JPH07282060A - Document processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a document generation device which can generate a flexible document by simultaneously extracting documents constituting the plural tree structures of different forms from a document constituting a network structure such as a hyper text. CONSTITUTION:A document structure management means 104 managing a node and a link, a tree structure extraction means 106 extracting the documents constituting the tree structures from the hyper text by following the link with the node that a user designates as a start and a reference unit information setting means 105 setting link information for controlling the extraction of the tree structures in the link are provided. Link information is that controlling the extraction of the tree structures. The document structure management means 104 manages plural pieces of link information in accordance with the number of the tree structures extracted from the hyper text and in accordance with the link. The tree structure extraction means 106 uses the relation of link information and extracts the tree structures. Thus, the documents constituting the plural tree structures in the different forms can simultaneously be extracted from the document constituting the network structure such as the hypertext.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus which handles a document structure formed by associating predetermined constituent units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a document can be expressed as a document structure in which logical groups such as chapters, paragraphs, and figures are combined. As a document structure, a tree structure composed of nodes that store logical groups such as chapters and sections is well known. On the other hand, in the hypertext that has recently been used, the document structure is expressed as a network structure by freely connecting and associating nodes with each other. FIG. 10A shows an example of the document structure of hypertext. Figure 10
In the example of (a), a rectangle is a node that is a logical unit that stores a logical unit of a document such as a paragraph or a figure. Also,
A line with an arrow is a link that is a reference unit indicating a reference relationship between nodes. As shown in FIG. 10A, in hypertext, it is possible to construct a sentence structure that refers to one node from a plurality of nodes. By setting such a document structure as an editing target, the user can freely associate nodes to perform flexible editing work regardless of the chaptering of the document. Further, not only a single document but also a plurality of documents can be associated and expressed as hypertext, and nodes can be shared between the documents. In particular, it is known that the use of hypertext is effective in the work of forming a document from various information fragments and ideas in the initial stage of document creation.

By the way, generally, at the final stage of document creation, an allocation process is performed to print the contents of the document. However, since the hypertext includes the sharing of the above-mentioned nodes and the circulation of the reference relationship as shown in FIG. 12B, the proper allocation processing cannot be performed as it is. Therefore, it becomes necessary to convert hypertext into a document represented by a normal tree structure. In converting a hypertext into a normal document, a tree structure is extracted from a network structure by extracting a reference destination node along a link from a predetermined node as a starting point. However, FIG.
When a plurality of nodes refer to one node as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the same node appears in the extracted tree structure in duplicate. In FIG. 10A, the node N1
Since the node N5 and the node N5 respectively refer to the node N2, the node N2, the node N3, and the node N4 are duplicated under the node N1 and the node N5 in FIG. 10B. That is, the same content appears repeatedly in the extracted document. In addition, FIG.
When the hypertext has a loop structure as in (b), the work of extracting the tree structure falls into an infinite loop.

In order to solve such a problem, a method for converting a document structure represented by a network structure into a tree structure has been invented, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-171575. In this method, a unique identifier is given to a node, and when a node is extracted from the network structure, it is determined whether the node is already added to the tree structure based on the identifier, and if it is already added to the tree structure. The node is not taken out in the tree structure by not extracting the node. An example of converting the network structure of FIG. 10A into a tree structure by this method is shown in FIG. In this example, since the node N2 is first extracted by following the link L2 from the node N1, the node N2 cannot be extracted even if the node N2 is later extracted by following the link L6 from the node N5. That is, the node N2 is not added below the node N5, and no node duplication occurs. However, in the above conventional technique, the tree structure intended by the user cannot always be extracted from the network structure. For example, in FIG.
Even if the user intends to extract the tree structure shown in FIG. 10D from the network structure shown in FIG. 10A, the extraction of the tree structure cannot be controlled in the above-described conventional technique. .

Therefore, by providing a means for controlling the extraction of a tree structure depending on the type of link and allowing the user to specify the link and determine the type, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-197719, Has invented a method for extracting the tree structure intended by the above from the network structure. According to this method, there are two links, one for extracting the reference destination node and the other for not extracting the reference destination node when extracting the tree structure.
When a type is prepared and one node is referred to from a plurality of nodes, the user can extract the tree structure intended by the user by determining the type of each link. For example, in the network structure shown in FIG. 10A, the link L2 is selected as a node extraction type.
The tree structure shown in FIG. 10D is extracted by setting the link L6 to a type in which the node is not extracted.

[0006]

By the way, when components such as chapters and diagrams are shared by a plurality of documents, when a node referenced from a plurality of nodes is extracted when extracting a tree structure, Depending on from which node the link is taken out, it is necessary to switch whether to take out the node to which the link to be followed next is referred or not. For example, FIG. 12A shows hypertext in which documents having the two tree structures in FIG. 11 that share nodes with each other are associated with each other. To extract the document 1 shown in FIG. 11 from the hypertext shown in FIG.
Should be taken out after taking out N2. That is, the link L6 must be set to a type that does not extract the node. On the other hand, in order to extract the document 2 of FIG. 11 from the hypertext of FIG. 12A, it is necessary to extract the node N5 and then the node N2. That is, the link L6 must be set to the type of extracting a node. Therefore, in order to extract the two documents of FIG. 11 from the hypertext of FIG.
It is necessary to switch the type of link L6. However, in the above-mentioned related art, since only one type can be set for a link at any time, it is not possible to set all tree structures of different forms sharing a node from hypertext. It was possible.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and it is possible to extract a plurality of documents having different tree structures from a document having a network structure such as hypertext. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing device capable of flexible document creation.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, a document processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention defines a logical unit which is a logical unit of a document and a reference relationship between the logical units. Document structure management means for managing the document structure represented by the reference unit, logical unit specification means for specifying the logical unit of the document structure, and at least a part of the document structure stored in the document structure management means. A tree structure management unit that manages information on the structure of the tree structure, and a tree structure whose root is the logical unit designated by the logical unit designation unit is extracted based on the information on the tree structure managed by the tree structure management unit. And a document allocating unit for allocating the document based on the tree structure extracted by the tree structure extracting unit.

