA.BOTTOM and NA.BOTTOM, and this is added to the list NLIA (steps 905 and 906). Then, the process returns to the next process of FIG. 17 through (6) of FIG.

(D) Compare the Y coordinate BOTTOM.IA on the lower side of the internal area IA with the Y coordinate BOTTOM.NA on the lower side of the new area NA (step 80).
5), if BOTTOM.IA> BOTTOM.NA, (7) in Fig. 18
After that, the X coordinate of the left side is IA.LEFT and the Y coordinate of the upper side is NA.BO.
TTOM + 1, X coordinate on right side is IA.RIGHT, Y coordinate on bottom side is I
Create an internal area like A.BOTTOM and list this
Add to NLIA (steps 907, 908). Then, the process returns to the route of FIG. 17 through (8) of FIG.

FIG. 19 is an operation flow chart of processing for recognizing a portion surrounded by a rectangle set on the two-dimensional plane in the internal area.

Here, regarding the area EA on the two-dimensional plane processed in FIGS. 17 and 18, the rectangle RE set on the two-dimensional plane is used.
A method of recognizing a part which is included in CT and which is not covered by a region above the region EA with respect to the overlap will be described.

First, a copy CLIA of the internal area list of the EA is created (step 1001), and an empty list TLIA is stored to store the information of the desired portion (step 1002). If the copy CLIA is empty, the process ends (step 1003). If the CLIA is not empty, the internal area IA is taken from the CLIA and a new list CLIA with the IA removed is created (step 1004). If the internal area IA and the rectangle RECT set on the two-dimensional plane do not have a common part (step 1005), the process is step 1003.
If there is a common part, add the rectangle of the common part of IA and RECT to the empty list TLIA (step 1006). The empty list TLIA at the end of the above process is the EA RE
It is a list consisting of rectangles that are included in the CT and are not covered by the area above the EA in terms of overlap.

FIG. 20 is an operation flow chart of a method of setting on a two-dimensional plane without affecting the upper area.

Here, when the contents of the area EA on the two-dimensional plane are changed, the rectangle which is arbitrarily set on the two-dimensional plane without affecting the area above the EA on the CRT display device. The flow of processing for changing the display of only the part surrounded by RECT is shown. First, as created in FIG. 19, a list TLIA consisting of rectangles forming the portion of EA is created, surrounded by a rectangle RECT on a two-dimensional plane and not covered by an area above the EA ( Step 1101). next,
Change the screen buffer by limiting the effect on the display due to the change of the contents of the EA within one of the rectangles included in TLIA (step 1102).

21 (a) to 21 (g) are diagrams showing an example of the results of the processing described in FIGS. 16 to 20.

First, in FIG. 21 (a), 1201 represents a two-dimensional plane, and 1203, 1204, and 1205 are two-dimensional planes 1 having an overlap.
The area above 201. Further, 1202 is a frame taken on the two-dimensional plane 1201.

In FIG. 21 (b), 1301 is a screen buffer, and
21 shows a state in which the portion surrounded by the frame 1202 of the two-dimensional plane 1201 shown in FIG. 21A is displayed.

FIG. 21 (c) shows an internal area list of the area 1203, and this list is composed of four rectangles 1401, 1402, 1403, and 1404. The set obtained from this internal area list is a set of rectangles TRECTS that are not covered by the area above the EA and that form a part surrounded by the rectangle RECT set on the two-dimensional plane.

FIG. 21 (d) shows a set of rectangles TRECTS, which consist of rectangles 1501, 1502, and 1503.

FIG. 21 (e) shows a graphic 1601 drawn in the area 1203. Figure 16 using TRECTS shown in Figure 21 (d)
The part of 01 to be written in the screen buffer is specified as shown in FIG. 21 (f). When the screen buffer is updated using the result, a display considering the overlap with other areas can be obtained as shown in FIG. 21 (g).

Next, the abbreviations used in FIGS. 16 to 21 will be described. EA
Is a rectangular area set on a 2D plane, LIA is a list of EA internal areas, NLIA is a list for storing new internal area data of EA, NA is a newly created area, IA is an internal area of EA, NA.LEFT is the X coordinate of the left side of NA, NA.TOP is the Y coordinate of the upper side of NA, NA.RIGHT is the X coordinate of the right side of NA, NA.BOTTO
M is the Y coordinate of the lower side of NA, LEFT is a variable for storing the Y coordinate of the upper side of the rectangle, RIGHT is a variable for storing the X coordinate of the right side of the rectangle, and BOTTOM is the Y coordinate of the lower side of the rectangle. For variables, CLIA is a copy of the EA's internal area list, TL
IA is a list that stores a rectangle for specifying the part of the screen buffer that should be changed when changing the display of the EA. RECT is 2
It is a rectangle set on the dimensional plane.

