Linked Text Fragments in Document Layouts

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional typography applications update entire text frames when variable content changes, leading to loss of styling attributes and requiring significant manual effort to re-typeset and re-style the document layout, as they do not distinguish between constant and variable content within a text frame.

Innovation Solution

The system creates links to content for multiple text fragments within a text frame, allowing for independent or joint updating of variable content without affecting the entire text frame, while preserving styling attributes by applying attributes associated with a location in the text frame, enabling text from assets on a server to be linked and updated within the document layout.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the entire text frame is updated when variable content changes, then the content is synchronized with the source, but the styling attributes are lost and significant manual effort is required to re-typeset and re-style the document layout

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent synchronizationVSAvoidmanual re-styling time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The text frame is segmented into multiple text fragments, each independently linkable to content sources. This segmentation allows selective updating of only the variable content portions while preserving the constant content and its styling attributes, eliminating the need to re-style the entire document layout when content changes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the text frame are assigned different properties: constant content retains its styling attributes while variable content is marked for automatic updating. This local differentiation enables the system to apply updates selectively to specific fragments rather than treating the entire text frame uniformly, thus preserving styling where not needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If multiple text frames are created to accommodate constant and variable content separately, then styling is preserved during updates, but the creation and arrangement becomes tedious and the layout becomes overly sensitive to changes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestyling preservationVSAvoidnumber of text frames

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of creating separate text frames for constant and variable content, the invention segments the single text frame into multiple text fragments. This approach maintains the visual integrity and simplicity of a single text frame while enabling independent control and updating of different content portions, thus avoiding the complexity of managing multiple text frames.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple text frames are arranged to accommodate both constant and variable content, then independent updating is possible, but significant manual effort is required to re-typeset the document when changes occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindependent content updatingVSAvoiddocument re-typesetting effort

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The text frame is divided into multiple text fragments that can be independently updated. When variable content changes, only the specific text fragment containing that variable content is updated automatically, while other fragments remain unchanged. This eliminates the need for manual re-typesetting of the entire document while maintaining independent updating capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Device complexity

If a single text frame is used for all content, then the layout is simple, but styling attributes are lost when content is updated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetext frame structureVSAvoidstyling attributes

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The text frame applies different properties to different text fragments within the same frame. Constant content fragments retain their styling attributes, while variable content fragments are marked for automatic updating. This local differentiation allows the system to preserve styling where needed while enabling automatic updates where appropriate, all within a single text frame structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10210142B1Inserting linked text fragments in a document

Publication Date: 2019.02.19 ADOBE INC

AI summary

In one or more implementations, a digital medium environment includes at least one computing device. Systems and techniques are described herein for inserting linked text fragments in a document layout of a document. By supporting multiple linked text fragments within a text frame, of both constant content and variable content, content of an asset is inserted into a text fragment while preserving the styling attributes of the text frame. Thus, manual efforts associated with reapplying styling attributes are avoided, unlike systems that do not distinguish between text fragments with constant content and text fragments with variable content within a text frame. Furthermore, a user interface is generated that exposes metadata of assets and a document layout. Content of an asset exposed via the user interface, once selected, is inserted into the document layout and exposed as a tagged text fragment, indicating the content is linked.