System and method for editing an electronic document of text and graphic objects

• US 7,356,760 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2004
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NBOR Corp.
• Original Assignee: NBOR Corp.
• Inventors: Jaeger, Denny
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Basehoar; Adam L
• Application Number:
  US10/940,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20050034068A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,303 Days
• Field of Search: 715/520, 715/517, 715/525, 715/530, 715/531, 715/540, 715/521
• US Class Current: 715/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A system and method for editing an electronic document of text and graphic objects utilizes first and second display objects to separate the graphic objects from the text to provide a user with control of the layout of the electronic document. The separation of the text and the graphic objects may involve removing the graphic objects from the first display object and placing the objects in the second display object.

Claims

1. A method for editing an electronic document of text and graphic objects, said method comprising:

displaying said electronic document of said text and said graphic objects in a first display object, said graphic objects being positioned in spaces in said text;

automatically creating a second display object in response to at least one user input, including automatically separating said graphic objects from said electronic document in response to said at least one user input such that said graphic objects are positioned in one of said first and second display objects and said electronic document is positioned in the other display object of said first and second display objects;

modifying said electronic document in said other display object; and

automatically placing at least one of said graphic objects back in said spaces in said text of said electronic document in said other display object in response to at least one other user input,

wherein said automatically creating said second display object includes recording positional information of said graphic objects associated with said text and said first display object and wherein said recording said positional information includes recording vertical positions of said graphic objects relative to said text and horizontal positions of said graphic objects relative to said first display object.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said modifying includes changing a particular space of said spaces in said text of said electronic document, and wherein said automatically placing includes automatically leaving a particular graphic object of said graphic objects in said one of said first and second display objects in response to said at least one other user input, said particular graphic object being originally positioned in said particular space in said text of said electronic document in said first display object.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said changing includes changing the dimensions of said particular space such that said particular graphic object will no longer fit in said particular space.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said changing of said dimensions of said particular space includes changing one of height and width of said particular space.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

changing the dimensions of one of said particular graphic object and said particular space in response to user input such that said particular graphic object will now fit in said particular space; and

automatically placing said particular object in said particular space in said electronic document in said first display object by calculating the position of said particular object in said particular space according to the geometry of said particular object in said particular space in relation to said text surround said particular space in response to at least one additional user input.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said changing includes moving said particular space across a page break such that said particular space is divided by said page break into divided portions.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

moving said particular space in response to user input such that said particular space is not divided by said page break; and

automatically placing said particular object in said particular space in said electronic document in said first display object in response to at least one additional user input.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

changing the dimensions of one of said divided portions in response to user input such that said particular graphic object will now fit in one of said divided portions; and

automatically placing said particular object in one of said divided spaces in said electronic document in said first display object by calculating the position of said particular object in one of said divided spaces according to the geometry of said particular object in said particular space in response to at least one additional user input.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein said automatically creating said second display object includes recording positional information of said spaces associated with said text and said first display object.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said recording positional information includes creating a marker associated with each of said spaces associated with said text and said first display object.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein said automatically creating said second display object includes recording geometrical information of said spaces associated with said text and said first display object.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein said recording said positional information includes recording information that correlates said graphic objects with said spaces.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein said automatically creating said second display object includes recording geometrical information of said graphic objects associated with said text and said first display object.

9. A storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform method steps for editing an electronic document of text and graphic objects in a display object, said method steps comprising:

displaying said electronic document of said text and said graphic objects in a first display object, said graphic objects being positioned in spaces in said text;

automatically creating a second display object in response to at least one user input, including automatically separating said graphic objects from said electronic document in response to said at least one user input such that said graphic objects are positioned in one of said first and second display objects and said electronic document is positioned in the other display object of said first and second display objects;

modifying said electronic document in said other display object; and

automatically placing at least one of said graphic objects back in said spaces in said text of said electronic document in said other display object in response to at least one other user input,

wherein said automatically creating said second display object includes recording positional information of said graphic objects associated with said text and said first display object and wherein said recording said positional information includes recording vertical positions of said graphic objects relative to said text and horizontal positions of said graphic objects relative to said first display object.

10. The storage medium of claim 9 wherein said modifying includes changing a particular space of said spaces in said text of said electronic document, and wherein said automatically placing includes automatically leaving a particular graphic object of said graphic objects in said one of said first and second display objects in response to said at least one other user input, said particular graphic object being originally positioned in said particular space in said text of said electronic document in said first display object.

11. The storage medium of claim 10 wherein said changing includes changing the dimensions of said particular space such that said particular graphic object will no longer fit in said particular space.

12. The storage medium of claim 11 wherein said changing of said dimensions of said particular space includes changing one of height and width of said particular space.

13. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method steps further comprises:

changing the dimensions of one of said particular graphic object and said particular space in response to user input such that said particular graphic object will now fit in said particular space; and

automatically placing said particular object in said particular space in said electronic document in said first display object in response to at least one additional user input.

14. The storage medium of claim 10 wherein said changing includes moving said particular space across a page break such that said particular space is divided by said page break into divided portions.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method steps further comprises:

moving said particular space in response to user input such that said particular space is not divided by said page break; and

automatically placing said particular object in said particular space in said electronic document in said first display object in response to at least one additional user input.

16. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method steps further comprises:

changing the dimensions of one of said divided portions in response to user input such that said particular graphic object will now fit in one of said divided portions; and

automatically placing said particular object in one of said divided portions in said electronic document in said first display object in response to at least one additional user input.

17. A system for editing an electronic document of text and graphic objects, said system comprising:

a display device to display said electronic document of said text and said graphic objects in a first display object, said graphic objects being positioned in spaces in said text; and

an editing module operatively coupled to said display device, said editing module being configured to automatically create a second display object and separate said graphic objects from said electronic document in response to at least one user input such that said graphic objects are positioned in one of said first and second display objects and said electronic document is positioned in the other display object of said first and second display objects, said editing module being further configured to automatically place at least one of said graphic objects back in said spaces in said text of said electronic document in response to at least one other user input after said electronic document has been modified,

wherein said editing module is configured to record positional information of said graphic objects associated with said text and said first display object to create said second display object, said positional information of said graphic objects including vertical positions of said graphic objects relative to said text and horizontal positions of said graphic objects relative to said first display object.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said editing module is configured to automatically leave a particular graphic object of said graphic objects in said one of said first and second display objects in response to said at least one other user input when a corresponding space in said text of said electronic document in said other display object has been changed such that said particular graphic object will no longer fit in said corresponding space.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said editing module is configured to automatically place said particular graphic object in said corresponding space in response to at least one additional user input when said corresponding space has been changed such that said particular graphic object will now fit in said corresponding space.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein said editing module is configured to automatically leave said particular graphic object in said one of said first and second display objects in response to said at least one other user input when said corresponding space in said text of said electronic document in said other display object has been divided into divided portions by a page break such that said particular graphic object will not fit in one of said divided portions.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein said editing module is configured to automatically place said particular graphic object in said corresponding space in response to at least one additional user input when said particular space is moved in response to user input such that said particular space is not divided by said page break.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein said editing module is configured to automatically place said particular graphic object in a selected portion of said divided portions in response to at least one additional user input when the dimensions of said selected portion are changed in response to user input such that said particular graphic object will now fit in said selected portion.