JP6651563B2 - Electronic book browsing program and electronic book browsing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a browsing program and a device for browsing electronic books.

A device that displays an electronic book on a monitor and reads it out by voice is already known (for example, see Patent Document 1: JP-A-2006-012098).
In the device described in Patent Literature 1, text data is displayed on a display unit for each phrase of predetermined digital content. Then, the audio data file corresponding to the text data displayed on the display unit is output as audio from the speaker in synchronization with the text data.

  Further, in the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, in text data displayed on a display unit, a phrase at a location corresponding to audio data being output is highlighted. The highlight display is to display a background of a color different from the color of the background image on the display unit, and to make a reading portion stand out and to easily grasp a current reading position.

When an electronic book is displayed on the display unit, there are two types of layout methods: a fixed layout and a reflow layout.
The fixed layout is obtained by directly taking an electronic book as image data, and cannot enlarge or reduce characters, but can enlarge or reduce the entire image. However, when the entire image is enlarged, it may be difficult to view the image without entering the screen. In addition, since the layout of the original book is used as it is, there is an advantage that it is easy to read the contents having many charts, photographs, illustrations, and the like.
The reflow layout is obtained by converting an electronic book into text data and can perform enlargement / reduction of characters and change of line spacing, so that it can be set to a state that is easy for a user to read. However, by enlarging or reducing characters and changing the line spacing, the number of lines and the number of characters per page are changed, and these layouts are changed for contents with many figures, tables, photos, illustrations, etc. There is a possibility.

As described above, since the fixed layout and the reflow layout each have advantages and disadvantages, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a textbook / teaching material browsing application as a hybrid of the fixed layout and the reflow layout.
This browsing application is designed so that a user can freely switch between a fixed layout and a reflow layout.

JP-A-2006-012098

Yasushi Nakano, Faculty of Economics, Keio University, “Homepage of Textbook / Teaching Material Viewing Application“ UD Browser ””, [online], May 8, 2017, Textbook / Teaching Material Viewing Application “UD Browser Ver. 2.4” Operation Manual, [Searched February 15, 2018], Internet (http://web.econ.keio.ac.jp/staff/nakanoy/app/UDB/)

  In the browsing application of Non-Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the fixed layout and the reflow layout cannot be displayed at the same time, and the electronic book cannot be browsed while comparing the two.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic book browsing program and an electronic book browsing apparatus capable of browsing electronic books by taking advantage of both a fixed layout and a reflow layout.

According to the electronic book browsing program according to the present invention, the electronic book browsing apparatus having the display unit is a program for browsing the electronic book, and is a fixed electronic book including at least image data of the entire book contents. A function of simultaneously displaying the electronic book for layout and the electronic book for reflow layout having the same content as the electronic book for fixed layout, and converting at least characters into text data, on the display unit; Either calculate the position of each character of the book in the fixed layout electronic book as position information, or use the position information if the fixed layout electronic book contains position information of each character, A function of searching for characters in the reflow layout electronic book corresponding to characters; A function of storing the position information of each character of the book in association with the identification information of the character of the electronic book for the reflow layout corresponding to the character, and an operator of the electronic book browsing apparatus, Or, when reproduction is instructed for an arbitrary portion of one of the electronic books for the reflow layout, a predetermined character at the designated portion is highlighted, and a character to be highlighted for one of the electronic books is displayed. And highlighting characters of the other electronic book having position information or identification information associated with the position information or identification information of the electronic book.
By adopting this configuration, both the electronic book for fixed layout and the electronic book for reflow layout can be simultaneously displayed on the display unit on the display unit, and the electronic book for fixed layout and the electronic book for reflow layout displayed simultaneously. Highlighting of both designated portions of the electronic book can be executed. For this reason, the user can accurately grasp the reproduction position in the text (the reproduction here has no sound and includes a case where the highlight display is executed).

Further, the electronic book browsing apparatus is provided with a TTS function, and when an operator of the electronic book browsing apparatus instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the reflow layout electronic book, the electronic book browsing apparatus has a TTS function. When the book does not include audio data, the TTS function causes the electronic book browsing apparatus to execute a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by sound, and when the reflow layout electronic book includes audio data, The electronic book browsing device may execute a function of reproducing audio data of an arbitrary portion by voice.
According to this configuration, when the operator gives an instruction to reproduce a predetermined portion of the reflow layout electronic book, the high level of both the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book which are simultaneously displayed is high. Along with the light display, audio reproduction can be performed regardless of the presence or absence of audio data.