A document processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention manages a document structure represented by a reference unit that defines a logical unit that is a logical unit of a document and a reference relationship between the logical units. A structure management unit, a logical unit designating unit that designates a logical unit of the document structure, and a reference relationship in the document structure are searched from the logical unit designated by the logical unit designating unit as a starting point, thereby changing the document structure from the document structure. A tree structure extraction unit that extracts a tree structure that is a partial structure, and a reference unit information setting / management unit that sets and manages information for controlling the extraction of the tree structure in association with a reference unit, The reference unit information setting / managing unit, when setting the reference unit information corresponding to the predetermined reference unit, includes the reference unit information and the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit existing in the reference source of the reference unit. Association is intended to perform, the tree structure extraction means is characterized in that it is intended to extract the tree structure based on the relation between the reference unit information.

According to one aspect (first aspect) of the second invention,
A document allocation unit for allocating a document based on the tree structure extracted by the tree structure extraction unit, wherein the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit includes information for allocating a logical unit to which the reference unit refers; Is characterized by.

According to another aspect (second aspect) of the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect of the invention, a graphic element expressing a logical unit and a graphic element expressing a reference unit. And a structure diagram creating unit for arranging the graphic elements based on the reference relationship between the logical units to map the tree structure obtained by the tree structure extracting unit. It is characterized in that the unit information setting / management means sets the reference unit information for the reference unit corresponding to the graphic element in the tree structure diagram designated by the user. In still another aspect, in the second aspect, the graphic element management unit manages a plurality of types of graphic elements expressing a logical unit, and the structural drawing creation unit is simultaneously referred to by the plurality of logical units. It is characterized in that a structural diagram is created using different types of graphic elements for logical units and other logical units. In still another aspect, when the structure diagram creating unit maps a plurality of tree structures, with respect to logical units that are simultaneously included in the plurality of tree structures, a graphic representing the logical units is associated between the tree structures. It is characterized by displaying.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the document represented by the tree structure is extracted from the document having the network structure, the tree structure extracting means uses the logical unit specified by the user by the logical unit specifying means as a reference unit. The logical units of the reference destination are sequentially extracted by tracing. When a logical unit referenced from multiple logical units is extracted, the logical unit of the reference destination of the reference unit to be traced next must be determined depending on which logical unit the logical structure is taken out from. I have to. In order to enable the determination, the present invention prepares the information of the structure of the tree structure in the document structure and manages it by the tree structure management means. As the information of the structure of the tree structure, reference unit information (for example, link information having the data structure of FIG. 2C) that controls extraction of the tree structure, and tree structure information that specifies the tree structure to be extracted (for example, , A tree structure identifier list held as part of the data structure of the link in FIG. 25 (b))
and so on. The document allocating means allocates documents based on the tree structure extracted by the tree structure extracting means.
According to the present invention, when searching for a reference relation in a text structure, a tree structure starting from a designated logical unit is extracted by using information on the structure of the tree structure. A plurality of documents having a tree structure can be extracted together from a document having a network structure, and flexible document creation can be performed.

A second aspect of the invention is configured to use the reference unit information as the information of the structure of the tree structure in the first aspect of the invention. The reference unit information setting / managing unit manages a plurality of reference unit information in association with reference units according to the number of tree structures extracted from a document having a network structure. That is, when the reference unit information setting / managing unit sets the reference information, the reference unit information is associated with the reference unit information already set as the reference unit of the reference source. For example, FIGS. 2B and 2C show examples of respective data structures of a link which is a reference unit and link information which is reference unit information, and each link has a pointer to the corresponding link information. The link information has the pointer to the reference source link information indicating the association with the link information of the reference source link and the extraction control information indicating whether or not to extract, but the reference unit information setting / management means has the reference source link. Set pointers to information and extraction control information. In extracting the tree structure, the tree structure extracting means extracts the tree structure by utilizing the relationship between the reference unit information. In a specific example, the tree structure extraction unit extracts the node referred to from the plurality of nodes, and then sets the reference source link from the plurality of pieces of link information set to the link to be followed next. Select the one that corresponds to the link information provided. According to the present invention, the reference unit information corresponding to the predetermined reference unit is set to be associated with the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit existing in the reference source of the reference unit, so that the reference unit information is used. With this, it is possible to extract any of a plurality of documents having a tree structure of different forms from a document having a network structure such as hypertext. Further, since the reference unit information can be provided in association with a plurality of reference units, it is possible to extract a tree structure that includes the same reference unit redundantly, and it is possible to extract a complicated tree structure. Become.

The document allocating means allocates documents based on the tree structure extracted by the tree structure extracting means. At that time, information for allocating the logical unit referred to by the reference unit to the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit, for example, allocation control information having a value such as allocation in a single column or allocation in a double column, is prepared. By setting the allocation, different allocation processing can be applied to each tree structure to be extracted.

In the aspect of the present invention in which the graphic element managing means and the structure diagram creating means are provided, the graphic element representing each unit is managed by the graphic element managing means and is obtained by the tree structure extracting means using the graphic element. The obtained tree structure is visualized by the structure diagram creating means. Then, the reference unit information setting means sets the reference unit information by the user designating the graphic element thus illustrated. This makes it possible to present the structural diagram to the user and easily set the reference information with an easy-to-understand interface. In addition, in the configuration, when the logical units that are simultaneously referred to by a plurality of logical units and the other logical units are designed by different types of graphic elements, or if they are included in a plurality of tree structures at the same time. When the graphic representing the logical unit is displayed in association with each other in the tree structure, the user can clearly understand the part shared by the plurality of tree structures.

[0016]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] This embodiment is a document creation apparatus for extracting a document having a tree structure from hypertext.

