Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and a computer-readable storage medium containing a computer program for image processing recorded thereon

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a display unit for displaying an image on a screen for editing and processing the image;
• an editing and processing unit for editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• a rectangle computing unit for computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed by said editing and processing unit;
• a contracted image preparing unit for preparing a contracted image according to the rectangle computed by said rectangle computing unit;
• and
• a contracted image display controller for controlling said display so as to display the contracted images prepared by said contracted image preparing unit on the screen.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a display unit for displaying an image on a screen for editing and processing the image;
• an editing and processing unit for editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• a rectangle computing unit for computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed by said editing and processing unit;
• a blank extracting unit for extracting blank sections of the rectangle computed by said rectangle computing unit with the edited image excluded therefrom;
• and
• a blank processing unit for coloring the blank sections extracted by said blank extracting unit with a specified color and making the part colored with the specified color transparent.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a display unit for displaying an image on a screen for editing and processing the image;
• an editing and processing unit for editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• an editing and processing history memory for storing thereon the history of editing and processing of the image edited and processed by said editing and processing unit;
• and
• an editing and processing history display controller for displaying the history of editing and processing stored in said editing and processing history memory together with the image on the screen.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a display unit for displaying an image on a screen for editing and processing the image;
• a first display controller for controlling said display to display the information concerning an image file as an object for editing and processing on a first dedicated displaying area on the screen;
• a second display controller for controlling said display to display the contracted images of images in an image file corresponding to information for a specified image file of information for image files displayed on the first dedicated area in a second dedicated displaying area on the screen;
• and
• a third display controller for controlling said display to display an image of an image file corresponding to a specified contracted image as an object for editing and processing in a third dedicated displaying area on the screen for displaying an image with a specified magnification.

An image processing method of displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the display screen comprising:

• a reference image extracting step of extracting a reference image as an object for editing and processing;
• a parameter setting step of managing a plurality of parameters such as brightness, chroma, hue, contract or the like concerning a reference image extracted in the reference image extracting step and values of the parameters, selecting any two arbitrary parameters of the plurality of parameters put under management, and setting the selected parameters as scales for the vertical axis and horizontal axis respectively;
• a peripheral image preparing step of preparing an image obtained by changing the values of the two parameters selected in the parameter setting step by a specified amount for the reference image as the peripheral images for the reference image;
• and
• an image displaying step of displaying the reference image at a specified position on the screen and also displaying the peripheral image prepared in the peripheral images preparing step around the reference image correlating parameter values of the peripheral image to scales of the vertical axis and horizontal axis set in the parameter setting step so that the peripheral images surrounds the reference image in n layers.

An image processing method of displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen comprising:

• an editing and processing step of editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• a rectangle computing step of computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed in the editing and processing step;
• a contracted image preparing step of preparing a contracted image according to the rectangle computed in the rectangle computing step;
• and
• a contracted image displaying step of displaying a contracted image prepared in the contracted image preparing step on the screen.

An image processing method of displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen comprising:

• an editing and processing step of editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• a rectangle computing step of computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed in the editing and processing step;
• a blank extracting step of extracting the blank sections of the rectangle computed in the rectangle computing step with the edited image excluded therefrom;
• and
• a blank processing step of coloring the blank sections extracted in the blank extracting step with a specified color and making transparent the part colored with the specified color.

An image processing method of displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen comprising:

• a first displaying step of displaying information concerning an image file as an object for editing and processing in a first dedicated displaying area on the screen;
• a second displaying step of displaying a contracted image for an image file corresponding to information for the specified image file of information for image files displayed in the first dedicated area;
• and
• a third displaying step of displaying an image in an image file corresponding to a specified contracted image of the contracted images displayed in the second dedicated area as an object for editing and processing with a specified magnification in a third dedicated displaying area.

A computer-readable storage medium containing thereon a computer program of an image processing method for displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the display screen, said computer program being:

• extracting a reference image as an object for editing and processing;
• managing a plurality of parameters such as brightness, chroma, hue, contract or the like concerning a reference image extracted in the reference image extracting step and values of the parameters, selecting any two arbitrary parameters of the plurality of parameters put under management, and setting the selected parameters as scales for the vertical axis and horizontal axis respectively;
• preparing an image obtained by changing the values of the two parameters selected in the parameter setting step by a specified amount for the reference image as the peripheral images for the reference image;
• and
• displaying the reference image at a specified position on the screen and also displaying the peripheral image prepared in the peripheral images preparing step around the reference image correlating parameter values of the peripheral image to scales of the vertical axis and horizontal axis set in the parameter setting step so that the peripheral images surrounds the reference image in n layers.

A computer-readable storage medium containing thereon a computer program of an image processing method for displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen, said computer program being:

• editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed in the editing and processing step;
• preparing a contracted image according to the rectangle computed in the rectangle computing step;
• and
• displaying a contracted image prepared in the contracted image preparing step on the screen.

A computer-readable storage medium containing thereon a computer program of an image processing method for displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen, said computer program being:

• editing and processing the image displayed on the screen;
• computing a rectangle having a minimum size among those which can cover the image edited and processed in the editing and processing step;
• extracting the blank sections of the rectangle computed in the rectangle computing step with the edited image excluded therefrom;
• and
• coloring the blank sections extracted in the blank extracting step with a specified color and making transparent the part colored with the specified color.

A computer-readable storage medium containing thereon a computer program of an image processing method for displaying an image on a display screen and editing and processing the image displayed on the screen, said computer program being:

• displaying information concerning an image file as an object for editing and processing in a first dedicated displaying area on the screen;
• displaying a contracted image for an image file corresponding to information for the specified image file of information for image files displayed in the first dedicated area;
• and
• displaying an image in an image file corresponding to a specified contracted image of the contracted images displayed in the second dedicated area as an object for editing and processing with a specified magnification in a third dedicated displaying area.