Further, the electronic book browsing apparatus is provided with a TTS function and an OCR function, and when an operator of the electronic book browsing apparatus instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the fixed layout electronic book, the electronic book browsing apparatus performs the fixed When the layout electronic book contains text data of characters, the TTS function causes the electronic book browsing device to execute a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by voice, and the fixed layout electronic book contains characters of text. When the text data is not included, the OCR function converts the characters in the electronic book for fixed layout into text data, and the TTS function reproduces the arbitrary part converted into text data by voice reading the electronic book. It may be characterized by causing the apparatus to execute the processing.
According to this configuration, when the operator instructs reproduction of a predetermined portion of the fixed layout electronic book, the high level of both the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book which are simultaneously displayed is high. Along with the light display, audio reproduction can be executed based on the electronic book for fixed layout.

Further, the electronic book browsing apparatus is provided with an OCR function. The electronic book browsing apparatus has a function of converting characters in the fixed layout electronic book into text data by the OCR function to produce a reflow layout electronic book. May be performed.
According to this configuration, even when there is only an electronic book for fixed layout, an electronic book for reflow layout can be created and both can be displayed on the display unit and viewed simultaneously.

According to the electronic book browsing apparatus according to the present invention, the electronic book browsing apparatus includes a control unit, a storage device, and a display unit, and the control unit is an electronic book for fixed layout, which is an electronic book including at least image data of the entire book contents. A book and a reflow layout electronic book having the same contents as the fixed layout electronic book, and at least characters are converted into text data, are simultaneously displayed on the display unit, and each character of the fixed layout electronic book is displayed. The position in the electronic book for fixed layout is calculated as position information, or when the electronic book for fixed layout includes position information of each character, the position information is used to correspond to the character. Search the characters of the electronic book for reflow layout, position information of each character of the electronic book for fixed layout, and the corresponding to the character The flow layout electronic book is stored in association with the character identification information, and the operator instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of any one of the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book. In this case, a predetermined character at the designated location is highlighted and the other electronic book having position information or identification information associated with the position information or identification information of the character to be highlighted on one electronic book is displayed. Characters are highlighted.
By adopting this configuration, both the electronic book for fixed layout and the electronic book for reflow layout can be simultaneously displayed on the display unit on the display unit, and the electronic book for fixed layout and the electronic book for reflow layout displayed simultaneously. Highlighting of both designated portions of the electronic book can be executed. For this reason, the user can accurately grasp the reproduction position in the text (the reproduction here has no sound and includes a case where the highlight display is executed).

In addition, when the operator has a TTS function, and the operator instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the electronic book for reflow layout, the control unit, when audio data is not included in the electronic book for reflow layout, Causing the electronic book browsing device to execute a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by the TTS function, and reproducing the audio data of the arbitrary portion by voice when the reflow layout electronic book includes the audio data. May be a feature.
According to this configuration, when the operator gives an instruction to reproduce a predetermined portion of the reflow layout electronic book, the predetermined position of both the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book which are simultaneously displayed. Along with the highlight display, audio reproduction can be performed regardless of the presence or absence of audio data.

Further, when the operator has a TTS function and an OCR function, and the operator instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the fixed layout electronic book, the control unit sets the fixed layout electronic book to text data about characters. Is included, the TTS function reproduces the audio in the arbitrary portion. When the fixed layout electronic book does not include text data on characters, the fixed layout electronic book is operated by the OCR function. May be characterized by converting characters in the text data into text data, and reproducing the arbitrary portion converted into text data by the TTS function.
According to this configuration, when the operator instructs reproduction of a predetermined portion of the fixed layout electronic book, the high level of both the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book which are simultaneously displayed is high. Along with the light display, audio reproduction can be executed based on the electronic book for fixed layout.

