Abstract: A word processing system is provided with separate data structures in system memory (4). One of these, the internal image, contains the calculated graphics image and another the operator's alphanumeric character input. When displaying, the two images are merged together with the annotation overlay effectively overlaying the graphics overlay. In this way, if the operator erases something on the annotation overlay, the contents of the graphics overlay reappear. During the display of the calculated image and as the operator adds annotations to the display, overlaying conflicts between the graphics image and an alphanumeric character added by the operator are resolved in favor of the alphanumeric character. When an overlaying conflict does exist, the alphanumeric character is highlighted by video reversing to indicate that it is hiding a portion of the graphics image.

Abstract: A display menu/chart key is provided in a word processing system to allow a system operator to toggle back and forth between the display of a menu used to define a graphics image and the graphics image to the extent that the graphics image has been defined by the menu. This provides an easy interface that allows the operator to visually check and revise the definition of a graphics image such as a bar, line or pie chart. By using this key, the operator can quickly see how changing a menu item will cause the chart to be changed and the particular portion of the chart that will change. When the key is pressed while a chart is being displayed, the last menu being processed will again be displayed.

Abstract: A processor controlled character box display is provided with apparatus which permits the display of curvilinear graphics. The characters used to generate the graphics display are selected from a limited character set in read only storage (46), but by shifting the characters up or down by less than a full line index to provide additional character positions, it is possible to produce curvilinear graphics without the need for further character generation. Since the graphics display is a low resolution display, it is necessary to make a best dot selection in order to map the print bit map into the character box display.

Abstract: A word processing system is provided with separate data structures in system memory (4). One of these, the internal image array, stores data representative of alphanumeric data and low resolution graphic data in the form of alphanumeric character data and graphic character data. Another stores data representative of high resolution printed graphics in the form of a bit array. The data from the internal image array is applied to the display terminal of the word processing system to provide a representation of the graphic data with the alphanumeric data. The alphanumeric data only from the internal image array is merged with the high resolution graphic data in the bit array to produce the printer data stream for the printer of the word processing system.