Formatting text/graphics using plural independent formatting mechanisms
First Claim
1. In an automatic typographic page formatter having means to receive coded text digital signals, including means to receive formatting commands with said text signals, and formatting means coupled to said receiving means for formatting a page of text using said received text digital signals and in accordance with said received formatting commands;
- the improvement including in combination;
first means in said formatting means coupled to said receiving means and being capable of receiving said text digital signals and said formatting commands for assigning said received text digital signals to successive pages of text and indicating ending formatting of each page whereby a document having a plurality of pages of text can be created from said received text digital signals;
said first means including format limiting means for sequentially placing text on each of said successive pages such that successively vertical portions of each page sequentially receive text; and
named area control means coupled to said first means and said receiving means for sequentially receiving said text digital signals and said formatting commands and being responsive to named area ones of said formatting commands to select predetermined ones of said text digital signals for insertion onto predetermined ones of said pages of text independently of said first means and said sequence of receipt whereby text inserted by said named area means has a format and page location independent of the said first means sequentially created text format and the sequence of receipt of said text digital signals.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Machine-implemented text/graphics formatting is based upon a logical page area on a presentation-receiving medium, such as a CRT face, sheet of paper and the like. Named text and graphics receiving areas are selectively assignable to the logical pages of a document being formatted for visual presentation and are addressable and formattable independent of other formatting in any logical page. The named areas are machine defined such that one area can have portions thereof automatically assigned to and presented with any arbitrary number of logical pages. Such areas are managed in a text formatting machine to facilitate formatting headers based upon text contained in a succession of logical pages that are outside the named area. A first class of such named areas is placed upon the page when formatting to the page is ended, while a second class of such named areas is placed on the page in response to a command. The placement of the second class on a page can result in starting formatting new pages. Bleed tabs, annotations, and other typographic niceties are machine formattable using such named areas.
-
Citations
62 Claims
-
1. In an automatic typographic page formatter having means to receive coded text digital signals, including means to receive formatting commands with said text signals, and formatting means coupled to said receiving means for formatting a page of text using said received text digital signals and in accordance with said received formatting commands;
-
the improvement including in combination; first means in said formatting means coupled to said receiving means and being capable of receiving said text digital signals and said formatting commands for assigning said received text digital signals to successive pages of text and indicating ending formatting of each page whereby a document having a plurality of pages of text can be created from said received text digital signals; said first means including format limiting means for sequentially placing text on each of said successive pages such that successively vertical portions of each page sequentially receive text; and named area control means coupled to said first means and said receiving means for sequentially receiving said text digital signals and said formatting commands and being responsive to named area ones of said formatting commands to select predetermined ones of said text digital signals for insertion onto predetermined ones of said pages of text independently of said first means and said sequence of receipt whereby text inserted by said named area means has a format and page location independent of the said first means sequentially created text format and the sequence of receipt of said text digital signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. The machine-implemented method of composing text and graphics to a plurality of pages for presenting information in a predetermined format, including the machine-executable steps of:
-
receiving a stream of sequential text/graphics representing digital signals (hereafter text/graphics signals) having embedded control words defining composing functions to be performed, in response to said embedded control words; dividing each page into a plurality of mutually-exclusive-vertically-separate portions, making each such portion a mutually-exclusive text/graphics-receiving vertical portion of each page; establishing a plurality of first named areas for having text/graphics placeable anywhere on each page independently of said portions and having a location on the page specific to each such first named area and with each named area being capable of receiving text/graphics signals independently of said portions, each such first named area being capable of receiving an indeterminate extent of said text/graphics signals, assigning a predetermined text/graphics extent from any one of said first named areas to any one of the pages being composed; while composing predetermined ones of said pages using said portions (1) selectively interleaving formatting said received text/graphics signals to predetermined ones of said first named areas independently of said portions; and
(2) determining that a page being composed is to receive text/graphics signals from said first named areas;
in response to said determination, scanning all of said first named areas and then placing text/graphics signals composed to any of said first named areas on said page up to said predetermined extent for each respective first named areas;ejecting the page of formatted text/graphics signals for conversion to a visual presentation; and starting a new page to be composed and repeating all of the above recited steps until all text/graphics signals have been formatted to a plurality of such pages. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
-
-
43. A computerized composer comprising input means for supplying a sequence of unformatted text/graphics signals with embedded control words which indicate desired composition parameters and composing functions to be performed by a computerized composer, computer means coupled to the input means for receiving said sequence of text/graphics signals and embedded control words for responding to said embedded control words to compose a document based upon the sequence of said text/graphics signals for generating a second sequence of text/graphics signals which are arranged with pagination indications of logical page extents and other composed-page indicating signals for enabling a visual presentation device to present information represented by such text/graphics signals, output means coupled to the computer means for receiving said composed text/graphics signals for visually presenting the composed document;
