Title: Reformatting a document using fuzzy matching
Abstract: Reformatting a previously formatted document. A unique interface allows preview and selection of both a color set and a font set. A color set comprises a plurality of colors defining a color scheme. The font set comprises a plurality of fonts defining a font theme. A format set is defined by the selection of a color set and a font set. A format set comprises a plurality of formats, each format comprising a format font name, a format font size, a format font color, and other properties. Once a format set is determined, the document is reformatted in such a way as to largely maintain the proportionality and integrity of its previous formatting. In so doing, each discrete portion of text in the document is analyzed to determine its format properties. Each format in the format set is then compared to the text format. Points are added to a match quality value associated with the format when it is determined that a property of the format matches a property of the existing text format. The match quality values for each format in the format set are compared and the format having the greatest associated match quality value is applied to the discrete portion of text.
Patent Number: 6,892,348 Issued on 05/10/2005 to Truelove, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Truelove; Benjamin N. (Seattle, WA);
Ricard; Douglas A. (Bellevue, WA);
Lee; Wai On (Kirkland, WA);
Williams; Christopher D. (Bellevue, WA)
|
| Assignee:
|
Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
726956 |
| Filed:
|
November 30, 2000 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
715/513; 715/526; 715/529; 715/542 |
| Intern'l Class: |
G06F 015/00 |
| Field of Search: |
715/513,503,517,526,527,529,542
345/471,472
382/224
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 5689724 | Nov., 1997 | Morgan et al.
| |
| 5859648 | Jan., 1999 | Moore et al.
| |
| 5864850 | Jan., 1999 | Nordman.
| |
| 5877776 | Mar., 1999 | Beaman et al.
| |
| 5990907 | Nov., 1999 | Colletti.
| |
| 6073147 | Jun., 2000 | Chan et al.
| |
| 6323865 | Nov., 2001 | Colletti.
| |
| 6330577 | Dec., 2001 | Kim.
| |
| 6377966 | Apr., 2002 | Cooper et al.
| |
| 6456385 | Sep., 2002 | Rolling et al.
| |
| 6584480 | Jun., 2003 | Ferrel et al.
| |
| 6675358 | Jan., 2004 | Kido.
| |
| 6687879 | Feb., 2004 | Teshima.
| |
Other References
Russell Borland, "Running Microsoft Word 97", 1997, Published by Microsoft Press.
Pertinent pp.: 41-42,46-47,60-61,447-450,20-21,491-496,19,492-493, and FIG 2-5.*
Russel Borland, "Running Microsoft Word 97", 1997, Published by Microsoft Press,
pp. 35-68 and 826-842.
|
Primary Examiner: Feild; Joseph
Assistant Examiner: Tran; Quoc A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Anderson; Ronald M.
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of prior co-pending application Ser.
No. 09/726,058, filed on Nov. 29, 2000, the benefit of the filing date of which
is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120.
Claims
1. A method for reformatting a previously formatted electronic document comprising
a plurality of discrete portions of text using a computing device, the method comprising
the steps of:
receiving user-selections of a color set and a font set;
determining a format set based on the user selections of the color set and the
font set, the format set comprising a plurality of formats, each format comprising
a format font name, a format font color and a format font size; and
for each discrete portion of text in the electronic document:
analyzing the discrete portion of text to determine a text font name, a text
font color and a text font size,
for each format in the format set:
if the format font name matches the text font name, adding a first determined
number to a match quality value associated with the format,
if the format font color matches the text font color, adding a second determined
number to the match quality value,
if the format font size is greater than the text font size, multiplying the ratio
of the text font size to the format font size by a third determined number to determine
a first product and adding the first product to the match quality value, and
if the format font size is not greater than the text font size, multiplying the
ratio of the format font size to the text font size by the third determined number
to determine a second product and adding the second product to the match quality
value, and
reformatting the discrete portion of text such that the format having the greatest
associated match quality value is applied to the discrete portion of text.
2. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions
for performing the method of claim 1.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing the discrete portion
of text further comprises the step of:
if other formatting properties of the text have been analyzed and another property
matches a corresponding property of the text, adding a determined number to the
match quality value.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the color set comprises a plurality of colors
defining a color scheme.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the colors are pre-selected by a trained designer.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the font set comprises a plurality of fonts
defining a font theme, each font having a font name and a font size.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fonts are predefined by a trained designer
based on their aesthetic appeal in relation to each other.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user selections of the color set and the
font set are provided through a single integrated user interface.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user interface includes a preview window
for displaying a color sample and a text sample from the format set, the color
sample comprising various colors included in the color set and the text sample
comprising several portions of text that are formatted according to the font set.
10. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions
for performing the method of claim 9.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the user interface comprises a floating window
that hovers above the electronic document.
12. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions
for performing the method of claim 11.
13. A system for reformatting a previously formatted electronic document comprising
a plurality of discrete portions of text, the system comprising:
a display device for displaying the previously formatted electronic document
and a user interface for selection of a selected color set and a selected font
set;
a memory for storing a plurality of color sets and a plurality of font sets;
an input device for generating commands corresponding to selection of the selected
color set and the selected font set;
a processor in communication with the display device, the memory and the input
device for receiving the commands and determining a format set based on the selected
color set and the selected font set, the format set comprising a plurality of formats,
each format comprising a format font name, a format font color and a format font
size; and
for each discrete portion of text in the electronic document the processor further
operable for:
analyzing the discrete portion of text to determine a text font name, a text
font, color and a text font size,
for each format in the format set:
if the format font name matches the text font name, adding a first determined
number to a match quality value associated with the format,
if the format font color matches the text font color, adding a second determined
number to the match quality value,
if the format font size is greater than the text font size, multiplying the ratio
of the text font size to the format font size by a third determined number to determine
a first product and adding the first product to the match quality value, and
if the format font size is not greater than the text font size, multiplying the
ratio of the format font size to the text font size by the third determined number
to determine a second product and adding the second product to the match quality
value,
if every other formatting property of the text, the property matches the corresponding
property of the text, adding a determined number to the match quality value, and
reformatting the discrete portion of text for display on the display device,
such that the format having the greatest associated match quality value is applied
to the discrete portion of text.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of analyzing the discrete portion
of text further comprises the step of:
if other formatting properties of the text have been analyzed and another property
matches a corresponding property of the text, adding a determined number to the
match quality value.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the color set comprises a plurality of colors
defining a color scheme.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the colors are pre-selected by a trained designer.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the font set comprises a plurality of fonts
defining a font theme, each font having a font name and a font size.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the fonts are predefined by a trained designer
based on their aesthetic appeal in relation to each other.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the user interface includes a preview window
for displaying a color sample and a text sample from the format set, the color
sample comprising various colors included in the color set and the text sample
comprising several portions of text that are formatted according to the font set.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the user interface comprises a floating window
that hovers above the electronic document.
21. A user interface for reformatting a previously formatted electronic document
comprising a plurality of discrete portions of text with a computing device, the
user interface comprising:
a first control for selection of a color set;
a second control for selection of a font set;
a preview window for displaying a plurality of text samples formatted according
to a format set defined by the selected color set and the selected font set, the
format set comprising a plurality of formats, each format comprising a format font
name, a format font color and a format font size; and
a third control for applying the format set to the electronic document according
to the method comprising:
for each discrete portion of text in the electronic document:
analyzing the discrete portion of text to determine a text font name, a text
font, color and a text font size,
for each format in the format set:
if the format font name matches the text font name, adding a first determined
number to a match quality value associated with the format,
if the format font color matches the text font color, adding a second determined
number to the match quality value,
if the format font size is greater than the text font size, multiplying the ratio
of the text font size to the format font size by a third determined number to determine
a first product and adding the first product to the match quality value, and
if the format font size is not greater than the text font size, multiplying the
ratio of the format font size to the text font size by the third determined number
to determine a second product and adding the second product to the match quality
value,
if every other formatting property of the text, the property matches the corresponding
property of the text, adding a determined number to the match quality value, and
reformatting the discrete portion of text, such that the format having the greatest
associated match quality value is applied to the discrete portion of text.
22. The user interface of claim 21, further comprising a fourth control for undoing
the step of applying the format set to the electronic document.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to reformatting a document using a desktop word
processing or publishing application program module. More particularly, the present
invention relates to automatically reformatting each discrete portion of a document
with a format from a format set that is determined to most closely match the existing
format of the document.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Desktop word processing and publishing application programs allow laymen
users to create professional-looking documents and other output. Many prior art
application programs provide tools that allow a user to custom format a document.
For example, tools may be provided for selecting font face, font size, font color,
text alignment, and other formatting options. Such tools are typically independent
of one another, which forces the user to individually select and apply different
formatting options until a desirable look for the document is discovered.
