Method of Creating Text Using a Computer

This invention is a new way of creating text using a pointing mechanism such as a light pen or touch sensitive display screen to point to words that a program causes to be displayed on the screen, thereby adding them to the text.

The standard method of creating text is by typing on a keyboard. This method requires considerable skill to be able to create text at reasonably high rates. It typically takes adults about 100 hours of training to attain a typing speed of about 40 words per minute. Young children are not taught to type because they do not have the mental and/or physical dexterity required.

As personal computers become less expensive in the next few years, we can expect that almost anyone who needs to create text will have access to a computer so that he can use the word processing capabilities of the computer to create the text. Further, since word processing offers great advantages over both handwriting and standard typing on paper via a standard typewriter, we can expect that using a computer will be the method of choice for creating text. Hence a method of creating text at a reasonably high rate using a computer, that requires little skill or training will be very advantageous.

An object of this invention is to provide a method of creating text using a personal computer, which method is easy to learn but holds the possibility of permitting both young children and adults to create text at higher rates than present methods permit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of creating text which allows a person to use a word even if he is not sure of the correct spelling of that word.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method of editing using a natural pointing method rather than typed commands or cursor movements.

These objects, as well as other objects which will become apparent from the discussion that follows, are achieved, according to the present invention, by suitably programming a computer, having both a display screen and a pointing mechanism for identifying locations on the display screen, to enable the computer to carry out a process with the following steps:

(a) displaying on the screen a list of language words for selection by the computer user;

(b) identifying successive ones of the words in response to the pointing mechanism as these words are selected by the user by pointing to their respective locations on the screen; and

(c) displaying on the screen a line of text comprising the identified words in their successive order of selection.

Thus, when a person uses the programmed computer to create text on the display screen, he (or she) points to successive ones of the listed words, which are preferably arranged alphabetically on the screen. The computer then notes which words were pointed to and performs the appropriate processing to display a line or lines of text containing these words in proper order. Advantageously, the line(s) of text can be displayed at either the top or the bottom of the screen, so as to leave room on the main part of the screen for the original "library list" of words.

According to a particular feature of the present invention a list of alphanumeric characters is also displayed, so that words which are not contained in the "library list" may be spelled out, character by character, by pointing to their successive characters, in turn, in the manner described below.

Typically the first screen that is displayed (i.e. the first set of words and characters) by the computer will contain the most common words so that the person can add one of these words to the text by pointing to it, with one pointing action. If the person wants to add a word that is not on the first screen, he can point to one or more words or characters that will cause the computer to display a new screen on which the word that he wants to add is present. Typically he would point to the first letter of the word he wants. The computer will then display a second screen of words all of which start with that letter and which are in some sense the most common words that start with that letter. Hence this second screen is likely to contain the word that he has in mind. If it does, he can add the word to the text by pointing to it. He will then have added that word with a total of two pointing actions. If this second screen does not contain the word he wants, he would point (on this second screen) to the second letter of the word he wants and the computer will then display a third screen of the most common words that start with the first letter followed by the second letter. He can continue spelling out the word by pointing to succeeding letters until a screen is displayed which contains the word he wants or he has spelled out the entire word. If the word appears he can point to it and it will be added to the text and the first screen will be displayed so that he can choose his next word from among the most common words. If the word is completely spelled out he can point to an end of word indicator and the word will be added to the text and to one of the screens so that the next time he wants to use that word he will not have to spell it out again.

To edit the text he can point to an edit indicator and the computer will display a portion of the text along with edit command words. He can then perform the editing functions (such as "delete", "insert", etc.) by pointing to the edit command words and the text words that the edit commands should operate on.

The pointing mechanism can be a light pen, or a touch sensitive display that registers the position on the screen that a fingertip or other pointing object touches, or some other way of selecting a point on the screen. The computer can also be constructed to register several points that are pointed to almost simultaneously by several fingers or other pointing objects. Hence a person could point to the first two letters of a word almost simultaneously with two fingers, or he could point to a letter and a position on the screen at which he expects a word to appear as a result of pointing to the letter. This method according to the invention makes it possible for people to create text at very high rates.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 1 of the drawing illustrates a preferred format for the display screen of a computer which is programmed to operate according to the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an edit screen format for use with the method of the present invention.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing. This embodiment utilizes the following computer equipment, which is available commercially from IBM Corp., Boca Raton, Fla.:

IBM Personal Computer with at least 64K of memory;

At least one diskette drive;

A graphics CRT display;

A light pen.

The preferred embodiment also utilizes a computer program, written in BASIC language and designed to be supported by the IBM Disk Operating System (DOS). A complete listing of the instructions of this program is set forth in the attached Appendix. This program is entitled "Pointwriter"TM.

The Pointwriter TM text processing program operates to carry out 25 different functions. These are:

1. Add word to text and most used words columns.

2. Add letter to partially spelled word and get new screen of words.

3. Add fully spelled word to text and most used words columns.

4. Add suffixes "s", "ed", and "ing".

5. Add other suffixes.

6. Add special characters (including numbers and punctuation).

7. View text.

8. Replace character(s).

9. Delete character(s).

10. Insert character(s).

11. Delete word(s).

12. Undo last action.

13. Insert word(s).

14. Capitalize.

15. Paragraph.

16. Save text and most used words columns.

17. Print text.

18. Align text to eliminate short lines.

19. Stop editing and return to main screen.

20. Stop edit function.

21. Use words that you have previously used.

22. Start a new document or add to an old document.

23. Use old most used words columns.

24. Modify screens (for teacher).

25. Tutorials.

1. Add word to text and most used words columns.

The Pointwriter program generates a main image on the display screen in the format illustrated in FIG. 1. This image or "screen" is divided into three areas:

The first three rows contain the last three lines of text;

The bottom three rows (actually the bottom five because two are blank) contain the alphabet, special characters and command words; and

The middle area consists of a left part of fifteen rows by twenty-nine columns and a right part of fifteen rows by ten columns. The left part contains seventy of the most commonly used English words. The right part contains the fifteen text words that were used most often in the text, but are not among the seventy.

To add a word that is on this screen (except for the command words) to the text you just point to the word. All the characters to the left and right, including the character pointed to, up to the first space will be added to the text. Then a space character will be added to the text so that the next word added will be separated from this word by a space. If the word is not one of the seventy, it may also be added to the right hand column of fifteen most often used words. More precisely, its new frequency (after incrementing its frequency by one) will be compared to the frequencies of the words in that column and if its frequency outranks one of the others' it will replace it. If there are less than fifteen words in the column it will be added to the column. There are also twenty-five other columns of most used words, one for each letter exept "x". These columns appear, as we shall see when we discuss the next function-"Add letter to partially spelled word . . . ", when the middle area of the main screen is replaced by a list of words all starting with the letter. The word will also be added to the column of fifteen most used words which begin with its first letter.

2. Add letter to partially spelled word and get new screen of words.

If a word that you want to add to the text is not on the main screen of seventy words or in the column of fifteen most used text words you should point to its first letter in the screen displayed keyboard on the left side of the bottom three rows. The words in the middle area of the screen will immediately be replaced with words that begin with that letter. On the left (fifteen row by twenty nine character) part will be between ten and fifty very common words that begin with that letter. On the right (fifteen row by ten character) part will be up to fifteen words that have been used most frequently in the text that begin with that letter. If the word you want is still not on the screen you should point to its second letter. Again the words in the middle area will be replaced with words that begin with these two letters (the first followed by the second). If you point to a third or fourth letter one of two things will occur. If there are many words that begin with that sequence of three or four letters then a new set of words all starting with that sequence will appear. But if there are not many such words then all the words that do not begin with that sequence will be blanked out so that it will be easier to see if your word is on the screen. As you continue to spell out a word the words that don't begin with the letters that you have pointed to will continue to be blanked out so that if you fully spell the word only that word (and perhaps additional words that differ from it by an added suffix) will remain. As you spell out a word the letters you point to are added to the text so that you can see how much of it you have spelled. At any point that you notice the word and point to it, it will be added to the text replacing the partially or fully spelled word. Then the first screen of seventy words will reappear so you can chose your next word.

3. Add fully spelled word to text and most used word columns.

If you have fully spelled a word because it was never displayed, you must point to "end" on the next to last row to tell the program that it has no more letters. It will then be added to the text and possibly to the columns of fifteen most used words. Sometimes it will go into the column of most used words on the first screen. Usually it will go into the column of fifteen most used words that begin with its first letter so that when you want to use it again it will appear on the screen after you point to its first letter.

4. Add "s", "ed", and "ing" to the last word of text.

By pointing to "s", "ed", or "ing" on the right side of the next to last row, these suffixes may be added to the last word displayed.

5. Add other suffixes to the last word of text.

By first pointing to the left arrow on the bottom row to position the cursor immediately after the last text word, and then spelling the suffix and point to "end" other suffixes may be added. The full word including the suffix will be ranked by frequency of use for possible inclusion in the most used words columns.

6. Add special characters (including numbers and punctuation).

First position the cursor if necessary by pointing (perhaps repeatedly) to the arrows on the bottom row, then if the character is on the main screen point to it. If it is not on the main screen you should first point to "edit" on the bottom row. The edit screen will appear. Point to the character and you will immediately be returned to the main screen.

An example of the edit screen is shown in FIG. 2. Notice that the last twelve lines of text are displayed along with three additional rows of commands and that special characters have replaced the suffixes and the "edit" command on the bottom two rows.

7. View the text.

Only the last three lines of text are displayed on the main screen. To view the rest of the text point to "edit" to get the edit screen. You will initially see the last twelve lines of text. Point to TOP, BOTTOM, UP, and DOWN to scroll the text. TOP will display the first twelve lines of text and BOTTOM the last twelve lines. UP and DOWN cause a scroll of one line. Pointing to the number n immediately after pointing to UP or DOWN will cause an additional scroll of n-1 lines.

8. Replace a character.

You may replace a character by getting to the edit screen and first pointing to the character you want to replace. The cursor will move to that character. Then point to the character in the last three rows that you want to replace it with. Alphabetic characters will go in as lower case. To make it upper case capitalize it. After the replacement the cursor will move one character to the right so you can continue replacing characters easily.

9. Delete a character.

You may delete a character by getting to the edit screen and first pointing to the character and then pointing to DELETE LETTER. The characters to the right will be moved left one character so you can delete additional characters by repeatedly pointing to DELETE LETTER.

10. Insert a character.

You may insert a character by getting to the edit screen and pointing to the character before which the insertion should take place and then pointing to INSERT LETTER. Then point to the character you want to insert. It will go into the cursor position and the character that was at that position and the characters to the right will move one character to the right as will the cursor so you can easily continue inserting characters.

11. Delete words.

You may delete words by getting to the edit screen and pointing to DELETE WORD. Any words that you point to after that will be deleted.

12. Undo your last action.

You may undo your last action by pointing to "erase" on the bottom row.

13. Insert words.

You may insert words by getting to the edit screen and pointing to INSERT WORD. You will be asked to point to the word before which you want to insert. After you point to that word the main screen will reappear with the top three rows containing the text before that word on row one and the text after that word on row three and only the cursor on row two. You can insert as many words as you want just as you would add words to the end of the text. When you are finished inserting, point to the end. The text is aligned and then the last three lines of text will appear and you can continue.

14. Capitalize a character, by pointing to "Cap" and then the character. On the main screen you must point to "Cap" before each character, but on the edit screen you can point to "Cap" once and then a succession of characters.

15. Start a new paragraph, by pointing to "Par". On the main screen this will put the cursor at the beginning of the next text line indented one character. On the edit screen you will be asked which word should start a new paragraph and when you point to a word a new paragraph will be created and the text will be realigned accordingly.

16. Save your document on disk, by pointing to SAVE on the edit screen. You will be asked to spell a title.

You should point to "end" after spelling a title. The columns of most used words will also be saved under this title.

17. Print your document on the printer, by pointing to PRINT on the edit screen.

18. Eliminate short lines caused by deletions, by pointing to ALIGN on the edit screen.

19. Stop editing and return to the main screen, by pointing to RETURN on the edit screen.

20. Stop edit functions, by pointing to "end" on the edit screen. In some cases you can point to another edit command to automatically stop the previous edit function, but in the case of DELETE WORD you must point to "end" before attempting to position the cursor for another edit function since pointing to a text word while in DELETE WORD mode will delete the word!

21. Use words that you have previously used, by pointing to them in the text or the columns of most used words. If the word you want to use is in the last three lines of text it will be in the main screen text area and you can add it to the text by pointing to it. If it is not in the last three lines you can go to the edit screen and point to ADD WORDS. Then when you point to text words they will be added to the text instead of the cursor being positioned at the word.

22. Start a new document or add to an old one, by pointing to NEW DOC or to one of the titles that is displayed when you start the Pointwriter program. The initial Pointwriter program screen contains instructions and the command START. When you point to START the titles of previously saved documents will be displayed.

23. Use old most used words columns.

After you point to a title you will be asked if you want to use the most used words columns associated with that document or start out fresh. If you start a new document you will be asked if you want to use the most used words columns associated with one of your stored documents.

24. Modify word screens.

The teacher can modify any of the word screens (of fifteen rows by twenty nine characters) by adding and/or deleting words. The new screen can then be saved in place of the supplied screen.

25. Tutorials

There are two tutorials. One presents a story and asks a child to recreate it. As the child successfully recreates the words they are highlighted so the child can see which word to work on next. The other presents a story and recreates it itself showing the child the proper pointing actions by highlighting the words, letters, and command words in the proper sequence.

There has thus been shown and described a novel method of creating text which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefor. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawing which discloses preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow. ##SPC1##