JP2011248421A - Data creation method and data creation system - Google Patents

Abstract

When embedding a plurality of types of information in a template document file for each document file and creating a plurality of document files based on a set of a plurality of information, there is an overlap of print areas of information due to embedding for all the document files. Ensure that it does not occur in advance.
In this method, when a common print preview display or test print operation is received for a document file to be created, a data reading unit reads information for each type of a plurality of sets. Then, one preview display or test print image data is created. This image data shows a state in which a union of print areas necessary for printing the read information is calculated for each type, and information indicating the union is embedded in the corresponding embedding area of the template document file. Data.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a data creation method and a data creation system for creating image data for print preview display and test printing for a document file created by embedding information in a template document file.

  Conventionally, there is a technique for generating and printing out a document file in which multiple customer names, addresses, product prices, etc. stored in a database or the like are embedded in an embedded item area such as a name and address field in a template document file. It has been. For example, variable printing, some form printing, data insertion printing, and the like are applicable.

  In variable printing, a character string in a database is embedded at a position specified on a template. In this case, if the database character string exceeds the left and right borders specified in the template, the line breaks. For example, if the name and address are located above and below, the name string is too long and the address characters are below it. There was a possibility that a case of protruding into the body of this could occur.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an execution example of conventional variable printing. If the document file is a document file with a body text under the name embedding area and address embedding area, and the total of the name embedding area and address embedding area is 3 lines or less Although it does not overlap the text, it is assumed that the layout is overlapping if there are more than 4 lines. In this case, as in the print result 100 shown in FIG. 17A, if the total number of lines of the name embedding area 100a and the address embedding area 100b is two lines, it does not overlap with the text printing area 100c. Further, as in the print result 101 shown in FIG. 17B, if the total number of lines of the name embedding area 101a and the address embedding area 101b is three, it does not overlap with the text printing area 101c. However, as in the print result 102 shown in FIG. 17C, if the total number of lines of the name embedding area 102a and the address embedding area 102b is 4, the address printing area is added to the body printing area 102c. Overflows and the text and address overlap and are printed.

  What is important here is that it is not possible to determine whether there is a problem even if only the document file with the longest name is extracted, or it is not possible to extract only the document file with the longest address. It is impossible to determine whether or not there is. For example, even if the name is two lines, if the address is one line, it is within the assumed three-line frame, so there is no problem. On the other hand, even if the address is 2 lines, if the name is 1 line, there is no problem. In the example of FIG. 17, the character string length of the name in FIG. 17 (B) is longer than the character string of the name in FIG. 17 (C). This is an example of C).

Accordingly, in such printing, in order to confirm whether or not all document files are printed correctly, it is necessary to perform a work of previewing and confirming all generated document files on the screen.
As a technique for solving such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for determining a portion having a problem in readability.

JP 2008-27276 A

  As described above, when preview display or test print is performed to check whether printing is performed correctly during variable printing, etc., preview display or test print for all generated pages is performed and printing is performed correctly. It is necessary to confirm whether it is done.

However, the preview display and its confirmation work are very time-consuming work when the number of copies is large, which is a burden on the operator, takes time, and causes many mistakes. Also, the test printing and its confirmation work are not practical in many aspects such as cost, time, burden on workers, and environmental consideration when there are many copies. As a result, printing is often performed without sufficient confirmation work, and there are often cases in which characters are cut or overlapped or unreadable.
In addition, a system that determines a portion having a problem in readability, such as the technique described in Patent Document 1, is not easy to implement with high determination accuracy in reality, and has low reliability and reliability. There was also a problem that the processing time would be longer if the improvement was made.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and an object of the present invention is to embed a plurality of types of information in a template document file for each document file, and a plurality of documents based on a set of a plurality of information. Data creation method and data creation system capable of performing preview display or test printing so that it can be confirmed in advance that there is no overlap of print areas of information due to embedding when all files are created Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the first technical means of the present invention creates a plurality of document files from a template document file having one or more embedding areas whose print sizes vary depending on the information to be embedded, and prints the document In a creation system, there is provided a data creation method for creating image data for a preview display before printing or test printing for a document file to be created, the document creation system including each embedded area for each document file The plurality of document files are created by embedding each type of information associated with each of the embedding areas and creating a set of each type of information corresponding to a plurality of sets. In the creation method, the operation unit performs a preview display before printing or test printing common to the created document files. An accepting step for accepting an operation, a reading step for reading out information for each type of the plurality of sets when the operation is accepted in the accepting step, and a preview display control unit or a print processing unit. Creating image data for preview display or test printing, and the image data created in the creating step is printed when the information read in the reading step is printed for each type. It is characterized in that it is data indicating a state in which the union of necessary print areas is calculated and information indicating the union is embedded in the corresponding embedding area of the template document file.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the information to be embedded in the embedding area is at least one type, and includes text information that does not include font information or that specifies a monospaced font. For text information that does not contain information or for which a monospaced font is designated, the creation step requires the longest print area to be printed from the text information read in the reading step for each type. An extraction step for extracting information, and the image data created in the creation step calculates, for each type, the longest print area extracted in the extraction step as the union, It is data indicating that the text information that requires the longest print area is embedded in the corresponding embedded area as information to indicate Than is.

  In the second technical means, the image data created in the creating step for the text information that does not include the font information or in which a monospaced font is designated in the second technical means, As information indicating the union, a predetermined character string or image of a length corresponding to the text information that requires the longest print area, or a predetermined length longer than the length corresponding to the text information that requires the longest print area The present invention is characterized in that it is data indicating a state in which a character string or an image of a predetermined graphic is embedded in a corresponding embedded area.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the second or third technical means, for the text information that does not include the font information or for which a monospaced font is designated, the extraction step sets the longest print area to the text Extracting based on the number of bytes of the character string of the information or based on the total length of the width and interval of each character at the time of embedding in the embedding area in the character string of the text information Is.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, the information to be embedded in the embedded region includes at least one kind of numerical information, and for the numerical information, the creating step includes: For each type, the numerical information read in the reading step is converted into a character string of numerical expression defined in the corresponding embedding area, and numerical information that requires the longest print area is extracted. The image data created in the creating step includes an extracting step, and for each type, the longest print area extracted in the extracting step is calculated as the union, and the information indicating the union is used as the union The information is obtained by embedding information obtained by converting numerical information into a character string represented by the numerical value in a corresponding embedded area.

