METHOD FOR RETRIEVING AND EDITING DRAWING DATA

PURPOSE:To structurally retrieve a picture by superimposing and displaying a retrieved graphic on the picture in an arbitrary display format. CONSTITUTION:A drawing on a space is read from a scanner 105 to a picture file 108, recognized by a drawing recognizing device 106, and stored in a drawing file 109 after the recognition. Here, picture data are previously made into vectors, the vector data are arranged at a position corresponding to the picture as a graphic, the graphic is made into a key to the retrieval, and further, when the graphic is retrieved, the graphic, which has the same dimension as that of an original picture, is superimposed and displayed on the picture. Thus, line graphics drawn in the drawing or the vector data can be structurally designated one by one, and the structural retrieval can be attained.