The electronic book for reflow layout may be provided with an OCR function, wherein the control unit converts the characters in the electronic book for fixed layout into text data by the OCR function to produce the electronic book for reflow layout.
According to this configuration, even when there is only an electronic book for fixed layout, an electronic book for reflow layout can be created and both can be displayed on the display unit and viewed simultaneously.

  According to the present invention, electronic books can be browsed by taking advantage of both the fixed layout and the reflow layout.

It is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic book browsing device. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for generating synchronization information in the electronic book browsing program. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for generating synchronization information. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for generating synchronization information when a fixed layout electronic book includes text data and position information of the text data. It is a flowchart explaining the reproduction procedure of an electronic book in an electronic book browsing program. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which displayed the electronic book for fixed layouts, and the electronic book for reflow layouts simultaneously. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for playing back an electronic book when audio data is included in the electronic book for reflow layout. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for reproducing an electronic book when a reproduction instruction is received from the electronic book for fixed layout. It is a flowchart explaining the preparation procedure at the time of producing an electronic book for reflow layout from an electronic book for fixed layout.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the electronic book browsing device.
The electronic book browsing device 20 is specifically a computer, for example, a tablet or notebook computer. Further, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone can be employed.

The electronic book browsing device 20 includes a display unit 22, a control unit 24, a storage device 26, and a speaker 28.
As the display unit 22, a touch panel type liquid crystal display can be employed.
The control unit 24 has a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, and controls various operations by executing a program stored in advance.
The storage device 26 stores an electronic book browsing program P1, a fixed layout electronic book 30, and a reflow layout electronic book 32.

The fixed layout electronic book 30 is stored in the storage device 26 in, for example, a PDF or other file format.
The electronic book for reflow layout 32 is, for example, in HTML or other file format, and the contents of the book are stored in the storage device 26 as text data, and for the illustrations as image data.
The fixed layout electronic book 30 and the reflow layout electronic book 32 are books having the same contents created for the fixed layout and the reflow layout.

  As the storage device 26, an internal storage such as a semiconductor memory, an SSD, or a hard disk drive, or an external storage such as a memory card or a USB memory can be employed.

The electronic book browsing device 20 further includes a TTS function 34 and an OCR function 36.
The TTS (Text To Speech) function 34 is a function of outputting a text as artificially synthesized voice, and can be realized by software. The TTS function 34 may be provided in advance in an OS (Operating System) of the electronic book browsing device 20, or software for realizing the TTS function may be stored in the storage device 26.

The OCR (Optical Character Recognition / Reader) function 36 is a function of extracting text from page image data and converting it into a character code that can be used as text data, and can be realized by software.
The OCR function 36 stores software for realizing the OCR function in the storage device 26.

  The control unit 24 reads out the electronic book browsing program P1 from the storage device 26 and executes the electronic book browsing program P1 so that the electronic book for fixed layout and the electronic book for reflow layout are displayed on the display unit 22 at the same time. In both the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book, the part being read out is highlighted.

Hereinafter, an operation based on the electronic book browsing program P1 will be described.
First, the generation processing of the synchronization information will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the fixed layout electronic book 30 described below includes only image data for each page of a book.
The control unit 24 calculates the position of each character of the fixed layout electronic book 30 in the fixed layout electronic book 30 to obtain position information (step S100).
Specifically, the control unit 24 first reads each character in the electronic book 30 for fixed layout by the OCR function 36, and calculates the plane coordinate position of each character in the page to obtain position information. The plane coordinate position can be calculated using xy coordinates.

Next, the control unit 24 searches for a character in the reflow layout electronic book 32 corresponding to the character whose position information has been obtained (step S102).
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 24 determines the identification information of each character of the electronic book for reflow layout 32 and the plane of the character of the electronic book for fixed layout 30 that matches each character of the electronic book for reflow layout 32. The coordinate positions are associated as position information and stored in the storage device 26 as synchronization information (step S104).

  For example, when the electronic book 32 for reflow layout is a markup language such as HTML, a tag and an ID are assigned to each character string in a predetermined range. Therefore, when the electronic book 32 for reflow layout is a markup language, the control unit 24 associates the character position information of the electronic book 30 for fixed layout with the ID of the electronic book 32 for reflow layout, Is stored in the storage device 26.

  Here, a phrase separated by a punctuation mark may be defined as a character string in a predetermined range, or a segmentation unit that is the minimum number of characters as a meaningful sentence may be defined as a character string in a predetermined range.

  With the above-described steps, the preparation for executing the highlight display of the fixed layout electronic book and the reflow layout electronic book in synchronization is completed.

The fixed layout electronic book 30 basically includes the entire page of the book as image data, but further includes text data and / or position information of the text data in addition to the image data. In some cases.
Accordingly, a process of generating synchronization information when the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes text data and position information of the text data will be described below with reference to FIG.

The control unit 24 reads the position information for each character of the electronic book for fixed layout 30 (step S150).
The control unit 24 searches for a character in the reflow layout electronic book 32 corresponding to the character whose position information has been obtained (step S152).
Then, the control unit 24 associates the identification information of each character of the electronic book for reflow layout 32 with the position information of the character of the electronic book for fixed layout 30 that matches each character of the electronic book for reflow layout 32, and outputs the synchronization information. Is stored in the storage device 26 (step S154).

When the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes image data and text data of the entire page of the book and does not include the position information of the text data, the same operation as that described in FIG. 2 is performed. Execute
That is, when the position information of the text data does not exist in the electronic book 30 for fixed layout, each character in the electronic book 30 for fixed layout is read using the OCR function 36, and the plane coordinate position of each character in the page is calculated. To obtain location information.

Next, an operation for reproducing an electronic book will be described with reference to FIG.
In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the user touches the display unit 22 in a touch panel format and instructs reproduction of a predetermined portion of the reflow layout electronic book.
When the user instructs reproduction of the electronic book, the control unit 24 causes the fixed layout electronic book 30 and the reflow layout electronic book 32 having the same content as the fixed layout electronic book to be displayed on the display unit 22 in the same manner. It is simultaneously displayed on the screen (step S200).

FIG. 6 shows an example in which an electronic book for reflow layout 32 having the same content as the electronic book for fixed layout 30 is simultaneously displayed on the same screen of the display unit 22.
The display on the left is a reflow layout, and the display on the right is a fixed layout.
In the example shown here, the character string of “Botchan”, which is the title of the book, is highlighted in both the fixed layout electronic book 30 and the reflow layout electronic book 32 (the fixed layout electronic book is It is difficult to understand due to printing).

Next, the control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range in the electronic book for reflow layout 32 (step S202).
The range of the character string to be highlighted may be a phrase cut off by punctuation as described above, or may be a unit of segmentation.
The highlight display is performed for the character string currently being output as audio by the TTS function 34, and the background color of the character string being output as audio is displayed as a color different from the background color of other parts. It is. For example, when the background color is white and the characters are black, the word being output as voice can be made more prominent by changing the background color of the character string being output to yellow.

Next, in order to highlight the fixed-layout electronic book 30, the control unit 24 uses the synchronization information stored in the storage device 26 based on the synchronization information to display characters in the same range as the reflow layout electronic book 32. The column position information is obtained (step S204).
Then, the control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range of the fixed layout electronic book 30 based on the acquired position information (step S206).

Subsequently, the control unit 24 activates the TTS function 34 and outputs the contents of the electronic book displayed on the display unit 22 by voice (step S208).
In order to read out the text data, the TTS function 34 recognizes the character string of the electronic book 32 for reflow layout, synthesizes the text, and reads out the text.

  As described above, the highlight display of the electronic book 32 for reflow layout, the highlight display of the electronic book 30 for fixed layout, and the reading aloud by the TTS function 34 are in chronological order as processing procedures. However, since the actual processing is performed in a very short time, the user does not feel uncomfortable.

Further, the electronic book browsing apparatus 20 of the present embodiment is characterized in that the electronic book for fixed layout 30 and the electronic book for reflow layout 32 can be displayed simultaneously on the same screen. Only one of the electronic book for electronic book 30 and the electronic book for reflow layout 32 may be displayed on the display unit 22.
Note that, even when the TTS function 34 is switched to one of the fixed layout and the reflow layout during audio output, the control unit 24 performs background processing of the highlight display, In the layout of, the character string being output as a voice can be highlighted.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the audio reproduction is executed by the TTS function. However, when the audio data is included in the reflow layout electronic book, the audio reproduction is executed without using the TTS function. Will be described with reference to FIG.

Also in the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the user touches the display unit 22 in the form of a touch panel to instruct reproduction of a predetermined portion of the reflow layout electronic book.
When the user instructs reproduction of the electronic book, the control unit 24 causes the fixed layout electronic book 30 and the reflow layout electronic book 32 having the same content as the fixed layout electronic book to be displayed on the display unit 22 in the same manner. It is simultaneously displayed on the screen (step S300).

The control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range in the electronic book for reflow layout 32 (step S302).
Next, in order to highlight the fixed-layout electronic book 30, the control unit 24 uses the synchronization information stored in the storage device 26 based on the synchronization information to display characters in the same range as the reflow layout electronic book 32. The column position information is obtained (step S304).
Then, the control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range of the fixed layout electronic book 30 based on the acquired position information (step S306).

  Subsequently, the control unit 24 reproduces the audio data at the position where the reproduction instruction is given in the electronic book for reflow layout 32 (step S308).

(Third embodiment)
Next, an operation performed when the user instructs reproduction of a predetermined portion of the fixed layout electronic book 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
When the user instructs reproduction of the electronic book, the control unit 24 causes the fixed layout electronic book 30 and the reflow layout electronic book 32 having the same content as the fixed layout electronic book to be displayed on the display unit 22 in the same manner. It is simultaneously displayed on the screen (step S400).

  Subsequently, the control unit 24 acquires the position information of the character string in the same range of the reflow layout electronic book 32 based on the predetermined range of synchronization information for which the user has instructed the reproduction of the fixed layout electronic book 30 (step). S402).

The control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range in the electronic book for reflow layout 32 (step S404).
Next, the control unit 24 highlights a character string in a predetermined range of the fixed layout electronic book 30 specified by the user in step S402 (step S406).
Then, the control unit 24 reproduces the audio data included in the reflow layout electronic book 32, based on the acquired position information, in the range specified by the user (step S408).

  In this embodiment, the case where the audio data is included in the electronic book for reflow layout 32 has been described. However, when the electronic book for reflow layout 32 does not include the audio data, in step S402 described above, The TTS function 34 recognizes the character string of the electronic book 32 for flow layout, synthesizes the voice, and reads it out.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the location where the user instructs the reproduction is output as audio, but the location where the user instructs the reproduction may be simply highlighted without outputting the audio.

(Fifth embodiment)
If there is no electronic book for reflow layout, an electronic book for reflow layout 32 may be produced from the electronic book for fixed layout 30.
The procedure for producing an electronic book for reflow layout will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the control unit 24 confirms whether the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes only image data of a page, or text data or positional information of the text data (step S500).

When the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes only image data, the control unit 24 operates the OCR function 36 to read the image data, read each character, and calculate the plane coordinate position of each character in the page. Position information is obtained (step S502).
The control unit 24 creates the reflow layout electronic book 32 by associating the character codes of the read characters with the respective position information (step S504). For example, when HTML is used as the reflow layout electronic book 32, the control unit 24 converts each character into a character code, creates a tag for each heading or paragraph based on the position information of each character, and specifies the character. To create an HTML document.

When the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes text data but does not include the position information of the text data, the control unit 24 calculates the character code of each text data and the plane coordinate position of each character in the page. To obtain position information (step S505).
The control unit 24 creates the reflow layout electronic book 32 by associating the character codes of the read characters with the respective position information (step S506).

  If the fixed layout electronic book 30 includes text data and position information of the text data, the process proceeds from step S500 to step S506, where the character code of the read character is associated with each position information. An electronic book 32 for reflow layout is prepared.

  Although the present invention has been described in various embodiments with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and it is needless to say that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. .