  According to a sixth technical means, in the fifth technical means, for the numerical information, the extracting step includes: a character string byte of information obtained by converting the longest print area into the character string representing the numerical information. The extraction is performed based on the number, or based on the total length of the horizontal width and spacing of each character at the time of embedding in the embedding area in the character string of the converted information.

  In a seventh technical means, in any one of the first to sixth technical means, the information embedded in the embedding area includes at least one type of character information with font information, and the font information is For the attached character information, the image data created in the creating step includes, for each type, a predetermined image that occupies the union or an area that includes the union as information indicated by the union. , Data indicating a state of being embedded in a corresponding embedded region.

  According to an eighth technical means, in any one of the first to seventh technical means, the information embedded in the embedded region includes at least one type of image information, and the image information is created in the creation step The image data is a state in which, for each type, a predetermined image that occupies the union or a predetermined image that occupies an area including the union is embedded in the corresponding embedding area as information indicated by the union. It is the data which shows.

  The ninth technical means is the first technical means according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, wherein the operation unit further accepts all processing operations for performing preview display before printing or test printing for all of the plurality of sets. A process accepting step, and when the all process operation is accepted in the all process accepting step, the data reading unit reads the plurality of sets of information, and the preview display control unit or the print processing unit. All set creation steps for creating a preview display or test print image data group for each of the plurality of sets, and the image data group created in the all set creation step includes the all set A printing area necessary for printing the information read in the reading step or the information read in the all set reading step. It is obtained characterized by a predetermined image corresponding a data group indicating a corresponding state embedded in the embedded region of the template document file to.

  A tenth technical means is the ninth technical means, further comprising: a first processing mode in which the operation unit creates the image data in the accepting step, the reading step, and the creating step; And a switching step of accepting a switching operation for switching between the second processing mode in which the image data group is created in the step, the all set reading step, and the all set creation step.

  The eleventh technical means is a data creation system in a document creation system that creates a plurality of document files from a template document file having one or more embedding areas whose print size varies depending on information to be embedded, and performs printing. The document creation system creates a document file by embedding information of a type associated with each embedding area in each embedding area, and sets a set of each type of information for a plurality of sets. The plurality of document files are created in correspondence with each other, and the data creation system includes an operation unit that accepts an operation for performing a preview display before printing or a test print common to the created document files, and the operation unit A data reading unit that reads out information for each type of the plurality of sets when receiving the operation; A preview display control unit or a print processing unit that creates image data for preview display or test printing, and the image data created by the preview display control unit or the print processing unit is Data indicating a state in which a union of print areas necessary for printing information read by the data reading unit is calculated and information indicating the union is embedded in a corresponding embedding area of the template document file It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of types of information are embedded in a template document file for each document file and a plurality of document files are created based on a set of a plurality of information, Preview display or test printing can be performed so that it can be confirmed in advance that there is no overlap of print areas.

It is a block diagram which shows one structural example of the document creation system for performing the data creation method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the template document file memorize | stored previously or produced in the document production system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. 2. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of image data for preview display or test printing created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of image data for preview display or test printing created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the preview display process in the document preparation system of FIG. It is a flowchart following FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of the document creation system for performing the data creation method which concerns on this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template document file stored or created in advance in the document creation system of FIG. 9. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence table of the image information used as the object embedded in the template document file of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the image information in the correspondence table of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 9 from the template document file of FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 9 from the template document file of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of image information embedded in the template document file of FIG. 10 by the document creation system of FIG. 9. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of image data for preview display or test printing created by embedding the image information of FIG. 15 by the document creation system of FIG. 9 from the template document file of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of execution of the conventional variable printing.

  A data creation method according to the present invention creates a plurality of document files (document files) from a template document file having one or more embedding areas (variable print locations) whose print size varies depending on information to be embedded, and prints the document This is a method for creating image data for preview display or test printing (trial printing) before printing for a document file to be created in a creation system. Here, the document creation system performs creation by embedding each type of information corresponding to each embedding area in the template document file for each document file, and for each type of document file. This system creates a plurality of document files by associating a set of information with a plurality of sets. In other words, this document creation system, for a template document file having one or more embedding areas in which information (variable information) can be embedded, is associated with each embedding area of the template document file for each type. The system is capable of generating a plurality of document files by embedding a plurality of sets (one set is composed of various types of information) in an embedding area. When the number of sets is n, n document files can be created.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a document creation system for executing the data creation method according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a template document stored or created in advance in the document creation system of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a file. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example.

  The document creation system illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a personal computer (PC) 1 connected to a database server 2 and a printing device 3, and the data creation method according to the present invention is mainly a program stored in a storage device in the PC 1. And hardware such as a CPU and RAM for executing the program. That is, the data creation function according to the present invention described below can be implemented as a program on a general-purpose computer such as the PC 1.

  The PC 1 is installed with an application (hereinafter referred to as “print application”) 10 that runs on the PC 1 and that can perform printing, and a printer driver 16 that performs printing. The print application 10 includes a template reading unit 11, a preview display control unit 12, a print processing unit 13, a data reading unit 14, and a variable (variable) data creation unit 15. In addition, the database server 2 includes a set of information collected for each type (that is, one information for each type and all types of information) as one set, and a plurality of sets of variable data tables (variable data Database) 20. In addition, the printing apparatus 3 may be an apparatus having only a printing function or a multifunction machine having other functions (for example, FAX).