-
said computer means having storage means and program indicia for constituting a composing page formatter for enabling the computer means to respond to said received unformatted text/graphics signals in accordance with said embedded control words as follows; first indicia in said computer means for enabling the computer means to receive said unformatted text/graphics signals and analyze said embedded control words; second indicia in said computer means for enabling the computer means to couple to said first indicia and to format said unformatted received text/graphics signals in sequence as received including paginating pages in accordance with assignment of text/graphics signals that fill page extents; third indicia in said computer means for enabling the computer means to respond to named area embedded control words received via said first indicia enablement of the computer means to divert named area indicated ones of the received unformatted text/graphics signals for storage separate from said page formatted text/graphics signals but formatted by said first indicia enablement of the computer means; and fourth indicia in said computer means for enabling the computer means to respond to said received text/graphics signals and to the embedded control words for selectively placing said diverted text/graphics signals to a said logical page independently of where in the unformatted received text/graphics signals such diverted text/graphics signals were received. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
-
-
60. The machine-implemented method of composing text and graphics to a plurality of pages for presenting information in a predetermined formatted form, including the machine-executable steps of:
-
receiving a stream of text/graphics having embedded control words defining composing functions to be performed; in response to said embedded control words; dividing each page into a body portion, top formattable portions, and bottom formattable portions, each such portion being a mutually-exclusive text/graphics-receiving vertical portion of each page; dividing said body portion into a plurality of horizontally-extending, mutually-exclusive, vertically displaced sections; establishing a plurality of first named areas placeable anywhere on each page independently of said portions and sections with each named area being capable of receiving text/graphics independently of said portions and sections, each such named area capable of receiving an indeterminate extent of text/graphics, assigning a predetermined text/graphics extent from any predetermined ones of said first named areas to any one of the pages being composed; establishing a plurality of second named areas placeable within predetermined ones of said sections and each such second named area being capable of receiving an indeterminate extent of text/graphics, assigning a predetermined text/graphics extent from each one of said second named areas to any one of said sections; while composing predetermined ones of said pages being composed when using said portions, selectively interleaving formatting predetermined ones of said first and second named areas independently of said portions using said portions formatting; while composing certain of said pages being composed by using said portions including some of said predetermined one pages, responding to an AREA PUT control word to end a first section being composed in said body portion so that said first section is a previous section and then scanning said second named areas for text/graphics to be composed to said page in a second section of the body portion, assigning a vertical depth to said second section equal to a maximum vertical depth in a one of said second named areas having text/graphics composed therein into said second section up to said maximum vertical depth and saving any remaining text/graphics from said second named areas for sections yet to be composed; determining that a page being composed is to be ended (EOP); in response to said EOP, scanning all of said first named areas and then placing text/graphics composed to any of said first named areas on said page up to said predetermined extent for each respective first named areas; ejecting the page for visual presentation; starting a new page to be composed; and repeating all of the above-recited steps until all text/graphics have been composed on a plurality of pages.
-
-
61. The method of operating an automatic page formatter having means to receive coded text digital signals and including means to receive formatting commands with said text signals and formatting means coupled to said receiving means for formatting a page of text using said received text signals and in accordance with said received formatting commands;
-
the improvement including the following steps, in combination; receiving a first named area command by said formatting means for establishing a named area in like positions in a plurality of successive pages of text for receiving text independently of the remaining portions of the page of text having such named area; receiving a plurality of said commands and responding thereto for formatting text on successive ones of said pages of text independently of said named area; and receiving second named area commands and responding to said received second named area commands for moving a portion of text positioned on each of said pages and inserting same in the respective named area positioned on such page independently of said plurality of commands.
-
-
62. In a page composer, the combination of:
-
a first text formatter for sequentially formatting and placing first text and graphics onto a succession of logical pages in accordance with first predetermined criteria; a second text formatter for sequentially formatting second text and graphics to a named area in accordance with second predetermined criteria; a page control coupled to the first and second text formatters for defining the ending of said logical pages; and text placement means coupled to said first and second text formatters and to said page control for selecting in accordance with third predetermined criteria predetermined portions of said named area formatted second text and graphics for placing such selected text and graphics into respective ones of said logical pages independently of said first text and graphics formatted and placed by said first text formatter whereby the first text formatter formats first text and graphics sequentially to said logical pages and said second text formatter and said text placement means format second text and graphics to said logical pages in a predetermined sequence independently of said first formatter and place such second text and graphics independently of said formatted and placed first text and graphics.
-
Specification