Automatically converting text to business graphics

• US 20070186168A1
• Filed: 02/09/2006
• Published: 08/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gerhard, Lutz, Kotler, Matthew J., Wright, Dawn M., Shelly, Cynthia C., Waldman, Lawrence Fubini, Pritting, Gary A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,438,486 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/00 Digital computers in general details G06F1/00 – G06F13/00; Data processing equipment in general
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

A facility for generating a graphic image is described. The facility receives from a user a body of text whose creation is not subject to any rules or prototypes. The facility discerns from the body of text a textual organization. The facility then generates a graphic image conveying the discerned textual organization.

Claims

1. A computing system for presenting a graphic image, comprising:

a text input subsystem that receives an arbitrary body of text;

a graphic image generation subsystem that automatically generates from the arbitrary body of text a graphic image incorporating the contents of the arbitrary body of text and reflecting a text order within the arbitrary body of text; and

a display subsystem that displays a graphic image generated by the graphic image generation subsystem.

2. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the graphic image generation subsystem is capable of generating a graphic image from any arbitrary body of text received by the text input subsystem.

3. The computing system of claim 1, further comprising a design selection subsystem that selects one of the plurality of available designs in response to user input, and wherein the graphic image generated by the graphic image generation subsystem is generated in accordance with the selected design.

4. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the graphic image generated by the graphic image generation subsystem further reflects a hierarchical structure implied by the arbitrary body of text.

5. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to perform a method for generating a graphic image, the method comprising:

receiving from a user a body of text whose creation is not subject to any rules or prototypes;

discerning from the body of text a textual organization; and

generating a graphic image conveying the textual organization.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the discerned textual organization includes an order among textual elements.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the discerned textual organization includes a hierarchy among textual elements.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises, before generating the graphic image, receiving from the user input selecting from among a plurality of available graphic designs an initial graphic design, and wherein the graphic image is generated in accordance with the selected initial graphic design.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the method further comprises, before receiving from the user input selecting an initial graphic design, displaying to the user indications of each of a proper subset of the available graphic designs, each designated as likely to provide good conversion results.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the displayed indications are displayed in an order corresponding to quantitative characterizations of the likelihood of each corresponding graphic design to produce good conversion results.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the contents of the computer-readable medium causing the computing system to perform the method comprise an application program having a release date, and wherein the proper subset of available graphic designs for which indications are displayed includes an indication of a graphic design that was created after the release date of the software application.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the contents of the computer-readable medium that cause the computing system to perform the method comprise an application program, and wherein the graphic design indicated by one of the displayed indications is distributed separately from the application program.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises:

after generating the graphic image, receiving from the user input selecting from among a plurality of available graphic designs a subsequent graphic design; and

revising the graphic image in accordance with the selected graphic design.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises receiving a convert to graphic command from the user, and wherein the generating is performed in response to receiving the convert to graphic command.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the received convert to graphic command is generated by the user by performing a single user interaction, and wherein the generating is performed solely in response to receiving the convert to graphic command.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, further comprising:

displaying simultaneously with the graphic image the textual content of the body of text;

receiving user input editing the displayed textual content; and

in response to the receiving, altering the displayed graphic image in accordance with the edits to the displayed textual content, such that the altered graphic image is based on the edited textual content.

17. A method in a computing system for transforming a document, comprising:

receiving input selecting textual content of the document;

deriving a structure from the selected textual content; and

replacing the selected textual content of the document with a graphic image embodying both the text of the selected textual content and the structure derived from the selected textual content that is generated based upon a distinguished one of a plurality of available graphic designs.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the distinguished graphic design is manually selected.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising, before the deriving and replacing, automatically adjusting the textual content that is selected.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising scaling the graphic image to occupy substantially the same region of the document occupied by the selected textual content before the replacement.