1. A method of creating a document layout using a computer processing system comprising the steps of: (a) receiving an ordered list of object areas, each of said object areas comprising at least one X,Y coordinate pair, data representing an electronic image of a document portion, and a type indicator representing whether said object area corresponds to a picture area or a text area; (b) creating a plurality of document layouts by recursion, where each invocation of said recursion produces a document layout, each document layout including all of said object areas in said ordered list positioned in a document, by successively placing each of said object areas in said document, according to its order in said list, at one of a set of possible locations for said object area, each location being determined by a rule of placement, said recursion continuing until each of said object areas has been placed at every one of said possible locations in said set; and (c) selecting, according to a criteria, a particular document layout from said plurality of document layouts.