Automated document layout software starts with raw content or a simple layout, then arranges it based upon sound design principles, until it comes up with pages that look good. Add more elements - text, graphics or pictures — and the computer redesigns the page. So-called genetic algorithms pick the best design a little like the way nature picks the best genes - by examining many “species,” eliminating those that aren’t good enough and allowing the most fit to survive.

The technique is aimed at document creation in a digital, networked environment where personalized content is prized. It enables the user not only to satisfy basic content and layout constraints, but also to find a “best” solution incorporating alignment, balance and page utilization as aesthetic criteria. The technique would be useful for creation of attractive, personalized Web documents as well as hardcopy documents.

One of the prime advantages is that the software will customize the page design to best display on the selected viewing medium, whether that be a computer monitor or a printed document., thus overcoming one of the toughest challenges of today’s office. The problem is that it’s impossible to say where or how a document will be viewed over its lifetime. It may be printed, it may come to life on a computer monitor or it may be viewed on a mobile device like a cell phone or a BlackBerry. To look its best — and, certainly, to be most effective — a document must be designed specially for each medium. The Xerox system can do that automatically, ensuring that it is presented in the most effective way no matter where it will be viewed. This can free people from the time-consuming task of designing documents for multiple media.