Program, document processing device, and document processing method

Abstract

Assist with creating or reviewing documents. [Solution] A graphical user interface is displayed on a display device. The graphical user interface includes a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit. When the first operation unit is operated, a first keyword is searched backward from a current processing position in a document. When the second operation unit is operated, a first keyword is searched forward from the current processing position. When the third operation unit is operated, a second keyword is searched backward from the current processing position. When the fourth operation unit is operated, a second keyword is searched forward from the current processing position.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present specification relates to a technology for assisting in creating or viewing a document. [Background technology]

[0002] Various documents such as reports, contracts, papers, instruction manuals, and patent application documents are created. A user who creates a document reviews the contents of the document, revises the sentences, and finds and corrects defects such as clerical errors. Creating an appropriate document places a large burden on the user, and techniques have been proposed to reduce the burden. For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a computer extracts a code in a document, extracts a character string adjacent to the code, sorts records that handle the code, the extracted position of the code, and the extracted character string as a whole, using the code as a key, and displays and outputs a character string of a certain length or less adjacent to the code, the code, and the extracted position of the code in the order of the sorted records. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-259148 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A user creating a document pays attention to various matters. The matters to be careful about when creating a document may differ depending on the document, such as the content of the document or the purpose of the document. Furthermore, the matters to be careful about when creating a document may differ depending on the user creating the document. In this way, document creation may include various matters to be careful about. Similarly, a user viewing a document pays attention to various matters. Document viewing may include various matters to be careful about. There is room for improvement in assisting document creation or document viewing.

[0005] This specification discloses a technique for assisting in creating or viewing a document. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in the following application examples.

[0007] [Application example 1] A program for document processing, comprising: a display function for displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit; a first search function for searching a first keyword backward from a current processing position in a document when the first operation unit is operated; a second search function for searching for the first keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the second operation unit is operated; a third search function for searching for a second keyword backward from the current processing position when the third operation unit is operated; a fourth search function for searching for the second keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the fourth operation unit is operated; A program that enables a computer to achieve this.

[0008] According to this configuration, by operating the first operation unit, the second operation unit, the third operation unit, or the fourth operation unit, the first keyword can be searched for forwards or backwards from the current processing position, and the second keyword can be searched for forwards or backwards from the current processing position, so that the user can easily refer to parts of the document related to the first keyword or the second keyword.

[0009] [Application example 2] A program for document processing, comprising: a first type object search function that searches a document for a first type object character string adjacent to a cursor indicating an editing position in the document, the first type object character string being formed by one or more first type characters, the first type characters including characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group; a first reference search function for searching a first reference string formed by one or more first characters from a first target range of the document when the first target string is found, the first reference string including the first target string; a first change function for changing the first object string adjacent to the cursor to the first reference string when the first reference string is found; A program that enables a computer to achieve the above.

[0010] According to this configuration, the first type object character string adjacent to the front of the cursor is changed to the first type reference character string, so that the burden on the user for inputting the first type reference character string is reduced.

[0011] [Application example 3] A program for document processing, comprising: a display function for displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a format selection unit configured to select a character format from a plurality of formats; a first application function that, when a first format is selected by operating the format selection unit in a state in which a first string including one or more characters is selected in a text area displayed on the display device and the text area represents at least a part of a content of a document, executes a first application process that applies the first format to a string in the document that is the same as the first string; A program that enables a computer to achieve this.

[0012] According to this configuration, the first format selected by operating the format selection unit is applied to a character string that is the same as a selected first character string, so that a character string that is the same as the first character string in a document can be easily found visually.

[0013] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, such as a document processing method and a document processing device, a computer program for realizing the functions of the method or device, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium), etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a data processing device that is an example of a document processing device. [Diagram 2] 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a window of an editing application, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart illustrating an example of an initial process. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of document processing. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first change process. [Diagram 5] 13A to 13D are diagrams illustrating an example of document processing according to a first change process. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second change process. [Figure 7] 13A to 13D are diagrams illustrating an example of document processing according to a second change process. [Figure 8] 13A to 13D are diagrams illustrating an example of document processing according to a second change process. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a selected format application process. [Figure 10] 13A-13G are diagrams showing an overview of the selected format application process. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a multiple search process. [Figure 12] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of GUIs. [Figure 13]13A to 13E are diagrams showing an example of a search process performed by operating the GUI 500. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] A. Working Example: A1. Equipment configuration: 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a data processing device, which is an example of a document processing device. The data processing device 900 is, for example, a personal computer. The data processing device 900 includes a processor 910, a storage device 915, a display unit 940, an operation unit 950, and a communication interface 970. These elements are connected to each other via a bus. The storage device 915 includes a volatile storage device 920 and a non-volatile storage device 930.

[0016] The processor 910 is a device configured to perform data processing, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a System on a chip (SoC). The volatile storage device 920 is, for example, a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and the non-volatile storage device 930 is, for example, a flash memory.

[0017] The display unit 940 is a device configured to display an image, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The operation unit 950 is a device configured to receive operations by a user, such as a button, a lever, or a touch panel arranged overlaid on the display unit 940. The display unit 940 and the operation unit 950 may form a so-called touch screen. The user can input various requests and instructions to the data processing device 900 by operating the operation unit 950. The display unit 940 may display elements for operation (e.g., buttons, sliders, etc.), and the displayed elements may be operated through the operation of the operation unit 950.

[0018] The communication interface 970 is an interface for communicating with other devices (for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or Thunderbolt interface ("THUNDERBOLT" is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.)). In this embodiment, a keyboard 992 and a mouse 994 are connected to the communication interface 970. By operating the keyboard 992 and the mouse 994, the user can input various requests and instructions to the data processing device 900, in the same way as when operating the operation unit 950.

[0019] The non-volatile storage device 930 stores data of an application 931, a program 932, and a data file 939. The application 931 is a word processing application program. The word processing application may be various applications configured to edit documents (hereinafter, simply referred to as an editing application). In this embodiment, the editing application is Microsoft Word (trademark) by Microsoft Corporation. The program 932 is a program configured to add a function to the editing application. The program 932 may be various programs applicable to the editing application. If the editing application is Microsoft Word, the program 932 may be a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) program for Microsoft Word ("VISUAL BASIC" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation). Alternatively, the program 932 may be an add-in configured using Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) ("VISUAL STUDIO" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation). The application 931 may be pre-installed in the data processing device 900. Alternatively, the application 931 may be installed by a user in the data processing device 900. The program 932 may be installed by a user in the data processing device 900. The data file 939 will be described in detail later.

[0020] A2. Document Processing: A user can input various instructions to the data processing device 900 by operating the operation unit 950, the keyboard 992, or the mouse 994. Here, the user inputs an instruction to start an editing application to the data processing device 900. In response to the instruction, the processor 910 starts the editing application in accordance with the application 931. The processor 910 displays a window of the editing application on the display unit 940.

[0021] 2A is a diagram showing an example of a window of an editing application (hereinafter, the window of the editing application will be referred to as an application window 100). The application window 100 includes a user interface display area 105 (referred to as a UI display area 105) and a text area 190.

[0022] The UI display area 105 represents various graphical user interfaces (hereinafter, the graphical user interfaces are referred to as GUIs). A user can operate the various GUIs via a mouse pointer 185. A user can operate the mouse pointer 185 by operating a mouse 994 (FIG. 1). The operation of the mouse pointer 185 may be controlled by an operating system (not shown) that runs on the data processing device 900.

[0023] The text area 190 represents at least a portion of the document's contents, and a cursor 180 that indicates an editing position within the document. In this embodiment, the shape of the cursor 180 is a vertical bar. Alternatively, the cursor may be a variety of shapes, such as a rectangle, an underscore, etc.

[0024] The program 932 (FIG. 1) is configured to be incorporated into the editing application when the editing application is started. In this embodiment, the program 932 is configured to execute an initial process when the editing application is started. FIG. 2(B) is a flowchart showing an example of the initial process. In S110, the processor 910 incorporates a GUI into the UI display area 105 (FIG. 2(A)). In this embodiment, the processor 910 incorporates a first GUI 110 and a second GUI 120 into the UI display area 105 according to the program 932. The first GUI 110 includes a check box 112, a pull-down menu 114, and buttons 116 and 118. The second GUI 120 includes a button 122. The GUIs 110 and 120 will be described in detail later.

[0025] The UI display area 105 may be configured in various ways to display multiple GUI components (such as buttons, pull-down menus, etc.). For example, the UI display area 105 may be configured to switch between displayed sets of multiple sets of GUI components using tabs. In this case, when a user selects a tab, the processor 910 displays a set of GUI components associated with the selected tab in the UI display area 105. GUI components are also called interface parts.

[0026] After starting the editing application, the user edits the document by inputting an instruction to the data processing device 900 while viewing the document displayed in the text area 190. The user inputs various instructions to the data processing device 900, such as inputting characters, moving the cursor 180, selecting a character string, and deleting a selected character string. The processor 910 executes a process associated with the instruction according to the instruction. The user can also input an instruction to execute a process according to the program 932. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executable according to the program 932. Hereinafter, a group of processes executable according to the program 932 is referred to as a process group PG. In this embodiment, the process group PG includes processes S160, S170, S180, S183, S186, and S190. Each of the processes S160, S170, S180, S183, S186, and S190 included in the process group PG is associated with an instruction for execution. An arbitrary method may be used to input an instruction for execution. In this embodiment, the first change instruction for the first change process S160 and the second change instruction for the second change process S170 are different keyboard shortcuts. The selected format application instruction for the selected format application process S180 is an operation of the pull-down menu 114 of the first GUI 110 (FIG. 2(A)). The format release instruction for the format release process S183 is an operation of the release button 116 of the first GUI 110. The full format release instruction for the full format release process S186 is an operation of the full release button 118 of the first GUI 110. The multiple search instruction for the multiple search process S190 is an operation of the button 122 of the second GUI 120. The keys assigned by the keyboard shortcuts may be determined by the user through a setting function of the editing application.

[0027] In S140 (FIG. 3), the user inputs an instruction for a desired process to the data processing device 900. In S150, the processor 910 executes a process associated with the instruction (e.g., any one of processes S160, S170, S180, S183, S186, and S190). Then, the processor 910 ends the process of FIG. 3. The processor 910 executes the process of FIG. 3 every time an instruction is input.

[0028] A2-1. First change process: When a first change instruction is input in S140 (FIG. 3), in S150, the processor 910 executes a first change process S160. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the first change process. In the first change process, when a document includes a character string representing a name, the first change process can change a part of the character string of the name input at the cursor position to a character string representing the entire name. For example, when a document includes a character string "conversion process", the first change process can change the character string "processing" in front of the cursor to the character string "conversion process". In this specification, a character string indicates a set of one or more consecutive characters. One character string may be formed by one character, or may be formed by two or more consecutive characters. In other words, the total number of characters forming one character string may be various values ​​of one or more.

[0029] 5(A)-5(D) are diagrams showing an example of document processing by the first change process. Each diagram shows a text area 190 of the application window 100. The text area 190 shows at least a part of the contents of the document. The document may include character strings representing names, such as common nouns and proper nouns. The document DC in FIG. 5(A) includes multiple names, such as "display device" and "user area."

