Design engine for fitting content to a medium

• US 6,161,114 A
• Filed: 04/14/1999
• Issued: 12/12/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Design Intelligence, Inc.
• Inventors: King, Joseph D., von Limbach, Geoffrey, Orr, Michael B., McDonald, Marc B., Weil, Steven E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kindred, Alford W.
• Application Number:
  US09/291,816
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 707/500-526, 707/520, 707/530, 707/513, 707/518, 707/531, 707/519, 345/115, 345/302-306, 345/342, 345/326
• US Class Current: 715/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• 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 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A method of fitting content elements of a composition to a media layout is disclosed. Each content element has an associated content type, and the media layout has a content rendering space for presenting information contained in the content elements. For each content type, a content scale factor is initialized and extent values are computed. If the content elements do not fit within the media layout, then non-fit factors are determined, the scale factors and extent values are recomputed and these steps are repeated until the content fits. Another method computes a layout of a composition in a recursive fashion using a design tree. Design children components of a current component in the design tree are identified, and new media components between the current component and the identified design children components are created. A media division for each media component indicates a portion of the layout for each media component. Another method computes a layout of a composition for a chosen medium. The composition is represented in a media tree that has components, each associated with a media region of the chosen medium. The method steps down through the media tree of the composition and assigns tentative media regions to each of the components. The extent of each of the components is measured to return a set of values indicating a media region of the medium that is required by each of the components. Finally, the method steps up through the media tree of the composition and assigns new media regions to each of the components.

Claims

1. A method of fitting content elements of a composition to a media layout, said media layout having a content rendering space for presenting information contained in said content elements, said method comprising:

a) grouping said content elements into a plurality of groups;

b) initializing content scale factors that are indicative of a relative portion of said content rendering space utilized by said content elements, each of said groups having an associated content scale factor;

c) computing extent values for said content elements using said content scale factors, said extent values indicating a portion of said content rendering space occupied by said content elements; and

d) determining whether said content elements fit within said content rendering space of said media layout, wherein when it is determined that said content elements do not fit within said media layout, said method further includes

determining associated non-fit factors for said groups of content elements,

recomputing said content scale factors for said groups of content elements based at least in part upon said determined non-fit factors,

recomputing said extent values for said content elements using the recomputed content scale factors.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said extent values indicate a region within said content rendering space of said media layout reserved for each associated content element.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said computing extent values includes:

assigning tentative extent values to each content element;

measuring each content element to determine its actual extent; and

assigning final extent values to each content element.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said computing extent values further includes

creating a media tree representative of said media layout, said media tree having media components and a media division associated with each media component.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said determining whether said content elements fit within said content rendering space of said media layout includes

comparing the combined extent values for said content elements to said content rendering space.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

repeating element (d) until it is determined that said content elements fit within said content rendering space of said media layout.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

displaying said content elements in said media layout, whereby said composition appears to a user as fitting in said content rendering space of said media layout.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said element of recomputing content scale factors is performed based upon heuristics.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said element of recomputing content scale factors for one of said groups is performed relative to another one of said groups.

10. A method of computing a layout of a composition in a recursive fashion using a design description, said design description including design components having associated content elements, said method comprising:

determining whether a current component of said design description is a primitive, wherein when it is determined that said current component is a primitive, returning an extent for said current component;

identifying design children components of said current component;

creating new media components between said current component and said identified design children components, each media component having an associated media division indicating a portion of said layout for each media component; and

solving for the media division of said current component in order to return an extent for said current component by recursively calling said method.

11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein said creating new media components operates to create a media specification of said composition indicating said layout.

12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said media specification of said composition includes said media components and selected ones of said design components, each of said selected ones of said design components also having an associated media division.

13. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein said solving for the media division of said current component includes:

assigning tentative media regions to child media components of said current component;

determining extent values for a content element associated with each of said child media components;

assigning final extent values to said content elements; and

combining said final extent values to determine said extent for said current component.

14. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising:

displaying said content elements in said layout using said media components, whereby said composition appears to a user in said layout.