  Here, the variable data table 20 will be described by taking as an example a customer database storing a total of three types of information including name information, address information, and point information. In the present invention, the type of information to be embedded is Regardless, it can be similarly applied to four or more types of information. The variable data table 20 may be a database server such as an SQL server, or may not be in a database format such as a simple text file. However, the plurality of sets are preferably stored in a database format from the viewpoint of information reading and management. The variable data table 20 may be on the same PC 1, but for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the database server 2 is accessible from the PC 1. In addition, various configuration examples are applied to the document creation system applied in the present invention, such as a system configuration in which the database server 2 is incorporated in the printing apparatus 3 as a multifunction peripheral, or a configuration in which the database server 2 is provided in the PC 1. it can. Here, only a configuration example capable of variable printing will be described. However, if at least one variable embedding area is included, the processing is basically the same for certain types of form printing and data insertion printing. is there.

  Processing in the print application 10 in the PC 1 will be described. The print application 10 reads a template document file on the print application 10 using the mounted template reading unit 11. Note that the template document file may be a file created by the document creation system or a file created externally and stored in the document creation system as long as it can be read by the template reading unit 11. . Further, the PC 1 preferably displays the read template document file on the monitor. As described above for the document creation system, this template document file has at least one portion (embedded area) in which a character string or image can be embedded, and a series of information from a database or data file, etc. A plurality of document files can be generated and printed by being read and embedded in the template document file.

  The template document file in this example has three embedding areas for embedding a name (customer name), an address, and points as described above. The embedding area is a place where variable printing is performed, and can be called a “variable information column”. An example of the template document file is a template document file 50 shown in FIG. The template document file 50 includes a name embedding area 50a, an address embedding area 50b, and a point embedding area 50c, and a character "name" on the left side of the embedding area 50a and a right side of the embedding area 50a. "Sama", "address" character to the left of the embedded region 50b, "current point" character to the left of the embedded region c, and "point" character to the right of the embedded region c In addition, a standard text for guidance is described between the embedded region 50b and the embedded region 50c.

  In the document creation system described above, the user designates the template document file 50 and instructs the print application 10 to use the variable data table 20 to enter data in each embedding area. The document file can be created and printed, and preview display or test printing according to the present invention can be performed.

  First, processing for creating and printing a plurality of document files from the template document file 50 will be described. When execution of creation (or creation and printing) of all document files is selected on the UI of the print application 10 (or the printer driver 16), the variable data creation unit 15 reads the template document file read by the template reading unit 11. 50 and the set of information in the variable data table 20 read by the data reading unit 14, when all document files are created and printed, the print processing unit 13 prints all the document files to the printer. Passed to the driver 16 to instruct printing. The document file to be printed is converted into print data to the printer driver 16 and is transferred to the printing apparatus 3 to instruct printing, and the printing apparatus 3 executes printing.

  A specific example of the printing process will be described by giving a case where the following two address books A and B are described in the variable data table 20. Each address book includes name, destination, and point information. The address book A describes the name “Taro Tokkyo”, the address “Abeno Osaka, Osaka”, and the point “100000”, and the address book B includes the name “Print Sanshiro” and the address “Tokyo Port”. “Ku ○ × Δ” and point “1500” are described.

  In this case, a name is entered in the embedding area 50a, an address is placed in the embedding area 50b, and a point (using a delimiter “,”) is entered in the embedding area 50c, so that the print image 51 shown in FIG. A document file like the print image 52 shown in FIG. That is, in this example, a total of two document files are created and printed. In the print image 51, the character string 51a of “Patent Taro”, the character string 51b of “Abeno Osaka City Osaka ○”, and the character of the point “100,000” are embedded in the embedded regions 50a, 50b, and 50c, respectively. Column 51c will be printed. Similarly, in the print image 52, a character string 52a of “printed Sanshiro”, a character string 52b of “Minato-ku ○ × Δ” of Tokyo, and a point “1,500” are embedded in the embedded regions 50a, 50b, and 50c, respectively. The character string 52c is printed.

  Next, an example of preview display or test printing according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of image data for preview display or test printing created by the document creation system of FIG. 1 from the template document file of FIG. In the present invention, it is possible to perform a preview display of a print confirmation sample or a test print before printing using a user interface (UI) on the print application 10 (or the printer driver 16). Although not specifically described in detail, the UI on the printer driver 16 is read from the print application 10 even when the UI on the printer driver 16 is configured to perform preview display or test printing before printing.

  The preview display control unit 12 controls the preview display on the monitor in the PC 1, and the print processing unit 13 controls the printer driver 16 on the test print. A known technique may be used for the preview display control itself and the test print control itself. However, in the present invention, the variable data creation unit 15 creates a document file to be subjected to these controls in an embedded area. There is a main feature in the method of selecting information to be embedded.

  That is, the present invention has a main feature in the information to be selected as an embedding target at the time of preview display or test printing. In the present invention, at least the information that is likely to cause a problem is selected. Therefore, the data creation method according to the present invention includes a reception step, a reading step, and a creation step described below.

  First, the accepting step is a step in which the operation unit accepts an operation for performing a preview display before printing or test printing, which is common to the created document file. Here, the operation unit is the operation unit of the PC 1 in the example of FIG. 1, and more specifically, an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. In the reading step, when the operation is received in the receiving step, the data reading unit 14 reads information for each type of the plurality of sets.

  In the creation step, the variable data creation unit 15 calculates, for each type, a union of print areas (areas of a size necessary for printing) necessary for printing the information read in the read step and calculates the sum. Information indicating the set is embedded in the corresponding embedding area of the template document file, and one document file for preview display or test printing is created. The union can be calculated by first calculating the necessary print area and taking the union. In this way, the union for each corresponding type is embedded in each embedded region by the creation step. Hereinafter, this embedding processing step executed by the variable data creating unit 15 in the creating step is referred to as an “embedding step” and will be described separately. Here, the print area necessary for printing is the information necessary for printing the information read in the reading step in the corresponding embedded area (basically, the format including font information is determined). Refers to an area. In addition, the font information includes information indicating the font type, font size, font color, etc., and information indicating the character width and character spacing (including information indicating whether it is a monospaced font or a proportional font). It is. The format includes character decorations such as underline in addition to font information. In the creation step, the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13 performs one preview display or test print for the preview display or test print document file created by embedding in the embedding step. Create image data.