[0030] The name may be followed by a reference code (hereinafter, the reference code will be simply referred to as a code). For example, the "30" in the "display device 30" included in the document DC in FIG. 5(A) is an example of a code. A document, such as a paper, an instruction manual, or a specification of a patent application, may refer to a figure and explain an element in the figure. Although not shown, the element may be given a code in the figure. The name representing such an element may be followed by a corresponding code. The code is formed, for example, using one or both of the English alphabet and Arabic numerals.

[0031] The document may include either, or both, of a text with symbols and a text without symbols. In the example of FIG. 5(A), the document DC includes a text SEa with symbols and a text SEb without symbols. For example, patent application documents may include both a text with symbols (e.g., the specification) and a text without symbols (e.g., the claims). Other types of documents (e.g., reports, contracts, instruction manuals, etc.) may similarly include either, or both, of a text with symbols and a text without symbols.

[0032] In FIG. 5(A), the cursor 180 is positioned immediately after the character string "area" in the document DC. In this state, it is assumed that the first change process (FIG. 4) is started. For example, instead of entering all the characters of a name, the user enters a partial character string of the name (here, "area") in order to re-enter an already entered name such as "first type name display area" or "provisional candidate name list display area". Then, the user enters a first change instruction.

[0033] In S210 (FIG. 4), the processor 910 searches the document for a first type target character string adjacent to the cursor 180 in the document. The first type target character string is a character string formed by one or more first type characters. The first type characters include characters of a predetermined Chinese character group and characters of a predetermined katakana group (details will be described later). As shown in FIG. 5(A), a name is formed using, for example, one or both of Chinese characters and katakana. The first type target character string matches a character string representing a name or a part of a name. Before and after the name, characters different from both Chinese characters and katakana (e.g., English alphabets, Arabic numerals, hiragana, commas, periods, etc.) may be arranged. The processor 910 searches for the longest first type target character string adjacent to the cursor 180. In the example of FIG. 5(A), the processor 910 finds the character string 240 of "area" adjacent to the cursor 180 as the first type target character string. The character before the first character "area" is a comma (,) which is different from both Chinese characters and katakana. Therefore, "area" is the longest first type target character string. Hereinafter, the character string 240 will be referred to as the first type target character string 240.

[0034] A group of Chinese characters may be various groups that are groups of characters and contain a plurality of Chinese characters. The group of Chinese characters may be formed by a plurality of some of all the Chinese characters that can be used by an editing application. The group of Chinese characters may be formed by characters included in, for example, the Unicode range "Yi - Yue". The group of Chinese characters may include the third - level Chinese characters and the fourth - level Chinese characters defined by JIS X 0213. The group of Chinese characters may include other types of Chinese characters, such as Chinese characters represented by surrogate pairs. A group of katakana may be various groups that are groups of characters and contain a plurality of katakana. The group of katakana may be, for example, a group of characters included in the Unicode range "A - Vu".

[0035] The search method for the first - type target character string may be any method. For example, the processor 910 may search for the first - type target character string using a regular expression. Note that the processor 910 may search for the first - type target character string by other methods, such as wildcards, instead of the regular expression.

[0036] When the first - type target character string is not found (S220: No (Figure 4)), the processor 910 ends the first - type change process. When the first - type target character string is found (S220: Yes), in S230, the processor 910 searches for a first - type reference character string formed by one or more first - type characters from the first - type target range of the document. A character string formed by one or more first - type characters matches the name in the same way as the first - type target character string in S210. Hereinafter, a character string formed by one or more first - type characters is called a name character string. The first - type reference character string is a name character string that includes the first - type target character string (for example, "area" in Figure 5(A)). The first - type target range of the document may be various ranges. In this embodiment, the first - type target range is assumed to be the whole document.

[0037] 5B shows an example of a name string found in a document. Each character string enclosed in a dotted rectangle indicates a name string. The processor 910 selects, among these name strings, a character string that includes the first type target character string 240 (here, "area") as a first type reference character string.

[0038] The method of searching for the first type reference string may be the same as the method of searching for the first type target string. For example, the processor 910 may use a regular expression to search for a name string from the first target range of the document. Then, the processor 910 may search for a first type reference string, which is a string including the first type target string, from the found name string. Alternatively, the processor 910 may directly search for the first type reference string from the first target range of the document using a regular expression formed by one or more first type characters and matching a string including the first type target string. The processor 910 may search for the first type reference string using other methods, such as a wildcard, instead of a regular expression.

[0039] Note that the same first type reference character string may be detected from different positions in the document. The processor 910 generates a list of first type reference character strings that does not have duplicates.

[0040] If the first type reference character string is not found (S240: No (FIG. 4)), the processor 910 ends the first change process. If the first type reference character string is found (S240: Yes), the processor 910 determines in S250 whether the total number of found non-duplicate first type reference character strings is 2 or greater. If the total number is 2 or greater (S250: Yes), the processor 910 displays a list of the first type reference character strings on the display unit 940 (FIG. 1) in S260.

[0041] 5(C) shows an example of a displayed list of first type reference character strings. In this embodiment, the processor 910 displays a window 270 on the display unit 940. The window 270 shows a vertically arranged list of found first type reference character strings 270a-270e and a mark 260 indicating one of the first type reference character strings that can be selected (in this embodiment, the mark 260 is a rectangle that surrounds one first type reference character string).

[0042] In S270 (FIG. 4), the processor 910 selects one first type reference character string in accordance with a user instruction. In this embodiment, the processor 910 moves the mark 260 (FIG. 5(C)) in accordance with a user instruction. For example, in response to pressing an up arrow key or a down arrow key (not shown) of the keyboard 992 (FIG. 1), the processor 910 moves the mark 260 in the direction of the arrow of the pressed key. The processor 910 may further move the mark 260 in response to pressing a space key (not shown). The processor 910 confirms the selection made by the mark 260 in response to pressing an enter key (not shown). The processor 910 then proceeds to S280.

[0043] If the total number of found non-duplicate first type reference character strings is 1 (S250: No), the processor 910 skips S260 and S270 and proceeds to S280.

[0044] In S280, the processor 910 changes the first type target character string adjacent to the front of the cursor to the first type reference character string. The document DC1 in FIG. 5(D) represents the updated document when the first type reference character string 270b in FIG. 5(C) is selected. As shown in the figure, the first type target character string 240 (here, the "area" (FIG. 5(C)) has been changed to the first type reference character string 270b (here, the "tentative candidate name list display area"). The method of changing the character string may be various methods. For example, the processor 910 may replace the first type target character string 240 with the first type reference character string 270b. Alternatively, the processor 910 may input the remaining part of the first type reference character string 270b excluding the first type target character string 240 into the document. After S280, the processor 910 ends the first change process.

[0045] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following processes according to the program 932. In S210 (FIG. 4), the processor 910 searches the document for a first type object character string adjacent to the cursor 180 indicating the editing position in the document (for example, the first type object character string 240 adjacent to the cursor 180 in the document DC in FIG. 5(A)). The first type object character string is formed by one or more first type characters. The first type characters include characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group. If the first type object character string is found (S220: Yes), the processor 910 searches the first type reference character string formed by one or more first type characters from the first object range of the document in S230 (for example, the first type reference character strings 270a-270e in FIG. 5(C)). The first type reference character string is a character string including the first type object character string. In this embodiment, the first object range is the entire document. If the first type reference character string is found (S240: Yes), the processor 910 changes the first type object character string adjacent to and in front of the cursor 180 to the first type reference character string in S280. In the examples of Figures 5(C) and 5(D), the processor 910 changes the first type object character string 240 to the first type reference character string 270b.

[0046] In this way, the processor 910 can change the character string to a character string of an input name that includes the character string by executing the first change process. Therefore, the processor 910 can reduce the burden on the user for inputting a name. For example, the first type reference character string 270b in FIG. 5(C) and FIG. 5(D) is formed of 13 characters. Inputting each character of such a long name is a heavy burden on the user. In this embodiment, the processor 910 can change a part of the character string of a long name (e.g., "area") to the entire character string of the name (e.g., "tentative candidate name list display area"). The user can input all the characters of a long name into a document by inputting a part of the characters without inputting all the characters of the long name.

[0047] As a method of converting a character string of a part of a name into a character string of the whole name, a method of registering a correspondence between a part of a name and the whole name in a conversion dictionary for character input (for example, a dictionary of a kana-kanji conversion system) is considered. However, this method requires an operation of registering the correspondence, which increases the burden on the user. In addition, when a new name is written in the document, the correspondence needs to be re-registered, which further increases the burden on the user. In this embodiment, the processor 910 searches the first type reference character string from the first target range of the document, and changes the first type object character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to the found first type reference character string. Therefore, operations such as registering and re-registering the correspondence can be omitted, and the burden on the user is reduced.

[0048] Furthermore, the name may appear repeatedly in the document. In this embodiment, after the name is input once, it is possible to omit re-inputting all the characters of the name. All the characters of the name can be input by inputting a partial character string of the name and executing the first change process. In this way, the burden on the user of repeatedly inputting the name is significantly reduced.

[0049] Also, the user may input a typo. Also, kanji can be converted from kana to kanji by kana-kanji conversion. A plurality of different kanji (e.g., homophones) can be associated with the same kana. Even when the correct kana is input, the input kana can be converted to incorrect kanji. For example, for "こうしょう", a plurality of terms such as "工匠" (craftsman) and "工商" (industry and commerce) are associated. When the name includes "工匠", the input "こうしょう" can be mistakenly converted to "工商". When the name is a proper noun such as a person's name or a company name, a misspelling of the name can be a serious error. When the name is a technical term, a misspelling of the name can change the meaning of the sentence to a meaning different from the intended meaning. In this embodiment, after the user inputs the correct name once, the user can input the correct name by inputting a partial character string of the name and executing the first change process. In this way, the possibility of misspelling of the name is significantly reduced.

[0050] Also, the document may include a character string representing a name and a code following the name, such as "first type name display area 40A (FIG. 5(B))". In such a case, in S230 (FIG. 4), the processor 910 finds a character string of a name that does not include a code, as shown in FIG. 5(C) (for example, "first type name display area" which is the first type reference character string 270c). In this way, when the first target range of the document includes a first type reference character string and one or more second type characters following the first type reference character string, the processor 910 finds a first type reference character string that does not include one or more second type characters. Here, the second type characters include the English alphabet and Arabic numerals. According to this configuration, the processor 910 can change the first type object character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to a first type reference character string suitable for a sentence without codes. For example, a document for a patent application including a column for "specification" and a column for "claims" may be edited. In the "claims", the same name as the name of an element included in the "specification" may be input. Here, even if a name with a symbol is described in the specification, the name entered in the claims may not require a symbol. In such a case, the processor 910 can change the first type object character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to an appropriate first type reference character string without a symbol. In this way, the possibility of a name with a symbol being mistakenly entered into a sentence that does not require a name with a symbol is reduced.

[0051] In this embodiment, as described in Fig. 3, the processor 910 executes the first change process S160 (Fig. 4) in response to the first change instruction by the user. That is, the processor 910 executes a search for a first type target string (S210), a search for a first type reference string (S230), and a change to the first type target string (S280) in response to the first change instruction. According to this configuration, when the first change instruction is input after a new name is written in the document, the processor 910 can change the character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to the new name.