(Structure of Embodiment) The structure of the embodiment is shown in FIG. The document creating apparatus of this embodiment includes an input unit 101, a node / link selecting unit 102, a document structure storing unit 103,
Document structure management means 104, link information setting means 105,
The tree structure extracting unit 106, the structure diagram creating unit 107, the graphic element managing unit 108, the document allocating unit 109, and the displaying unit 110 are included. The input unit 101 is a device such as a keyboard or a mouse that handles input from the user. The node / link selecting means 102 is means for selecting a node and a link according to the information input by the user obtained from the input means 101. Document structure storage means 103
Is a device such as a hard disk for storing hypertext. The document structure management means 104 manages nodes and links that form a hypertext and link information, and the node management means 1 that manages the nodes.
041 and a link management unit 1042 for managing links, a link information management unit 1043, and the like. The link information setting unit 105 is a unit that sets the link information necessary for specifying a link and extracting a tree structure.
The tree structure extracting unit 106 traces the reference relation in the hypertext starting from the given node and extracts the tree structure based on the link information given to the link. The structure diagram creating unit 107 maps the tree structure obtained by the tree structure extracting unit 106 using a node graphic representing a node and a link graphic representing a link. Graphic element management means 108
Manages node and link graphics. The document allocating means 109 allocates the tree structure obtained by the tree structure extracting means. The display unit 110 is a device such as a display for displaying the structure diagram created by the structure diagram creation unit and the layout result created by the document layout unit.

(Data structure of the embodiment) FIG. 2A,
(B) and (c) show data structures of nodes and links and link information managed by the document structure management means 104. As shown in FIG. 2A, each node is composed of a node identifier, a node name, content data, and linked list data. The node identifier is an identifier uniquely given to a node. The node name is a name given by the user to recognize the content data held by the node. The content data is data such as character strings and graphics.
The link list is an ordered list of links in which a node refers to another node, and a link identifier is stored therein.
If the node does not reference any other node, the linked list will be empty.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the link is composed of a link identifier, a reference node and a link information list. The link identifier is an identifier uniquely given to the link. The reference node stores the identifier of the node referred to by the link. The link information list is a list of information for controlling the extraction of the reference node and stores the link information identifier. If the link information is not set,
The link information list will be empty.

The link information is composed of a link information identifier, reference source link information, and extraction control information. The link information identifier is an identifier uniquely given to the link information. The reference source link information is information for selecting one piece of link information from a plurality of pieces of link information according to the reference source link when extracting the tree structure, and the link at the reference source of the corresponding link is Any one of the retained link information is stored. However, with respect to the link information corresponding to the link that refers to another node from the node that is the root of the tree structure, the reference source link information is not set because the reference source link does not exist. The extraction control information is information that controls the extraction of the reference node of the corresponding link, and stores one of the values “extract” and “not extract”.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which hypertext is represented by using the nodes and links having the above-mentioned data structure. In the example of FIG. 3, the node N003 is the link L.
002 and link L006. Therefore, the link L003 for referring to the node N004 from the node N003 has two pieces of link information C003 and C0.
07, the link information C003 is associated with the link information C002 held by the link L002, and the link information C007 is held by the link L006.
It is associated with 06. Similarly, regarding the link information held by the link L004, the link information C004 is associated with the link information C002 held by the link L002, and the link information C008 is associated with the link information C006 held by the link L006. further,
Regarding the link information held by the link L005, the link information C005 is associated with the link information C002 held by the link L002, and the link information C009 is associated with the link information C006 held by the link L006.

2D and 2E show the data structures of the node graphic and the link graphic managed by the graphic element management means 108. As shown in FIG. 2D, the node graphic is composed of data of a graphic identifier, corresponding nodes, arrangement coordinates, and display type. The graphic identifier is an identifier uniquely given to a node graphic. The corresponding node stores the identifier of the node corresponding to the node graphic. The placement coordinates are values of coordinates at which the node graphic is placed. As the display type, any value of "solid line" and "broken line" is stored.

The link graphic is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a graphic identifier, a corresponding link, corresponding link information, a set of coordinates of a root and coordinates of a tip, and display type data. The graphic identifier is an identifier uniquely given to the link graphic. The corresponding link stores the identifier of the link corresponding to the link graphic. The corresponding link information stores the identifier of the link information associated with the link graphic. The set of the coordinates of the root and the coordinates of the tip is a set of the coordinate value at which the root of the link graphic is arranged and the coordinate at which the tip of the link graphic is arranged. As the display type, any value of "solid line" and "broken line" is stored.

(Explanation of the operation of the embodiment) The document creating apparatus of the present embodiment is a structure diagram creating process for graphically displaying a tree structure extracted from a predetermined node with respect to a hypertext created in advance. , Link information setting process that sets the link information of the corresponding link by specifying the link figure on the structure diagram, and extracts the tree structure with the corresponding node as the root by specifying the node figure on the structure diagram. Performs document allocation processing for allocating node content data. In this embodiment, a process of performing link information setting processing and document allocation processing on the hypertext shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, first, the structure diagram creation process is performed by designating the root node which is the root of the tree structure. The designation of the root node is performed by the user opening the system menu on the user interface shown in FIG. 4A and selecting the item "root node setting". As a method of specifying a node, a method of inputting a node name, a method of selecting a predetermined node from a list of node names, and the like are conceivable, but this is not the essence of the present invention, and is omitted here. The menu processing will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 4B is an example in which the node N001 in the hypertext of FIG. 3 is designated as the root node. When the root node is designated, a node graphic corresponding to the root node is generated and displayed on the user interface. Furthermore, a link graphic corresponding to a link that refers to another node from the root node and a node graphic corresponding to the reference node of the link are generated and displayed on the user interface. In FIG. 4B, the rectangle containing the node name is the node figure, and the line segment connecting the rectangles is the link figure. At this time, the link information is checked for the link that refers to another node from the root node, and if the link information holds the value of “extract”, the node that is referred to by the link has the node shape as described above. And the generation of the link graphic is recursively repeated. Details of this process are shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 and will be described later.

