JP2004054777A - File management device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To give a strong impression of file relationships to a user. <P>SOLUTION: The file management device comprises a hard disk which memorizes each of a plurality of files by corresponding to an icon and a 3-dimensional space coordinate, a display means which displays a 3-dimensional space in which each of the plurality of icons are placed at the position corresponding to the 3-dimensional space coordinate, and a marker setting means (S24) which sets marker information in the 3-dimensional space to specify the plurality of icons placed within a certain distance range. Relationships between the files are displayed as distance in the 3-dimensional space and the marker information. As a result, the device can give a strong impression of file relationships to a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a file management device, and more particularly, to a file management device that expresses a relationship among a plurality of files by a position in a three-dimensional space.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a file is recorded on a computer, a file name is given. In this case, when the number of files increases, it becomes difficult to extract a desired file from the file only by relying on the file name. Therefore, in a conventional file management program executed on a personal computer, related files are grouped into a group, and a name is added to the group, so that a desired file can be extracted by relying on the group name. .
[0003]
There is also a method of expressing file relevance by a distance on a two-dimensional plane without using a group name. The icons of the files belonging to the group are arranged on a two-dimensional plane, and the magnitude of the relationship is expressed in inverse proportion to the distance between the icons on the two-dimensional plane.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the method of classifying files using the group name, if the group name is not properly assigned or if the association between the group name and the file is forgotten over time, the group name must be relied on. Cannot extract the desired file.
[0005]
Further, in the method of expressing the file association on a two-dimensional plane, the number of icons that can be displayed on the two-dimensional plane is limited. Furthermore, as the number of groups increases, the purpose for which the group was created depends not only on the memory of the user, but also on what conditions the files were put together if they were forgotten. It becomes ambiguous.
[0006]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a file management device capable of strongly impressing a user on a relation between files.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a file management device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of files in association with icons and three-dimensional space coordinates, and a storage unit that stores a plurality of icons in association with each other. Display means for displaying the three-dimensional space in a state where the three-dimensional space is located at the set three-dimensional space coordinates, and landmark information for specifying a plurality of icons whose distances in the three-dimensional space are within a predetermined range are set in the three-dimensional space. Mark setting means.
[0008]
According to the present invention, the three-dimensional space is displayed in a state where the icons corresponding to the plurality of files are arranged at the corresponding three-dimensional space coordinates stored. For this reason, it is possible to express the relationship between the files by the distance in the three-dimensional space. In addition, since landmark information for specifying a plurality of icons whose distances in the three-dimensional space are within a predetermined range is set in the three-dimensional space, the file association can be displayed by the landmark information. As a result, it is possible to provide a file management device capable of strongly impressing the user on the relation between files.
[0009]
Preferably, a visual field storage means for storing a viewpoint and a line of sight defining a visual field including the three-dimensional space coordinates of the landmark information and the three-dimensional space coordinates of all of the icons specified by the landmark information in association with the landmark information is further provided. The display unit displays the three-dimensional space with the viewpoint and the line of sight stored in the visual field storage unit in response to a predetermined instruction.
[0010]
According to the present invention, the three-dimensional space is displayed in a field of view including the three-dimensional space coordinates of the mark information and the three-dimensional space coordinates of all of the plurality of icons specified by the mark information in accordance with a predetermined instruction. Therefore, the displayed visual field in the three-dimensional space can be switched to a predetermined visual field.
[0011]
Preferably, the display means semi-transparently displays an icon within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space, or displays an icon within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space. Do not show.
[0012]
According to the present invention, an icon within a predetermined distance from a viewpoint in a three-dimensional space is displayed translucently, or an icon within a predetermined distance from a viewpoint in a three-dimensional space is displayed. Do not show. For this reason, even when the three-dimensional space is displayed in the visual field where the icons overlap, the icon located behind can be displayed.
[0013]
Preferably, an extracting unit that extracts a file that matches a predetermined extraction condition from a plurality of files, a sorting unit that sorts the files extracted by the extracting unit according to a predetermined sorting condition, And a designation accepting unit for accepting designation of an arbitrary icon from the icons corresponding to the files, the display unit superimposing and displaying the order determined by the sorting unit on each icon, and In response to the reception, the icons corresponding to the files other than the files in the order up to the predetermined number from the file corresponding to the designated icon are displayed translucently.
[0014]
According to the present invention, a file matching a predetermined condition is extracted from a plurality of files, the extracted files are rearranged according to a predetermined rearrangement condition, and the rearranged order is superimposed on each icon. indicate. For this reason, since the position of the icon corresponding to the file in the three-dimensional space is not changed by extracting or rearranging the file, the position of the extracted and rearranged file in the three-dimensional space can be impressed to the user. it can. When the designation of an arbitrary icon is received, icons corresponding to files other than the files in the order up to a predetermined number from the file corresponding to the designated icon are displayed translucently. For this reason, the mutual relationship between files can be displayed more easily.