[0052] In this embodiment, as described in S270, S280 (FIG. 4), FIG. 5(C), FIG. 5(D), etc., when a plurality of mutually different first type reference strings are found, the processor 910 changes the first type target string to a first type reference string selected by the user from the plurality of first type reference strings. For example, in the example of FIG. 5(C) and FIG. 5(D), a plurality of first type reference strings 270a-270e are found, and the first type target string 240 is changed to the first type reference string 270b selected by the user. In this way, the processor 910 can change the first type target string to a first type reference string that suits the user's intention.

[0053] Note that the method of distinguishing one of the first type reference character strings as a selection candidate from the other first type reference character strings may be any method other than the method of using the mark 260 (FIG. 5(C)). For example, the processor 910 may set one or both of the background color and the character color of one of the first type reference character strings as a selection candidate to a color different from the colors of the other first type reference character strings. Also, the method of having the user select one of the first type reference character strings from the multiple first type reference character strings is not limited to the above method, and may be various methods. For example, the processor 910 may display the multiple first type reference character strings one by one in order on the display unit 940. The user may input a selection instruction to the data processing device 900 in a state in which the first type reference character string to be selected is displayed. The processor 910 may adopt the first type reference character string being displayed when the selection instruction is input.

[0054] A2-2. Second change process: When a second change instruction is input in S140 (FIG. 3), in S150, the processor 910 executes a second change process S170. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the second change process. In the second change process, when a document contains a character string representing a signed name, the second change process can change a part of the character string of the signed name input at the cursor position to a character string representing the entire signed name. For example, when a document contains the character string "first type name display area 40A", the second change process can change the character string "area" in front of the cursor to the character string "first type name display area 40A".

[0055] 7(A)-7(D) are diagrams showing an example of document processing by the second change process. Each diagram shows the text area 190 of the application window 100, similar to Figs. 5(A)-5(D). The document DC in Fig. 7(A) is the same as the document DC in Fig. 5(A). The document DC includes multiple reference names such as "display device 30" and "first type name display area 40A".

[0056] In Fig. 7(A), similarly to Fig. 5(A), cursor 180 is positioned immediately after the character string "area" in document DC. In this state, unlike the example of Fig. 5(A), the second change process (Fig. 6) is started. For example, in order to re-input a previously inputted marked name such as "display device 30" or "first type name display area 40A", the user inputs a part of the character string of the marked name (here, "area") instead of inputting all the characters of the marked name. Then, the user inputs a second change instruction.

[0057] In S310 (FIG. 6), processor 910 searches the document for a second type of target character string adjacent to and in front of cursor 180 in the document. In this embodiment, the second type of target character string is any one of a first type of character string, a second type of character string, and a third type of character string described below.

[0058] <Type 1 character string> The first type character string is a character string representing a name or a part of a name. The first type character string is formed by one or more first type characters, similar to the first type object character string 240 described in Fig. 5(A). As described above, the first type characters include characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group.

[0059] <Type 2 character string> The second type character string is a character string that represents a code or a part of a code. For example, "40A" in the "first type name display area 40A" is an example of the second type character string. The second type character string is formed by one or more second type characters. The second type characters include characters of a predetermined English alphabet group and characters of a predetermined Arabic numeral group (details will be described later). As described above, the code can be formed by using one or both of the English alphabet and the Arabic numerals. Note that the English alphabet group may be a group of characters and may be various groups including a plurality of English alphabets. The English alphabet group may be formed, for example, by characters included in the Unicode range "AZ" and characters included in the range "az". The Arabic numeral group may be a group of characters and may be various groups including a plurality of Arabic numerals. The Arabic numeral group may be formed, for example, by characters included in the Unicode range "0-9".

[0060] <3rd type character string> The third type character string is formed by a character string representing a name or a part of a name, and a character string representing a code or a part of the code following the character string. For example, the "first type name display area 40A" and its part, "area 4", are examples of the third type character string. The third type character string is formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters following the one or more first type characters. In other words, the third type character string is formed by the above first type character string and the above second type character string following the first type character string.

[0061] Processor 910 searches for the longest second type target character string adjacent to and in front of cursor 180. In the example of FIG. 7(A), processor 910 finds character string 245 of "region" adjacent to and in front of cursor 180 as a second type target character string. The character string "region" adjacent to and in front of cursor 180 is a first type character string, and the character before the first character "region" is a "," (comma)" which is different from both kanji and katakana. Therefore, "region" is the longest second type target character string. Hereinafter, character string 245 will be referred to as second type target character string 245.

[0062] Note that multiple types of character strings can be found before the cursor 180. For example, assume that a character string "The user, area 40A" is adjacent to the front of the cursor 180. The character string "40A" adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 is a second-type character string. The character before the first character "4" is "域", which is different from both English alphabets and Arabic numerals. Therefore, "40A" is the longest second-type character string. Also, the character string "領域40A" adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 is a third-type character string. The character before the first character "領" is "、(comma)", which is different from both Chinese characters and katakana. Therefore, "領域40A" is the longest third-type character string. When multiple types of character strings are found in this way, the processor 910 adopts the longest character string (in this case, "領域40A").

[0063] The method for searching the second-type target character string may be any method. For example, the processor 910 may search for the first-type character string, the second-type character string, and the third-type character string using the corresponding regular expressions respectively. Then, the processor 910 may adopt the longest character string among the found character strings as the second-type target character string. Alternatively, the processor 910 may search for the second-type target character string using a regular expression that matches none of the first-type character string, the second-type character string, and the third-type character string. The processor 910 may search for the second-type target character string by other methods such as wildcards instead of regular expressions.

[0064] If the second type target string is not found (S320: No (FIG. 6)), the processor 910 ends the second change process. If the second type target string is found (S320: Yes), the processor 910 searches for the second type reference string from the second target range of the document in S330. The second type reference string is a string representing a coded name and including the second type target string (for example, "area" in FIG. 7(A)). The second type reference string is formed by one or more first type characters and one or more first type characters followed by one or more second type characters, similar to the third type string in S310. The second target range of the document may be various ranges. In this embodiment, the second target range is the entire document. Hereinafter, a string formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters followed by one or more first type characters is called a coded name string.

[0065] 7B shows an example of a coded name string found in a document. Each character string enclosed in a dotted rectangle in the sentence SEa indicates a coded name string. The processor 910 adopts, among these coded name strings, a character string that includes a second type object string 245 (here, "area") as a second type reference string.

[0066] The method of searching for the second type reference string may be the same as the method of searching for the second type object string. For example, the processor 910 may use a regular expression to search for a signed name string from the second object range of the document. Then, the processor 910 may search for a second type reference string, which is a string containing the second type object string, from the found signed name string. Alternatively, the processor 910 may directly search for the second type reference string from the second object range of the document using a regular expression that matches a signed name string containing the second type object string. The processor 910 may search for the second type reference string using other methods, such as a wildcard, instead of a regular expression.

[0067] Note that the same second type reference character string may be detected from different positions in the document. The processor 910 generates a list of the second type reference character strings that does not have duplicates.

[0068] If the second type reference character string is not found (S340: No (FIG. 6)), the processor 910 ends the second change process. If the second type reference character string is found (S340: Yes), the processor 910 determines in S350 whether the total number of found non-duplicate second type reference character strings is 2 or greater. If the total number is 2 or greater (S350: Yes), the processor 910 displays a list of the second type reference character strings on the display unit 940 (FIG. 1) in S360.

[0069] 7(C) shows an example of a displayed list of second type reference character strings. In this embodiment, the processor 910 displays a window 280 on the display unit 940. The window 280 shows a vertically arranged list of found second type reference character strings 280a-280c, and a mark 265 indicating one of the selection candidates for second type reference character strings (in this embodiment, the mark 265 is a rectangle surrounding one second type reference character string). In this embodiment, the window 270 shows a list of pairs of second type reference character strings and character strings representing codes located in the vicinity (here, to the left) of the second type reference character string.

[0070] In S370 (FIG. 6), the processor 910 selects one second type reference character string according to a user's instruction. The method of selecting one second type reference character string using the mark 265 is the same as the method of selecting one first type reference character string using the mark 260 described in FIG. 5(C). After selecting the second type reference character string, the processor 910 proceeds to S380.

[0071] If the total number of found non-duplicate second type reference character strings is 1 (S350: No), the processor 910 skips S360 and S370 and proceeds to S380.

[0072] In S380, the processor 910 changes the second type target string adjacent to the front of the cursor to a second type reference string. Document DC2 in FIG. 7(D) represents the updated document when the second type reference string 280a in FIG. 7(C) is selected. As shown, the second type target string 245 (here, "area" (FIG. 7(C)) has been changed to the second type reference string 280a (here, "first type name display area 40A"). The method of changing the string in S380 is the same as the method of changing the string in S280 (FIG. 4). After S380, the processor 910 ends the second change process.

[0073] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following process according to the program 932. In S310 (FIG. 6), the processor 910 searches the document for a second type target character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 (for example, the second type target character string 245 adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 in the document DC of FIG. 7(A)). The second type target character string is any one of a plurality of types of character strings including a first type character string, a second type character string, and a third type character string. The first type character string is formed by one or more first type characters. The first type characters include characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group, as described above. The second type character string is formed by one or more second type characters. The second type characters include characters of a predetermined English alphabet group and characters of a predetermined Arabic numeral group. The third type character string is formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters following the one or more first type characters. If the second type target string is found (S320: Yes), the processor 910 searches the second type reference string formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters following the one or more first type characters from the second target range of the document in S330 (for example, the second type reference string 280a-280c ​​in FIG. 7(C)). The second type reference string is a string that includes the second type target string. In this embodiment, the second target range is the entire document. If the second type reference string is found (S340: Yes), the processor 910 changes the second type target string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to the second type reference string in S380. In the examples of FIGS. 7(C) and 7(D), the processor 910 changes the second type target string 245 to the second type reference string 280a.

[0074] In this way, the processor 910 can change the character string to a character string of an inputted coded name that includes the character string by executing the second change process. Therefore, the processor 910 can reduce the burden on the user for inputting a coded name. For example, the second type reference character string 280a in FIG. 7(C) and FIG. 7(D) is formed of 12 characters. Inputting each character of such a long coded name is a heavy burden on the user. In this embodiment, the processor 910 can change a part of the character string of the long coded name (e.g., "area") to the entire character string of the coded name (e.g., "first type name display area 40A"). The user can input all the characters of the long coded name into a document by inputting a part of the characters without inputting all the characters of the long coded name.

[0075] As described in S310 (FIG. 6), the second type target character string (i.e., a character string that is a part of a signed name) is not limited to a part of a name, and may be a part of a code. FIGS. 8(A)-8(D) are diagrams showing an example of document processing by the second change process. Each diagram shows the text area 190 of the application window 100, similar to FIGS. 7(A)-7(D). The difference from the examples in FIGS. 7(A)-7(D) is that the "area" adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 has been changed to "4". In S310 (FIG. 6), the processor 910 acquires the character string "4", which is the second type character string, as the second type target character string 245b (FIG. 8(A)). In S330, the processor 910 finds a signed name (here, "first type name display area 40A" and "first type name display area 40B") that includes "4" from among a plurality of signed name character strings (FIG. 8(B)) as a second type reference character string. At S360, the processor 910 displays a window 290 showing a list of these second type reference character strings 280a, 280b on the display unit 940 (FIG. 8(C)). At S370 and S380, the processor 910 changes the second type target character string 245b to a second type reference character string (here, "first type name display area 40A") selected by the user from these second type reference character strings 280a, 280b (FIG. 8(D)). In this way, the user can enter all the characters of a long symbolized name into a document by entering part of the symbol.