Here, in the link information held by the links that refer to other nodes from the root node, the link information to be checked is the link information for which the reference source link information is not set. With respect to the link located at the reference destination of the link, the link information holding the already-examined link information as the reference source link information is the target of the check.
If the corresponding link information does not exist, new link information is generated and added to the link. The extraction control information in the link information at the time of generation has a value of "not extracted". For the node graphic and the link graphic generated at this time, when the corresponding link information holds the value "extract", the graphic element indicated by the solid line is generated and the corresponding link information has the value "not extract". , The graphic element indicated by the broken line is generated. In addition, when the link graphic is generated, it is associated with the corresponding link information. Here, in the hypertext of FIG. 3, it is assumed that the link information has not been set for any of the links. Therefore,
The newly generated link information is added to the link L001 and the link L002.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the link information setting process is performed by the link information setting means 105 when the user designates a link graphic on the structure diagram, opens the link menu and selects an item. Be seen. When the item "set" of the link menu is selected, the value "extract" is set to the corresponding link information by the link information setting algorithm 1 shown in FIG. 14 described later. When the item “cancel” in the link menu is selected, a value “not extracted” is set in the link information by the link information setting algorithm 2 shown in FIG. Figure 4
In the example of (b), the result of designating the link graphic connecting "node 1" and "node 3" and selecting "set" from the link menu is shown in FIG. 4 (c). As shown in FIG. 4C, as the value held by the link information is changed to “extract”, the corresponding link graphic and the node graphic expressing the reference node of the link are changed from the broken line to the solid line, respectively. Can be rewritten as Furthermore, link information is newly generated for a link that refers to another node from the reference node of the corresponding link, and the link information changed immediately before is set as the reference source link information. Then, a link graphic corresponding to the link and a node graphic corresponding to the reference node of the link are generated. Figure 4
In the example of (c), since the value of the link information corresponding to the link L002 in FIG. 3 has been changed to “extract”, the link graphic corresponding to the link L002 and the node N0.
The node figure corresponding to 03 is rewritten. And
Link L003 and link L0 held by node N003
04, the link graphic corresponding to the link L005, and the node graphic corresponding to the node N004, the node N005, and the node N006 which are the reference nodes of those links are displayed. At this time, link L003 and link L00
4. The newly generated link information is added to the link L005, and the link information held by the link L002 is stored as the reference link information of the link information.

When the item "cancel" in the link menu is selected, the corresponding link graphic and the node graphic expressing the reference node of the link are changed as the extraction control information of the link information is changed to "not extract". , Respectively, can be rewritten from the solid line to the broken line. Further, all link graphics and node graphics existing below the node graphics are deleted. At this time, the link information having the changed link information as the reference source link information and the lower link information associated with the link information are also recursively deleted. That is, in the example of FIG. 4C, when the link figure connecting “node 1” and “node 3” is designated and “cancel” is selected in the link menu, the state shown in FIG. 4B is obtained. FIG. 5A is a structural diagram display when the link information setting process is further performed from the state shown in FIG. 4C and the link information is set as shown in FIG.

In the document allocation process, as shown in FIG. 5A, the user specifies the node figure on the structure diagram to open the node menu, and selects the item "allocation". Done. The document allocation process starts from the node specified by the user,
The link information is checked according to the reference relation of the links, the nodes are extracted based on the extraction control information, and the sequentially allocated results are displayed in a window or output to a printer. Here, regarding the allocation processing, it is assumed that the node name is simply allocated as the heading and the content data of the node is allocated immediately after the heading. The details of the allocation processing algorithm will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the example of FIG. 5A, the node N001 designated as the root node is assigned first. Next, regarding the link held by the node N001,
The link information for which the referrer link information is not set is checked. Link information C001 held by the link L001
Holds the value "extract", so link L
The node N002 which is the reference node of 001 is allocated. Since node N002 does not hold the link,
The link information is checked for the remaining links held by the node N001. Since the link information C002 held by the link L002 holds the value “extract”, the node N003 which is the reference node of the link L002.
Is allocated.

Next, for the link held by the node N003, the link information in which the link information C002 is set as the reference source link information is extracted and the extraction control information is examined. First, since the link information C003 held by the link L003 holds the value “extract”, the node N004 which is the reference node of the link L003.
Is allocated. Since the node N004 does not hold the link, the link information is checked for the remaining links held by the node N003. Since the link information C004 held by the link L004 holds a value of "not extracted", the node N005 which is the reference node of the link L004 is not allocated. Since the link information C005 held by the link L005 holds the value “extract”, the node N006 that is the reference node of the link L005 is allocated. Since the node N006 does not hold the link and there is no remaining link for the node N003 and the node N001,
The process ends. FIG. 5B shows the result of the document allocation process as described above.

FIG. 6A is a structural diagram display when the node N007 of FIG. 3 is designated as the root node and the link information setting process is performed as shown in FIG. Figure 6
FIG. 6B shows the result of performing the document allocation process by designating the node N007 in FIG.

FIG. 7A shows an example in which both the node N001 and the node N007 are designated as root nodes and a plurality of tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen. In this example, as the data structure of the node graphic, a data structure to which an internal display flag is added as shown in FIG. 7B is used. The internal display flag has a value of “with internal display” or “without internal display”, and has a value of “without internal display” when the node graphic is generated. Then, when the graphic element management unit 108 generates a node graphic, if a node graphic holding the same corresponding node has already been generated, the internal display flag for the newly generated node graphic and the node graphic having the same corresponding node. Is set to “with internal display”, and the node graphic is rewritten. In this way, when multiple node figures corresponding to one node are displayed on the same screen, by changing the internal display, it is possible to clearly identify the part shared by users in multiple tree structures. You can figure it out.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which both the nodes N001 and N007 are designated as root nodes and a plurality of tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen as in FIG. 7A.
In this example, when the link information setting unit 105 specifies a predetermined link graphic and sets the extraction control information of the corresponding link information to “extract”, when rewriting the link graphic and the node graphic as shown by solid lines If the display type of a node graphic that already holds the same corresponding node is "solid line", the internal display flag of each node graphic is set to "with internal display", and the node graphic is rewritten. In this way, when displaying multiple node figures corresponding to one extracted node on the same screen, by changing the internal display, the part shared by the user in multiple tree structures can be saved. You can see clearly.