In order to tie some of the formatting options together, some application programs
allow the user to define "styles." To define a style, the user is able to interact
with various menus and controls in order to custom format a portion of text. The
user may then name the custom format and cause the custom format name to appear
in a "styles menu" or the like. Subsequent text may be selected and automatically
formatted with the custom format by interacting with the styles menu. Style tools,
however, tend to go undiscovered by the typical layman user. When discovered, style
tools tend to be confusing to the typical user. In particular, many users have
a difficult time modifying the style tags that they have created.
In addition to the difficulties encountered with formatting tools, laymen users
generally lack the training and experience needed to create professional-looking
documents from scratch. For example, laymen users are typically not trained to
know which fonts look best in which sizes and in which color schemes. Also, many
times laymen users do not know, in advance of creating a document, what formats
they desire for the document. Laymen users are, however, able to compare several
differently formatted documents to determine which style is most suitable to them.
Accordingly, some prior art application programs offer "templates,"
which provide the layman user with a constrained range of formatting choices, and
thus well defined starting points for creating professional-looking documents.
A template is a predefined format definition that is usually tied to a theme. For
example, an application program may provide a birthday template for creating birthday
cards or invitations, a garage sale template for creating garage sale signage,
and the like. For the more creative layman user, templates tend to be too rigid
and unyielding. While it may be possible to modify the format definitions within
a template, it is often tedious and difficult to do so.
Thus, there remains a need for an application program to provide a simple and
integrated tool for formatting a document according to a constrained range of formatting
choices. There is a further need for simple and integrated tool for formatting
a document according to a constrained range of formatting choices that is not tied
to a predetermined theme.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention satisfies the above described needs by providing a single
integrated formatting tool, referred to as a format gallery. The format gallery
provides a constrained range of formatting choices by way of formats within a format
set. A format comprises a format font name, a format font size, a format font color,
and other formatting options. A format set is defined by a color set and a font
set. A color set comprises a plurality of colors defining a color scheme. The colors
of the color scheme are pre-selected by a trained document designer. The font set
comprises a plurality of fonts defining a font theme, each font having a font name
and a font size. Again, the fonts of the font theme are predefined by a trained
document designer based on their aesthetic appeal in relation to each other. The
format gallery of the present invention allows the user to preview and select both
a color set and a font set.
Once a format set is determined, the present invention employs a "fuzzy matching"
method for reformatting the document. According to the fuzzy matching method, each
discrete portion of text in the document is analyzed to determine a text font name,
a text font, color and a text font size. Then, for each format in the format set,
it is determined if the format font name matches the text font name. If the format
font name does match the text font name, a first number of points is added to a
match quality value associated with the format. Then it is determined if the format
font color matches the text font color. If the format font color does match the
text font color, a second number of points is added to the match quality value
associated with the format. It is next determined if the format font size is greater
than the text font size. If so, the ratio of the text font size to the format font
size is multiplied by a third number to determine a first product and the first
product is added to the match quality value. If the format font size is not greater
than the text font size, the ratio of the format font size to the text font size
is multiplied by the third number to determine a second product and the second
product is added to the match quality value. For the rest of the applicable properties,
the algorithm of the fuzzy matching method can be applied. That is, if a property
matches that of the format, then a product is added to the quality match value
for that format. When a final match quality value is determined for each format
in the format set, the format having the greatest associated match quality value
is applied to the discrete portion of text.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1, comprising FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, illustrates an exemplary interface
of a word processing program module incorporating an exemplary integrated formatting
tool of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary live preview interface of an exemplary integrated
formatting tool of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a computer system that may serve as
an exemplary operating environment for implementation of the program modules of
the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary fuzzy matching method for reformatting
a document in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary live preview method for reformatting
document text in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
The inventive concept relates to a method and system for automatically reformatting
a previously created document. It is assumed herein that all previously created
documents are formatted with at least a default format. Thus, an act of formatting
a previously created document may also be considered to be an act of reformatting
the document. Accordingly, the term "reformat" and variations thereof may herein
be used interchangeably with the term "format" and variations thereof.
Rather than providing templates having rigid design styles, the present invention
provides a number of "format sets." A format set is made up of a number of formats.
Each format is characterized by a font name (font face), font color, font size,
etc. Formats are predetermined by a skilled document designer, who is trained to
know which font faces work well in various color schemes and font sizes. In addition,
the designer is trained to know what colors work well together in various types
of documents.
According to the one aspect of the invention, a format set is defined by
a font set and a color set. A font set comprises a number of fonts which tend to
work well within a given theme. By way of illustration, a font set labeled "hefty"
may include heavier fonts and other fonts that work well with the heavier fonts.