[0076] Furthermore, the coded name may appear repeatedly in the document. In this embodiment, after the coded name is input once, it is possible to omit re-inputting all the characters of the coded name. All the characters of the coded name can be input by inputting a partial character string of the coded name and executing the second change process. In this way, the burden on the user of repeatedly inputting the coded name is significantly reduced.

[0077] As described above, the user may input a typo in the name. The user may also input a typo in the sign. In this embodiment, after the user inputs a correct sign name once, the user can input a correct sign name by inputting a part of the character string of the sign name and executing the second change process. In this way, the possibility of typo in the sign name is significantly reduced.

[0078] In this embodiment, as described in Fig. 3, the processor 910 executes the second change process S170 (Fig. 6) in response to the second change instruction by the user. That is, the processor 910 executes a search for a second type target string (S310), a search for a second type reference string (S330), and a change to the second type target string (S380) in response to the second change instruction. According to this configuration, when the second change instruction is input after a new reference name is written in the document, the processor 910 can change the character string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 to the new reference name.

[0079] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the processor 910 can execute a process selected by the user from a first change process and a second change process in accordance with an instruction from the user. The first change process can change the character string in front of the cursor 180 to a name without a sign as shown in Figs. 5(A)-5(D), and the second change process can change the same character string in front of the cursor 180 to a name with a sign as shown in Figs. 7(A)-7(D). The user can proceed with appropriate change of the character string depending on the type of text to be input (signed or unsigned).

[0080] In this embodiment, as described in S370, S380 (FIG. 6), FIG. 7(C), FIG. 7(D), etc., when a plurality of different second type reference strings are found, the processor 910 changes the second type target string to a second type reference string selected by the user from the plurality of second type reference strings. For example, in the example of FIG. 7(C) and FIG. 7(D), a plurality of second type reference strings 280a-280c ​​are found, and the second type target string 245 is changed to the second type reference string 280a selected by the user. In this way, the processor 910 can change the second type target string to a second type reference string that suits the user's intention.

[0081] The method for distinguishing one of the selection candidates, the second type reference character string, from the other second type reference character strings may be any method other than the method using the mark 265 (FIG. 7(C)). For example, a method similar to the method for distinguishing one of the selection candidates, the first type reference character string, from the other first type reference character strings, described in FIG. 5(C), may be adopted.

[0082] A2-3. Selected format application process: When a selected format application instruction is input in S140 (FIG. 3), in S150, the processor 910 executes a selected format application process S180. FIG 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the selected format application process. The selected format application process applies a format selected by the user to the same character string as the selected character string.

[0083] FIG. 10(A)-FIG. 10(G) are diagrams showing an overview of the selection format application process. FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B) show the text area 190 of the application window 100. The text area 190 represents the content of the document DC3. The document DC3 includes a plurality of terms, specifically, "first control unit", "second control unit", "third control unit", "first process", "second process", "third process", "fourth process", "fifth process", "sixth process". Among these terms, the first characters are the same "first". After "first", a one-character Chinese numeral follows. After the Chinese numeral, the character string of "control unit" or "process" follows. Thus, the document may include a plurality of terms similar to each other.

[0084] Here, the user is assumed to re-read the sentence related to the specific term (hereinafter, the specific term is referred to as the first term. For example, "first control unit"). The user can find the sentence related to the first term by visually searching for the first term from the document DC3. However, there is a possibility of false detection and a possibility of detection omission in the visual search for the first term. If the document DC3 includes terms similar to the first term, the possibility of false detection and the possibility of detection omission may increase. Similarly, if the document DC3 is long, the possibility of false detection and the possibility of detection omission may increase. In this embodiment, the selection format application process makes it easier to find the first term in the document by setting the format of the same character string as the character string of the first term selected by the user to the format selected by the user.

[0085] First, the user selects a first character string representing a first term in a document on the text area 190 displayed on the display unit 940. In the example of FIG. 10(B), a character string Txs1 of "first control unit" has been selected (hereinafter, the character string Txs1 is referred to as a first character string Txs1). In this embodiment, the editing application allows the user to select a character string. The selected character string can be used for various editing processes such as copying the selected character string, deleting the selected character string, and changing the format of the selected character string. In this embodiment, the editing application expresses the selected character string in a specific format 180s. The specific format 180s includes, for example, a background color (e.g., gray) that is darker than the original background color (e.g., white). The user may select the character string by operating the cursor 180. Alternatively, the user may select the character string by operating a mouse pointer (not shown).

[0086] With the first character string Txs1 selected, the user inputs an instruction to apply the selected format to the data processing device 900. In this embodiment, the instruction to apply the selected format is a selection of a format by operating the pull-down menu 114 (FIG. 2(A)).

[0087] FIG. 10(C) shows an example of the pull-down menu 114 displayed on the display unit 940 (FIG. 1). By operating (e.g., clicking) the pull-down menu 114, the processor 910 displays a list of multiple options 114a-114e on the display unit 940. In this embodiment, the multiple options 114a-114e show different highlight colors. When highlighting is applied to a character string, the background color of the character string is set to the highlight color. In this embodiment, the highlight function is incorporated in the editing application. The user can select one option by operating the mouse pointer 185. In the example of FIG. 10(C), the third option 114c (light green) is selected. The selection of an option corresponds to the input of a selection format application instruction. In response to the input of the selection format application instruction, the processor 910 executes the selection format application process (FIG. 9).

[0088] In S410, the processor 910 acquires information on the selected format. In this embodiment, the processor 910 acquires information associated with the highlight color selected by operating the pull-down menu 114 (FIG. 10C). In the example of FIG. 10C, the processor 910 acquires information associated with the third option 114c.

[0089] In S420 (FIG. 9), the processor 910 determines whether or not a character string has been selected. If a character string has not been selected (S420: No), the processor 910 ends the selected format application process. If a character string has been selected (S420: Yes), in S430, the processor 910 determines whether or not the processing target is the entire document. In this embodiment, the check box 112 (FIG. 2(A)) indicates whether or not the processing target is the entire document. If the check box 112 is checked, the processing target is the entire document. If the check box 112 is not checked, the processing target is the selected character string. The user can set the state of the check box 112 before operating the pull-down menu 114.

[0090] If the processing target is the entire document (S430: Yes), in S440, the processor 910 applies the selected format to the same character string as the selected first character string Txs1 in the document. FIG. 10(D) shows the text area 190 to which the selected format has been applied. The processor 910 applies the selected format (here, light green highlight) to all character strings Tx1 in the document DC3 that are the same as the first character string Txs1 (here, "first control part"). The processor 910 may apply highlight to the character string by calling a function for highlighting built into the editing application. After S440 (FIG. 9), the processor 910 ends the selected format application process. The user can easily find the same character string Tx1 as the first character string Txs1 (i.e., the first term) and, by extension, the sentence related to the first term, by visually searching for the part of the format selected by the user in the document DC3.

[0091] Although not shown, if the processing target is a selected character string (S430: No), in S450, the processor 910 applies the selected format to the selected first character string Txs1 in the document. Unlike S440, the format of other character strings Tx1 is not changed. After S450, the processor 910 ends the selected format application process.

[0092] After applying the format by S440, the user may compare a sentence related to the first term with a sentence related to a second term different from the first term. For example, the user may compare a portion of the document related to the first term with a portion of the document related to the second term to refine the document. In such a case, the user may use the selective format application process to make the second term in the document as easy to find as the first term.

[0093] First, the user selects a second character string representing a second term in the document. Fig. 10(E) shows the text area 190 with the second character string selected. In the example of Fig. 10(E), the character string Txs2 of "second control section" has been selected (hereinafter, the character string Txs2 is referred to as the second character string Txs2). The second character string Txs2 is expressed in a specific format 180s.

[0094] With the second character string Txs2 selected, the user inputs a selected format application instruction to the data processing device 900. Fig. 10(F) shows an example of the operation of the pull-down menu 114. In the example of Fig. 10(F), the user selects an option (here, the fourth option 114d (light blue)) for the first term that is different from the third option 114c (Fig. 10(C)). In response to the selection of the option, i.e., the input of the selected format application instruction, the processor 910 executes the selected format application process (Fig. 9).

[0095] The processor 910 executes the selected format application process for the second term (FIG. 9) in the same manner as the selected format application process for the first term. Here, it is assumed that the processing target is the entire document (S430: Yes). In S440, the processor 910 applies the selected format to the same character string as the selected second character string Txs2 in the document. FIG. 10(G) shows the text area 190 to which the selected format has been applied. The processor 910 applies the selected format (here, light blue highlight) to all character strings Tx2 in the document DC3 that are the same as the second character string Txs2 (here, "second control unit"). After S440 (FIG. 9), the processor 910 ends the selected format application process. Unlike the text area 190 in FIG. 10(D), in the text area 190 in FIG. 10(G), the character string Tx1 of the first term and the character string Tx2 of the second term are expressed in different formats (in this embodiment, different color highlights). Therefore, the user can easily find the character string Tx1 of the first term (and thus the text related to the first term) and the character string Tx2 of the second term (and thus the text related to the second term) by visually searching the portion of the document DC3 in the format selected by the user. The user can easily compare the portion of the document related to the first term with the portion of the document related to the second term.

[0096] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following processing in accordance with the program 932. In S110 (FIG. 2(B)), the processor 910 displays the first GUI 110 (FIG. 2(A)) on the display unit 940. The first GUI 110 includes a pull-down menu 114. As shown in FIG. 10(C), the user can select one format from a plurality of formats associated with a plurality of options 114a-114e by operating the pull-down menu 114. The pull-down menu 114 is an example of a format selection unit configured to select a character format from a plurality of formats. When one format is selected by operating the pull-down menu 114, the processor 910 executes a selected format application process S180 (FIG. 3). In S180, the processor 910 executes the processing of FIG. 9. 10(A)-10(D) show an example of processing when a first format (here, the third option 114c) is selected by operating the pull-down menu 114 while a first character string Txs1 including one or more characters is selected on the text area 190 displayed on the display unit 940 (S420: Yes (FIG. 9)). Here, it is assumed that the check box 112 (FIG. 2(A)) has been checked (S430: Yes). In this case, the processor 910 executes a first application process in S440 to apply the first format to a character string Tx1 in the document DC3 that is the same as the first character string Txs1.

[0097] In this way, the processor 910 can make it easier to visually find the character string Tx1 in the document by applying the first format selected by the format selection unit (here, the pull-down menu 114) to the character string Tx1 that is the same as the selected first character string Txs1. For example, even if the document DC3 includes a character string similar to the character string Tx1, the user can easily find the character string Tx1 by visually searching for the part of the first format in the document. Since the user only needs to pay attention to the first format instead of the character string Tx1, the user can easily proceed with the visual search. In addition, when the document DC3 is long, the user may visually search for the character string Tx1 while scrolling the document DC3 in the text area 190. In this case, the user can also easily find the character string Tx1 by visually searching for the part of the first format in the document.

