Method of formatting documents
First Claim
1. An iterative method of laying out elements in a defined space using content data and design data, said content data including alphanumeric and/or graphical elements and said design data including rules associated with one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements, said rules defining a scoring system which defines a score dependent on a degree of conformance to said rules, at least some of the rules being associated with a priority representing a positional requirement of the one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements, the method comprising, the steps of:
- a) arranging geometrically the alphanumeric and/or graphical elements included in the content data, the arrangement being performed within the defined space so as to obtain a resulting layout;
b) scoring the resulting layout according to the rules included in the design data, wherein the score of the resulting layout is weighted according to the priority associated with the at least some of the rules;
c) storing said score;
d) repeating the above steps (a) to (c) to determine scores for a number of different resulting layouts and selecting one of the resulting layouts based upon the scores; and
e) displaying the selected resulting layout.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method of preparing content with design in a presentation that is suitable for printing and/or electronic publishing. The method utilizes content data including alphanumeric and/or graphical elements, and design data including a rule or rules associated with a particular alphanumeric element or graphical element. This can be used to define a scoring system which defines a score dependent on a degree of conformance of layouts to the rules, with the layout being selected in accordance with the resulting score.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. An iterative method of laying out elements in a defined space using content data and design data, said content data including alphanumeric and/or graphical elements and said design data including rules associated with one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements, said rules defining a scoring system which defines a score dependent on a degree of conformance to said rules, at least some of the rules being associated with a priority representing a positional requirement of the one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements, the method comprising, the steps of:
-
a) arranging geometrically the alphanumeric and/or graphical elements included in the content data, the arrangement being performed within the defined space so as to obtain a resulting layout; b) scoring the resulting layout according to the rules included in the design data, wherein the score of the resulting layout is weighted according to the priority associated with the at least some of the rules; c) storing said score; d) repeating the above steps (a) to (c) to determine scores for a number of different resulting layouts and selecting one of the resulting layouts based upon the scores; and e) displaying the selected resulting layout. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A processing system for laying out elements in a defined space, the processing system comprising:
-
a) a store for storing; i. content data including alphanumeric and/or graphical elements, and ii. design data including rules associated with one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements, said rules defining a scoring system which defines a score dependent on a degree of conformance to said rules, at least some of the rules being associated with a priority representing a positional requirement of the one or more particular alphanumeric elements and/or graphical elements; b) a processor adapted to; i. arrange geometrically the alphanumeric and/or graphical elements included in the content data to generate a layout, the arrangement being performed within the defined space so as to obtain a resulting layout; ii. score the resulting layout according to the rules included in the design data, wherein the score of the resulting layout is weighted according to the priority associated with the at least some of the rules; iii. store said score; iv. repeat the about steps (b)(i) to (b)(iii) to determine scores for a number of different resulting layouts and select one of the resulting layouts based upon the scores; and v. display the selected resulting layout. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method of laying out one or more elements in a defined space, the method comprising, the steps of:
-
a) specifying which of the one or more elements will be inserted into the defined space and totaling the number of specified elements; b) collecting all rules associated with the specified elements and totaling the number of the collected rules, wherein the collected rules define desired arrangements of the specified elements in the defined space; c) determining all possible resulting layouts of the specified elements within the defined space, wherein the determination is based upon the number of specified elements and the number of collected rules; d) arranging the specified elements in the defined space according to the collected rules, thereby obtaining one of the resulting layouts; e) determining a score for the obtained resulting layout based upon a scoring methodology associated with the collected rules, wherein the score is based on the arrangement of the specified elements within the defined space; f) repeating the above steps (d) and (e) to arrange the specified elements in each of the possible resulting layouts and to determine a score for each obtained resulting layout; g) selecting one of the resulting layouts based upon the scores; and h) displaying the selected resulting layout. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A processing system for laying out one or more elements in a defined space, the processing system being configured to:
-
a) specify which of the one or more elements will be inserted into the defined space and total the number of specified elements; b) collect all rules associated with the specified elements and total the number of the collected rules, wherein the collected rules define desired arrangements of the specified elements in the defined space; c) determine all possible resulting layouts of the specified elements within the defined space, wherein the determination is based upon the number of specified elements and the number of collected rules; d) arrange the specified elements in the defined space according to the collected rules, thereby obtaining one of the resulting layouts; e) determine a score for the obtained resulting layout based upon a scoring methodology associated with the collected rules, wherein the score is based on the arrangement of the specified elements within the defined space; f) repeat the above steps (d) and (e) to arrange the specified elements in each of the possible resulting layouts and to determine a score for each obtained resulting layout; g) select one of the resulting layouts based upon the scores; and h) display the selected resulting layout. - View Dependent Claims (25)
-
Specification