The "hefty" font set may comprise various sizes of the font Rockwell Extra Bold
and the font Lucida Sans. A color set comprises a number of colors that, in the
trained opinion of the designer, may be used to create a document having a professional-looking
color scheme. For example, a color set labeled "grape" may comprise several colors
representing various shades and hues of the color purple. Thus, given a font set
and a color set, a format set comprises a select combination of fonts, font sizes
and colors.
One or more tools (user interfaces) may be provided for allowing the user to
select from among a number of available font sets and color sets. In an exemplary
embodiment, a single tool allows the user to select both a color set and a font
set. Once the color set and font set are selected, the corresponding format set
may be determined. As mentioned, a format set comprises a number of predefined
formats (i.e., format
N, format
N+1, format
N+2,
. . . ). Each format is predefined by a trained document designer based on aesthetic
appeal. A sample of various formats included in the selected format set may be
displayed to the user, so that the user can decide if the selected format set is
desirable. Once the user decides on a format set, an input command may be entered
to cause the selected format set to be applied to the document.
Application of the format set to the document is done in such a way that
the integrity and proportionality of the document are maintained. For example,
the document may include a title that is displayed in a first font face having
a first size. The document may also include section headings that are displayed
in a second font face having a second size. The body text of the document may be
of a third font face and size. Accordingly, when the document is reformatted, the
invention will attempt to maintain aesthetic differences between the font faces
of the title, section headings, and body text, respectively. In addition, the invention
will attempt to reformat the document so as to maintain a close approximation of
the original proportionality between the title, section headings, and body text
sizes, respectively.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described
with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements
throughout the several figures. FIG. 1, comprising FIG.
1A and FIG. 1B,
is a screen shot of the interface of a word processing program module that illustrates
an exemplary integrated formatting tool of the present invention. The integrated
formatting tool of the present invention is referred to herein as a "format gallery"
102. Referring first to FIG. 1A, the format gallery
102 is a single
user interface that allows the user to select both a font set
104 and a
color set
106. A sliding scale user interface control, referred to herein
as a "font slider"
105, is provided in order to allow the user to browse
through each of the available font sets. Similarly, a sliding scale user interface
control, referred to herein as a "color slider"
107, is provided in order
to allow the user to browse through all of the available color sets.
As mentioned, the selection of a font set
104 and a color set
106
determines the format set. The format gallery
102 may also include a preview
window
108, which displays a color sample
110 and text sample
112
for the selected format set. The color sample
110 includes the various colors
included in the selected color set
106. The text sample
112 includes
several portions of text that are formatted in various sizes, colors and fonts
according to the selected format set.
The format gallery
102 may be displayed as a floating window that hovers
above the document
114 that is to be formatted or reformatted. The document
114 shown in FIG. 1A is a sample newsletter that has previously been formatted.
As may be seen, the title
116 is displayed in a first font face and a first
font size; the section headings
118a, b are displayed in the first
font size and a second font size; and the body text
120 is displayed in
a second font face and a third font size. Although not discernable from the figure,
the title
116, section headings
118a, b, and body text
120
may each be displayed in a different color.
After a font set
104 and a color set
106 are selected via the
format gallery
102 to define a format set, an input command may be generated
to initiate the process of applying the selected format set to the document
114.
The input command may be generated by way of an "Apply all" button
122,
or similar control interface. According to one aspect of the invention, reformatting
of the document
114 is performed in such a way as to maintain its integrity
and proportionality. Reformatting is performed according to a method referred to
herein as "fuzzy matching."
Prior to turning to FIG. 1B, assume that the document
114 of FIG. 1A
has the following formats: the title
116 is displayed in a forty-eight point
NewZurica font face having an orange color; the section headings
118a,
b are each displayed in an eighteen point Times New Roman font face with a
red color; and the body text
120 is displayed in a twelve point Arial font
face having an automatic (black) color. Also note that the format gallery
102
indicates that the selected font set
104 is "Curly-Q" and the selected color
set
106 is "Ocean." Thus, the selected format set is referred to as "Curly-Q
Ocean." FIG. 1A thus portrays the state of the document
114 prior to activation
of the "Apply all" button
122.
FIG. 1B shows the reformatted document
114′ after the Curly-Q
Ocean format set was selected and the "Apply all" button
122 was activated.