[0098] Furthermore, the processor 910 applies the first format to a character string Tx1 that is the same as the selected first character string Txs1 in the document. It is assumed that a character string input by the user to the setting screen separately from the document (e.g., text area 190) is used as the character string to which the first format should be applied. In this case, the burden on the user to input the character string to the setting screen increases. Furthermore, the character string input to the setting screen may include a typographical error. If the character string input to the setting screen includes a typographical error, the first format cannot be applied to the intended character string. In this embodiment, the possibility of these problems is reduced.

[0099] In addition, the pull-down menu 114 (FIG. 10C) allows the user to select a format that the user prefers. The processor 910 can apply the first format that the user prefers (e.g., a format that is easy for the user to find) to the string Tx1 that is the same as the first string Txs1.

[0100] In this embodiment, the following process is executed according to the program 932 after the first application process of applying the first format to the same character string Tx1 as the first character string Txs1. FIG. 10(E)-FIG. 10(G) show an example of the process when the second format (here, the fourth option 114d) is selected by operating the pull-down menu 114 in a state where the second character string Txs2 including one or more characters is selected on the text area 190 displayed on the display unit 940 (S420: Yes (FIG. 9)). Here, the second character string Txs2 is a character string different from the first character string Txs1. It is assumed that the second character string Txs2 does not include the first character string Txs1, and that the first character string Txs1 does not include the second character string Txs2. The second format is different from the first format. It is assumed that the check box 112 (FIG. 2(A)) has been checked (S430: Yes). In this case, the processor 910 does not change the first format of the string Tx1 that is the same as the first string Txs1 in the document DC3, but performs a second application process in S440 to apply the second format to the string Tx2 that is the same as the second string Txs2 in the document DC3.

[0101] In this way, the processor 910 applies the second format selected by the format selection unit (here, the pull-down menu 114) to the character string Tx2 that is the same as the selected second character string Txs2, thereby making it easier to visually find the character string Tx2 in the document. Furthermore, when a second format different from the first format is selected, the character string Tx1 that is the same as the first character string Txs1 and the character string Tx2 that is the same as the second character string Txs2 are expressed in different formats. Therefore, by visually searching the parts of the first format and the parts of the second format in the document, the user can easily distinguish and find the character string Tx1 that is the same as the first character string Txs1 (i.e., the first term) (and thus the text related to the first term) and the character string Tx2 that is the same as the second character string Txs2 (i.e., the second term) (and thus the text related to the second term). Then, the user can easily compare the parts related to the first term and the parts related to the second term in the document.

[0102] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the user can edit the document displayed in the text area 190 while the pull-down menu 114 is displayed on the display unit 940. For example, the user can select character strings Txs1 and Txs2 as shown in FIG. 10(B) and FIG. 10(E). After selecting the character string, the user can easily operate the pull-down menu 114 that has already been displayed. It is assumed that another operation is required to display the pull-down menu 114 after selecting the character string. For example, it is assumed that a setting window including the pull-down menu 114 is displayed by operating a button not shown. In this case, an operation is required to display the setting window. It is also necessary to search for the pull-down menu 114 in the newly displayed setting window. If the selected format application process is performed multiple times during editing of the document, the burden on the user for these operations is large. In this embodiment, the possibility of such a malfunction is reduced.

[0103] In this embodiment, the multiple formats selectable by the pull-down menu 114 (FIG. 10C) include multiple formats showing different highlight colors. Highlighting creates a visual effect of making the character string jump out of the screen by setting the background color of the character string to a color different from the standard color (e.g., white). A user can easily find a target character string by visually searching the document DC3 for a background color different from the standard color. In particular, when a character string Tx1 that is the same as a first character string Txs1 and a character string Tx2 that is the same as a second character string Txs2 are shown in different highlight colors, a user can easily distinguish and find these character strings Tx1 and Tx2.

[0104] A2-4. Format removal process: When the release button 116 (FIG. 2(A)) is operated (e.g., pressed) in S140 (FIG. 3), that is, when a format release instruction is input, the processor 910 executes format release processing S183 in S150. The format release processing S183 is processing for setting the format of a character string that is the same as a selected character string in a document to a standard format (without highlighting in this embodiment). Although not shown, the processor 910 sets the format of a character string that is the same as a selected character string to the standard format by processing similar to that in FIG. 9. For example, in S410, the processor 910 adopts the standard format as the selected format. In S420-S450, the processor 910 applies the standard format in the same way as when applying highlighting. The user may change the format of a character string by the selected format application processing S180 (FIG. 3) and then execute the format release processing S183 for the same character string. This allows the processor 910 to return the changed format to the standard format. The multiple formats selectable by operating the pull-down menu 114 (FIG. 2(A)) may include the standard format. In this case, the release button 116 may be omitted.

[0105] A2-5. Complete format cancellation process: When the all-cancel button 118 (FIG. 2(A)) is operated (e.g., pressed) in S140 (FIG. 3), that is, when an instruction to cancel all formats is input, the processor 910 executes a all-cancel format process S186 in S150. The all-cancel format process S186 is a process for setting the format of the entire document to a standard format. For example, the processor 910 selects the entire document and applies the standard format to the entire document. As described above, various formats can be applied to various character strings by operating the pull-down menu 114. Such application of a format may be temporary in order to create a document. The user can return the format of the entire document to the standard format by operating the all-cancel button 118.

[0106] A2-6.Multiple search processing: When a multiple search instruction is input in S140 (FIG. 3), in S150, processor 910 executes multiple search processing S190. FIG 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the multiple search processing. In the multiple search processing, each of multiple keywords is searched for through the same GUI.

[0107] In S510, the processor 910 acquires search keywords from a data file 939 (FIG. 1) prepared in advance. The data file 939 may be, for example, a text-format data file. The user may enter one or more keywords to be searched in the data file 939 in advance. Hereinafter, it is assumed that three keywords, "fifth process", "sixth process", and "required", are acquired from the data file 939. Note that the total number of keywords included in the data file 939 may be zero. That is, in S510, no keywords need to be acquired.

[0108] In S515, the processor 910 displays a GUI on the display unit 940 (FIG. 1). FIGS. 12(A) to 12(C) are diagrams showing examples of the GUI. FIG. 12(A) shows the GUI 500 displayed in S515. The GUI 500 includes two text fields 511, 512, a preprocessing button 520, and an instruction area 530. The text fields 511, 512 are areas for inputting search keywords. The preprocessing button 520 is a button for executing preprocessing (details will be described later). The instruction area 530 is an area for displaying an instruction panel for each keyword. At the stage of S515, the instruction area 530 is blank. As will be described later, the processor 910 displays an instruction panel in the instruction area 530 by preprocessing.

[0109] Note that GUI 500 may be represented by a window separate from application window 100 (FIG. 2(A)). In this case, the window representing GUI 500 may be a modeless (also called non-modal) window. A modeless window allows operation of other windows of the same application (e.g., application window 100) while the modeless window is open. This allows the user to operate text area 190 while GUI 500 is displayed. Alternatively, GUI 500 may be included in application window 100. For example, GUI 500 may be incorporated into UI display area 105.

[0110] In S520 (FIG. 11), the processor 910 executes a process associated with the user's operation. In this embodiment, any one of the processes of S532, S542-S544, S552, and S562 is executed. The processor 910 repeats S520 until the GUI 500 is closed.

[0111] A user may input a keyword in text fields 511 and 512 (FIG. 12(A)) before preprocessing. FIG. 12(B) shows an example of GUI 500 in a state in which a keyword has been input. A character string "first control unit" is input in first text field 511, and a character string "second control unit" is input in second text field 512. In response to the input of a keyword, processor 910 accepts the input keyword in S532 (FIG. 11). In this embodiment, processor 910 stores data of the input keyword in volatile storage device 920, and holds the stored data without deleting it. Note that input of a keyword in one or both of first text field 511 and second text field 512 may be omitted.

[0112] After the keyword preparation is completed, the user operates (e.g., clicks) preprocessing button 520 (FIGS. 12A and 12B). In response to the operation of preprocessing button 520, processor 910 executes the processes of S542-S544 in FIG.

[0113] In S542, the processor 910 counts the total number of each keyword included in the specific range of the document. For example, the processor 910 counts the total number of each keyword by searching for each keyword within the specific range. The keywords to be searched are the keywords acquired through S510 or S532. The specific range of the document may be various ranges. In this embodiment, the specific range is the entire document. Hereinafter, the keywords to be searched are five keywords: the three keywords acquired in S510 ("Fifth Process", "Sixth Process", "Required") and the two keywords entered in the text fields 511 and 512 ("First Control Unit", "Second Control Unit").

[0114] In S544, the processor 910 displays an instruction panel for each keyword in the instruction area 530 (FIG. 12(B)). FIG. 12(C) shows the GUI 500 displayed in S544. In the example of FIG. 12(C), the instruction area 530 shows five instruction panels 531-535 corresponding to five keywords. Each instruction panel 531-535 includes a total number area 5N and a keyword area 5K. The total number area 5N represents the total number of keywords, and the keyword area 5K represents a keyword. In this embodiment, the processor 910 arranges the instruction panels for the keywords from top to bottom in descending order of total number. The instruction panels 531-534 associated with a total number of 1 or more further include a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN. The previous search button 5BP and the next search button 5BN are omitted from the instruction panel 535 associated with a total number of zero.

[0115] After the instruction panel is displayed, the user operates the previous search button 5BP or the next search button 5BN. Figures 13(A) to 13(E) are diagrams showing an example of search processing by operating the GUI 500. Figure 13(A) shows the text area 190 of the application window 100. Document DC3 in Figure 13(A) is the same as document DC3 in Figure 10(A). Cursor 180 is located halfway through document DC3.

[0116] FIG. 13(B) shows the instruction panel to be operated. In the state of FIG. 13(A), it is assumed that the next search button 5BN of the first instruction panel 531 is clicked with the mouse pointer 185 (hereinafter, the keyword associated with the first instruction panel 531 is referred to as the first attention keyword KW1). The processor 910 executes the process of S552 (FIG. 11) in response to the operation of the next search button 5BN. In S552, the processor 910 searches backward from the current editing position (here, the position of the cursor 180) in the document DC3 for the keyword associated with the operated next search button 5BN. This search changes the display of the text area 190 from the state of FIG. 13(A) to the state of FIG. 13(C). The processor 910 searches backward from the current position of the cursor 180 (FIG. 13(A)) for the first attention keyword KW1 (here, the "first control unit") associated with the operated next search button 5BN. As shown in FIG. 13(C), the processor 910 selects the first character string Tf1 found that is the same as the first attention keyword KW1 (i.e., the character string Tf1 closest to the original position of the cursor 180). The selected character string Tf1 is expressed in a specific format 180s. The user can easily obtain matters related to the first attention keyword KW1 by reading the text surrounding the found character string Tf1. If the same character string as the first attention keyword KW1 is not found by searching backward from the current editing position, the processor 910 may display a message indicating that the first attention keyword KW1 is not found on the display unit 940.