15. A method of computing a layout of a composition for a chosen medium, said composition at least partially represented in a media specification, said media specification having a plurality of components and each component associated with a media region of said chosen medium, said method comprising:

assigning a layout option to said composition, said layout option indicative of an arrangement for assigning media regions of said medium to said associated components;

stepping down through said media specification of said composition and assigning tentative media regions to each of said components, said tentative media regions based in part upon said layout option;

measuring the extent of said components to return a set of values for each component indicating a media region of said medium required by each component; and

stepping up through said media specification of said composition and assigning new media regions to each of said components, each of said new media regions based in part upon said returned set of values for each component, whereby said new media regions of said components represent substantially said layout of said composition in said chosen medium.

16. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said stepping down through said media specification and stepping up through said media specification are performed in a recursive fashion.

17. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein said composition is at least partially represented in a design description including selected ones of said components, and said stepping down through said media specification is performed by stepping down through said design description and creating components of said media specification.

18. A method a recited in claim 15 wherein said composition includes a plurality of content elements each in association with one of said components, and said measuring the extent of said components includes

measuring the extent of the content element associated with one of said components.

19. A method as recited in claim 15 further comprising:

displaying said components in said chosen medium using said new media regions, whereby said composition appears to a user in said layout.

20. A method of fitting a composition to a media layout, said method comprising:

a) receiving a plurality content elements that contain information to be presented in said media layout, said content elements being associated with particular regions of said media layout;

b) initializing scale factors, each scale factor being associated with a region of said media layout;

c) computing extent values for said content elements using the scale factor for the region in which the content element is located, said extent values indicating a portion of said media layout occupied by said content elements;

d) determining whether said content elements fit within said media layout, wherein when it is determined that said content elements do not fit within said media layout, said method further includes

recomputing said scale factors for said regions, and

recomputing said extent values for said content elements using the recomputed content scale factors;

e) displaying said content elements in said media layout, whereby said composition appears to a user as fitting in said media layout.

21. A method as recited in claim 20 further comprising:

repeating element (d) until it is determined that said content elements fit within said media layout.

22. A computer-readable medium comprising computer code for fitting content elements of a composition to a media layout, said media layout having a content rendering space for presenting information contained in said content elements, said computer code of said computer-readable medium effecting the following:

a) grouping said content elements into a plurality of groups;

b) initializing content scale factors that are indicative of a relative portion of said content rendering space utilized by said content elements, each of said groups having an associated content scale factor;

c) computing extent values for said content elements using said content scale factors, said extent values indicating a portion of said content rendering space occupied by said content elements; and

d) determining whether said content elements fit within said content rendering space of said media layout, wherein when it is determined that said content elements do not fit within said media layout, said method further includes

determining associated non-fit factors for said groups of content elements,

recomputing said content scale factors for said groups of content elements based at least in part upon said determined non-fit factors,

recomputing said extent values for said content elements using the recomputed content scale factors.

23. A computer-readable medium comprising computer code for computing a layout of a composition for a chosen medium, said composition at least partially represented in a media specification, said media specification having a plurality of components and each component associated with a media region of said chosen medium, said computer code of said computer-readable medium effecting the following:

assigning a layout option to said composition, said layout option indicative of an arrangement for assigning media regions of said medium to said associated components;

stepping down through said media specification of said composition and assigning tentative media regions to each of said components, said tentative media regions based in part upon said layout option;

measuring the extent of said components to return a set of values for each component indicating a media region of said medium required by each component; and

stepping up through said media specification of said composition and assigning new media regions to each of said components, each of said new media regions based in part upon said returned set of values for each component, whereby said new media regions of said components represent substantially said layout of said composition in said chosen medium.

24. A computer-readable medium comprising computer code for fitting a composition to a media layout, said computer code of said computer-readable medium effecting the following:

a) receiving a plurality content elements that contain information to be presented in said media layout, said content elements being associated with particular regions of said media layout;

b) initializing scale factors, each scale factor being associated with a region of said media layout;

c) computing extent values for said content elements using the scale factor for the region in which the content element is located, said extent values indicating a portion of said media layout occupied by said content elements;

d) determining whether said content elements fit within said media layout, wherein when it is determined that said content elements do not fit within said media layout, said method further includes

recomputing said scale factors for said regions, and

recomputing said extent values for said content elements using the recomputed content scale factors;

e) displaying said content elements in said media layout, whereby said composition appears to a user as fitting in said media layout.