The reformatted title
116′ is now displayed in a forty-eight point
Curlz MT font face having a midnight teal color; the reformatted section headings
118a′, b′ are each displayed in a twenty-two point
Curlz MT font face with a green color; and the reformatted body text
120′
is displayed in a twelve point Tempus Sands ITC font face having an automatic (black)
color. Accordingly, the selected Curly-Q Ocean format set was applied to the document
114 in such a manner that the integrity and proportionality of the original
formatting were largely maintained. In particular, the relative size differences
between the title
116, the section headings
118a, b, and the
body text
120 were closely maintained. Also, although the original colors
of the title
116, and the section headings
118a, b were altered,
color variations between the title
116, the section headings
118a,
b, and the body text
120 were maintained within the predefined Ocean
color scheme.
As mentioned, one aspect of the invention contemplates application of a format
set according to a fuzzy matching method. According to the fuzzy matching method,
a document
114 includes one or more originally formatted portions of text.
The originally formatted portions of text are each analyzed to identify the original
formatting thereof. Then, the original formatting of each portion of text is compared
to each format included within the selected format set. The format of the format
set that most closely matches the original formatting of each portion of text is
applied to the corresponding portion of text. In order to determine whether an
original formatting most closely matches a format within a format set, a weighted
ranking or other appropriate logic operation may be employed. As an example of
the fuzzy matching method, in reformatting the document
114 of FIG. 1, a
determination may be made as to which of the formats included within the Curly-Q
Ocean format set most closely matched the original format (NewZurica, forty-eight
point, orange) of the title
116. Some of the predetermined formats included
in the Curly-Q Ocean format set are: (Curlz MT, forty-eight point, midnight teal),
(Curlz MT, twenty-six point, medium green), (Curlz MT, twenty-two point, green),
(Curlz MT, fourteen point, midnight teal), (Curlz MT, seventeen point, green),
(Tempus Sans ITC, twelve point, automatic), (Curlz MT, eleven point, midnight teal),
(Tempus Sans ITC, ten point, automatic), (Tempus Sans ITC, ten point, medium green),
(Tempus Sans ITC, ten point, turquoise) and (Tempus Sans ITC, nine point, green).
It may be seen that none of the above-listed formats from the Curly-Q Ocean format
set define a font color of orange or a font face of NewZurica and only one format
defines a font size of forty-eight points. Thus, a weighting ranking based on matching
font color, font face and font size may lead to the conclusion that the format
(Curlz MT, forty-eight point, midnight teal) from the Curly-Q Ocean format set
most closely matches the original format (NewZurica, forty-eight point, orange)
of the title
116. Accordingly, the reformatted title
116′
shown in FIG. 1B is displayed in a forty-eight point Curlz MT font having a color
of midnight teal. Further details regarding exemplary embodiments of the fuzzy
matching method will be described below.
FIG. 2 is a screen shot of the interface of a word processing program module
that illustrates an exemplary "live preview" aspect of the format gallery
102
of the present invention. The phrase "live preview" is used herein to describe
a method of demonstrating the appearance of a portion of text formatted with several
different formats. In one embodiment, live preview allows the user to view and
compare a selected portion of text, referred to as the live preview text
201,
in several formats at the same time. Thus, the user is able to visualize the appearance
of the live preview text
201 in different formats, before actually selecting
a format for reformatting the text in the document
114.
As shown in FIG. 2, a "format item" tab
202 or other appropriate interface
control may be provided for the format gallery
102. Activation of the format
item tab
202 triggers a second display of the format gallery
102.
The second display of the format gallery
102 is geared toward reformatting
an individual item (e.g., portion of text) in a document
114. The second
display of the format gallery
102 thus differs in function from the first
display, shown in and described with respect to FIG. 1, which is geared toward
reformatting the entire document
114. The second display of the format gallery
102 includes a control, such as a pull-down menu, for selection of a font
set
104. The second display of the format gallery
102 also includes
a control, such as a pull-down menu, for selection of a color set
106. Furthermore,
the second display of the format gallery
102 includes a live preview window
204 for displaying live preview text
201 in various formats from
a format set defined by the selected color set
104 and the selected font
set
106.
A format sample may be determined from the format set. A format sample comprises
a number of formats from the format set. The live preview text will be displayed
in the live preview window
204 in each of the formats from the format sample.
As shown, the live preview text
201 comprising the words "Sed Diam" is displayed
in several sample formats. A format sample may be used for live preview because
the number of formats within an entire format set may be too large. The formats
within the format sample may thus be representative formats from the format set
that should provide the user with several aesthetically pleasing design choices.