[0117] After this, the user may operate a button on another instruction panel. FIG. 13(D) shows the button to be operated. In the state of FIG. 13(C), it is assumed that the previous search button 5BP of the second instruction panel 532 is clicked with the mouse pointer 185 (hereinafter, the keyword associated with the second instruction panel 532 is referred to as the second attention keyword KW2). The processor 910 executes the process of S562 (FIG. 11) in response to the operation of the previous search button 5BP. In S562, the processor 910 searches for the keyword associated with the operated previous search button 5BP from the current editing position in the document DC3 toward the front. This search changes the display of the text area 190 from the state of FIG. 13(C) to the state of FIG. 13(E). In the state where a character string is selected as in FIG. 13(C), the selection range of the character string indicates the editing position in the document. For example, when new text is input, the text is inserted at the position of the selection range (the character string in the selection range is replaced with the input text). The processor 910 searches for the second attention keyword KW2 (here, "second control unit") associated with the operated previous search button 5BP from the selection range (here, character string Tf1) in FIG. 13(C) forward. As shown in FIG. 13(D), the processor 910 selects the first found character string Tf2 (i.e., the character string Tf2 closest to the original selection range) that is the same as the second attention keyword KW2. The selected character string Tf2 is expressed in a specific format 180s. The user can easily obtain matters related to the second attention keyword KW2 by reading the sentences surrounding the found character string Tf2. Note that, if the same character string as the second attention keyword KW2 is not found by searching forward from the current editing position, the processor 910 may display a message indicating that the second attention keyword KW2 is not found on the display unit 940.

[0118] If document DC3 is long, text area 190 may display only a portion of document DC3. The character string found by the search may be included in the non-displayed portion of document DC3. In this embodiment, the editing application displays the portion of document DC3 that includes the character string found by the search in text area 190. The user can read the text surrounding the found character string by observing text area 190. In S552 and S562, processor 910 may search for a keyword using a search function of the editing application.

[0119] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following processes in accordance with the program 932. In S544 (FIG. 11), the processor 910 displays the GUI 500 (FIG. 12(C)) on the display unit 940. The GUI 500 includes a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN for each of the multiple keywords. In the example of FIG. 12(C), the GUI 500 includes a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN for the first attention keyword KW1, and a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN for the second attention keyword KW2.

[0120] When the next search button 5BN for the first focus keyword KW1 is operated, the processor 910, in S552 (FIG. 11), searches backward for the first focus keyword KW1 from the current editing position in the document DC3 (FIGS. 13(B), 13(C)).

[0121] When the previous search button 5BP for the first attention keyword KW1 is operated, the processor 910 searches for the first attention keyword KW1 (not shown) from the current editing position in the document DC3 forward in S562 (FIG. 11).

[0122] When the next search button 5BN for the second attention keyword KW2 is operated, the processor 910 searches for the second attention keyword KW2 backward from the current editing position in the document DC3 (not shown) in S552 (FIG. 11).

[0123] When the previous search button 5BP for the second focus keyword KW2 is operated, the processor 910, in S562 (FIG. 11), searches forward for the second focus keyword KW2 from the current editing position in the document DC3 (FIGS. 13(D), 13(E)).

[0124] In this way, the processor 910 can search for the first attention keyword KW1 from the editing position forward or backward, and can search for the second attention keyword KW2 from the editing position forward or backward, depending on the operation of the button by the user. The user can easily observe the relevant part of the first attention keyword KW1 in the document by referring to the search result of the first attention keyword KW1. The user can easily observe the relevant part of the second attention keyword KW2 in the document by referring to the search result of the second attention keyword KW2. The user can easily compare the relevant part of the first attention keyword KW1 in the document with the relevant part of the second attention keyword KW2. In addition, the user can select a preferred search direction from before or after the editing position. The user can easily obtain search results from the part of the document in which he or she is interested. In addition, the GUI 500 includes a set of a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN for the first attention keyword KW1, and a set of a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN for the second attention keyword KW2. The user can proceed with the search for the first attention keyword KW1 and the search for the second attention keyword KW2 in any order without re-inputting the first attention keyword KW1 and the second attention keyword KW2.

[0125] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following processes in accordance with the program 932. In S542 (FIG. 11), the processor 910 counts the total number of first attention keywords KW1 and the total number of second attention keywords KW2 contained in a specific range of the document DC3. In this embodiment, the specific range is the entire document. In S544, the processor 910 displays the total number of first attention keywords KW1 and the total number of second attention keywords KW2 on the GUI 500 (FIG. 12(C)). The total number of each keyword contained in a specific range of the document can indicate the strength of relevance of each keyword to the document. The processor 910 can provide such information to the user.

[0126] In this embodiment, the GUI 500 (FIG. 12(A)) includes text fields 511 and 512 that accept input of keywords. As shown in FIG. 12(C), the first attention keyword KW1 may be a keyword input in the first text field 511, and the second attention keyword KW2 may be a keyword input in the second text field 512. That is, the first text field 511 is an example of a first input section that accepts input of the first attention keyword KW1, and the second text field 512 is an example of a second input section that accepts input of the second attention keyword KW2. In this way, the processor 910 can provide the GUI 500 that can easily search for each of the multiple keywords KW1 and KW2 input in the multiple text fields 511 and 512.

[0127] In this embodiment, the processor 910 executes the following process in accordance with the program 932. In S510 (FIG. 11), the processor 910 acquires keywords from a data file 939 prepared in advance. The total number of acquired keywords may be two or more. If the total number is two or more, in S544, the processor 910 displays the GUI 500 including an instruction panel for each of the multiple keywords acquired from the data file 939 on the display unit 940. For example, as shown in FIG. 12(C), the GUI 500 includes two instruction panels 533 and 534 associated with two keywords. The configuration of the instruction panels 533 and 534 is similar to the configuration of the instruction panels 531 and 532 for the above-mentioned two keywords KW1 and KW2. For example, the instruction panels 533 and 534 each include a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN. In this manner, the processor 910 can provide the GUI 500 that allows the user to easily search for the two keywords retrieved from the data file 939 in the same manner as the above keywords KW1 and KW2. Also, the instruction panels 533 and 534 each include a total number area 5N. The processor 910 can provide the user with information indicating the strength of association between each of the two keywords retrieved from the data file 939 and the document.

[0128] Depending on the type of document, terms that are considered inappropriate may be predefined. The user may enter the inappropriate terms in the data file 939 in advance. The user can easily obtain information related to the use of the inappropriate terms in the document by referring to the search results for the inappropriate terms. In this embodiment, the GUI 500 (FIG. 12(C)) also includes a total number area 5N for each keyword. The user can easily determine whether the document contains an inappropriate term by observing the total number area 5N of the inappropriate terms.

[0129] B. Variations: (1) The configuration of the GUI for searching for a plurality of keywords is not limited to the configuration of GUI 500 in FIG. 12(A)-FIG. 12(C), and may be various configurations including a first operation unit and a second operation unit for searching for a first keyword, and a third operation unit and a fourth operation unit for searching for a second keyword. The first operation unit and the third operation unit are operation units for searching for a keyword backward from the current editing position, respectively. The second operation unit and the fourth operation unit are operation units for searching for a keyword forward from the current editing position, respectively. These operation units are not limited to buttons such as search buttons 5BN and 5BP, and may be any GUI component operable by the user. For example, the GUI may include a pull-down menu for each keyword. This pull-down menu may provide the user with a plurality of options including an option indicating a backward search (examples of the first and third operation units) and an option indicating a forward search (examples of the second and fourth operation units). When the user operates (e.g., clicks) one option, the processor 910 may execute a process associated with that option.

[0130] Also, the input section (e.g., text fields 511, 512) that accepts keyword input may be omitted. In this case, processor 910 may acquire the keyword from data file 939 (FIG. 11: S510). Alternatively, acquisition of the keyword from data file 939 (S510) may be omitted. In this case, processor 910 may acquire the keyword input in the input section (e.g., text fields 511, 512) (FIG. 11: S532).

[0131] (2) The process of searching for a plurality of keywords is not limited to the process of FIG. 11, and may be various processes including a process of searching for a first keyword forward or backward from the editing position and a process of searching for a second keyword forward or backward from the editing position. For example, the specific range of the document referred to in S542 to count the total number of keywords may be a part of the document instead of the entire document (for example, a predetermined part such as a section of the specification of a patent application document). The processor 910 may use a range specified by the user as the specific range. Note that the display of the total number of keywords may be omitted. The processor 910 may display on the display unit 940 in S515 a GUI including an operation unit for searching each keyword (for example, a previous search button 5BP and a next search button 5BN) regardless of the total number of each keyword included in the document. In this case, the preprocessing button 520 (FIGS. 12(A)-12(C)) and S542 and S544 in FIG. 11 may be omitted.

[0132] (3) The process of changing the first type target string to the first type reference string is not limited to the process of Fig. 4, and may be various processes. For example, the first target range of the document referenced to search for the first type reference string in S230 may be a part of the document (e.g., a predetermined portion such as the claims section of a patent application document) instead of the entire document. Processor 910 may use a range specified by the user as the first target range.

[0133] When a plurality of mutually different first type reference strings are found, the processor 910 may change the first type target string to a first type reference string selected according to another rule, instead of the first type reference string selected by the user. For example, the processor 910 may change the first type target string to the first type reference string that appears most frequently in the document among the plurality of first type reference strings.

[0134] The instruction for executing the first change process is not limited to a keyboard shortcut and may be any instruction. For example, in S110 (FIG. 2(B)), the processor 910 may incorporate a button for executing the first change process into the UI display area 105 (FIG. 2(A)). The processor 910 may execute the first change process in response to an operation of this button. The processor 910 may also execute the first change process when a no-operation state continues for a predetermined time (for example, one second) after character input has stopped. In this case, the no-operation state continuing for the predetermined time is an example of an instruction for executing the first change process.

[0135] (4) In S230 (FIG. 4), the processor 910 may search for a second type reference character string in addition to the first type reference character string. For example, in the examples of FIGS. 5(B) and 5(C), the processor 910 may extract both the first type reference character string "first type name display area" and the second type reference character string "first type name display area 40A" from the description of "first type name display area 40A" in the document DC. In S260, the processor 910 may display a list including the first type reference character string and the second type reference character string on the display unit 940 (FIG. 1). The user may select a desired character string from the list including the first type reference character string and the second type reference character string.

[0136] (5) In the embodiment of FIG. 4, in S210, the processor 910 searches for a first type target string formed by one or more first type characters (kanji and katakana). Here, the processor 910 may search for a first type specific string including a predetermined specific string in addition to the first type target string. The specific string may include characters different from the first type characters (e.g., hiragana, English alphabet, Arabic numerals, etc.), such as "thickness", "GPU", and "first temperature". Such a specific string may be used as a name. The user may predetermine the specific string. The first type specific string includes a string in which one or more first type characters are connected to either or both of the front and back of the specific string, in addition to the same string as the specific string. For example, when the specific string is "thickness", "first thickness", "thickness determination unit", and "paper thickness measuring device" are examples of the first type specific string. In S210, the processor 910 may search the document for the first type target string and the first type specific string adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 in the document. The processor 910 may then adopt the longest string among the found strings as the string to be modified.

