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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly
to graphical user interfaces for computer systems.
Graphical user interfaces or GUI are becoming increasingly popular with
computer users. It is generally accepted that computers having graphical
user interfaces are easier to use, and that it is quicker to learn an
application program in a GUI environment than in a non-GUI environment.
A relatively new type of computer which is well suited for graphical user
environments is the pen-based or pen-aware ("pen") computer system. A
pen-based computer system is typically a small, hand-held computer where
the primary method for inputting data includes a "pen" or stylus. A
pen-aware computer system is one which has been modified to accept pen
inputs in addition to traditional input methods. A pen computer system is
often housed in a relatively flat enclosure, and has a dualfunction
display assembly which serves as both an input device and an output
device. When operating as an input device, the display assembly senses the
position of the tip of a stylus on the viewing screen and provides this
positional information to the computer's central processing unit (CPU).
Some display assemblies can also sense the pressure of the stylus on the
screen to provide further information to the CPU. When operating as an
output device, the display assembly presents computer-generated images on
the screen.
The dual-function display assemblies of pen-based computer systems permit
users to operate the computer as a computerized notepad. For example,
graphical images can be input into the pen-based computer by merely moving
the stylus across the surface of the screen. A stroke can be defined as
the engagement of the screen with a stylus, the movement of the stylus
across the screen (if any), and its subsequent disengagement from the
screen. As the CPU senses the position and movement of the stylus, it
generates a corresponding image on the screen to create the illusion that
the stylus is drawing the image directly upon the screen, i.e. that the
stylus is "inking" an image on the screen. With suitable recognition
software, text and numeric information can also be entered into the
pen-based computer system in a similar fashion. Besides serving as a
notepad, pen-based computers can provide a number of useful functions,
such as serving as an address book, an appointment calendar, a to-do list,
etc.
When using pen computers, a need often arises to edit recognized
information that was originally "inked" on the screen by a stylus or other
pointing device. Recognized information may include errors if recognition
software running on the pen computer did not correctly recognize the inked
characters or gestures. For example, a number "123" that is inked on the
screen might mistakenly be recognized as "122" by the recognition
software. In other situations, the user might wish to alter a previously
entered character, gesture or word that has been recognized by the
recognition software.
In many previous pen computers, a user changes recognized data by deleting
the recognized data and re-entering a character, gesture or word, which is
then rerecognized by the recognition software. This re-entering of data
can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially when a long word or
sentence is being re-entered. In other pen computer systems, a user can
write over a recognized data image to replace it with new data. However,
this can be awkward if the recognized data image is small or is too
closely spaced to other displayed data to permit inked images to be easily
entered.
In Pen Windows by Microsoft Corporation, recognized data can be edited by
displaying the original inked data in a separate window as separate
characters that are each within a box. An inked character can be edited
within its box and the character is then re-recognized by the recognition
software. However, this system can be awkward, since a separate, modal
window must be displayed and the user cannot view the newly-recognized
characters alongside the inked characters. Furthermore, the letters are
constrained to specific fields, which is an artificial and awkward way to
write.
What is needed is a utility program that allows the user to edit and
correct inked gestures and words conveniently and quickly. The utility
should be able to display the inked images concurrently with recognized
images to facilitate ease of user corrections.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The method and apparatus of the present invention permits convenient and
quick manipulation of inked objects displayed on a pen computer system.
The invention permits straightforward correction of recognized data using
the original ink that the user previously entered.
A method for editing a recognized object on the computer screen of the
present invention includes the steps of displaying a first recognized
object on a computer screen and displaying a first ink object on the
screen which was previously recognized as the first recognized object. The
first ink object is edited to create a second ink object, and the second
ink object is recognized as a second recognized object. The first
recognized object is then replaced with the second recognized object. The
method also preferably includes a step of selecting the first recognized
object, and the first ink object is displayed in response to the selection
step. A preferred method of selecting the first recognized object is to
move a stylus within a predetermined distance of a bounding box of the
first recognized object. Editing the first ink object preferably includes
adding or deleting a portion of the ink object, inserting a space between
characters of the ink object, replacing a portion of the ink object, and
adding new ink to the ink object. Alternate embodiments include moving the
recognized object to different locations on the screen in relation to the
first ink object.