  In the explanation here and the following explanation, as described in the embedding step, the variable data creation unit 15 creates one preview display or test print document file, and then creates the image data. It is assumed that However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13 may directly generate the same image data for preview display or test printing without creating a document file. Good.

  First, a case will be described in which the information embedded in the embedding area includes at least one type of text information that does not include font information or text information that specifies a monospaced font. The text information in which the monospaced font is designated may include font type, size, color information, and the like. For text information that does not contain font information or for which a monospaced font is specified, the embedding step requires text information that requires the longest print area for printing from the text information read in the reading step for each type. For each type, the longest print area extracted in the extraction step is calculated as a union, and the text information that requires the longest print area is used as information indicating the union. Embed in the embedded area. That is, embedding in each embedding area means embedding information (embedding data) indicating each extracted longest print area in the corresponding embedding area.

  When there is information such as the print image 51 in FIG. 3 and the print image 52 shown in FIG. 4 at the time of printing, the text information having the longest print area of the information 51a and the information 52a (in this example, the information 52a ), Information 51b and information 52b having the longest print area (in this example, information 51b), and information 51c and information 52c having the longest print area (in this example) Then, the information 51c) is extracted in the extraction step, and is embedded in the embedded region 50a, embedded region 50b, and embedded region 50c of the template document file, respectively.

  In this example, the image data 53 shown in FIG. 5 is created by the creation step. In the image data 53, it can be seen that information 52a, information 51b, and information 51c are embedded at positions corresponding to the embedded region 53a, embedded region 53b, and embedded region 53c, respectively. Such image data 53 is preview-displayed or test-printed.

  As described above, in the preview display / test printing according to the present invention, the combination of the longest name, the longest address, and the longest point as described in the above example is used as information for the preview image. Since the image data 53 uses the combination of the longest name and the longest address, it is useful for checking when the characters exceed the print range or when the characters overlap. In this way, whether previews or test prints are performed only when the longest data is combined for each type of information such as name, destination, etc., whether characters are cut or overlapped without checking all the document files Can be confirmed.

  In the image data 53, the correspondence between the name and the address is lost, but the image data 53 is only for preview display / test printing and does not mean that the document file as it is is used as the final print result. no problem. Therefore, after preview or test printing, the user can change the font format of the embedding area, edit data outside the embedding area, preview and test print again, and use all sets of information without any problems. After confirming that printing is possible, actual printing can be executed.

  In addition, since an example in which font information is not included or a monospaced font is specified is given here, a character string with a large number of characters is simply a long character string (that is, a character string that requires a long print area), and is simply Although the lengths are compared only by the number of characters, basically, since it is embedded in the format of the embedded area, the total width and spacing of each character when embedding in the embedded area in the text information character string Even if the lengths are compared, the comparison result is the same. In other words, instead of extracting the text information that becomes the longest print area based on the number of bytes of the character string, the extraction step uses the longest print area based on the length of the character string by the sum of the width and interval of each character. May be extracted (the lengths of the text information are compared).

  Here, a case where the information embedded in the embedding area includes at least one type of numerical information will be described based on the illustration of the point information. The information may be embedded by adding information such as a delimiter. For this purpose, in each of the above-described examples, image data may be created by embedding a format such as a font information preset in an embedding area, such as a delimiter, or in the case of a delimiter May be embedded so that point information that requires the longest print area is extracted when a delimiter is added.

As in the latter process, the information embedded in the embedded region may include numerical information. In other words, the present invention is preferably adapted to the case where numerical information is embedded. Then, for the numerical information, the embedding step includes, for each type, a numerical character string (delimiter, unit, code, etc.) that represents the numerical information read in the reading step and is defined in the corresponding embedding area. The extraction step for extracting numerical information that requires the longest print area when printing is performed, and for each type, the longest print area extracted in the extraction step is “union” It is preferable that information obtained by converting the numerical information into “numeric character string” as “information indicating a union” is embedded in a corresponding embedded region. For example, when the numerical information is information stored in hexadecimal, it is possible to cope with conversion to decimal and printing, or adding a delimiter to the numerical value.
In addition, as described for text information that does not include font information or for which a monospaced font is specified, also for numerical information, the extraction step converts the longest print area into the character string of the numerical expression. Extraction is based on the number of bytes of the character string of the converted information or based on the total length of the width and interval of each character when embedding in the embedding area in the character string of the converted information. May be.

  Next, an example of image data created by another creation method will be described with reference to FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of image data for preview display or test printing created from the template document file of FIG. 2 by the document creation system of FIG.

  The example described with reference to FIG. 5 has been described on the assumption that the character string that requires the longest print area is used as it is. The image data 53 generated by this processing can be used as a reference for knowing which information causes a problem, but there is a possibility that a problem such as overlapping of characters cannot be found depending on the shape of the character. In preparation for such a case, it may be possible to replace the character with a rectangle.

  That is, in the embedding step, when the information to be embedded in the embedding area does not include font information or is text information in which a monospaced font is designated, the longest is “information indicating the union” for each type. It is preferable to embed an image of a predetermined character string or a predetermined figure having a length corresponding to text information that requires a print area in the corresponding embedded area. It is assumed that the height of the predetermined figure is the same as that of the character string. Instead, the information to be embedded may be an image of a predetermined character string or a predetermined figure longer than the length corresponding to the text information that requires the longest print area. In any case, an alternative image of text information that requires the longest print area is embedded in the corresponding embedded area. Here, the text information includes a case where a numerical value is embedded as information expressed in text. Note that this processing does not have to be applied to other embedding areas in which information that is not “text information that does not include font information or a monospaced font is specified” is embedded. The same can be said for text information and image information with font information to be described later.

  For example, instead of the character strings shown in the embedding areas 53a, 53b, and 53c in the image data 53, each is replaced with another figure (here, full-width characters are rectangles matching the maximum font width, and half-width characters are half-width alphabet I). As a result, it is possible to create image data 54 including an image as shown by the embedded regions 54a, 54b and 54c shown in FIG. As described above, when the same information set as that used for the image data 53 is used, image data 54 is created in which the name is 5 characters at maximum, the address is 11 characters at maximum, and the point is 7 characters.

  Here, the rectangles are all monospaced, but if proportional fonts are used as font information such as extracted text information (or font information if font information is set in the embedding area) A width corresponding to the character width may be used. In addition, the rectangle may be colored so that it is easy to see, made translucent, surrounded by a frame line, or some kind of marking. Also, the space between characters may be left blank, or may be displayed with the space filled so that the whole becomes one continuous figure. In this way, by replacing the original text information with rectangular characters, it is possible to confirm that the characters do not overlap even in portions that were originally blank in the text information. In the example using this alternative image, the extraction step may extract the longest print area based on the number of bytes of the text string of the text information, You may extract based on the total length of the horizontal width and space | interval of each character at the time of embedding.

  Next, the flow of an example of the preview display process according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that test printing can be executed by executing “instruction to test printing apparatus 3 and test printing in printing apparatus 3” instead of “preview display” described here, and therefore test printing is particularly described. do not do. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of preview display processing in the document creation system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart following FIG.

  First, the printing application reads a template document file (step S1), and specifies a database table to be embedded in the embedding area (step S2). The print application determines whether or not a user operation for printing is accepted by the operation unit (step S3). If not accepted, it is determined whether or not an operation for displaying a preview is accepted (step S4). If “NO” in the step S4, the process returns to the step S3, and if “YES” in the step S4, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to preview only the print sample (step S5).

  If NO in step S5 and YES in step S3, the specified table data (a plurality of sets of information of each type) is read (step S6), and the read data is embedded in the template document file and printed. A document file is created (step S7), and printing or preview display of the created document file is executed (step S8). Note that the preview display is executed only when it is specified that the preview display is performed by default, or when the preview display is operated before printing in step S3. After the process of step S8, it is determined whether or not the data to be read is over (step S9). If it is over, the process ends or the process returns to step S3, and if it is not over, the process returns to step S6. In this way, document file creation, preview display, or printing is sequentially executed, and processing for all document files is finally completed. Note that preview display or printing may be performed after all document files have been created. In this case, image data for preview display or test printing is created directly without creating a document file. Then, preview display or test printing may be executed.

  On the other hand, if YES in step S5, the data in the specified table is read (step S11 in FIG. 8), and it is determined whether the read data is a character string that requires the longest print area so far (step S11). S12). In step S12, this determination is performed for each item (that is, the type of information). If YES in step S12, the character string that requires the longest print area is stored in the memory for each item (step S13), and it is determined whether or not it is the end of data (step S14). If NO in step S12, the process proceeds to step S14 without passing through step S13. If NO in step S14, the process returns to step S11. In step S13, each time the answer is YES in step S12, the character string for the target item is rewritten. If YES in step S14, for each stored item, data that requires the longest print area is embedded in each embedded area of the template document file to generate preview data (step S15). In step S15, document data for preview is generated and converted into preview image data (preview data). After step S15, a preview display is executed (step S16), and the process is terminated, or the process returns to step S3 in FIG.

  Next, when the information to be embedded in the embedding area includes at least one type of character information with font information (which may be a monospaced font), and at least one type of information to be embedded in the embedding area. A case where information is included will be described. Since the image information includes at least the format of the image size, the text information with format and the image information can be handled in the same manner. Note that all data other than the embedded region may be image information. That is, the document file handled in the present invention may be a file that is incorporated by pasting only an image.

  For character information with font information, the embedding step performs, for each type, a predetermined image that occupies the union as information indicated by the union (or a predetermined image that occupies an area including the union, that is, a predetermined alternative image) ) May be embedded in the corresponding embedded region. The region including the union is a region wider than the region indicated by the union. Similarly, for the image information, the embedding step includes, for each type, a predetermined image that occupies the union as information indicated by the union (or a predetermined image that occupies an area including the union, that is, a predetermined alternative image). ) Is embedded in the corresponding embedded region.

  In addition, as described for text information that does not include font information or for which a monospaced font is specified, text information with font information is simply a long character string (that is, a long print area is not displayed). You can compare the length with just the number of characters, or compare the total length of the width and spacing of each character when embedding in the embedding area in the text information character string. It doesn't matter. If the format of the information to be read is reflected, it takes precedence over the format of the embedded region. Therefore, the format of the embedded region may be basically compared without concern. In other words, instead of extracting the text information that becomes the longest print area based on the number of bytes of the character string, the extraction step uses the longest print area based on the length of the character string by the sum of the width and interval of each character. May be extracted (the lengths of the text information are compared). As a result, when the character width and character spacing differ for each type of character information with formatting, the width of each character may or may not fit within the specified width depending on the width and spacing even if only the number of characters is considered. By selecting the character string having the longest total length, it is possible to cope with such a case.

  Next, the case of embedding image information and text information with font information will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the document creation system for executing the data creation method according to the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a template stored or created in advance in the document creation system of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a document file. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table of image information to be embedded in the template document file of FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of image information in the correspondence table of FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a document file created by the document creation system of FIG. 9 from the template document file of FIG. 10, and FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example.

  The document creation system illustrated in FIG. 9 is a system in which the storage device 4 is further connected to the PC 1 in the document creation system illustrated in FIG. The print application 10 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes a database reading unit 17 instead of the data reading unit 14 in the print application 10 illustrated in FIG. Note that the function of the database reading unit 17 can be added to the function of the data reading unit 14 to read data from the storage device 4. Description of other parts similar to those described in FIG. 1 is omitted.

The variable data table 20 in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to an example of a customer database that stores a total of three types of information: name information, address information, and qualification information. Information relating to the storage device 4 is stored.
The template document file 60 illustrated in FIG. 10 has embedding areas 60a to 60d for embedding a name, an address, a qualification, and a certification sentence. That is, the template document file 60 has four embedded areas. Further, the template document file 60 includes a character “Ox certificate” in the center area at the top, a character “name” on the left of the name embedding area 50a, and an “address” on the left of the embedding area 50b. "Is described.

  The printing process will be described by giving a case where a qualification acquirer list including information of the following two qualification acquirers is described in the variable data table 20. This qualified person list can be used from the template document file 60, and the name, address, and qualified information are described for each qualified person as described above. This qualification acquirer list includes a total of two sets, a set whose name is “Patent Taro” and a set whose name is “Print Sanshiro”. For the set with the name “Patentaro”, it is described that the address is “Abeno Osaka, Osaka City” and the qualification is “1st class”, and for the set with the name “Print Sanshiro”, the address Is “Minato-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan,” and “Qualification is“ Level 2 ”.

  Further, the storage device 4 stores an image file / text file (hereinafter referred to as an image / text file) 42 associated with a qualification class. The storage device 4 may be a storage device inside the PC 1. Further, the storage device 4 stores a correspondence table (image / text file correspondence table) 41 for associating the image / text file 42 with the qualification information in the variable data table 20. In the image / text file correspondence table 41, as in the correspondence table 70 shown in FIG. 11, an embedded image file and text file are associated for each qualification information. In addition, Class 1. jpeg and Class2. It is assumed that the sizes of the images are different as shown in the image information 80a and the image information 80b in FIG. In this example, the horizontal length is Class1. jpeg is a longer (elongated) print area, and the length in the vertical direction is Class2. jpeg is a longer print area.

  In such a document creation system, when a printing instruction is given, the database reading unit 17 reads information on the name, address, and qualification from the qualification acquirer list. Then, the variable data creation unit 15 inputs and embeds name and address information in the embedded region 60a and the embedded region 60b, respectively. As for the qualification information, an image file and a document file are selected from the correspondence table 70 of FIG. 11 depending on whether the qualification is the first grade or the second grade, and the selected image file and text file are read, respectively, It is embedded in the area 60d. Then, the document file created by such embedding is printed.

  In this case, a document file such as the print image 61 shown in FIG. 13 is obtained for the qualification holder whose name is “Taro Tokkyo”, and a document such as the print image 62 shown in FIG. Each file will be created and printed. That is, a total of two document files are created and printed. In the print image 61, a character string 61a of “Patent Taro”, a character string 61b of “Abeno Osaka City Osaka ○○”, and image information 80a (Class 1...) Are embedded in the embedded regions 60a, 60b, 60c, and 60d, respectively. jpeg) and the text 61d (formatted text) indicated by the document file (Class1.doc) are printed. In addition,. doc is an extension of a word document of Microsoft Corporation, but a document file that can be applied here is not limited to a word document, and may be another document such as a text file (extension is txt). Even a file with the extension “txt” may have at least a “new line” format. Similarly, in the print image 62, a character string 62a of “printed Sanshiro”, a character string 62b of “Minato-ku ○ × Δ” of Tokyo, and image information 80b (Class 2) are embedded in the embedded regions 60a, 60b, 60c, and 60d, respectively. .Jpeg) and an image 62c indicated by the document file (Class2.doc) are printed.

  Next, a confirmation operation before such printing, that is, another example of preview display or test printing according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 together. 15 is a diagram showing an example of image information embedded in the template document file of FIG. 10 by the document creation system of FIG. 9, and FIG. 16 is a diagram of the template creation file of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the image data for a preview display or test printing produced by embedding image information.

  When the preview display of the print confirmation sample or the test print is selected by the user operation, the print application 10 displays the preview using the union of the print areas as well as the problem-prone information as illustrated in FIG. Or, test printing is executed. Here, if necessary in creating the preview display image, the print application 10 acquires printer capability information such as the size of the printable area corresponding to the paper size from the printer driver 16. In the embedding areas 60a and 60b of the template document file 60, character string data requiring a longer printing area is selected and embedded.

  For the buried region 60c, Class1. jpeg print area and Class2. The union area (print area) with the print area of jpeg is embedded. The print area of the union is an area having a shape as shown by image information 80c in FIG. This is because, in the case of a union set, it is necessary to determine which information is used for preview display or test printing, and the appearance is deteriorated. Will be better. Of course, if the increase in processing is ignored, a union that overlaps all image information for each set may be embedded instead.

  For the embedding area 60d, Class 1. doc and Class2. doc, Class1. doc and Class2. The union of print areas with doc (the print area of union) is embedded. Here, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, each character string is embedded with a rectangular image. This is because, in the case of a union set, it is necessary to determine which information is used for preview display or test printing, and the appearance is deteriorated. Will be better. Of course, if ignoring the increase in processing, a union that overlaps all text information (with font information) for each set may be embedded instead.

  As a result, the preview display or test print result becomes the image data 63 illustrated in FIG. In the image data 63, information 62a, information 61b, information 61c + information 62c, and information 61d + 62d are embedded at positions corresponding to the embedded region 63a, embedded region 63b, embedded region 63c, and embedded region 63d, respectively. I understand. Such image data 63 is preview-displayed or test-printed. In addition, since the image center coordinates (x, y) are set on the template in the area where the jpeg image is arranged, Class1. jpeg center coordinates (x1, y1), Class2. The image data 63 (image data for preview display or test printing) as shown in FIG. 16 is obtained by performing processing for matching the jpeg center coordinates (x2, y2) with the center coordinates (x, y) of the template. Obtainable.

  Further, as exemplified in steps S3 to S9 in FIG. 7, the present invention may be configured so that processing for preview display or test printing for all document files is possible. In other words, according to the present invention, when execution of preview display or test printing (or layout preview display or layout printing) of all document files is selected with the UI on the printing application 10 (or the printer driver 16), the printing application 10 As is conventional, it is preferable to perform preview display or test printing of all generated document files.

  Thus, it is preferable that the data creation method according to the present invention further includes an all-process receiving step, an all-set reading step, and an all-set creating step described below in the data creation method according to each example described above. . The all process accepting step is a step in which the operation unit accepts all process operations for performing preview display before test or test printing for all of a plurality of sets (all created document files). The all set reading step is a step in which the data reading unit 14 (or the database reading unit 17) reads the information of the plurality of sets (all sets) when all processing operations are received in the all processing receiving step. The all set creation step is a step in which the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13 creates a preview display or test print image data group for each of the plurality of sets. Here, the image data group to be created is a template document that includes a predetermined image corresponding to a print area necessary for printing the information read in the all set reading step or the information read in the all set reading step. It is a data group indicating the state of being embedded in the corresponding embedded area of the file. That is, image data for preview display or test printing is created for each set.

  Of course, not only all the document files but also a part of the document files can be configured to be a target of preview display or test printing. In other words, instead of the all process receiving step, the all set reading step, and the all set creating step, a selection receiving step, a selection reading step, a selection embedding step, and a selection creating step, which will be described below, may be provided. Good. Although not specifically described in detail, the UI on the printer driver 16 is also printed even if the UI on the printer driver 16 is configured so that preview display or test printing can be performed on all document files before printing. Read from the application 10.

  The selection receiving step is a step in which the operation unit receives a selection operation for selecting one or a plurality of sets from a plurality of sets of information. The selection reading step is a step in which the data reading unit 14 (or the database reading unit 17) reads the information of the one or more sets from the plurality of sets when the selection operation is received in the selection receiving step. The selective embedding step is necessary when the variable data creating unit 15 prints the information read in the selective reading step (or the information read in the selective reading step) for each of the sets selected by the selection operation. A predetermined embedding step for embedding a predetermined image corresponding to a print area, that is, an alternative image of the read information) in each corresponding embedding area of the template document file to create a document file for preview display or test printing. is there. In the selection creation step, the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13 uses the image data for preview display or test printing for the preview display or test print document file created by embedding in the selection embedding step. It is a step to create. In this example as well, an example is given in which image data is created after embedding processing is first performed for each set and a document file for preview display or test printing is created. Instead, a document file is created. Instead, the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13 may directly create similar image data.

  Here, as described above, in the selection accepting step, “all sets” is selected by an easy operation (for example, one button) so that preview processing or test printing of all document files can be easily performed. It is preferable to be able to do so. As a result, the user can easily preview or test print all sets.

  Further, in this configuration, as described in particular with respect to the determination in step S5 in FIG. 7 and the processing after the determination, it is only necessary to be able to select preview display or test printing according to the present invention. That is, the process (hereinafter, referred to as “image data group creation”) in the above-described all process accepting step, all set reading step, and all set creating step (or selection accepting step, selective reading step, selective embedding step, and selective creating step). In the method including the second process for convenience, a mode in which the second process is executed and a mode in which image data is created in the reception step, the reading step, and the creation step described above (referred to as a first process mode). It is preferable to have a switching step in which the operation unit accepts a switching operation for switching between. As a result, the two types of preview display and test print image data creation methods can be easily switched in some cases, or the administrator can set in advance. For example, the button that can be accepted may be switched between the accepting step relating to the first processing mode and the all accepting step relating to the second processing mode (or the selection accepting step) by the switching step.

  As described above, in the data creation method according to the present invention, preview display or test printing is performed using data that is most likely to cause a problem among generated document files, that is, that requires the most printing area. Do. For example, when printing by embedding customer names and addresses on the database one after another in direct mail, preview display is performed using data combining the longest name and the longest address. However, in this case, since the name and address are selected based only on the length, the correspondence between the name and address is lost. There are many problems that characters are cut off from the print area or overlapped with other characters and images, but if you use a character string that requires the longest print area at the time of preview display or test print, If there are no cuts or overlaps of characters in this combination, there is a high possibility that no problem will occur.

  In addition, as described above, the present invention can employ various application examples. For example, a rectangle having a size combined with the character size may be used instead of the character, if necessary, so as to eliminate the influence of the character shape and the blank character. Even if it is necessary to embed a font or image file that does not have a fixed character width, such as proportional fonts, it is possible to determine the size of the area required for printing, and the combination or print area that requires the largest print area. By taking a union of, and expressing the print area that may overlap or cut off with other parts using, for example, a rectangle, preview or test print, the user can cut off characters, overlap, etc. You can know that there are problems with reading. If the method according to the present invention is used appropriately, preview display or test printing is performed only for a smaller number of copies than the entire document file to be printed, even in a special case such as combining one template or a plurality of templates, even if not displaying all previews. You can do it. Further, if the number of copies is sufficiently small, it is possible to perform test printing. For this reason, the user only has to check the preview display of one copy or a small number of copies, which reduces the burden on the user.

  The data creation method according to the present invention has been described above. As described above, this data creation method is executed by the document creation system, but the present invention can also adopt a form as a data creation system in the document creation system. Again, a brief description will be given with reference to FIG. The data creation system according to the present invention includes a common operation unit that accepts an operation for performing a preview display before printing or a test print for a document file to be created, and the plurality of sets when the operation unit accepts the operation. A data reading unit 14 that reads information for each type, and a preview display control unit 12 or a print processing unit 13 that creates one image data for preview display or test printing are provided. For the image data created by the preview display control unit 12 or the print processing unit 13, for each type, a union of print areas necessary for printing information read by the data reading unit 14 is calculated and the union is calculated. Is data indicating a state in which information indicating is embedded in a corresponding embedding area of the template document file. Other application examples are the same as those described as the data creation method, and a description thereof will be omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... PC, 2 ... Database server, 3 ... Printing apparatus, 4 ... Memory | storage device, 10 ... Print application, 11 ... Template reading part, 12 ... Preview display control part, 13 ... Print processing part, 14 ... Data reading part, 15 ... variable data creation unit, 16 ... printer driver, 17 ... database reading unit, 20 ... variable data table.

Claims (11)

In a document creation system that creates and prints multiple document files from a template document file that has one or more embedding areas whose print size changes depending on the information to be embedded, a preview display or test before printing of the created document file A data creation method for creating image data for printing,
The document creation system creates a document file by embedding information of a type associated with each embedding area in each embedding area, and sets a set of each type of information for a plurality of sets. To create a plurality of document files,
The data creation method is:
An accepting step for accepting an operation for performing a preview display before printing or a test print, which is common to the created document files;
When receiving the operation in the receiving step, the data reading unit reads information for each type of the plurality of sets;
A creation step in which the preview display control unit or the print processing unit creates image data for one preview display or test printing;
Have
The image data created in the creating step calculates, for each type, a union of print areas necessary for printing the information read out in the reading step, and displays information indicating the union as the template. A data creation method characterized by being data indicating a state of being embedded in a corresponding embedded area of a document file. The data creation method according to claim 1,
The information embedded in the embedding area is at least one type and does not include font information or includes text information in which a monospaced font is designated,
For text information that does not include the font information or for which a monospaced font is designated, the creation step requires the longest print area for printing from the text information read in the reading step for each type. The image data created in the creating step calculates, for each type, the longest print area extracted in the extracting step as the union set, and A data creation method characterized in that text information that requires the longest print area as information indicating a set is data indicating a state in which the text information is embedded in a corresponding embedded area.   3. The data creation method according to claim 2, wherein the image data created in the creation step for the text information not including the font information or designating a monospaced font includes the union for each type. As the information to be shown, a predetermined character string or an image of a predetermined figure corresponding to the text information that requires the longest print area, or a predetermined character string longer than the length corresponding to the text information that requires the longest print area, or A data creation method characterized by being data indicating a state in which an image of a predetermined figure is embedded in a corresponding embedded region.   4. The data creation method according to claim 2, wherein for the text information that does not include the font information or for which a monospaced font is designated, the extraction step uses the longest print area as a character string of the text information. The data generation method is characterized in that extraction is performed based on the number of bytes of the character information or based on the total length of the width and spacing of each character at the time of embedding in the embedding area in the character string of the text information. In the data creation method of any one of Claims 1-4,
Information embedded in the embedded region includes at least one kind of numerical information,
For the numerical information, the creation step is the longest when the numerical information read in the reading step is converted into a character string of numerical expression defined in the corresponding embedding area and printed for each type. An extraction step for extracting numerical information that requires a print area, and the image data created in the creation step calculates, for each type, the longest print area extracted in the extraction step as the union. The data creation method is characterized in that it is data indicating a state in which information obtained by converting the numerical information as information indicating the union into a character string of the numerical expression is embedded in a corresponding embedded area.   6. The data creation method according to claim 5, wherein, for the numerical information, the extracting step is based on the number of bytes of a character string of information obtained by converting the numerical information into a character string of the numerical expression. Or, based on the total length of the width and spacing of each character at the time of embedding in the embedding area in the character string of the converted information. In the data creation method of any one of Claims 1-6,
The information embedded in the embedded region includes at least one type of character information with font information,
For the character information with the font information, the image data created in the creating step occupies a predetermined image that occupies the union or an area including the union as information indicated by the union for each type. A data creation method characterized by being data indicating a state in which a predetermined image to be embedded is embedded in a corresponding embedded region. In the data preparation method of any one of Claims 1-7,
The information embedded in the embedded region includes at least one type of image information,
For the image information, the image data created in the creating step is, for each type, a predetermined image that occupies the union or an area that includes the union as information indicated by the union, A data creation method, which is data indicating a state of being embedded in a corresponding embedded region. In the data creation method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An all process accepting step for accepting all process operations for preview display before test or test printing for all of the plurality of sets;
When the all process operation is accepted in the all process accepting step, the data reading unit reads all the sets of information, and an all set reading step;
The preview display control unit or the print processing unit creates all sets for creating a preview display or test print image data group for each of the plurality of sets;
Have
The image data group created in the all set creation step corresponds to a print area necessary for printing the information read in the all set read step or the information read in the all set read step. A data creation method characterized by being a data group indicating a state in which a predetermined image is embedded in a corresponding embedding area of the template document file. The data creation method according to claim 9, further comprising:
A first processing mode in which the operation unit creates the image data in the receiving step, the reading step, and the creating step; and the image in the all process accepting step, the all set reading step, and the all set creating step. A data creation method comprising a switching step of accepting a switching operation for switching between a second processing mode for creating a data group. A data creation system in a document creation system for creating and printing a plurality of document files from a template document file having one or more embedding areas whose print size changes depending on the embedded information,
The document creation system creates a document file by embedding information of a type associated with each embedding area in each embedding area, and sets a set of each type of information for a plurality of sets. To create a plurality of document files,
The data creation system includes:
An operation unit that accepts an operation for performing a preview display before printing or a test print, which is common to the created document files;
A data reading unit that reads information for each type of the plurality of sets when the operation unit accepts the operation;
A preview display control unit or a print processing unit that creates image data for one preview display or test printing;
Have
The image data created by the preview display control unit or the print processing unit calculates, for each type, a union of print areas necessary for printing information read by the data reading unit, and calculates the sum. A data creation system, characterized in that it is data indicating a state in which information indicating a set is embedded in a corresponding embedded area of the template document file.

Images