FIG. 9A shows an example in which both the nodes N001 and N007 are designated as root nodes and a plurality of tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen as in FIG. 7A. In this example, when the structure diagram creating unit arranges a newly generated node graphic and a node graphic having the same corresponding node has already been generated, the newly generated node graphic is overlaid on the node graphic. It is arranged to be placed. In this way, when multiple node figures corresponding to one node are displayed on the same screen, by arranging them in relation to each other, it is possible to clearly understand the part shared by users in multiple tree structures. can do. Similar to FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B is an example of a method of arranging a plurality of node figures corresponding to one node in association with each other. It is designed to connect the spaces.

In addition to the above, as a method of displaying a plurality of node figures corresponding to one node on the same screen, there is a method of changing the internal display of the above-mentioned node figure and a method of changing the node figures to each other. You may make it combine the method of displaying in association.

The details of the processing of each unit will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 13 shows an algorithm of menu processing in this embodiment. Step (0) The user instructs the menu display. Step (1) It is determined whether or not a graphic element exists at the current cursor position. Step (10) When a graphic element exists, it is further determined whether or not the graphic element is a link graphic. Step (100) If the graphic element is a link graphic as a result of the determination, a link menu as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. Step (101) It is determined whether the menu item "set" of the link menu is selected. Step (1010) When the menu item “set” is selected, the link information setting processing algorithm 1
(Fig. 14) is called. Step (1011) When the menu item “set” is not selected, it is determined whether the menu item “cancel” of the link menu is selected. Step (10110) If the result of the determination is that the menu item “cancel” is selected, the link information setting processing algorithm 2 is called.

Step (102) When it is determined in step (10) that the current graphic element of the cursor 1 is not a link graphic, a node menu as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. Step (103) It is judged whether the menu item "allocation" has been selected by the user. Step (1030) When the "allocation" menu item is selected, the document allocation processing algorithm 1 is called.

Step (11) If the result of the determination in step (1) is that there is no graphic element, a system menu as shown in FIG. 4A is displayed. Step (12) It is judged whether the menu item "root node setting" of the system menu is selected. Step (120) When the menu item “root node setting” is selected, the root node setting processing algorithm (FIG. 18) is called. Step (121) It is checked whether the menu item “end” is selected, which is not the menu item “root node setting”, and the menu process is ended when the menu item “end” is selected, and otherwise, Returns to step (0).

FIG. 14 shows a link information setting processing algorithm 1 for setting the link information when the menu item "set" of the link menu in this embodiment is selected. Step (20) From the link information management means 1043,
Get the data of the corresponding link information of the link figure selected by the cursor. Step (21) It is checked whether or not the value of the extraction control information of the link information is “not extracted”. Step (210) If the value of the extraction control information of the link information is set to "not extract", that value is set to "extract". Step (211) Set the display type of the link graphic to "solid line" and rewrite the link graphic. Step (212) The data of the corresponding link of the link graphic is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (213) Obtain the data of the reference node of the link from the node management means 1041. Step (214) Set the display type of the node graphic corresponding to the node to "solid line" and rewrite the node graphic.

Step (215) Next, the node checks whether or not it has a link. If the node has no link, it returns to the calling routine. Step (2150) When the node has a link, the data of the link held by the node is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (2151) Link information is newly generated, and the corresponding link information held by the link graphic selected by the cursor is set as the reference source link information. Step (2152) The link information identifier is stored in the link information list of the link. Step (2153) A link graphic corresponding to the link is generated. Step (2154) The display type of the link graphic is set to “dashed line”, and the root of the link graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the right end of the node graphic corresponding to the reference source node. Step (2155) From the node management means 1041,
Get the data of the reference node of the link. Step (2156) Generate a node graphic corresponding to the node. Step (2157) The display type of the node graphic is set to "dashed line", and the left end of the node graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the tip of the link graphic. Step (2158) With respect to the node checked in step (215), it is checked whether or not there are any links whose link graphic is not displayed in the link list held by the node.
If any remain, the process returns to step (2150) for the link setting process for that link. If there is no link that does not display the link graphic, the process returns to the calling routine.

FIG. 15 shows the link information setting processing algorithm 2 for setting the link information when the menu item "cancel" of the link menu in this embodiment is selected. Step (30) From the link information management means 1043,
Get the data of the corresponding link information of the link figure selected by the cursor. Step (31) It is checked whether or not the value of the extraction control information of the acquired link information is “extract”. Step (310) When the value of the extraction control information of the link information is “extract”, it is “not extracted”
Change to. Step (311) Set the display type of the link graphic to "dashed line" and rewrite the link graphic. Step (312) The data of the corresponding link of the link graphic is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (313) The data of the reference node of the link is obtained from the node management means 1041. Step (314) The display type of the node graphic corresponding to the node is set to "dashed line" and the node graphic is rewritten.

Step (315) Check if the node has a link. If it does not have a link, it returns to the calling routine. Step (3150) The link data held by the node is obtained from the link management means. Step (3151) From the node management means 1042,
Get the data of the reference node of the link. Step (3152) The structure diagram deletion processing algorithm (FIG. 22) is called for the reference node. Step (3153) The corresponding link information held by the link graphic corresponding to the link is deleted from the link information list of the link. Step (3154) The corresponding link information held by the link graphic is deleted, and the link graphic is deleted. Step (3155) Regarding the node checked in step (315), it is checked whether or not there is a link whose link graphic is not deleted in the link list held by the node.
If any remain, the process returns to step (3150) for the link information cancellation processing for that link. If there is no link that does not display the link graphic, the process returns to the calling routine.