A method for displaying information in a computer system includes the steps
of displaying a recognized object on a screen of a computer system,
selecting the recognized object, and displaying an original ink object at
about its original entry position and in about its original configuration.
The method also preferably includes selecting the recognized object by
moving a pointing device within a predetermined distance of the recognized
object, either within the plane of the computer screen or above the
screen. An alternate embodiment determines in advance if the user appears
to be approaching the recognized object. This alternate method includes
steps of collecting points representing the path of the pointing device,
calculating a weighted least squares line fit of the points, and selecting
the recognized object when the fit line points towards the recognized
object. The original ink object can also preferably be edited to create a
second ink object, which is recognized as a new recognized object. The
original recognized object is preferably .replaced with the newly
recognized object.
A computer system in accordance with the present invention includes a
digital processor, memory coupled to the digital processor, a screen
coupled to the digital processor, and a pointer device coupled to the
digital processor for entering an ink object into the memory. The computer
system further includes a mechanism for recognizing the ink object stored
in the memory and for displaying a recognized object on the screen, a
mechanism for selecting the recognized object, and a mechanism for
displaying the ink object as entered into the memory on the screen in a
substantially unaltered state. The recognized object is preferably
recognized as alphanumeric characters or predefined gestures. The
mechanism for selecting the recognized object preferably includes a
mechanism for detecting when the pointing device is within a predetermined
distance of the recognized object. The computer system also preferably
includes a mechanism for editing the ink object to create a new ink
object, recognizing the ink object as a new recognized object, and
replacing the recognized object with the new recognized object.
The present invention allows quick entering and editing of data into a
computer system using pointer-based inputs. Inked data is recognized, and
may be edited quickly and conveniently by changing the original inked data
with additional pointer-based inputs. Furthermore, the ability to view the
original inked object at its original location and in its original
configuration can be very helpful to users, particularly if they cannot
figure out what the correct entry to the computer system should have been
from the incorrectly recognized object.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent
upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the various
figures of the drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pen computer system in accordance with the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a display screen of the computer system of FIG. 1 showing an
exemplary application window;
FIGS. 3a-3c illustrate a portion of the display screen as shown in FIG. 2
showing an ink object and a recognized object;
FIGS. 4a-3c illustrate a portion of the display screen as shown in FIG. 2
showing an ink object and a recognized object;
FIGS. 4a-4c illustrate a portion of the display screen showing the deletion
of the recognized object and the ink object;
FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate a portion of the display screen showing the
deletion of a single character of the recognized object and the ink
object;
FIGS. 6a-6d illustrate a portion of the display screen showing the
insertion of a single character into the recognized object;
FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate a portion of the display screen showing the
replacing of a character with a new character n the recognized object;
FIGS. 8a and 8b illustrate a portion of the display screen showing the
addition of a character at the end of the recognized object;
FIGS. 9a-9c illustrate a portion of the display screen showing an alternate
embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 10a-10c illustrate a portion of the display screen showing an
alternate embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a computer implemented process of
the present invention;
FIG. 12a is a flow diagram illustrating the "Is the Recognized Object
Selected for Editing?" step of FIG. 11;
FIG. 12b is a flow diagram illustrating an alternate embodiment of the flow
diagram shown in FIG. 12a;
FIG. 12c is a pictorial diagram used to help describe the process
illustrated in FIG. 12b;
FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating the "Modify Display of Recognized
Object?" step of FIG. 11;
FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating the "Edit Ink Object" step of FIG.
11; and
FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating the "Process Gesture" step of FIG.
14.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is well suited for pointer based computer systems
such as the pen-based, pen-aware and mouse-based systems that are:
currently popular. For the purposes of illustration, the invention will be
described in connection with a pen-based or pen-aware ("pen") system.
As shown in FIG. 1, a pen computer system 10 in accordance with the present
invention includes a central processing unit (CPU) 12, read only memory
(ROM) 14, random access memory (RAM) 16, expansion RAM 17, input/output
(I/O) circuitry 18, display assembly 20, and expansion bus 22. The pen
computer system 10 may also optionally include a mass storage unit 24 such
as a disk drive unit or nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and a
real-time clock 26.
The CPU 12 is preferably a commercially available, single chip
microprocessor, and is preferably a complex instruction set computer
(CISC) chip such as the 68040 microprocessor available from Motorola, Inc.