[0137] If the character string to be changed is a first type specific character string, in S230, the processor 910 searches for a first type specific reference character string including the character string to be changed. The first type specific reference character string is a character string that is the same as the character string to be changed, or a character string in which one or more first type characters are connected to either or both of the front and back of the character string to be changed. For example, if the character string to be changed is "thickness measurement", "first thickness measurement", "thickness measuring device", and "first thickness measuring device" are examples of the first type specific reference character string. In S240-S280, the processor 910 may change the character string to be changed to the found first type specific reference character string. If multiple first type specific reference character strings different from each other are found, the processor 910 may change the character string to be changed to a first type specific reference character string selected according to a predetermined rule (for example, selection by a user, etc.).

[0138] (6) The process of changing the second type target string to the second type reference string is not limited to the process of Fig. 6, and may be various processes. For example, the second target range of the document referenced to search for the second type reference string in S330 may be a part of the document (e.g., a predetermined portion such as a section of the specification of a patent application) instead of the entire document. Processor 910 may use a range specified by the user as the second target range.

[0139] When a plurality of mutually different second type reference strings are found, the processor 910 may change the second type target string to a second type reference string selected according to another rule, instead of the second type reference string selected by the user. For example, the processor 910 may change the second type target string to the second type reference string that appears most frequently in the document among the plurality of second type reference strings.

[0140] The instruction for executing the second change process is not limited to a keyboard shortcut, and may be any instruction. For example, in S110 (FIG. 2(B)), the processor 910 may incorporate a button for executing the second change process into the UI display area 105 (FIG. 2(A)). The processor 910 may execute the second change process in response to an operation of this button. The processor 910 may also execute the second change process when a no-operation state continues for a predetermined time (for example, one second) after character input has stopped. In this case, the no-operation state continuing for the predetermined time is an example of an instruction for executing the second change process. Note that the instruction for the second change process is preferably different from the instruction for the first change process.

[0141] (7) In the embodiment of FIG. 6, in S310, the processor 910 searches for a second type of target string. Here, the processor 910 may search for a second type of specific string including a predetermined specific string in addition to the second type of target string. As described above, the specific string may include characters (e.g., hiragana, English alphabet, Arabic numerals, etc.) different from the first type of characters, such as "thickness", "GPU", and "first temperature". The second type of specific string may be either a specific name string or a specific signed name string, which will be described below.

[0142] <Specific name string> A specific name string is a string that represents a name (or a part of a name) that includes a specific string. A specific name string is a string that is the same as the specific string, or a string in which one or more primary characters (kanji and katakana) are connected to either or both the front and back of the specific string. For example, if the specific string is "thickness," then "first thickness," "thickness determination," and "paper thickness measuring device" are examples of specific name strings.

[0143] <Specific signed name string> A specific-coded name string is a string that represents a name (or part of the name) that includes a specific string, followed by a code (or part of the code). A specific-coded name string is a string formed by the above-mentioned specific name string and one or more second-class characters (English alphabet and Arabic numerals) following the specific name string. For example, if the specific string is "thickness", then "first thickness 10", "thickness determination unit 2", and "paper thickness measuring device 3" are examples of specific-coded name strings.

[0144] In S310, the processor 910 may search the document for a second type of target string and a second type of specific string (i.e., a specific name string or a specific signed name string) adjacent to the front of the cursor 180 in the document. Then, the processor 910 may adopt the longest string among the found strings as the string to be changed.

[0145] If the character string to be changed is a second type specific character string (i.e., a specific name character string or a specific code-added name character string), in S330, the processor 910 searches for a second type specific reference character string that includes the character string to be changed. The second type specific reference character string is a character string formed by a name portion and a code portion following the name portion.

[0146] When the character string to be changed is a specific name character string (e.g., "thickness determination"), the searched second type specific reference character string represents a name including the character string to be changed and a code following the name. For example, when the character string to be changed is "thickness determination", "first thickness determination unit 200" is an example of a second type specific reference character string. In this way, the name including the character string to be changed may be a character string in which one or more first type characters (kanji and katakana) are connected to either or both of the front and back of the character string to be changed. Alternatively, the name including the character string to be changed may be the same as the character string to be changed. The code following the name is formed by one or more second type characters (English alphabet and Arabic numerals).

[0147] When the character string to be changed is a specific sign-attached name character string (e.g., "thickness determination unit 2"), the name portion of the searched second type specific reference character string may be a portion of the character string to be changed that represents the name. For example, when the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", the name portion may be "thickness determination unit". Alternatively, the name portion may be a character string in which one or more first type characters (kanji and katakana) are connected before the portion of the character string to be changed that represents the name. For example, when the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", the name portion may be "first thickness determination unit". The sign portion of the second type specific reference character string may be a portion of the character string to be changed that represents the sign. For example, when the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", the sign portion may be "2". Alternatively, the sign portion may be a character string in which one or more second type characters (English alphabet and Arabic numerals) are connected after the portion of the character string to be changed that represents the sign. For example, when the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", the sign portion may be "200". Thus, if the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", then "first thickness determination unit 200" is an example of a second type of specific reference character string that may be found.

[0148] As described above, various character strings may be found as the second type specific reference character string. For example, if the character string to be changed is "thickness determination unit 2", various character strings such as "thickness determination unit 2", "first thickness determination unit 2", "thickness determination unit 200", "first thickness determination unit 200", and "second thickness determination unit 220" may be found as the second type specific reference character string. In S340-S380, the processor 910 may change the character string to be changed to the found second type specific reference character string. If multiple different second type specific reference character strings are found, the processor 910 may change the character string to be changed to a second type specific reference character string selected according to a predetermined rule (e.g., selection by a user, etc.).

[0149] (8) Character groups such as the Kanji group, the Katakana group, the English alphabet group, and the Arabic numerals group may be defined using other character codes instead of Unicode ranges (for example, Shift JIS character codes).

[0150] (9) In the selected format application process (FIG. 9), the format applicable to the same character string as the selected character string in the document is not limited to the highlight color, but may include various formats. For example, when the selected highlight color is a dark color, the processor 910 may set the character color to a color lighter than the highlight color. In this manner, the format may include a combination of the highlight color (i.e., background color) and the character color. Note that the editing application does not need to have a highlight function. In this case, the processor 910 may set the background color of the character string to the color of the selected format. Also, the multiple selectable formats are not limited to different highlight colors, but may show any different characteristics. The format may show one or more characteristics arbitrarily selected in advance from, for example, the highlight color (background color), the character color, the font (Gothic, Mincho, etc.), the character size, the style (normal, italic, bold, etc.), and the underline (none, single line, double line, etc.).

[0151] (10) The format selection section displayed as a GUI for applying a format is not limited to the pull-down menu 114 (FIGS. 2(A) and 10(C)), but may be any GUI component configured to select a character format from a plurality of formats. For example, the format selection section may include a plurality of radio buttons each corresponding to a plurality of formats. The user can select one format by clicking one of the radio buttons.

[0152] In either case, the format selection section is preferably configured to allow the user to select a character string in the text area (e.g., text area 190 FIG. 10(B)) while the format selection section is displayed on a display device (e.g., display unit 940 (FIG. 1)). For example, as in the embodiment of FIG. 2(A), the format selection section (here, pull-down menu 114) and the text area 190 may be included in the same window (here, application window 100). Alternatively, the format selection section may be included in a separate window different from the window including the text area 190. In this case, the format selection section is preferably configured to allow the user to select a character string in the text area 190 while the format selection section is displayed. For example, the window including the format selection section may be a modeless window. This allows the user to select a character string in the text area 190 while the format selection section is displayed.

[0153] The processor 910 may display a GUI including a format selection section on the display device after the character string is selected in the text area. For example, the editing application may have a function of displaying a pop-up menu representing an editing menu for the selected character string on the display device in response to the selection of the character string. The program 932 may be configured to incorporate the format selection section into the pop-up menu.

[0154] The GUI for applying the format may have various configurations including a format selection section, instead of the first GUI 110 in Fig. 2(A). For example, the all-cancel button 118 (and thus the all-cancel format processing S186 in Fig. 3) may be omitted. Also, the check box 112 in Fig. 2(A) (and thus S430, S450 in Fig. 9) may be omitted.

[0155] (11) The processes executable according to the program 932 (FIG. 1) may be various processes. For example, the program 932 may cause the processor 910 to execute one or more processes arbitrarily selected in advance from the processes S160, S170, S180, S183, S186, and S190 in FIG. 3. For example, the program 932 may cause the processor 910 to execute one, two, three, or four processes arbitrarily selected in advance from the five processes of the first change process S160, the second change process S170, the selected format application process S180, the full format release process S186, and the multiple search process S190. One or more processes arbitrarily selected in advance from the processes S160, S170, S180, S183, S186, and S190 may be omitted.

[0156] Furthermore, the processing group, which is a group of processing that can be executed according to program 932, is not limited to the processing of each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modified examples, and may include various processing. For example, the processing group may include a pre-selection processing that selects a portion of the document before the cursor (e.g., cursor 180 (FIG. 2(A))), and a post-selection processing that selects a portion of the document after the cursor. A user may copy or delete a portion of the document before the cursor or after the cursor. In such a case, the pre-selection processing or post-selection processing can reduce the burden on the user.

[0157] The processing group may include a line break deletion process that deletes line breaks from a selected character string. A user may copy text from another document, such as PDF (Portable Document Format) data or a web page, and paste the copied text into a document being edited. Here, the pasted text may include unnecessary line breaks. In such a case, the line break deletion process can reduce the burden on the user to delete the line breaks. The processing group may include a string deletion process that deletes a specific string from a selected character string. The string to be deleted may be various strings, such as a space character, "," (comma), or a string specified by the user. Text copied from another document may include unnecessary strings. In such a case, the string deletion process can reduce the burden on the user to delete the unnecessary strings.

[0158] The processing group may include a Chinese character conversion process for converting Chinese characters in the Kangxi Dictionary style in the document into common Chinese characters. For example, the processor 910 may convert Chinese characters in the Kangxi Dictionary style in the document into common Chinese characters according to a predetermined correspondence. The Chinese character conversion process can improve the readability of old documents.

[0159] The processing group may include a reassignment process for reassigning figure numbers. When a document refers to multiple figures, each figure may be assigned a figure number. For example, a document such as a patent application or a paper may include one or more drawings. Each drawing may be identified by a consecutive number starting from 1. In a document, each drawing is referred to by a figure number such as "Figure 1", "Figure 2", etc. Here, the order of the drawings may be changed during the creation of a document. For example, Figure 3 may be moved after Figure 5. In this case, the original Figures 4 and 5 are changed to Figures 3 and 4, respectively, and the original Figure 3 is changed to Figure 5. In this way, the figure numbers are reassigned. The figure numbers are also reassigned when a figure is deleted or a new figure is inserted in addition to moving a figure. The reassignment process may include, for example, the following processes. The processor 910 creates a correspondence between the original figure numbers and the new figure numbers according to a figure operation selected by the user from the three figure operations of "moving a figure", "deleting a figure", and "inserting a new figure". The processor 910 changes the figure numbers in the document in accordance with the created correspondence relationship. Such a reassignment process can reduce the burden on the user of reassigning figure numbers.

[0160] In either case, each task within a task group is preferably associated with different instructions for execution.

