Patent Application
20070008564
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for creating textual matter, and, more particularly, to such systems and methods for creating textual matter having elements such as images embedded therein of varying vertical heights.
2. Description of Related Art
Textual matter such as printed matter and screen-display matter can contain elements such as images that are sized differently from surrounding text. Such elements may, for example, include mathematical equation elements.
In the traditional process for aligning elements in text, content may exist in, for example, a word processing file such as, but not intended to be limited to, MS Word, with an equation object embedded therein. This text file is then exported to a page layout program, such as Quark XPress, and the math elements are converted to images using a “plug-in,” which may, for example, comprise a package “Math Type.” Math elements are then placed in their intended space, and manually adjusted to a desired location for each element.
Should edits be required in the content, additional manual adjustment is required, both for textual matter and equation elements. Further, material created by plug-ins is not easily exportable, and typically will require additional manual manipulation.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method for creating a unitary image that can be edited and saved in a unitary file, and is adapted for being output in a plurality of formats for a plurality of media.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for dynamically, automatically aligning an element within textual matter, wherein the element has a vertical extent differing from a vertical extent of surrounding text. The element may comprise, for example, an image, although this is not intended as a limitation. The method comprises the step of calculating, based upon a difference between a font size of the text and the element's vertical extent, a vertical offset for placing the element relative to the textual matter is calculated. The calculated vertical offset is used for achieving a dynamic adjustment in presentation of textual matter with the element placed therein, irrespective of desired output format. For example, the calculations can be used for deployment to a print medium, although this is not intended as a limitation. As a specific example, mathematical equation editor objects can be vertically aligned with text surrounding it in dynamically created pdf files of a standardized document.
The invention has particular value in its inherent flexibility, since the process can be easily adjusted commensurate with any business rules that impact the textual format.
The features that characterize the invention, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description used in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. It is to be expressly understood that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. These and other objects attained, and advantages offered, by the present invention will become more fully apparent as the description that now follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
A description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be presented with reference to
An exemplary method 100 for creating textual matter having objects of varying vertical sizes, as shown in
The math elements are dynamically classified by a predetermined style sheet based upon height (block 104), which is provided as a number in some predetermined scale. Here, for example, all elements are compared with 100 “image points” px (block 105). If the element height is greater than 100 px, the image is dynamically vertically centered using an algebraic logic (block 106). Given a constant line height (for example, 14 pt), a vertical offset is calculated as being equal to the half the image height minus half the line height (block 107). This vertical offset is then stored for subsequently achieving a dynamic adjustment in presentation of textual matter with the element placed therein, irrespective of desired output format (block 108).
In
If the element height is less than 100 px (block 105), the image is dynamically “baselined” using an algebraic logic (block 109). The “baseline” can be described as an imaginary line on which a line of text “rests.” Given the constant line height, the vertical offset is calculated as being equal to the difference between the baseline of the text and the bottom of the object, minus a variable “white space” that is visually estimated, k (block 110). This vertical offset is then stored for subsequently achieving a dynamic adjustment in presentation of textual matter with the element placed therein, irrespective of desired output format (block 108).
In
Once the vertical offset is calculated, any changes to these elements is handled automatically and dynamically, according to the style sheet (block 111). Further, any changes to the flow of content can be handled automatically and dynamically, also according to the style sheet (block 112).
In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity, and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for description purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed. Moreover, the embodiments of the apparatus illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.
This application claims priority to provisional patent application 60/696,751, filed Jul. 6, 2005, entitled “Image Element Alignment for Printed Matter and Associated Methods.”
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60696751 | Jul 2005 | US |