FIG. 16 shows the document allocation processing algorithm 1 called in step (1030) of the menu processing algorithm of FIG. 13 in this embodiment. Step (40) Display type of node figure is "solid line"
To find out. If it is not the "solid line", the process returns to the original routine that called this process. Step (400) When the display type of the node graphic is "solid line", the data of the corresponding node of the node graphic selected by the cursor is obtained from the node managing means 1041. Step (401) Allocate the node name as the heading and the content data immediately after the heading.

Step (402) The node checks if it has a link. If the node has no link, the process returns to the original routine that called this process. Step (4020) From the link management means 1042,
Get the data of the link held by the node. Step (4021) From the graphic element management means 108,
Get the data of the link graphic corresponding to the link. Step (4022) The corresponding link information of the link graphic is obtained from the link information management means 1043.

Step (4023) It is checked whether or not the extracted extraction control information of the link information is “extract”. If it is not “extract”, the allocation is not performed, and the process moves to step 4024. Step (40230) Extraction control information is “extract”
If so, the link information is stored in the stack. Step (40231) The document allocation processing algorithm 2 is called for the reference node of the link. Step (40232) Delete link information from the stack. Step (4024) With respect to the node checked in step (402), it is checked whether or not there is a link whose link information is not checked in the link list held by the node, and if there is a link, the process returns to step (4020). If there is no link that does not display the link graphic, the process returns to the calling routine.

FIG. 17 shows the document allocation processing algorithm 2 called in step (40231) of FIG. 16 in this embodiment. Step (50) Obtain the data of the node referred to by the link from the node management means 1041. Step (51) Assign node names as headings,
Assign content data immediately after the heading.

Step (52) It is checked whether the node assigned as described above has a link. As a result, if the node has no link, it returns to the routine that called it. Step (520) If the node has a link, the link data held by the node is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (521) From the link information management means 1043, the link information data having the link information stored at the end of the stack among the link information held by the link as the reference source link information is obtained.

Step (522) It is checked whether or not the extraction control information of the link information is “extract”. If the extraction control information is not “extract”, step (523)
Go to. Step (5220) If the extraction control information is “extract”, the link information is stored in the stack. Step (5221) The document allocation processing algorithm 2 is called for the reference node of the link. Step (5222) Delete link information from the stack and move to step 523. Step (523) With respect to the node checked in step (52), it is checked whether or not there is a link whose link information is not checked in the link list held by the node. If there is a link, the process returns to step (520). When there is no link that does not display the link shape,
Return to the calling routine.

18 and 19 show a root node setting processing algorithm in this embodiment which is called in step (120) of FIG. Step (60) The data of the node designated by the user is obtained from the node management means 1041. Step (61) Generate a node graphic corresponding to the node. Step (62) Set the node graphic display type to "solid line"
Set to the position indicated by the cursor by the user.

Step (63) Check if the node has a link, and if it does not have a link, return to the calling routine. Step (630) If the node has a link, the data of the link held by the node is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (631) It is checked from the acquired link data whether the link holds link information. Step (6310) When the link information is held, the link information data held by the link is obtained from the link information management means 1043. Step (6311) Of the link information held by the link, it is checked whether or not the reference source link information is set. If there is no item not set, the process proceeds to step (6312) and subsequent steps. Step (63110) If there is something that is not set, it is checked whether the extraction control information of the link information is “extract”. When it is not “extract”, the step (63
Proceed to 13). Step (631100) In the case of “extract”,
Generate a link graphic corresponding to the link. Step (631101) The display type of the link graphic is set to "solid line", and the root of the link graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the right end of the node graphic corresponding to the reference source node. Step (631102) The link information is stored at the end of the stack. Step (631103) Regarding the reference node of the link, the structural diagram creation processing algorithm (see FIGS. 20 and 2).
Call 1). Step (631104) Delete link information from stack. Then, the process proceeds to step (632).

Step (6312) Step (63
When it is determined that the link of the node specified in 1) does not hold the link information, and the step (631)
If the reference source link information is not set even though the link information is held in 1), new link information is generated and stored in the link information list of the link. Step (6313) A link graphic corresponding to the link is generated. Step (6314) The display type of the link graphic is set to "dashed line", and the root of the link graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the right end of the node graphic corresponding to the reference source node. Step (6315) From the node management means 1041,
Get the data of the reference node of the link. Step (6316) A node figure corresponding to the node is generated. Step (6317) The display type of the node graphic is set to "dashed line", the left end of the node graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the tip of the link graphic, and the process proceeds to step (632).

Step (632) With respect to the node checked in step (63), it is checked whether or not there is a link whose link graphic is not displayed in the link list held by the node. The process returns to step (630) for processing the link. If there is no link that does not display the link graphic, the process returns to the calling routine.

20 and 21 show a structural diagram creation processing algorithm called by the step (631103) of FIG. Step (70) Obtain the data of the given node from the node management means 1041. Step (71) Generate a node graphic corresponding to the node. Step (72) Change the display type of the node figure to "solid line"
, And the left end of the node graphic is placed so as to overlap the tip of the link graphic corresponding to the reference source link.

Step (73) The node checks if it has a link, and if it does not have a link, it returns to the calling routine. Step (730) When the node has a link, the data of the link held by the node is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (731) From the link information management means 1043, the link information data having the link information stored at the end of the stack among the link information held by the link as the reference source link information is obtained.

