Probabilistic Methods and Systems for Preparing Mixed-Content Document Layouts

• US 20120204100A1
• Filed: 10/20/2009
• Published: 08/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Damera-Venkata, Niranjan
• Application Number:
  US13/501,264
• Publication Number:
  US 20120204100A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/244
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for preparing each page template of a mixed-content document layout. In one embodiment, a method comprises selecting a single page template (805). The template can be configured with an arrangement of one or more image fields and one or more text fields. The method includes determining constants presenting space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces and vector representations of the one or more image and white space dimensions (806). The method also includes computing a parameter vector that substantially maximizes a probabilistic characterization of the one or more image and white space dimensions (807). The page template can be rendered so that the one or more images and white spaces are rescaled in accordance with the parameter vector and the one or more vector representations and the constants (808).

Claims

1. A method for generating a page template of a document using a computing device, the method comprising:

selecting a single page template (805), the template configured with an arrangement of one or more image fields and one or more text fields using the computing device;

determining constants presenting space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces and vector representations of the one or more image and white space dimensions using the computing device (806);

computing a parameter vector that substantially maximizes a probabilistic characterization of the one or more image and white space dimensions using the computing device (807); and

rendering the page template using the computing device (808), the page presenting the one or more images and white spaces rescaled based on the parameter vector and in accordance with the one or more vector representations and the constants.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the page template further comprises presenting a variety of different templates to select from for each page of the document.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the page template further comprises selecting the template so that the text describing the contents of each image appear on the same page as the image or appear on the subsequent or preceding page of the document.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining constants presenting space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces further comprises

determining constants corresponding to space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces in a first direction;

and

determining constants corresponding to space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces in a second direction, the first direction orthogonal to the second direction.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining vector representations of the one or more image and white space dimensions further comprises

determining one or more vector representations of the dimensions of the one or more images and white spaces in a first direction;

and

determining one or more vector representations of the dimensions of the one or more images and white spaces in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction using the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein computing the parameter vector further comprises solving a matrix equation A Θ

^MAP= b for the parameter vector Θ

^MAP using the computing device, wherein

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising inputting streams of data corresponding to the one or more images and the text displaying in the text fields (801).

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising inputting a style sheet representing the document overall appearance (802).

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising inputting means, variances, bounds on the parameter vector (803).

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising inputting a parameterization scheme (804).

11. A computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon for enabling a processor to perform the operations of:

receiving a single page template data (805), the template configured with an arrangement of one or more image fields and one or more text fields;

determining constants presenting space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces and vector representations of the one or more image and white space dimensions (806);

computing a parameter vector that substantially maximizes a probabilistic characterization of the one or more image and white space dimensions (807); and

rendering the page template (808), the page presenting the one or more images and white spaces rescaled based on the parameter vector and in accordance with the one or more vector representations and the constants.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein receiving the page template further comprises presenting a variety of different templates stored on the computer-readable medium on a display to enable a document designer to select the page template from.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein determining constants presenting space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces further comprises

determining constants corresponding to space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces in a first direction;

and

determining constants corresponding to space available for displaying the one or more images and white spaces in a second direction, the first direction orthogonal to the second direction.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein determining vector representations of the one or more image and white space dimensions further comprises

determining one or more vector representations of the dimensions of the one or more images and white spaces in a first direction;

and

determining one or more vector representations of the dimensions of the one or more images and white spaces in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction using the computing device.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein computing the parameter vector further comprises solving a matrix equation A Θ

^MAP= b for the parameter vector Θ

^MAP using the computing device, wherein