Document display apparatus for displaying a plurality of multimedia documents

It is an object of the invention to provide a document display apparatus capable of displaying a plurality of documents which are related to each other in high visibility as a whole without displaying the plurality of documents on single display means at the same time. When a document selecting area is displayed on a display screen of a display section and a single area is selected among a -plurality of areas in the document selecting area, document data corresponding to that selected single area is displayed within a document displaying area on the display screen. Accordingly, the relationship among a plurality of documents, e.g. the positional relationship, may be perceived by the positional relationship of each area in the document selecting area and specific document data may be perceived by displaying within the document displaying area. Accordingly, the plurality of documents can be displayed in high visibility as a whole without displaying the plurality of documents on the single display at the same time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to a document display apparatus for
 displaying multi-media documents containing pictures and letters.
 2. Description of Related Art
 FIG. 23 shows a display screen 30 of a prior art document display
 apparatus. The prior art document display apparatus can store document
 data of a plurality of multimedia documents for displaying them. The
 document data includes related data indicative of whether the documents
 are in relation to each other. The related data indicates whether the
 document data needs to be displayed on the display screen at the same time
 for example. The data of the documents indicated as being related to each
 other by such related data is displayed respectively in a plurality of
 document displaying areas 31a through 31c partitioned in the display
 screen 30 as shown in FIG. 23.
 When all the document data cannot be displayed in one document displaying
 area, moving means such as a scroll bar 32 allows the document data to be
 scrolled and displayed within the document displaying area. Thereby, all
 the document data can be displayed in a split form.
 Such a displaying method is suitably implemented in handling documents
 described in HTML language in particular as multi-media documents. In the
 case of the HTML language it is possible to designate simultaneous display
 of a plurality of documents by its frame function. When the frame function
 is executed, the prior art HTML browser splits a display screen into a
 predetermined number of parts to display a result of layout of the
 plurality of documents at the same time. This function is adopted in
 Netscape Navigator of Netscape Communications Corporation and in Internet
 Explorer of Microsoft Corporation.
 However, when the resolution of the display is low or when the display area
 is small, the boundary of adjacent areas and a scroll bar portion in each
 individual area occupy a large proportion of the whole document display
 area. Further, the size of font is limited in terms of readability and the
 data display capacity is limited in small document display apparatus for
 portable use. Accordingly, when a plurality of documents are displayed on
 one single display screen at the same time, a display quantity allocated
 to each document reduces and the visibility drops as a whole. The drop in
 visibility of the whole poses a problem especially when it is designated
 to display the plurality of documents at the same time by the
 above-mentioned frame function of the HTML language to Indicate a specific
 meaning by the plurality of documents as a whole.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 Accordingly, It Is a n object of the present invention to provide a
 document display apparatus capable of highly visibly display ing a
 plurality of documents related to each other as a whole without displaying
 the plurality of documents on single display means at the same time.
 The present invention provides a document display apparatus comprising:
 memory means for storing document data of a multimedia document containing
 pictures, letters and the like for displaying, the document data
 containing related data indicative of whether or not the document data Is
 in relation to document data of other document;
 display means having a document displaying area capable of displaying the
 document data;
 display control means for causing the display means to display a document
 selecting area composed of a plurality of areas, each corresponding to a
 plurality of documents, when a single area is s elected from the plurality
 of areas of the document selecting area, to display document data
 corresponding to the selected single area in the document displaying area
 of the display means.
 According to the invention, the document selecting area is displayed on the
 display means and when the single area is selected from the plurality of
 areas in the document selecting area, the document data corresponding to
 the selected area is displayed in the document displaying area of the
 display means. Therefore, relationships among the plurality of documents,
 e.g. positional relationships, may be perceived by positional
 relationships among the areas in the document selecting area. Further,
 specific document data may be viewed by displaying in the document
 displaying area. The document displaying area and the document selecting
 area may be both displayed on the display means. Thus, the plurality of
 documents may be displayed at high visibility as a whole without
 displaying the plurality of documents on single display means at the same
 time.
 The invention is also characterized in that the display control means
 causes the display means to display the document selecting area only when
 it is indicated by means of related data of predetermined document data
 that the predetermined document data is in relation to other document
 data.
 According to the invention, the document selecting area is displayed not
 always, but when the document data is in relation to other document data,
 so that it is possible to know whether or not the related document data
 exists, by the existence of the document selecting area. Further, because
 no unnecessary area is displayed when only the document displaying area is
 displayed, i.e. when there is no related document data, the visibility can
 be improved.
 Furthermore, the invention is characterized in that the document selecting
 area is movably displayed on the display means and the document display
 apparatus comprises moving means for moving the document selecting area.
 According to the invention, the document selecting area is movably
 displayed and may be displayed at a position to which the document
 selecting area is instructed by the moving means to move. For instance,
 the document selecting area may be displayed overlapping with the document
 displaying area. Accordingly, the visibility can be improved by displaying
 the document selecting area so that it can be viewed readily by the
 operator.
 Furthermore the present invention is characterized in that the document
 selecting area is erasably displayed on the display means and the document
 display apparatus comprises designating means for designating whether the
 document selecting area should be displayed or erased.
 According to this aspect of the invention, the document selecting area is
 erasably displayed and may be erased by an instruction of doing so
 provided by the designating means. The visibility can be improved by
 erasing the unnecessary document selecting area after defining the
 document to be displayed in the document displaying area for example.
 The invention further provides a document display apparatus comprising:
 memory means for storing document data of a multimedia document containing
 pictures, letters and the like for displaying, the document data
 containing related data indicative of whether or not the document data is
 in relation to document data of other document;
 display means having a document displaying area in which the document data
 can be displayed;
 designating means for designating display of a document selecting area
 composed of a plurality of areas each corresponding to a plurality of
 documents, on the display means; and
 display control means for causing the display means to display the document
 selecting area instead of the document displaying area on the basis of the
 instruction from the designating means, and, when a single area is
 selected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting area, for
 causing the display means to display the document displaying area instead
 of the document selecting area and to display document data corresponding
 to the selected area in the document displaying area.
 According to the invention, only the document selecting area can be
 displayed on the display means. That is, when a document to be displayed
 in the document displaying area is selected, only the document selecting
 area may be displayed. At this time, the visibility can be improved by
 expanding and displaying the document selecting area across the whole
 display screen.
 Furthermore the invention is characterized in that the display control
 means converts the document data under a predetermined converting
 condition to cause the converted document data to be displayed within a
 corresponding area of the document selecting area.
 According to the invention, the corresponding document data which has been
 converted under the predetermined converting condition is displayed in
 each area in the document selecting area. Accordingly, the outline of the
 document data may be perceived also in the document selecting area.
 Further the invention is characterized in that the document display
 apparatus further comprises reading means for reading document data from
 an original which is a multi-media document or receiving means for
 receiving document data from an external terminal apparatus and that the
 memory means stores the document data obtained by the reading means or the
 receiving means.
 According to the invention, the document selecting area and the document
 displaying area as described above may be created with respect to the
 document data obtained by the reading means or the receiving means.
 Further the invention is characterized in that the display control means
 causes the display means to display that the reading means or the
 receiving means is in the midst of obtaining the document data.
 According to the invention, it is displayed and informed that the reading
 means or the receiving means is in the midst of obtaining the document
 data. For instance, it is informed by flashing the display that the
 document data is being obtained. Accordingly, the operator can readily
 perceive that it is in the midst of obtaining the document data.
 Further the invention is characterized in that the memory means stores not
 only the document data corresponding to a single area when the single area
 is selected from the plurality of areas in the document selecting area but
 also the document data corresponding to the remaining areas not selected.
 According to the invention, the memory means stores not only the document
 data corresponding to the single area selected from the plurality of areas
 in the document selecting area, but also the document data corresponding
 to the remaining areas not selected. Accordingly, all the document data
 may be stored and changes and the like of the display within the document
 displaying area may be readily implemented by using the document data.
 Further the invention is characterized in that the document data is
 described in the HTML language which allows to designate either of
 execution of a frame function for displaying the document data together
 with other document data or non-execution of the frame function, and that
 the display control means causes the display means to display the document
 selecting area when the execution of the frame function is designated.
 According to this aspect of the invention, the document selecting area is
 displayed on the display means when the execution of the frame function is
 designated by the HTML language, and the document data corresponding to
 the selected area is displayed within the document displaying area of the
 display means when the single area is selected from the plurality of areas
 in the document selecting area. Accordingly, the plurality of documents
 may be displayed in high visibility as a whole without displaying the
 plurality of documents on the single display means at the same time even
 when the document data is described in the HTML language.
 Further the invention is characterized in that the display control means
 causes the document data described in the HTML language to be displayed
 within the document displaying area in the case where the non-execution of
 the frame function is designated for said document data.
 According to this aspect of the invention, because the document data for
 which non-execution of the frame function is designated is displayed
 immediately within the document displaying area, the document may be
 displayed in the document displaying area without implementing the
 operation of selecting a single area from the document selecting area,
 thus improving the operability. The two functions of displaying the
 selected document in the document displaying area by using the document
 selecting area when the frame function is to be executed, and of
 displaying the document immediately in the document displaying area when
 the frame function is not executed on the other hand, may be appropriately
 executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 Now referring to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are
 described below.
 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of a document
 display apparatus 1a according to a first embodiment of the invention. The
 document display apparatus 1a comprises an input section 2, a memory
 section 3, a display section 4 and a display control section 5. The
 document display apparatus la is manufactured relatively small for the
 purpose of portability.
 The memory section 3 is realized by a RAM (random access memory) or a ROM
 (read only memory) and stores at least document data. The document data is
 data for displaying a multi-media document containing pictures and letters
 and contains related data indicative of whether or not it is in relation
 to document data of other documents. The related data is data indicative
 of whether or not the document data needs to be displayed together with
 the document data of other documents on a display screen at the same time
 for example.
 The display section 4 is realized by an LCD (liquid crystal display) for
 example and the display screen thereof has a document displaying area in
 which the document data can be displayed, and a document selecting area.
 The display control section 5 is realized by a CPU (central processing
 unit) for example and controls the whole display operation of the document
 display apparatus la in accordance with a predetermined operation program.
 In concrete, it controls so that the document selecting area composed of a
 plurality of areas each corresponding to a plurality of documents which
 are in relation to each other is displayed on the display screen of the
 display section 4, and that when a single area is selected among the
 plurality of areas of the document selecting area, the document data
 corresponding to the selected area is displayed within the document
 displaying area of the display section 4.
 A single area may be designated among the plurality of areas of the
 document selecting area from the input section 2. The input section 2 may
 be realized by a relatively small existing input device. It may be
 realized, for example, by a light transmitting tablet provided with an
 input plane disposed to overlap the display screen of the display section
 4, and by an input pen for designating coordinate points on coordinate
 axes preset on the input plane. It may be also realized by a keyboard or
 the like.
 FIGS. 2A through 2C show the display screens 6a through 6c of the display
 section 4. Each of the display screens 6a through 6c has the document
 displaying area 7. The document selecting area 8 is displayed also on each
 of the display screens 6a through 6c, under the control by means of the
 display control section 5.
 When related data of data of first through third documents indicates that
 the documents are related to each other for example, the document
 selecting area 8 composed of first through third areas 8a through 8c, each
 corresponding to the data of the first through third documents, is
 displayed. The document selecting area 8 shows a state, e.g. the
 relationship among the positions of each document, when the data of the
 three documents are displayed on the single display screen at the same
 time. That is, it shows that the data of the first document is displayed
 in the first area 8a, the data of the second document is displayed in the
 second area 8b and the data of the third document is displayed in the
 third area 8c. It is noted that the document displaying area 7 shows
 concrete contents of the document.
 When the first area 8a among the document selecting areas 8a through 8c is
 designated by the input section 2, the area 8a is displayed while being
 highlighted by a different attribute from that of the other areas 8b and
 8c, e.g. in color or by mesh as shown in FIG. 2A, and the data of the
 first document corresponding to the designated first area 8a is displayed
 in the document displaying area 7. Similarly to that, when the second area
 8b is designated by the input section 2, the area 8b is highlighted and
 displayed as shown in FIG. 2B and the data of the second document
 corresponding to the second area 8b is displayed in the document
 displaying area 7. When the third area 8c is designated by the input
 section 2, the area 8c is highlighted and displayed as shown in FIG. 2C
 and the data of the third document corresponding to the third area 8c is
 displayed in the document displaying area 7.
 FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an operation for creating the document
 selecting area 8 of the document display apparatus 1a. In Step a1,
 document data to be displayed is read to the document display apparatus
 la. The read data is then interpreted in Step a2. In Step a3, it is
 determined whether or not the read data is document data indicated as
 being in relation to data of other documents. That is, it is determined
 whether or not it is a document to be displayed together with the other
 document at the same time. When it is determined to be a document to be
 displayed together, the process advances to Step a4 and when it is not,
 the operation is finished.
 In Step a4, document arrangement information 10a is generated. The document
 arrangement information 10a is, for example, in FIGS. 2A through 2C,
 information for designating the first through third areas 8a through 8c
 within the document selecting area 8 and comprises, as shown in FIG. 4, an
 area identifier 11 for identifying each area, a coordinate point 12
 indicating a display starting point of each area, a coordinate point 13
 indicating a display ending point of each area and each document name 14.
 In Step a5, the document selecting area 8 composed of the first through
 third areas 8a through 8c is displayed on the display section 4 based on
 the document arrangement information 10a thus generated and an operation
 for displaying the plurality of documents by using the document selecting
 area 8 as described later is executed. Then, the operation is finished.
 FIG. 5 is a flow chart detailing the operation for displaying the plurality
 of documents in Step a5 described above. In Step b1, it is decided how to
 arrange and display each document by using the document arrangement
 information 10a, and the decision is then reflected in the document
 selecting area 8 in Step b2. That is, on the basis of the document
 arrangement information 10a, within the document selecting area 8 in State
 A1 in FIG. 6A, the first area 8a is set in State A2 as shown in FIG. 6B,
 the second area 8b is set in State A3 as shown in FIG. 6C and the third
 area 8c is set in State A4 as shown in FIG. 6D.
 An input from the operator is processed in Step b3. It is then determined
 in Step b4 whether or not a specific document has been selected by the
 input from the operator. It is determined whether or not any one of
 plurality of areas 8a through 8c in the document selecting area 8 has been
 designated and selected by the input pen of the input section 2 for
 example. When it is determined to have been selected, the process advances
 to Step b5 to display the document data corresponding to the selected area
 in the document displaying area 7 and then returns to Step b3. When it is
 determined to have not been selected, the process directly returns to Step
 b3.
 As described above, according to the first embodiment, the document display
 apparatus 1a is arranged such that the document selecting area 8 is
 displayed on the display section 4 and when a single area is selected
 among the plurality of areas 8a through 8c in the document selecting area
 8, the document data corresponding to the selected area is displayed
 within the document displaying area 7 of the display section 4, so that
 the relationship among the plurality of documents, e.g. the positional
 relationship, may be perceived by the positional relationship among the
 areas 8a through 8c in the document selecting area 8. The data of the
 selected specific document is displayed within the document displaying
 area 7, so that its concrete contents may be recognized. Because the
 document displaying area 7 and the document selecting area 8 can be both
 displayed on the display section 4, the plurality of documents may be
 perceived well as a whole without displaying the concrete contents of the
 plurality of documents in the single display section 4 at the same time.
 Particularly, it allows a display area occupied by data of one document to
 be large and the visibility to be improved even when the resolution of the
 display section 4 is low or the screen is small like a portable apparatus.
 FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an operation of a document display apparatus
 according to a second embodiment of the invention. While this document
 display apparatus is constructed in the same manner as the document
 display apparatus 1a, it is characterized in that the operation for
 displaying the plurality of documents in Step a5 in FIG. 3 is replaced as
 shown in FIG. 7, instead of that in FIG. 5. Because the flow chart in FIG.
 7 is merely what Steps b6 and b7 are added to Steps b1 through b3 of the
 flow chart in FIG. 5, the explanation of the same operation and of the
 structure of the apparatus will be omitted here.
 In Step b6 implemented after processing the input from the operator in Step
 b3, it is determined whether or not the input from the operator is what
 instructs to display a document which does not require to display a
 plurality of documents at the same time. When it is determined to be Yes,
 the process advances to Step b7 to erase the document selecting area 8 and
 directly returns to Step b3. When it is No, the process returns to Step
 b3.
 As described above, according to the second embodiment, the document
 selecting area 8 is not always displayed. That is, the document selecting
 area 8 is not displayed when it is instructed by the input from the
 operator to display the document which does not require to display the
 plurality of documents at the same time. Accordingly, the document
 selecting area 8 may be displayed only when the data of the document is in
 relation to data of other document. Because no unnecessary area is
 displayed when the document displaying area 7 is only displayed, i.e. when
 there exists no related document data, the visibility may be improved.
 FIG. 8 shows a display screen 6d of a document display apparatus according
 to a third embodiment of the invention. While this document display
 apparatus is constructed in the same manner as the document display
 apparatus 1a described above, it is characterized in that the document
 selecting area 8 is movably displayed on the display section 4 and a
 destination designating area 9 for moving the document selecting area 8 is
 appended and displayed.
 FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an operation of the document display
 apparatus according to the third embodiment of the invention. This
 document display apparatus is characterized in that the operation for
 displaying the plurality of documents of the document display apparatus 1a
 in Step a5 in FIG. 3 is replaced as shown in FIG. 9, instead of that in
 FIG. 5. Because the flow chart in FIG. 9 is merely what Steps b8 and b9
 are added to Steps b1 through b3 of the flow chart in FIG. 5, the
 explanation of the same operation and of the structure of the apparatus
 will be omitted here.
 In Step b8 implemented after processing the input from the operator in Step
 b3, it is determined whether or not the input from the operator allows the
 document selecting area 8 to be moved. The designation for allowing the
 document selecting area 8 to be moved is implemented by pointing the
 movement destination designating area 9 by the input pen of the input
 section 2 for example. Thus, also the movement destination desiganting
 area 9 can be moved together with the document selecting area 8 on the
 display screen. When it is instructed to allow to move the area 8, the
 process advances to Step b9 to move the document selecting area 8 and the
 movement destination designating area 9 to a desired position and returns
 to Step b3. When no instruction to allow to move the area 8 is given, the
 process directly returns to Step b3. It is noted that the document
 selecting area 8 and the movement destination designating area 9 are fixed
 and displayed at the desired position by designating an end of the moving
 process from the input section 2 after moving the document selecting area
 8 and the movement destination designating area 9 to the desired position.
 As described above, according to the third embodiment, the document
 selecting area 8 is movably displayed together with the movement
 destination designating area 9. The document selecting area 8 and the
 movement destination designating area 9 may be displayed at the desired
 position by pointing the movement destination designating area 9 to allow
 the document selecting area 8 to be moved. For instance, they may be
 displayed by overlapping with the document displaying area 7 as shown in
 FIG. 8. Accordingly, the document selecting area 8 may be displayed so
 that the operator can readily see it and the visibility may be improved.
 FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation of a document display
 apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. While this
 document display apparatus is constructed in the same manner as the
 document display apparatus la, it is characterized in that the operation
 for displaying the plurality of documents in Step a5 in FIG. 3 is replaced
 as shown in FIG. 10, instead of that shown in FIG. 5. Because the flow
 chart in FIG. 10 is merely what Steps b10 through b13 are added to Steps
 b1 through b3 of the flow chart in FIG. 5, the explanation of the same
 operation and of the structure of the apparatus will be omitted here.
 In Step b10 implemented after processing the input from the operator in
 Step b3, it is determined whether or not the input from the operator is
 what instructs to erase the document selecting area 8. When it is
 determined to be Yes, the process advances to Step b11 to erase the
 document selecting area 8 and returns to Step b3. When it is No, the
 process advances to Step b12.
 In Step b12, it is determined whether or not the input from the operator
 instructs to display the document selecting area 8. When it is determined
 to be Yes, the process advances to Step b13 to display the document
 selecting area 8 and returns to Step b3. When it is No, the process
 directly returns to Step b3.
 As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the operator can
 arbitrarily select erasure or display of the document selecting area 8.
 That is, the document selecting area 8 may be erased by selecting erasure
 by the input section 2. For instance, the document selecting area 8 may be
 erased when a document to be displayed in the document displaying area 7
 is defined. Accordingly, the visibility can be improved by erasing the
 document selecting area 8 which has become unnecessary. Further, the
 document selecting area 8 can be displayed by designating display by the
 input section 2 and a document to be displayed in the document displaying
 area 7 may be changed for example.
 FIGS. 11A and 11B show display screens 6e and 6f a document display
 apparatus, respectively, according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.
 While this document display apparatus is constructed in the same manner as
 the document display apparatus la described before, it is characterized in
 that only the document selecting area 8 is displayed on the display
 section 4. In concrete, a display designating area 17, for designating
 display of the document selecting area 8, and the document displaying area
 7 are displayed on the display screen 6e at first as shown in FIG. 11A.
 Next, when the display designating area 17 is pointed by the input pen of
 the input section 2 for example, the display screen 6f in which only the
 document selecting area 8 is displayed is formed as shown in FIG. 11B. The
 document selecting area 8 is divided into the plurality of areas 8a
 through 8f as described before. The document selecting area 8 may be
 expanded and displayed across the whole display screen at this time.
 FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an operation of a document display
 apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the invention. The document
 display apparatus is characterized in that the operation for displaying
 the plurality of documents of the document display apparatus 1a in Step a5
 in FIG. 3 is replaced as shown in FIG. 12, instead of that in FIG. 5.
 Because the flow chart shown in FIG. 12 is merely what Steps b14 and b15
 are added to Steps b1 through b5 in the flow chart in FIG. 5, the
 explanation of the same operation and of the structure of the apparatus
 will be omitted here.
 At first, in step b14 implemented after processing the input from the
 operator in step b3, in the state in which the display screen 6e shown in
 FIG. 11A is displayed, it is determined whether or not the display
 designating area 17 has been selected by the input from the operator. When
 it has been selected, the process advances to Step b15 and when it has
 not, the process returns to Step b3. The display screen 6f shown in FIG.
 11B is displayed in Step b15. Then, the process advances to Step b4.
 In Step b4, it is determined whether or not a single area has been selected
 among the plurality of areas 8a through 8f of the document selecting area
 8 by the input from the operator. When it has been selected, the process
 advances to Step b5 to display the data of the document corresponding to
 the selected area in the document displaying area 7. That is, the display
 screen 6e as shown in FIG. 11A is displayed and the process returns to
 Step b3. When no area has been selected, the process directly returns to
 Step b3.
 As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, only the document
 selecting area 8 may be displayed in selecting a document to be displayed
 in the document displaying area 7. At this time, the visibility may be
 improved by displaying the document selecting area 8 across the whole
 display screen for example.
 FIGS. 13A and 13B show the document displaying area 7 and the document
 selecting area 8 of a document display apparatus according to-a sixth
 embodiment of the invention. While this document display apparatus is
 constructed in the same manner as the document display apparatus la
 described before, it is characterized in that data of a document is
 converted by a predetermined converting condition and is displayed in the
 corresponding area 8a within the document selecting area 8.
 In concrete, with respect to the document displaying area 7 in which the
 data of the document is displayed as shown in FIG. 13A, the converted data
 of the document is reduced and displayed also in the corresponding area 8a
 of the document selecting area 8 as shown in FIG. 13B.
 FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing an operation for displaying the document
 selecting area 8 of the document display apparatus according to the sixth
 embodiment of the invention. In Step c1, a part which can be displayed is
 calculated from the data of the document. That is, a part of the data of
 the document to be displayed in the area 8a is calculated. For instance,
 when the document selecting area 8 has the same size with the document
 displaying area 7, the part of the data of the document which matches with
 the area 8a is calculated.
 In Step c2, the calculated part of the data of the document is converted
 with a predetermined converting condition. For instance, the displayed
 content is reduced with a rate when the document selecting area 8 is set
 to have the same size with the document displaying area 7. Further,
 elements 16 in reduced display such as dotted lines, a rectangle and
 simple reduction are set in correspondence to types of displayed elements
 15 such as letters, pictures and graphics as shown in FIG. 15 to convert
 the data in accordance with this condition. The converted data of the
 document is displayed in the area 8a in Step c3.
 Thereby, the letters, the pictures and the graphics as shown in FIG. 13A
 are converted into and displayed as the dotted lines, the rectangle and
 the simple reduction as shown in FIG. 13B.
 As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the corresponding
 data of the document converted under the predetermined converting
 condition is displayed in each area within the document selecting area 8.
 Accordingly, the data of the document may be perceived also within the
 document selecting area 8. For instance, its outline may be perceived.
 FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of a document
 display apparatus 1b according to a seventh embodiment of the invention.
 While this document display apparatus 1b is constructed almost in the same
 manner as the document display apparatus 1a described above, it is
 characterized in that it further comprises a time measuring section 18 and
 a recording section 19.
 The recording section 19 is means for reading data from an original
 document in which a multi-media document is written. The data of the
 document obtained by the recording section 19 is stored in the memory
 section 3. The time measuring section 18 measures a predetermined time.
 The display control section 5 also indicates that the recording section 19
 is in the midst of obtaining the data of the document by using the display
 section 4 to inform of that to the operator.
 FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing document data reading operation of the
 document display apparatus 1b. The document data to be displayed is read
 from the recording section 19 to the document display apparatus 1b in Step
 d1. It is then determined in Step d2 whether or not the reading has been
 finished. When it is determined not to have been finished, the process
 advances to Step d3 to determine whether or not the measurement of the
 predetermined time by the time measuring section 18 has been finished.
 When it is determined that the measurement has been finished, the process
 advances to Step d4 to display the displayed contents in a special manner,
 e.g. by flashing it, and returns to Step dl. When it is determined that
 the measurement of the predetermined time has not been finished in Step
 d3, the process returns to Step dl.
 When it is determined in Step d2 that the reading of the document data has
 been finished, the process advances to Step d5 to eliminate the special
 display and ends the operation.
 As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, the document
 selecting area 8 and the document displaying area 7 as described above may
 be created with respect to the document data obtained from the recording
 section 19. Further, it is informed that the recording section 19 is in
 the midst of obtaining the document data by indicating by means of
 flashing or the like. Accordingly, the operator can recognize that it is
 in the midst of obtaining the document data.
 It is noted that a case of constructing a document display apparatus 1c by
 providing a communication control section 20 shown in FIG. 18, instead of
 the recording section 19 in the seventh embodiment, is also included in
 the scope of the invention. The communication control section 20 receives
 document data from an external terminal device such as a personal
 computer.
 FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an operation for storing document data in
 the memory section 3 of a document display apparatus according to an
 eighth embodiment of the invention. While this document display apparatus
 is constructed in the same manner as the document display apparatus 1b, it
 is characterized in that the memory section 3 of this document display
 apparatus stores not only the data of a document corresponding to a single
 area selected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting area 8
 but also data of documents corresponding to the remaining areas not
 selected.
 That is, when the document display apparatus 1b is arranged so as to store
 only the data of the document selected in the document selecting area 8 to
 the memory section 3 in displaying the data of the selected document in
 the document displaying area 7 in Step b5 in FIG. 5, the data must be read
 again from the recording section 19 in changing the document to be
 displayed in the document displaying area 7. Further, each time when the
 document to be displayed in the document selecting area 8 is changed, data
 of the document must be stored in the memory section 3. However, according
 to the present embodiment, the memory section 3 automatically stores not
 only the data of the document selected in the document selecting area 8
 but also the data of the document not selected during the selection, so
 that the data of the document to be displayed in the document displaying
 area 7 may be readily changed by using the data of the document stored in
 the memory section 3.
 In Step e1, it is determined whether or not an input has been made by the
 operator from the input section 2. When it is determined that no input has
 been made, the process advances to Step e2 to determine whether or not a
 predetermined time has elapsed. When it is determined that it has elapsed,
 it is determined in Step e3 whether or not there exists data of a document
 not read into the document display apparatus yet. When it is determined to
 exist, the part of the data of the document is read from the recording
 section 19 in Step e4.
 It is determined in Step e5 whether or not the reading of the data of the
 document has been finished. When it is determined that it has been
 finished, it is determined in Step e6 whether or not there exists data of
 a document to be read next. When it is determined to exist, pre-processing
 for next reading the data of the document is implemented in Step e7 and
 the operation is finished. Through this pre-processing, the next reading
 of the data of the document is carried out in the next Step e4.
 It is noted that the operation is finished when it is determined in Step el
 that an input has been made by the operator, when it is determined in Step
 e2 that the predetermined time has not elapsed, when it is determined in
 Step e3 that no document which has not been read exists, when it is
 determined in Step e5 that the reading has not been finished and when it
 is determined in Step e6 that there exists no document to be read next.
 As described above, according to the eighth embodiment, the memory section
 3 stores not only the data of the data of the document corresponding to a
 single area selected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting
 area 8 but also the data of the document corresponding to the remaining
 areas not selected. Accordingly, data of all documents may be reliably
 stored and the change of the display in the document displaying area 7 can
 be readily made.
 It is noted that a case of applying the eighth embodiment to the document
 display apparatus 1c shown in FIG. 18 is also included within the scope of
 the invention.
 Next, a document display apparatus of a ninth embodiment of the invention
 will be explained. While the document display apparatus of the ninth
 embodiment is constructed in the same manner as the document display
 apparatus la, the document display apparatus of the ninth embodiment is
 characterized in that data of a document described in the HTML language Is
 handled for which execution or non-execution of a frame function of
 displaying together with data of other document can be designated.
 When the execution of the frame function is designated, the display control
 section 5 displays the document selecting area 8 on the display section 4,
 and when a single area is selected among the plurality of areas of the
 document selecting area 8, the display control section 5 displays the data
 of the document corresponding to the selected area within the document
 displaying area 7 of the display section 4.
 The operation of the document display apparatus of the ninth embodiment
 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. HTML document data to be
 displayed is read to the document display apparatus in Step al and the
 read data is then interpreted in Step a2. In Step a3, it is determined
 whether or not the read HTML data of the document contains an instruction
 to display together with the HTML data of other document. It is determined
 whether the HTML data of the document contains an instruction to use the
 frame function. It is determined by interpreting the following first HTML
 document data for example:
 (First HTML Document Data)
 &lt;HTML&gt;
 &lt;FRAMESET COLS="50%, 50%"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document1. html"&gt;
 &lt;FRAMESET ROWS="40%, 60%"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document2. html"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document3. html"&gt;
 &lt;/FRAMESET&gt;
 &lt;/FRAMESET&gt;
 &lt;/HTML&gt;
 Because there are descriptions of &lt;FRAME&gt; and &lt;FRAMESET&gt; in such first HTML
 document data, it is determined that the frame function is being used.
 When it is determined that the instruction of using the frame function is
 contained, the process advances to Step a4 and when it is not, the
 operation is finished.
 In Step a4, document arrangement information 10b similar to the document
 arrangement information 10a is generated. The document arrangement
 information 10b comprises, as shown in FIG. 20, each area identifier 11,
 the coordinate point 12 indicating a display starting point of each area,
 the coordinate point 13 indicating a display ending point of each area and
 each document name 14.
 In Step a5, the document selecting area 8 is displayed on the display
 section 4 based on the document arrangement information 10b thus generated
 and an operation for displaying a plurality of documents by using the
 document selecting area 8 is executed. Then, the operation is finished.
 FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing an operation for obtaining the document
 arrangement information 10b. In Step f1, it is determined whether or not
 there exists a description of &lt;PRAMESET&gt; in each line of the document
 data. When it is determined that there exists such description, the
 process advances to Step f2 to reflect it in the document selecting area 8
 and when it is determined that there exists no such description, the
 process advances to Step f7.
 In Step f3, it is determined whether or not there exists a description of
 &lt;COLS&gt;. When it is determined that there exists such description, the
 process advances to Step f4 and when it is determined that there exists no
 such description, the process advances to Step f5. In Step f4, the area is
 divided in the direction of column in accordance with the instruction of
 &lt;COLS&gt;.
 In Step f5, it is determined whether or not there exists a description of
 &lt;ROWS&gt;. When it is determined that there exists such description, the
 process advances to Step f6 and when it is determined that there exists no
 such description, the process advances to Step f7. In Step f6, the area is
 divided in the direction of row in accordance with the instruction of
 &lt;ROWS&gt;.
 In Step f7, it is determined whether or not there exists the description of
 &lt;FRAME&gt;. When it is determined that there exists such description, the
 process advances to Step f8 and when it is determined that there exists no
 such description, the operation is finished. In Step f8, the HTML document
 data of &lt;FRAME&gt; designation is assigned to an area to which no document
 data is assigned yet. The operation is then finished.
 FIGS. 22A through 22F are diagrams for explaining the operation for
 obtaining the document arrangement information 10b. Based on the document
 arrangement information 10b, the document selecting area 8 in State B1
 shown in FIG. 22A is divided in the direction of column in State B2 as
 shown in FIG. 22B and the first area 8a is set in State B3 as shown in
 FIG. 22C. The area is divided in the direction of raw in State B4 as shown
 in FIG. 22D, the second area 8b is set in State B5 as shown in FIG. 22E
 and the third area 8c is set in State B6 as shown in FIG. 22F.
 As described above, according to the ninth embodiment, the document
 selecting area 8 is displayed on the display section 4 and when a single
 area is selected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting
 area 8, the document data corresponding to the selected area may be
 displayed in the document displaying area 7 of the display section 4 even
 when the HTML language is adopted, so that the plurality of documents can
 be displayed in high visibility as a whole without displaying the
 plurality Of documents on the single display section 4 at the same t ime.
 Next, a document display apparatus of a tenth embodiment of the invention
 will be explained. While this document display apparatus is constructed in
 the same manner as the document display apparatus in the ninth embodiment,
 it is characterized in that it displays HTML document data within the
 document displaying area 7 when it is designated not to execute the frame
 function in the HTML document data.
 The operation of the document display apparatus of the tenth embodiment
 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. HTML document data to be
 displayed is read in Step al. Assume that the following second HTML
 document data is read for example:
 (Second HTML Document Data)
 &lt;HTML&gt;
 &lt;FRAMESET COLS="50%, 50%"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document1. html"&gt;
 &lt;FRAMESET ROWS="40%, 60%"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document2. html"&gt;
 &lt;FRAME SRC="document3. html"&gt;
 &lt;/FRAMESET&gt;
 &lt;/FRAMESET&gt;
 &lt;NOFRAMES&gt;
 - :
 :
 &lt;/NOFRAMES&gt;
 &lt;/HTML&gt;
 The read second HTML document data is then interpreted in Step a2. In Step
 a3, It is determined as a result of the Interpretation whether or not the
 read second HTML data contains the descriptions of &lt;FRAME&gt;and &lt;FRAMESET&gt;.
 When it is determined that there exist such descriptions, the process
 advances to Step a4 and when it is determined that there exist no such
 description, the operation is finished. In Step a4, the document
 arrangement Information 10b is generated.
 In Step a5, the document selecting area 8 is displayed on the display
 section 4 based on the document arrangement information 10b thus generated
 and the operation for displaying the plurality of documents by using the
 document selecting area 8 is executed. The operation is then finished.
 That is, the displaying operation is executed in accordance with Steps in
 FIG. 5.
 However, &lt;NOFRAMES&gt; is designated for the second HTML document data and the
 contents to be displayed in &lt;NOFRAMES&gt;, that is, when the frame function
 is not used, is specified, so that the document arrangement information
 10b is reflected to the document selecting area 8 in Step b2 and the
 document data is displayed in the document displaying area 7. The document
 data displayed here is the data existing between &lt;NOFRAMES&gt; and
 &lt;/NOFRAMES&gt;.
 As described above, according to the tenth embodiment, the document data
 for which non-execution of frame function is designated is displayed
 within the document displaying area 7 immediately, so that the document
 may be displayed in the document displaying area 7 without selecting a
 single area from the document selecting area 8, thus improving the
 operability. The two functions of displaying the selected document in the
 document displaying area 7 by using the document selecting area 8 when the
 frame function is to be executed, and of displaying the document
 immediately in the document displaying area 7 when no frame function is
 used, can be executed appropriately.
 The invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing
 from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present
 embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative
 and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the
 appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and ail changes
 which come within the meaning and the range of equivalency of the claims
 are therefore intended to be embraced therein.