CPU 12 is coupled to ROM 14 by a data bus 28, control bus 29, and address
bus 31. ROM 14 contains the basic operating system for the pen computer
system 10. CPU 12 is also connected to RAM 16 by busses 28, 29, and 31 to
permit the use of RAM 16 as scratch pad memory. Expansion RAM 17 is
optionally coupled to RAM 16 for use by CPU 12. CPU 12 is also coupled to
the I/O circuitry 18 by data bus 28, control bus 29, and address bus 31 to
permit data transfers with peripheral devices.
I/O circuitry 18 typically includes a number of latches, registers and
direct memory access (DMA) controllers. The purpose of I/O circuitry 18 is
to provide an interface between CPU 12 and such peripheral devices as
display assembly 20 and mass storage 24.
Display assembly 20 of pen-based computer system. 10 is both an input and
an output device. Accordingly, it is coupled to I/O circuitry 18 by a
bi-directional data bus 36. When operating as an output device, the
display assembly 20 receives data from I/O circuitry 18 via bus 36 and
displays that data on a suitable screen. The screen for display assembly
20 is preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) of the type commercially
available from a variety of manufacturers. The input device of display
assembly 20 can be a thin, clear membrane which covers the LCD display and
which is sensitive to the position of a stylus 38 on its surface.
Alternatively, the screens can be provided with an embedded RF digitizer
and an "active" RF stylus. There are also other types of confirmation
screen/tablet technologies. Combination display assemblies such as display
assembly 20 are available from a variety of vendors.
Other types of user inputs can also be used in conjunction with the present
invention. While the method of the present invention is described in the
context of a pen system, other pointing devices such as a computer mouse,
a track ball, or a tablet can be used to manipulate a pointer on a screen
of a general purpose computer. Therefore, as used herein, the terms
"pointer", "pointing device" and the like will refer to any mechanism or
device for pointing to a particular location on a screen of a computer
display.
Some type of mass storage 24 is generally considered desirable. However,
the mass storage 24 can be eliminated by providing a sufficient amount of
RAM 16 and expansion RAM 17 to store user application programs and data.
In that case, RAMs 16 and 17 could be provided with a backup battery to
prevent the loss of data even when the pen computer system 10 is turned
off. However,, it is generally desirable to have some type of long term
storage 24 such as a commercially available miniature hard disk drive,
nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, battery backed RAM, PCMCIA cards,
or the like.
In operation, information is input into the pen computer system 10 by
"writing" on the screen of display assembly 20 with the stylus 38.
Information concerning the location of the stylus 38 on the screen of the
display assembly 20 is input into the CPU 12 via I/O circuitry 18.
Typically, this information comprises the Cartesian (i.e. x & y)
coordinates of a pixel of the screen of display assembly 20 over which the
tip of the stylus is positioned. Commercially available combination
display assemblies include appropriate circuitry to provide the stylus
location information as digitally encoded data to the I/O circuitry of the
present invention. The CPU 12 then processes the data under control of an
operating system and possibly an application program stored in ROM 14
and/or RAM 16. The CPU 12 then produces data which is output to the
display assembly 20 to produce appropriate images on its screen.
Expansion bus 22 is coupled to the data bus 28, the control bus 29, and the
address bus 31, similar to the other components in system 10. Expansion
bus 22 provides extra ports to couple devices such as modems, display
switches, microphone, speaker, etc. to the CPU 12.
In FIG. 2, a display screen 20 of a computer system is shown. In the
preferred embodiment, screen 20 is the LCD input/output display of the pen
computer system shown in FIG. 1. A display from an Apple Macintosh System
7.0 operating system environment is shown as an example; however, arty
user interface used on a computer capable of running such an environment
is applicable to the present invention. Menu titles 44, when touched with
a pointing device, display pull-down menus, which include selections that
can be activated with the pointing device.
Window 48 is displayed by a currently active application program. As
referenced herein, "application program" refers to programs such as word
processors, spreadsheets, drawing programs, utilities, etc. that can run
on the computer system. In the described embodiment, window 48 is
displayed by a database application program that organizes, stores, and
retrieves data for a user. For example, window 48 can be displayed by an
"order form" program, which tabulates quantity and price for an ordered
item, and outputs the total price. In FIG. 2, window 48 includes price and
quantity input fields 50 which are receptive to pointer device inputs. A
user can use, for example, a stylus to write or draw "ink" in or near an
input field 50. The ink is preferably in the form of characters (e.g.