Step (732) It is checked whether the extraction control information of the link information is "extract". Step (7320) If the extraction control information is “extract”, a link graphic corresponding to the link is generated. Step (7321) The display type of the link graphic is set to “solid line”, and the root of the link graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the right end of the node graphic corresponding to the reference source node. Step (7322) Store link information at the end of the stack. Step (7323) Regarding reference node of link,
Recursively calls the structure drawing processing algorithm. Step (7324) Delete link information from the stack, and proceed to Step (733).

Step (7325) Step (73)
When it is determined in 2) that the extraction control information is not “extract”, a link graphic corresponding to the link is generated. Step (7326) The display type of the link graphic is set to “dashed line”, and the root of the link graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the right end of the node graphic corresponding to the reference source node. Step (7321) From the node management means 1041,
Get the data of the reference node of the link. Step (7328) Generate a node graphic corresponding to the node. Step (7329) The display type of the node graphic is set to "dashed line", the left end of the node graphic is arranged so as to overlap with the tip of the link graphic, and the process proceeds to step (733).

Step (733) With respect to the node checked in step (73), it is checked whether or not there are any links whose link graphic is not displayed in the link list held by the node. The process returns to step (730) for processing the link. If there is no link that does not display the link graphic, the process returns to the calling routine.

FIG. 22 shows the structure diagram deletion processing algorithm called by the step (3152) in FIG. Step (80) Obtain data of the given node from the node management means 1041. Step (81) Check if the node has a link. Step (810) If there is a link, the data of the link held by the node is obtained from the link management means 1042. Step (811) The structure diagram deletion processing algorithm is recursively called for the reference node of the link. Step (812) The corresponding link information held by the link graphic corresponding to the link is deleted from the link information list of the link. Step (813) The corresponding link information held by the link graphic is deleted, and the link graphic is deleted. Step (814) Regarding the node checked in step (81), it is checked whether or not there is a link whose link graphic is not deleted in the link list held by the node. Return to (810). Step (82) Corresponds to the node when it is determined that the node given in step (81) has no link, and when it is determined in step (814) that there are no unprocessed links remaining. Delete the node shape,
Return to the calling routine.

[Other Embodiments] In the first embodiment, the link information holds information for controlling allocation processing such as "allocation by double column", and the information is stored at the time of document allocation processing. You may add and implement a structure so that it may be utilized. In this case, FIG.
How to allocate the content of the reference node of the corresponding link only when the element of allocation control information is added to the data structure of the link information as shown in (c) and the extraction control information takes the value of "extract" Shall store the control information. The allocation control information can be specified by the user using a link menu or property sheet as shown in FIG.
FIGS. 24 (a) and 24 (b) are shown in FIGS.
In the tree structure shown in (a), allocation control information for allocating "node 3", that is, node N003 in FIG. 3, is set to be different from each other, and allocation processing is performed. In this example, allocation control information "allocation in a single column" is set in the link information C002, whereas link information C00 is set.
It is assumed that allocation control information "allocate by double column" is set in No. 6. As described above, the link information holds the information for controlling the allocation process, and the document allocation process uses the information, so that the part shared by the plurality of tree structures extracted from the network structure is different for each tree structure. Allocation processing can be applied.

In the first embodiment, the tree structure is extracted by associating the link information of the reference source and the reference destination, but the tree structure extraction is controlled by using the tree structure identifier. The configuration can be changed and implemented. The configuration of that embodiment is shown in FIG. In the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 23, in the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a tree structure information managing means is used instead of the link information managing means, and a tree structure information setting means is used instead of the link information setting means. Will be used. FIGS. 25A and 25B are examples of a data structure in which an identifier is prepared for each tree structure extracted from the network structure and a link holds a list of tree structure identifiers. In this example, when extracting a reference node of a link for a given tree structure, the link holds an identifier of the tree structure. The number of tree structure identifiers held by a link is the same as the number of tree structures including the link. Thus, when a tree structure is extracted from the network structure, a plurality of tree structures can be extracted from the network structure by following the links holding the identifier of the tree structure and extracting the reference node. FIG. 26 is an example in which the network structure shown in FIG. 27A is expressed using the data structure of FIG. Two tree structures shown in FIGS. 27B and 27C are extracted from this network structure. In this example,
The node identifier of the root node of the tree structure is used as the tree structure identifier. It is also possible to implement the configuration in which the node holds the tree-structured identifier instead of the link.

FIGS. 28 (a) and 28 (b) show an example of a data structure in which a node holds information for controlling extraction of a tree structure. In this example, a node holds a set of a reference source link and extraction control information in association with a link that refers to a child node. As a result, when there are a plurality of candidates for extraction control information when extracting a tree structure from a network structure, by selecting the extraction control information that forms a pair with the immediately preceding link, a plurality of tree structures can be extracted from the network structure. Can be extracted. FIG. 29 corresponds to FIG.
27 is an example in which the network structure shown in FIG. 27A is expressed using the data structure of FIG. Two tree structures shown in FIGS. 27B and 27C are extracted from this network structure.

In the data structure of FIG. 28, the same network structure can be expressed without using links by replacing the identifiers of the reference source and reference destination links with the node identifiers.

[0065]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when searching a reference relation in a text structure, a tree structure starting from a designated logical unit is used by using information on the structure of the tree structure. Since the document is extracted, a plurality of documents having different tree structures can be extracted together from the document having the network structure, and flexible document creation can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reference unit information corresponding to the predetermined reference unit is associated with the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit existing in the reference source of the reference unit. By using the reference unit information, it is possible to extract any of a plurality of documents having a tree structure of different forms from a document having a network structure such as hypertext. Further, since the reference unit information can be provided in association with a plurality of reference units, it is possible to extract a tree structure that includes the same reference unit redundantly, and it is possible to extract a complicated tree structure. Become. Also,
By using the information for allocating the logical unit referred to by the reference unit to the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit, different allocation processing can be applied to each tree structure to be extracted. Further, in the aspect of the present invention in which the graphic element managing means and the structure diagram creating means are provided, the graphic element expressing each unit is managed by the graphic element managing means, and is obtained by the tree structure extracting means using the graphic element. The tree structure is created by a structure diagram creating means. Then, the reference unit information setting means sets the reference unit information by the user designating the graphic element thus illustrated. This makes it possible to present the structural diagram to the user and easily set the reference information with an easy-to-understand interface. In addition, in the configuration, when the logical units that are simultaneously referred to by a plurality of logical units and the other logical units are designed by different types of graphic elements, or if they are included in a plurality of tree structures at the same time. When the graphic representing the logical unit is displayed in association with each other in the tree structure, the user can clearly understand the part shared by the plurality of tree structures.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment.