Accordingly, from a given format set, a different format sample may be chosen for
live preview of title text
116 than would be chosen for live preview of
body text
120. A format sample chosen for live preview of title text
116
may include heavier fonts, larger font sizes, and bolder font colors, for example.
In one embodiment, choice of the live preview text
201 may depend on whether
the usr has selected any text within the document
114 for live preview.
Thus, the document
114 may be scanned to determine whether the user has
highlighted a portion of text, so as to indicate a desire to live preview the highlighted
text. In another embodiment, the live preview text
201 may be considered
to be the text positioned immediately adjacent to the cursor (even if no highlighting
is detected). As demonstrated in FIG. 2, the first line of the section heading
118a "Sed Diam" is positioned immediately adjacent to the cursor
207 and is thus displayed as the live preview text
201. In any case,
if no text within the document
114 can be identified for live preview, a
default text string, such as the word "text" may be used as the live preview text
201. Depending on the size of the live preview window
204, the live
preview text
201 may be constrained to a particular number of characters.
In particular, if the cursor
207 is positioned at the start of the first
sentence of the body text
120, it may be the case that only the first few
words "Ipsum dolor sit" are used for live preview.
The second display of the format gallery
102 may also include a "custom
format window"
206. By way of the custom format window
206, the user
may be provided the opportunity to create a custom format to be added to the sample
of formats and to the format set. By way of illustration, the user may interact
with any of the formatting tools provided by the application program in order to
apply a certain format to a portion of text. The user may then select the custom
formatted portion of text, such as by highlighting or positioning the cursor in
proximity thereto. Once selected, the custom formatted portion of text will be
displayed as the live preview text
201 in the live preview window
204
(reformatted according to a sample of formats.) However, if the user activates
an appropriate control, such as an "add" button
208, the custom formatted
portion of text may be displayed (with the custom format) in the custom format
window
206. The custom format may also be added to the sample of formats
and to the format set. Thus, subsequent live preview text
201 will be displayed
with the appropriate sample of formats in the live preview window
204 and
with the custom format in the custom format window
206. Those skilled in
the art will appreciate that the custom format window
206 may be implemented
as a portion of the live preview window
204 or as its own separate window.
After the live preview text
201 is displayed in the live preview window
204 and/or the custom format window
206, the user may select one
of the sample or custom formats, for example, by interacting with the desired portion
of live preview text
201 with a pointing device. Selection of one of the
sample or custom formats causes the corresponding text within the document
114
to be reformatted accordingly.
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by way
of one or more program modules comprising computer-executable instructions for
performing the methods of the present invention. Generally, program modules include
routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks
or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a computer system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer system that may serve as an exemplary operating
environment for implementation of the program modules of the present invention.
The exemplary operating environment includes a general-purpose computing device
in the form of a conventional personal computer
320.
Generally, a personal computer
320 includes a processing unit
321,
a system memory
322, and a system bus
323 that couples various system
components including the system memory
322 to processing unit
321.
System bus
323 may be any of several types of bus structures including a
memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of
a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes a read only memory (ROM)
324 and random access memory (RAM)
325. A basic input/output system
(BIOS)
326, containing the basic routines that helps to transfer information
between elements within personal computer
320, such as during start-up,
is stored in ROM
324.
Personal computer
320 further includes a hard disk drive
327
for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive
328
for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk
329, and an optical
disk drive
330 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk
331
such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. Hard disk drive
327, magnetic disk
drive
328, and optical disk drive
330 are connected to system bus
323 by a hard disk drive interface
332, a magnetic disk drive interface
333, and an optical disk drive interface
334, respectively. Although
the exemplary environment described herein employs hard disk
327, removable
magnetic disk
329, and removable optical disk
331, it should be appreciated
by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can
store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash
memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the like,
may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. The drives and their associated
computer readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-executable instructions,
data structures, program modules, and other data for personal computer
320.
For example, one or more data files
360 (not shown) may be stored in the
RAM
325 and/or hard drive
327 of the personal computer
320.
A number of program modules may be stored on hard disk
327, magnetic disk
329, optical disk
331, ROM
324, or RAM
325, including
an operating system
335, one or more application program modules
336,
a fuzzy matching module
338, a live preview program module
339, and
other program modules. The fuzzy matching module
338 and the live preview
program module
339 of the present invention may be incorporated into or
may otherwise be in communication with the application program module
336.
Generally, a fuzzy matching module
338 includes computer-executable instructions
for analyzing a target document to identify discrete portions of text and determining
which formats of a selected format set are to be applied to each identified discrete
portion of text. A live preview program module
339 generally comprises computer-executable
instructions for applying a number of different formats from a format set to a
sample of text and displaying the samples of formatted text.
A user may enter commands and information into personal computer
320 through
input devices, such as a keyboard
340 and a pointing device
342.
Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite
dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to
processing unit
321 through a serial port interface
346 that is coupled
to the system bus
323, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as
a parallel port, game port, a universal serial bus (USB), or the like. A display
device
347 may also be connected to system bus
323 via an interface,
such as a video adapter
348. In addition to the monitor, personal computers
typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers
and printers.
Personal computer
320 may operate in a networked environment using
logical connections to one or more remote computers
349. Remote computer
349 may be another personal computer, a server, a client, a router, a network
PC, a peer device, or other common network node. While a remote computer
349
typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to personal
computer
320, only a memory storage device
350 has been illustrated
in the figure. The logical connections depicted in the figure include a local area
network (LAN)
351 and a wide area network (WAN)
352. Such networking
environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets,
and the Internet.
When used in a LAN networking environment, personal computer
320 is connected
to local area network
351 through a network interface or adapter
353.
When used in a WAN networking environment, personal computer
320 typically
includes a modem
354 or other means for establishing communications over
WAN
352, such as the Internet. Modem
354, which may be internal or
external, is connected to system bus
323 via serial port interface
346.
In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to personal computer
320, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device
350. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary
and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may
be used.
Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention
may be implemented in other computer system configurations, including hand-held
devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor based or programmable consumer
electronics, network person computers', minicomputers, mainframe computers, and
the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments,
where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through
a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules
may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary fuzzy matching method in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary method
400 begins
at starting block
401, where an application program module, such as a word
processing or desktop publishing program module, is executed by a computer system.
From starting block
401, the method proceeds to step
402, where a
format set is determined based on user selection of a color set and a font set.
Next, the method
400 moves to step
404, where each format in the
format set is determined. As previously mentioned, a format set may include a number
of predefined formats (formats, format
n+1, format
n+2, . .
. ). In an exemplary embodiment, a format defines a font face, a font size and
a font color. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a format may also define
any other formatting option, such as font style (bold, italics, etc), text alignment,
list styles (bullets, numbering, etc.), and the like.
At step
406, a document is scanned to identify and select the next (first)
a discrete portion of text. As used herein, the term "discrete portion of text"
is meant to describe a continuous portion of text having a consistent format applied
thereto. A document may thus comprise one or more discrete portions of text. Thus,
the text of a document may be scanned in order to locate transitions in formatting,
which would signify a new discrete portion of text. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that there may be many alternate methods for scanning text to identify
discrete portions thereof.
Next at step
408, the first discrete portion of document text is analyzed
to determine its font name, font color, font size. Again, for the sake of simplification,
this example discusses only font name, font color and font size, although other
format properties may be utilized as well. At step
410, the first format
in the format set is selected. For clarity, the format of the format set may be
referred to herein in terms of format_font name, format_font color and format_font
size, while the original format of the document text may be referred to herein
in terms of text_font name, text_font color and text_font size.
At step
412, a determination is made as to whether the format_font name
matches the text_font name. If the format_font name matches the text_font name,
a determined number of "points" is added to a "match quality value" at step
414.
A match quality value is a value that is recorded for each format of the format
set and used for subsequent comparison purposes. Thus, a match quality value
n
is calculated for each format
n of the format set. Match quality values
are thus relative values, meaning that their starting values and number of points
added to match quality values are discretionary. For example, each initial match
quality value may be zero and five points may be added to the initial match quality
value if the format_font name matches the text_font name.
If the format_font name does not match the text_font name at step
412,
or after the appropriate number of points are added to the match quality value
at step
414, the method proceeds to step
416, where a determination
is made as to whether the format_font color matches the text_font color. If the
format_font color matches the text_font color, another determined number of points
is added to the match quality value at step
418. The determined number of
points may be the same as or different from the number of points added for a font
name match. Obviously a different number of points would be added for a font color
match if it were desired to weight such a match differently.
If the format_font color does not match the text_font color at step
416,
or after the appropriate number of points are added to the match quality value
at step
418, the method proceeds to step
420, where a determination
is made as to whether the format_font size is greater than the text_font size.
If the format_font size is greater than the text_font size, the method moves to
step
422. At step
422, the ratio of the text_font size to the format_font
size is multiplied by a determined number X (e.g., X=30) and that number of points
is added to the match quality value. Again, the determined number is discretionary
based on the weight desired to be assigned to a font size match. If the format_font
size is not greater than the text_font size the method proceeds to step
424.
At step
424, the ratio of the format_font size to the text_font size is
multiplied by the determined number X and that number of points is added to the
match quality value. After the appropriate number of points are added to the match
quality value at step
422 or step
424, the method proceeds to step
426.
The above-described weighting process is repeated for every format in the format
set. Thus, at step
426, a determination is made as to whether there is another
format in the format set. If so, n is incremented (n=n+1) at step
428 such
that the next format and corresponding match quality value are selected. From step
428, the above-described method is repeated from step
412 until it
is determined at step
426 that there is no other format in the format set.
When it is determined that there is no other format in the format set, the method
advances to step
430, where the format having the greatest match quality
value is applied to the selected discrete portion of text in the document. Then
at step
432, a determination is made as to whether there is another discrete
portion of text in the document. If so, n is reset (n=1) at step
434 and
the above-described method is repeated from step
406 until it is determined
that there is not other discrete portion of document text at step
432. When
it is determined that there is no other discrete portion of document text to be
reformatted, the method ends at step
436. Therefore, by way of the above-described
fuzzy matching method, each discrete portion of text in a document may be reformatted
with a different format from the selected format set. As a result, the integrity
and proportionality of the document should be largely preserved.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary live preview method
500
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method
500 begins at starting block
501, where an application program module,
such as a word processing or desktop publishing program module, is executed by
a computer system. From starting block
501, the method
500 proceeds
to step
502, where a format set is determined based on user selection of
a color set and a font set. Next at step
504, a sample of formats is determined
from the format set. A sample of formats comprises some or all of the formats in
the format set. Thus, the sample of formats comprises format
N, format
N+,
format
N+2, . . . A selected string of text will be displayed in each
of the formats included within the sample of formats. As such, the sample of formats
should include a enough representative formats to give the user a wide range of
format choices within a format set
At step
506, the live preview text is identified. In one embodiment, the
document may be scanned in order to determine what text, if any, has been selected
by the user for live preview. For example, it may be determined that the user has
highlighted a portion of text indicating a desire to live preview the highlighted
text. In another the text positioned immediately adjacent to the cursor may be
considered to be the live preview text. In any case, if no live preview text can
be identified, a default text string, such as the word "text" may be used as the
live preview text. Depending on the size of the live preview pane, the live preview
text may be constrained to a particular number of characters.
As mentioned, the live preview text will be displayed in each of the formats
included
within the sample of formats. Thus, at step
508, the first format from the
sample of formats is selected. As mentioned, a format may comprise many properties,
such as font name, font color and font size. At step
510 the live preview
text is reformatted with the selected sample and at step
512 the reformatted
text is displayed in a preview pane. Then at step
514, a determination is
made as to whether there is another format in the sample of formats. If another
format exists, the next format is chosen (N=N+1) at step
516 and the method
returns to step
508, where the second format from the sample of formats
is selected. At step
510 the live preview text is reformatted with the selects
format. The method is thus repeated from step
508 until it is determined
at step
514 that no other formats exist within the sample of formats. It
should be appreciated that display of the live preview text in each of the formats
of the sample of formats may be accomplished in various ways, such as in a list
or table. However, it is preferable to display all (or at least some) of the differently
formatted text at the same time, so that the user may compare the different appearances.
In one embodiment, the user may be provided the opportunity to create a custom
format to be added to the sample of formats and to the format set. For example,
the user may apply a certain format to a portion of text and then select that portion
of text as the live preview text. The user may then activate an "add" button or
other suitable interface in order to cause the existing format of the live preview
text to be added to the sample of formats and to the format set. Accordingly, subsequent
live preview text will be displayed in the custom format as well as the other formats
included in the sample of formats. Optionally, within the live preview pane, live
preview text formatted with a custom format may be separated from live preview
text formatted with standard formats. When it is determined that there are no other
formats in the sample of formats, the method
500 ends at step
518.
The above description of exemplary embodiment of the present invention were provided
by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Many elements of exemplary
embodiments have been described using permissive language, such as "may" or should,"
meaning that such elements are optional and not mandatory. Unless an element has
been described using clear mandatory language, such as "must" or "shall," it should
be considered an optional element. From a reading of the foregoing, alternate embodiments
of the present invention will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in
the art to which the present invention pertains. Such alternate embodiments are
considered to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is described by the appended claims
and is supported by the foregoing description.
*