English or foreign letters, numbers, etc.) and those characters are
recognized by recognition software and displayed as printed characters
preferably in input field 50 (described subsequently). The total price
(quantity times price) is calculated from the recognized characters and
displayed in the "total" area 52. The user may also write a signature in
input field 54 with a pointing device. The signature can be recognized as
characters by the recognition software and printed below the displayed
ink. In other application programs, a user can enter rough graphical
shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, etc. The application program
then recognizes the standard shapes, cleans up the shapes and displays
corresponding regular, straight lined shapes.
In FIG. 3a, a detailed view of an input field 50 is shown. Ink object 56
includes "inked" strokes that have been drawn using a pointing device in
input field 50. Typically, ink object 56 is written by contacting a stylus
to the screen 20 and moving the stylus in a desired direction. The CPU 12
displays the ink along the path of the stylus as the stylus is moved. The
stylus is removed from the screen 20 and placed on the screen at a nearby
location to draw the next stroke. In an alternate embodiment, ink object
56 is written using a stylus on a separate tablet in place of the screen.
The tablet acts as the screen for written inputs in such an embodiment. In
an alternate embodiment, ink object 56 is written using a mouse or
trackball pointing device. The ink strokes are drawn by pressing a button
on the mouse or track ball and releasing the button to display an arrow or
other indicator indicating where the mouse or track ball is currently
pointing.
In the preferred embodiment, ink object 56 does not necessarily have to be
written entirely within the outline 51 of input field 50. Preferably, the
user starts writing within outline 51 and may then continue writing inside
or outside input field 50. When the user stops writing for a predetermined
period of time (i.e. after a "timeout"), the CPU assumes the user has
finished entering strokes and begins to process ink object 56. In another
embodiment, outline 51 showing the .input field 50 is invisible to the
user, and ink object 56 is written in a general area of input field 50.
In the preferred embodiment, ink object 56 includes one or more distinct
characters 57. Individual characters 57 can also be considered individual
"ink objects" for the purposes of the present invention. Characters 57
most typically include alphanumeric characters, such as numbers, letters,
and punctuation (decimal points, commas, etc.). Gestures may also be
entered in input field 50. Gestures include a distinctive shape or symbol
that is recognized as a predefined character or as a command. For example,
a particular shape, when recognized, can instruct the CPU 12 to print a
preprogrammed word, or delete a specific character.
In another embodiment, graphical shapes can be entered by the user instead
of text characters or gestures. A single graphical shape can be considered
an ink object similar to ink object 56.
Characters 57 typically have surrounding borders that are known as bounding
boxes. A character's bounding box conforms generally to the shape of the
character. In many instances, a bounding box is the minimum rectangle
enclosing an object, and in other instances the bounding box may be
smaller or larger than the object. Bounding boxes are often invisible to a
user. For example, a "1" character has a thin, rectangular bounding box
encompassing the "1", while a "2" character has a roughly squareshaped
bounding box surrounding the character. The entire ink object 56 also
includes a larger bounding box enveloping all of the characters of the
object 56.
Cursor 58 preferably shows where recognized characters are printed by the
CPU. In an alternate embodiment, cursor 58 is not shown and recognized
characters are printed in a predetermined location on screen 20.
FIG. 3b shows input field 50 after the ink object 56 has been recognized by
recognition software. When the user lifts the pointing device from the
input field 50 and does not contact the screen for a predetermined period
of time, the CPU 12 assumes that the user has finished entering strokes.
The CPU preferably attempts to recognize ink object 56 as alphanumeric
characters or predefined gestures. Preferably, the CPU stores the data
describing ink object 56 into RAM 16, where it can be accessed when
required. In an alternate embodiment, shapes such as circles, squares,
etc. can also be recognized. Recognition software for recognizing such
characters, gestures, etc. are well-known to those skilled in the art.