2A is a node data structure, FIG. 2B is a link data structure, and FIG. 2C is a link information data structure.
FIG. 6D is a diagram showing a data structure of a node graphic, and FIG. 8E is a diagram showing a data structure of a link graphic.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which hypertext is expressed using nodes and links having the data structure of FIG.

4A is a system menu, FIG. 4B is a link menu, and FIG. 4C is a diagram showing link selection.

5A is a node menu, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of an allocation result.

6A is a diagram showing a node menu, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing another example of an allocation result.

FIG. 7A is a node N001 as a root node.
And a node N007 are both specified and a plurality of tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen, (b) is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the node graphic

FIG. 8 shows nodes N001 and N as root nodes.
Diagram showing another example in which both 007 are specified and multiple tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen

FIG. 9A shows a node N001 as a root node.
And another node N007 are designated and a plurality of tree structure diagrams are displayed on the same screen, (b) is the same as (a), and a plurality of node figures corresponding to one node are related. Figure that is an example of a method of arranging the node shapes and connecting the node figures with line segments having a shape different from the link figure

10A is a diagram showing an example of a network structure of a hypertext document, FIG. 10B is a diagram showing an example of converting the document structure of FIG. 10A into a tree structure with duplication, FIG. FIG. 3D is a diagram showing an example in which the network structure of FIG.

11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of a document having a tree structure.

12A is a diagram showing a hypertext in which the two documents having the tree structure of FIG. 11 are associated with each other, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing an example of the hypertext having a loop structure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a menu processing algorithm.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a link information setting algorithm 1.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a link information setting algorithm 2.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a document allocation processing algorithm 1.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a document allocation processing algorithm 2.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a root node setting processing algorithm together with FIG. 19;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a root node setting processing algorithm together with FIG.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a structural diagram creation processing algorithm together with FIG. 21.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a structural diagram creation processing algorithm together with FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a structure diagram deletion processing algorithm.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment.

FIG. 24A is an example in which document allocation is performed in a single column, FIG. 24B is an example in which node 3 is allocated in a double column, and FIG. 24C is a data structure of link information to which allocation control information is added. Figure

25A is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a node, and FIG. 25B is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a link having a tree structure identifier.

26 is a block diagram of the data structure of FIG.
The figure which shows the example which represented the network structure shown to (a).

FIG. 27 (a) is an example of expressing a network structure,
(B) and (c) are diagrams showing two tree structures extracted from this network structure.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure in which information for controlling extraction of a tree structure is held by a node, where (a) shows a data structure of a node and (b) shows a data structure of a link.

FIG. 29 shows the data structure of FIG.
The figure which shows the example which represented the network structure shown to (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ... Input means, 102 ... Node / link selection means,
103 ... Document structure storage means, 104 ... Document structure management means, 1041 ... Node management means, 1042 ... Link management means, 1043 ... Link information management means, 105 ... Link information setting means, 106 ... Tree structure extraction means, 107 ... Structure Drawing creation means, 108 ... Graphic element management means, 109 ... Document allocation means, 110 ... Display means.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A document structure management unit that manages a document structure represented by a logical unit that is a logical unit of a document and a reference unit that defines a reference relationship between the logical units, and a logical unit of the document structure is specified. Logical unit designating means, a tree structure managing means for managing information on the structure of a tree structure forming at least a part of the document structure stored in the document structure managing means, and a tree structure managed by the tree structure managing means. And a tree structure extracting means for extracting a tree structure starting from the logical unit designated by the logical unit designating means on the basis of the above information. 2. A document structure management unit that manages a document structure represented by a logical unit that is a logical unit of a document and a reference unit that defines a reference relationship between the logical units, and a logical unit designated by a user. Corresponds to the reference unit the tree structure extraction means that extracts a tree structure that is a partial structure of the document structure from the document structure by searching the reference relationship in the document structure as a starting point and the information for controlling the extraction of the tree structure. And a reference unit information setting / managing unit that sets and manages the reference unit information. When the reference unit information setting / managing unit sets the reference unit information corresponding to a predetermined reference unit, The reference unit is for associating with reference unit information corresponding to a reference unit existing in the reference source of the reference unit, and the tree structure extracting means extracts a tree structure based on the relationship between the reference unit information. Ah Document processing apparatus, characterized in that. 3. A document allocating unit for allocating a document based on the tree structure extracted by the tree structure extracting unit,
3. The document processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reference unit information corresponding to the reference unit includes information for allocating the logical unit referred to by the reference unit. 4. A tree structure extracting means for arranging a graphic element expressing a logical unit and a graphic element expressing a reference unit, and arranging the graphic element based on a reference relationship between the logical units. The reference unit information setting unit sets the reference unit information for the reference unit corresponding to the graphic element in the tree structure diagram specified by the user. The document processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: 5. The graphic element managing means manages a plurality of types of graphic elements expressing a logical unit, and the structural diagram creating means manages a plurality of kinds of logical units simultaneously referred to by the plurality of logical units and other logical units. 5. The document processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the structural diagram is created using different types of graphic elements. 6. When the structure diagram creating unit maps a plurality of tree structures, with respect to logical units simultaneously included in the plurality of tree structures, a graphic representing the logical units is displayed in association with each other between the tree structures. The document processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein