Patent Document ID: 4800510
Application ID: 06761182
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for automatically determining the detailed layout of a graph having numerous detail design parameters (DDPs), each DDP representing a single attribute of the graph layout, in response to user selection of high-level design control parameters (DCPs), each DCP including a plurality of DDPs, in a system including: input means for enabling a user to provide the system with a user-selected value for each of a complete set of DCPs; a database for associating each user-selected value of each DCP provided through the input means with a predetermined set of DDP values; memory means for storing, at an address associated with each DCP value, its associated set of DDP values; selection means adapted to receive a user-selected DCP value from the input means and for selecting from the memory means, by reference to the database, the associated set of DDP values; and graphics process means for receiving the set of DDP values selected by the selection means from the memory means and converting the received set into graphical output primitives suitable for operating a graphics output device to produce on an output medium a graph having a layout determined by the set of DDP values; the method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving from the input means user-selected values for members of the complete set of DCPs' (b) determining, in association with the database, the location in memory of the set of DDPs associated with each userselected DCP value; (c) selecting the set of DDPs from memory; (d) converting the selected set of DDPs into graphical output primitives for the output device; and (e) providing the primitives to the output device to cause it to produce a graph having the layout determined by the user-selected DCPs.