Once the recognition software has recognized the ink object, the CPU 12
preferably displays a recognized object 60 in or near input field 50. As
recognized object 60 is displayed, ink object 56 is preferably removed
from screen 20. Recognized object 60 includes the individual recognized
characters 57 (and gestures, if appropriate) that were included in ink
object 56. Ink object 66 may be recognized by the CPU 12 as an entire
number, word, or sequence of individual characters, depending on the
recognition software functionality. For example, the inked characters
"123" were written by the user in FIG. 3a, and were recognized by the CPU
and printed as the number 123 in FIG. 3b. If the inked strokes were
recognized as a gesture instead of characters, then the CPU 12 performs
actions according the recognized gesture. In the preferred embodiment, the
recognition software will always try to recognize ink object 56; if the
ink object cannot be readily recognized, the software will "guess" what
the ink object might be by using a list of similarly-shaped characters and
words.
FIG. 3c shows input field 50 when a pointing device is pointing close to
the input field. Arrow 62 shows the location where a pointing device is
currently pointing. For a stylus, arrow 62 is preferably displayed when
the stylus is brought within a specific distance above screen 20 but is
not contacting the screen 20, i.e. the stylus is "pointing". Arrow 62 is
displayed unless the stylus contacts the screen and draws ink, i.e. the
stylus is "inking". For a mouse or track ball device, arrow 62 is
displayed and the mouse or track ball is pointing until a button is
pressed on the mouse or track ball to cause the device to start inking on
the screen. Other pointing indicators or shapes besides arrow 62 can be
used to show where a pointing device is currently pointing.
In FIG. 3c, arrow 62 is positioned within a bounding box 64, which is
preferably invisible to the user. Bounding box 64 is preferably associated
with recognized object 60 and is positioned relative to the recognized
object in a predetermined location; typically, bounding box 64 is
positioned surrounding recognized object 60 as shown in FIG. 3c, the edges
of bounding box 64 being a predetermined distance from recognized object
60. In the preferred embodiment, if arrow 62 is positioned inside bounding
box 64, original ink object 56 is displayed in about the same location in
which it was written. Original ink object 56, however, is now displayed as
entered ink object 66. Preferably, entered ink object 66 is slightly
different in appearance than ink object 56 to indicate that the ink object
was written previously; for example, entered ink object 66 could be
displayed in a different color, as shown in FIG. 3c.
While ink object 66 is displayed, ink object 66 may preferably be edited,
i.e. new ink strokes may be entered in input field 50 that will preferably
edit or affect recognized object 60 (described subsequently). New ink
strokes are entered in standard fashion by contacting a stylus to the
screen or selecting a button on a pointing device. If arrow 62 is moved
outside of bounding box 64, ink object 66 is removed from screen 20 and
any new ink strokes entered by the user while arrow 62 is outside the
bounding box will not affect recognized object 60. In this fashion, a
recognized object is "selected" for editing if arrow 62 is positioned
within bounding box 64 because ink object 66 is displayed and new ink
strokes can be entered to edit recognized object 60. Similarly, moving
arrow 62 outside of bounding box 64 "de-selects" recognized object 60.
In an alternate embodiment, bounding box 64 can be displayed on screen 20
as a reference for the user when entered ink object 66 is displayed and
removed from screen 20 when ink object 66 removed. Bounding box 64 can
preferably be set by the user to be visible or invisible. The location of
bounding box 64 with reference to recognized object 60 can also be set by
the user in a different embodiment. For example, the distance from the
center of recognized object 60 to an edge of bounding box 64 can be
user-selected. In other embodiments, recognized object 60 is selected in
response to different user inputs. For example, entered ink object 66
could be displayed when recognized object 60 is highlighted or touched
directly by the pointing device, and removed from the display once the
pointing device is removed. Or, the user could push a button or select a
menu option to select recognized object 60 and cause ink object 66 to be
displayed on the screen.
In FIG. 4a, input field 50 is displayed, including recognized object 60 and
entered ink object 66. Ink object 66 is shown edited with a scrub gesture
68, which is formed from new ink strokes entered by a pointing device. The
new ink strokes are entered after ink object 66 has been recognized as
recognized object 60. The user enters the scrub gesture, and, when a
delimiter occurs, the CPU assumes the user is finished editing the ink
object 66 and attempts to recognize the strokes. In the preferred
embodiment, the delimiter is a timeout, i.e. the CPU waits a predetermined
period of time after the user has entered strokes before processing the
strokes. In an alternate embodiment, the delimiter can be a distance: when
the user moves the pointing device a predetermined distance away from the
recognized (or inked) object, the CPU assumes the editing is complete.
