PURPOSE: To easily set an area in any document picture by improving operability.

CONSTITUTION: This device previously store and holds plural pieces of area information in an area information storage part 4, displays plural cases of pictures obtained by successively reading the respective pieces of area information and overlapping them on a document image on the screen of a display 5 at the same time so that one picture of the displayed plural cases can be selected by a key board 11 and area information of the selected case can be corrected by a pointing device 6. It is made possible to select area information which is the enearest to the document picture from plural cases of area information displayed at the same time and to correct it after then so that area setting can easily be executed in any document picture.