Reference Signs List 20 electronic book browsing device 22 display unit 24 control unit 26 storage device 28 speaker 30 electronic book for fixed layout 32 electronic book for reflow layout 34 TTS function 36 OCR function P1 electronic book browsing program

Claims (8)

A program for reading an electronic book, which is read by an electronic book browsing device including a display unit,
A fixed layout electronic book that is an electronic book including at least image data of the entire book contents, and a reflow layout electronic book that has the same content as the fixed layout electronic book and has at least characters as text data. A function to simultaneously display on the display unit,
Either calculate the position of each character of the fixed layout electronic book in the fixed layout electronic book as position information, or, if the fixed layout electronic book contains position information of each character, the position Using information, a function of searching for a character of the electronic book for the reflow layout corresponding to the character,
A function of storing the positional information of each character of the fixed layout electronic book and the identification information of the character of the reflow layout electronic book corresponding to the character in association with each other;
When the operator of the electronic book browsing device instructs reproduction of an arbitrary part of the electronic book for either the fixed layout electronic book or the reflow layout electronic book, a predetermined character in the specified part is highlighted. A function of highlighting the character of the other electronic book having position information or identification information associated with the position information or identification information of the character to be highlighted in one electronic book and displaying the other electronic book. An electronic book browsing program characterized by being executed by an apparatus. The electronic book viewer has a TTS function,
When an operator of the electronic book browsing device instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the electronic book for reflow layout,
When the reflow layout electronic book does not include audio data, the TTS function causes the electronic book browsing device to execute a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by audio,
2. The electronic book browsing program according to claim 1, wherein when the audio data is included in the electronic book for reflow layout, the electronic book browsing apparatus is caused to execute a function of reproducing the voice data of the arbitrary portion by voice. . The electronic book reader has a TTS function and an OCR function,
When an operator of the electronic book browsing device instructs reproduction of an arbitrary part of the fixed layout electronic book,
When the fixed-layout electronic book includes text data of characters, the electronic book browsing device executes a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by using the TTS function,
When the fixed layout electronic book does not include text data of characters, the characters in the fixed layout electronic book are converted to text data by the OCR function, and the arbitrary text converted to text data by the TTS function. 3. The electronic book browsing program according to claim 1, wherein the electronic book browsing apparatus is configured to execute a function of reproducing a portion by voice. The electronic book reader has an OCR function,
4. The electronic book reader according to claim 1, wherein the OCR function causes the electronic book browsing apparatus to execute a function of converting characters in the fixed layout electronic book into text data to create a reflow layout electronic book. The electronic book browsing program according to any one of the preceding claims. A control unit;
A storage device;
A display unit;
The control unit includes:
A fixed layout electronic book which is an electronic book including image data of at least the entire book contents, and a reflow layout electronic book which has the same content as the fixed layout electronic book and at least characters are converted into text data. Simultaneously displayed on the display unit,
Either calculate the position of each character of the fixed layout electronic book in the fixed layout electronic book as position information, or, if the fixed layout electronic book contains position information of each character, the position Using information, search for the character of the electronic book for the reflow layout corresponding to the character,
The positional information of each character of the fixed layout electronic book and the identification information of the character of the reflow layout electronic book corresponding to the character are stored in association with each other,
When the operator has instructed reproduction of an electronic book of any one of the electronic book for the fixed layout or the electronic book for the reflow layout, a predetermined character at the indicated place is highlighted and displayed. An electronic book browsing apparatus for highlighting a character of another electronic book having position information or identification information associated with position information or identification information of a character to be highlighted on one electronic book. With TTS function,
When the operator instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the reflow layout electronic book,
The control unit includes:
When the reflow layout electronic book does not include audio data, the TTS function causes the electronic book browsing device to execute a function of reproducing the arbitrary portion by audio,
6. The electronic book browsing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the reflow layout electronic book includes audio data, the audio data at the arbitrary position is reproduced as audio. Equipped with TTS function and OCR function,
When the operator instructs reproduction of an arbitrary portion of the fixed layout electronic book,
The control unit includes:
When the fixed-layout electronic book includes text data on characters, the TTS function reproduces the audio at the arbitrary position,
When the fixed layout electronic book does not include text data of characters, the characters in the fixed layout electronic book are converted to text data by the OCR function, and the arbitrary text converted to text data by the TTS function. The electronic book browsing device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the portion is reproduced by voice. With OCR function,
The control unit includes:
8. The electronic book reader according to claim 5, wherein the OCR function converts the characters in the fixed layout electronic book into text data to create a reflow layout electronic book. 9. apparatus.