As described above, in the present invention, when windows are superimposed on the display screen, when one window is designated, all windows that overlap with it are recognized and operations such as position change are performed at once. In addition, the set excluding the specified window can be checked collectively from the overlap information and the temporary operation suppression information table, and the batch certification can be performed, so that it is possible to realize the same function as if all the documents on the desk are manually operated. be able to. Further, since the display contents of each area can be changed without affecting other areas, it is possible to realize an ideal man-machine interface in which a user can independently cover a large area.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, in a multi-window system in which a plurality of pieces of information are superposed and displayed on a display screen, it is possible to collectively operate a plurality of pieces of overlapping information, and a set excluding designated windows. Can also be operated collectively, and since each area can be changed without affecting other areas, each window can be operated independently and a comfortable man-machine interface can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a collective recognition method of overlapping windows showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a definition example of an internal area, and FIG. 3 is a view explaining a method of creating windows. 4, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the internal area table, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the method for updating the internal area table, FIG. 6,
7 and 8 are flow charts showing the procedure of collective certification of windows, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the collective certification apparatus for windows, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an internal area table showing another embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for collectively recognizing specified windows of the windows that are placed one on top of another, FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a display device of the present invention. Fig. 14 is an overview map of Fig. 13
FIG. 15 is a specific configuration diagram of the figure, FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a region record used in the present invention, FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an update process of an internal region list, and FIGS. 17 and 18 show regions in the internal region. FIG. 20 is a flow chart of a process of overlapping and dividing into different regions, FIG. 19 is a flow chart of a process of recognizing a portion surrounded by a rectangle set on a two-dimensional plane in the internal region, FIG. Is a flow chart for changing the display of only the portion surrounded by the rectangle set on the two-dimensional plane without affecting the higher-order area C, FIG. 21 is FIG. 16 to FIG.
It is a figure which shows the result of the process of a figure. 300,310,320,330,340,350,360: Window, 1: Storage device, 2: Reference update device, 3: Certified device, 4: Screen buffer, 5:
Bitmap processor, 6: display driver, 7,9,11,1
2: Register, 10: CPU, 13 to 16: Storage device, 21: Keyboard, 22: CPT display device, 23: Scanner.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A multi-window display device for displaying a plurality of overlapping windows on a display screen, wherein a display area and a non-display area are provided for each rectangular internal area divided by the overlapping state of the windows. Position,
Each information of superimposition and display contents is stored in each information table, and by referring to the contents of the information table, it is determined that there is an overlapping portion between the windows, and the display designated by the coordinate input device is displayed. By selecting a window including coordinate points on the screen, a set of other windows that overlap with the window, and a set of other windows that overlap each other, the set of windows is batched based on the chain of overlap. A multi-window display method characterized by performing certification. 2. A multi-window display device for displaying a plurality of overlapping windows on a display screen, wherein a display area and a non-display area are provided for each rectangular internal area divided by the overlapping state of the windows. Position,
Information on overlay and display contents and operation suppression information indicating whether or not the window does not need to be moved is stored in each information table, and the contents can be designated by the coordinate input device by referring to the contents of the information table. A window including the coordinate points on the displayed display screen, a window that overlaps the window, or another window that overlaps the window, and select a set of windows whose operations are not suppressed in the information table. According to, a multi-window display method characterized by collectively recognizing only a set excluding specified windows based on overlapping chains. 3. A multi-window display device for displaying a plurality of overlapping windows on a display screen, wherein a display area and a non-display area are provided for each rectangular internal area divided by the overlapping state of the windows. Position,
Each information of superimposition and display contents is stored in each information table, a virtual two-dimensional plane area, a plurality of rectangular internal areas divided by the overlapping state of each window in the two-dimensional plane area, and By storing the content information including the overlapping priority of each internal area in the storage means and referring / updating the content of the storage means, it is surrounded by a rectangular frame arbitrarily provided in the two-dimensional plane area. Contents information of each internal area,
Displayed on the display screen according to the priority of overlap, by referring to each of the information table, to identify the portion of each internal area that is not covered by the area higher than the area, and is surrounded by the rectangular frame, A multi-window display method, characterized in that when the contents of each internal area are changed, the display of the internal area is changed without changing the area other than the enclosed portion.