[0161] (12) The editing application may be various applications configured to edit documents (for example, Ichitaro ("Ichitaro" is a registered trademark of JustSystems Corporation) by JustSystems Corporation). The program 932 may be various programs that run on the editing application. For example, the program 932 may be a macro that runs on the editing application. The program 932 may be a part of the program of the editing application. That is, the editing application may be configured to execute each process included in the above-mentioned process group. In addition, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, a browsing application may be used instead of the editing application. The browsing application or the program that runs on the browsing application may be configured to execute various document processes. The document process executed using the browsing application may include, for example, one or more processes arbitrarily selected in advance from processes S180, S183, S186, and S190 in FIG. 3. In processes S180, S183, and S186, the format for displaying character strings may be changed. The editing application and the viewing application may indicate the processing position in the document (e.g., the editing position or the focus position for viewing) by a cursor (e.g., cursor 180 (FIG. 13(A))) or a selection range of a string (e.g., the range of selected string Tf1 (FIG. 13(C))). In S552 of FIG. 11, a keyword may be searched backward from the current processing position in the document. In S562, a keyword may be searched forward from the current processing position in the document. In either case, if a GUI is not used for document processing, the display of the GUI for document processing may be omitted.

[0162] (13) The document processing device may be various other devices (e.g., a smartphone, a server device, etc.) instead of a personal computer such as the data processing device 900 (FIG. 1). Furthermore, a plurality of devices (e.g., computers) that can communicate with each other via a network may share portions of the document processing functions of the document processing device, and as a whole, provide the document processing functions (a system including these devices corresponds to a document processing device). A user may input various instructions to the document processing device by operating a terminal device (e.g., a personal computer) connected to the document processing device (such as a server device) via the network. The document processing device may display various information on a display unit of the terminal device via the network.

[0163] In each of the above embodiments, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part or all of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[0164] Furthermore, when some or all of the functions of the present disclosure are realized by a computer program, the program can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium). The program can be used in a state stored in the same or a different recording medium (computer-readable recording medium) from when it was provided. The "computer-readable recording medium" is not limited to portable recording media such as memory cards and CD-ROMs, but may also include internal storage devices within a computer, such as various ROMs, and external storage devices connected to a computer, such as a hard disk drive.

[0165] The above-mentioned examples and modifications can be combined as appropriate. The above-mentioned examples and modifications are provided to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and do not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

[0166] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in the following aspects. [Aspect 1] A program for document processing, comprising: a display function for displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit; a first search function for searching a first keyword backward from a current processing position in a document when the first operation unit is operated; a second search function for searching for the first keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the second operation unit is operated; a third search function for searching for a second keyword backward from the current processing position when the third operation unit is operated; a fourth search function for searching for the second keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the fourth operation unit is operated; A program that enables a computer to achieve this. [Aspect 2] The program according to aspect 1, further comprising: a counting function for counting the total number of the first keywords and the total number of the second keywords included in a specific range of the document; a total number display function for displaying the total number of the first keywords and the total number of the second keywords on the graphical user interface; A program that enables a computer to achieve this. [Aspect 3] The program according to aspect 1 or 2, the graphical user interface further includes a first input unit and a second input unit for receiving an input of a keyword; the first keyword is a keyword inputted into the first input unit, The second keyword is a keyword inputted into the second input unit. program. [Aspect 4] The program according to aspect 1 or 2, further comprising: A program that causes a computer to realize an acquisition function of acquiring the first keyword and the second keyword from a data file prepared in advance. [Aspect 5] 1. A document processing device comprising: a display unit that displays a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit; a first search unit that searches for a first keyword backward from a current processing position in a document when the first operation unit is operated; a second search unit that searches for the first keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the second operation unit is operated; a third search unit that searches for a second keyword backward from the current processing position when the third operation unit is operated; a fourth search unit that searches for the second keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the fourth operation unit is operated; A document processing device comprising: [Aspect 6] 1. A document processing method comprising: A document processing method comprising a step of causing a computer to execute each function of the program according to any one of aspects 1 to 4. [Aspect 7] A program for document processing, comprising: a first type object search function that searches a document for a first type object character string adjacent to a cursor indicating an editing position in the document, the first type object character string being formed by one or more first type characters, the first type characters including characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group; a first reference search function for searching a first reference string formed by one or more first characters from a first target range of the document when the first target string is found, the first reference string including the first target string; a first change function for changing the first object string adjacent to the cursor to the first reference string when the first reference string is found; A program that enables a computer to achieve the above. [Aspect 8] The program according to aspect 7, The first type reference search function finds the first type reference string that does not include the one or more second type characters when the first target range of the document includes the first type reference string and one or more second type characters following the first type reference string, and the second type characters include English alphabets and Arabic numerals; program. [Aspect 9] The program according to aspect 7 or 8, the first type target search function, the first type reference search function, and the first type change function respectively execute a search for the first type target string, a search for the first type reference string, and a change to the first type target string in response to a first instruction from a user; program. [Aspect 10] A program according to any one of aspects 7 to 9, The first type change function changes the first type target string to a first type reference string selected by a user from the plurality of first type reference strings when a plurality of different first type reference strings are found. program. [Aspect 11] The program according to any one of aspects 7 to 10, further comprising: a second type object search function for searching the document for a second type object character string adjacent to the cursor, the second type object character string being any one of a plurality of types of character strings including a first type character string formed by one or more first type characters, a second type character string formed by one or more second type characters, and a third type character string formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters following the one or more first type characters, the second type characters including characters of a predetermined English alphabet group and characters of a predetermined Arabic numeral group; a second type reference search function that searches a second type reference string formed by one or more first type characters and one or more second type characters subsequent to the one or more first type characters from a second target range of the document when the second type target string is found, the second type reference search function including the second type target string; a second change function for changing the second object character string adjacent to the cursor to the second reference character string when the second reference character string is found; A program that enables a computer to achieve the above. [Aspect 12] 12. The program according to claim 11, the second type target search function, the second type reference search function, and the second type change function respectively execute a search for the second type target string, a search for the second type reference string, and a change to the second type target string in response to a second instruction from a user; program. [Aspect 13] 13. The program according to aspect 11 or 12, The second type change function changes the second type target string to a second type reference string selected by a user from the plurality of second type reference strings when a plurality of different second type reference strings are found. program. [Aspect 14] 1. A document processing device comprising: a first type object searching unit that searches a document for a first type object character string adjacent to a cursor indicating an editing position in the document, the first type object character string being formed by one or more first type characters, the first type characters including characters of a predetermined kanji group and characters of a predetermined katakana group; a first type reference search unit that searches a first type reference string formed by one or more first type characters from a first target range of the document when the first type target string is found, the first type reference search unit including the first type target string; a first type change unit that changes the first type object character string adjacent to and in front of the cursor to the first type reference character string when the first type reference character string is found; A document processing device comprising: [Aspect 15] 1. A document processing method comprising: A document processing method comprising a step of causing a computer to execute each function of the program according to any one of aspects 7 to 13. [Aspect 16] A program for document processing, comprising: a display function for displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a format selection unit configured to select a character format from a plurality of formats; a first application function that, when a first format is selected by operating the format selection unit in a state in which a first string including one or more characters is selected in a text area displayed on the display device and the text area represents at least a part of a content of a document, executes a first application process that applies the first format to a string in the document that is the same as the first string; A program that enables a computer to achieve this. [Aspect 17] The program according to aspect 16, further comprising: a program that causes a computer to realize a second application function that executes a second application process in which, when a second string including one or more characters and different from the first string is selected in the text area after the first application process and a second format different from the first format is selected by operating the format selection unit, the second format is applied to a string in the document that is the same as the second string, without changing the first format of the string that is the same as the first string in the document. [Aspect 18] 18. The program according to claim 16 or 17, the format selection unit is configured to allow the first character string on the text area to be selected while the format selection unit is displayed on the display device. program. [Aspect 19] 19. The program according to any one of aspects 16 to 18, The plurality of formats include a plurality of formats showing different highlight colors. program. [Aspect 20] 20. The program according to any one of aspects 16 to 19, The graphical user interface further includes an operation unit; The program further comprises: causing a computer to realize a function of setting the format of the entire document to a standard format when the operation unit is operated; program. [Aspect 21] 1. A document processing device comprising: a display unit that displays a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a format selection unit configured to select a character format from a plurality of formats; a first application unit that, when a first format is selected by operating the format selection unit in a state in which a first string including one or more characters is selected in a text area displayed on the display device and the text area represents at least a part of a content of a document, executes a first application process of applying the first format to a string in the document that is the same as the first string; A document processing device comprising: [Aspect 22] 1. A document processing method comprising: A document processing method comprising a step of causing a computer to execute each function of the program according to any one of aspects 16 to 20. [Explanation of symbols]

[0167] 5BN...Next search button, 5BP...Previous search button, 5K...Keyword area, 5N...Total number area, 100...Application window, 105...User interface display area (UI display area), 110...First GUI, 112...Check box, 114...Pull-down menu, 114a-114e...Selections, 116...Cancel button, 118...All cancel button, 120...Second GUI, 122...Button, 180...Cursor, 185...Mouse pointer, 190...Text area, 240...First type target string, 245, 245b...Second type target string, 260, 265...Mark, 270, 280, 290...Window, 270a, 270b, 270c...First type reference string, 280a...Second type reference string, 511...First text Field, 512...second text field, 520...pre-processing button, 530...instruction area, 531-535...instruction panel, 900...data processing device, 910...processor, 915...storage device, 920...volatile storage device, 930...non-volatile storage device, 931...application, 932...program, 939...data file, 940...display unit, 950...operation unit, 970...communication interface, 992...keyboard, 994...mouse, DC, DC1, DC2, DC3...document, KW1...first attention keyword, KW2...second attention keyword, S160...first change processing, S170...second change processing, S180...selected format application processing, S183...format release processing, S186...complete format release processing, S190...multiple search processing

Claims

1. A program for document processing, comprising: a display function for displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit; a first search function for searching a first keyword backward from a current processing position in a document when the first operation unit is operated; a second search function for searching for the first keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the second operation unit is operated; a third search function for searching for a second keyword backward from the current processing position when the third operation unit is operated; a fourth search function for searching for the second keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the fourth operation unit is operated; A program that enables a computer to achieve this.

2. The program according to claim 1, further comprising: a counting function for counting the total number of the first keywords and the total number of the second keywords included in a specific range of the document; a total number display function for displaying the total number of the first keywords and the total number of the second keywords on the graphical user interface; A program that enables a computer to achieve this.

3. 3. The program according to claim 1 or 2, the graphical user interface further includes a first input unit and a second input unit for receiving an input of a keyword; the first keyword is a keyword input to the first input unit, The second keyword is a keyword inputted to the second input unit. program.

4. The program according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: A program that causes a computer to realize an acquisition function of acquiring the first keyword and the second keyword from a data file prepared in advance.

5. 1. A document processing device comprising: a display unit that displays a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface including a first operation unit, a second operation unit, a third operation unit, and a fourth operation unit; a first search unit that searches for a first keyword backward from a current processing position in a document when the first operation unit is operated; a second search unit that searches for the first keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the second operation unit is operated; a third search unit that searches for a second keyword backward from the current processing position when the third operation unit is operated; a fourth search unit that searches for the second keyword from the current processing position toward the front when the fourth operation unit is operated; A document processing device comprising:

6. 1. A document processing method comprising:

3. A document processing method comprising the step of causing a computer to execute each function of the program according to claim 1.

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