Scrub gesture 68 is a predefined gesture that, when recognized, will delete
objects it overlays. Scrub gestures are discussed in co-pending patent
application 08/070,094 by Capps et al., filed on May 27, 1993 and assigned
to the same assignee of the present invention, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein. Ink strokes each preferably have
individual bounding boxes, similar to the bounding boxes of characters
described with reference to FIG. 3a. Once the new ink strokes in FIG. 4a
have been recognized as a scrub gesture, the scrub gesture is assigned an
overall bounding box. FIG. 4a shows the scrub gesture 68 overlaying a
single character 57 of ink object 66, the character "3"; i.e., the
bounding box of the scrub gesture intersects the bounding box of the "3"
character. The deletion of characters using a scrub gesture is detailed
with reference to FIG. 15.
FIG. 4b shows input field 50 after the scrub gesture of FIG. 4a has been
recognized and implemented. The CPU deletes all characters from ink object
66 which scrub gesture 68 overlays. The edited ink object 66 is now
,considered a new ink object and recognized. For example, in FIG. 4a the
"3" character was deleted from ink object 66. The edited ink object, "12",
is considered a new ink object and is recognized as 12. The new recognized
object 60 ("12") is displayed in input field 50 and the new ink object is
removed from the screen as shown in FIG. 4b.
FIG. 4c shows input field 50 and arrow 62 positioned within bounding box 64
(not shown). The new, edited ink object ("12") is now displayed as ink
object 66 whenever arrow 62 is brought within bounding box 64.
FIG. 5a shows input field 50 displayed, including recognized object 60 and
ink object 66. The user has entered new ink strokes as a scrub gesture 68
that overlays all characters 57 of ink object 66, i.e. the bounding box of
scrub gesture 68 intersects the bounding boxes of all characters 57.
FIG. 5b shows input field 50 after the scrub gesture of FIG. 5a has been
recognized and implemented. The CPU deletes all characters that the scrub
gesture overlays. Thus, the edited ink object from FIG. 5a is a "null"
object, since all characters have been deleted. The CPU sends the null
object to the recognition software, which recognizes the null and deletes
recognized object 60. FIG. 5b shows recognition object 60 deleted and
removed from the screen 20. Bounding box 64 is preferably deleted with
recognized object 60.
FIG. 6a shows input field 50 displayed, including recognized object 60 as
the number "123" and entered ink object 66 as the numbers "123". The user
has entered new ink strokes in the shape of a carat punctuation mark 70.
In the preferred embodiment, if the carat 70 is placed in a specific
position relative a character 57 of ink object 66, it will be recognized
as an insert gesture that inserts a space between two characters
(described with reference to FIG. 15). For the purposes of this invention,
multiple small strokes that intersect, such as two strokes that form a
number "4", are together recognized as one character 57 of ink object 66
and will not be separated by a gesture such as carat 70.
In FIG. 6b, the carat 70 of FIG. 6a has been recognized as an insert
gesture. In the preferred embodiment, the characters 57 of ink object 66
positioned to the right of the carat 70 are moved to the right a
predetermined distance to create a space 72 between the strokes of ink
object 66. The edited ink object with the new space 72 is then
re-recognized by the recognition software and recognized object 60 is
updated with a space 73. For example, in FIG. 6b the edited ink object 66
includes a "3" character that has been moved to the right to create a
space 72 between the "2" character and the "3" character. Space 73 has
correspondingly been inserted between the "2" and the "3" of recognized
object 66. Carat 70 is preferably removed from the screen once the space
72 has been inserted.
In FIG. 6c, the user has entered a new ink stroke 74 onto space 72; in this
example, the new ink stroke 74 is shaped like the number "2". In FIG. 6d,
the CPU has added new ink stroke 74 to ink object 66 to create a new ink
object that includes all ink, and has sent the new ink object to the
recognition software. The recognition software has re-recognized the new
ink object as recognized object 60; the space 73 of FIG. 6b has been
replaced with a newly-recognized character. For example, the new ink
stroke "2" entered on the space 73 of ink object 66 has caused the CPU to
combine all the ink into a new ink object and recognize the new ink object
as the number "1223". T | | |