[0015]
Preferably, the display device further includes a designation accepting unit that accepts designation of an arbitrary icon from among a plurality of icons, and a thumbnail creating unit that creates a thumbnail of the file at a resolution and a size corresponding to a distance from the viewpoint. The thumbnail generated by the thumbnail generating unit is displayed instead of the icon specified by the specification receiving unit.
[0016]
According to the present invention, a thumbnail of a file corresponding to an arbitrary icon specified from a plurality of icons is generated at a resolution and a size corresponding to a distance from a viewpoint, and generated instead of displaying the specified icon. The displayed thumbnail is displayed. For this reason, the content of the file can be confirmed by the thumbnail. In addition, by bringing the viewpoint closer to the thumbnail, the contents of the file can be displayed in a large size and at a high resolution, and the contents of the file can be easily confirmed.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a file management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a file management apparatus 10 includes a computer 100, a display 102, an MFP (Multi Function Product) 104 having functions of a copier and a facsimile, a keyboard 106, a mouse 108, and a digital camera. 101.
[0019]
The digital camera 101 is detachable from the computer 100, and when not connected to the computer 100, stores image data obtained by shooting in a memory provided in the digital camera 101. When the digital camera 101 is connected to the computer 100, the digital camera 101 can transmit image data stored in a memory provided inside the digital camera 101 to the computer 100.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the file management device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 116 connected to a bus 126, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 118 storing a boot-up program of an operating system, and the like. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 120 for loading a program to be executed and for storing data during execution of the program, a hard disk 114 for storing image data and the like in a nonvolatile manner, and a connection to the digital camera 101 130, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) drive 110, and an FD (Flexible Disk) drive 112. I have. A CD-ROM 122 is mounted on the CD-ROM drive 110. An FD 124 is mounted on the FD drive 112. The digital camera 101 is connected to the interface 130.
[0021]
In the file management device 10, the file management program is recorded on the hard disk 114, and the recorded file management program is executed by the CPU. Generally, such a file management program is stored and distributed in a recording medium such as the CD-ROM 122 or the FD 124, read from the recording medium by the CD-ROM drive 110 or the FD drive 112, and temporarily stored in the hard disk 114. Further, the data is read from the hard disk 114 to the RAM 120 and executed by the CPU 116.
[0022]
Note that the recording medium is not limited to the CD-ROM 122, the FD 124, and the hard disk 114, but may be a magnetic tape, a cassette tape, an optical disk (MO (Magnetic Optical Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), or an IC card ( A medium that fixedly carries a program such as a semiconductor memory such as an optical card, an optical card, a mask ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and a flash ROM may be used.
[0023]
The file management program referred to here is a concept that includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 116 but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.
[0024]
Since the operation of the computer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is well known, detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.
[0025]
In the file management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, image data obtained by photographing with the digital camera 101 and image data read by the MFP 104 are taken into the computer 100 and stored in the hard disk 114. When the application program such as document creation software stored in the hard disk 114 is executed by the CPU 116, a file created by the application program is stored in the hard disk 114. The hard disk 114 stores a file of image data, a file entity such as a file created by an application program, and a property file including information on each file. The file entity is stored in association with the file name. In the property file, information on each file is stored corresponding to the file name.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property file stored in the hard disk 114 of the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, the property file includes items of a file name, three-dimensional coordinates, and an icon. The file name is a name given to the file to identify the file stored in the hard disk 114. The item of three-dimensional coordinates indicates the position in the three-dimensional space of the file specified by the item of the file name. The item of the icon indicates an image for displaying the file specified by the file name in the three-dimensional space. The icon is designed so that the type of application in which the file was created and the format of the file can be understood. Further, this icon can be arbitrarily created by the user.
[0027]
For example, for a file with the file name “xxxx.txt”, the three-dimensional coordinates are (x1, y1, z1), and the icon 1 is associated with the file. As a result, when a file association is displayed in a three-dimensional space described later, the icon 1 is displayed at the coordinates (x1, y1, z1) in the three-dimensional space.
[0028]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, X-axis 401, Y-axis 402, and Z-axis 403 are shown on screen 200, and X-axis 401, Y-axis 402, and Z-axis 403 represent a three-dimensional space. Is expressed.
[0029]
The screen 200 represents a three-dimensional space with a predetermined visual field. The field of view is defined by a viewpoint and a line of sight. In the three-dimensional space, icons associated with files are arranged at three-dimensional coordinates defined for each file in the above-described property file. Each icon has a different size depending on the distance from the viewpoint. In FIG. 4, the closer to the viewpoint, the larger the display.
[0030]
Further, icons corresponding to related files are arranged closer to each other. For example, the icons 201A, 201B, 201C are arranged at a short distance in a three-dimensional space. The icon is arranged at an arbitrary position in the three-dimensional space by the user dragging and dropping the icon using the mouse 108 as described later. The same applies when a new icon is arranged.
[0031]
One group is formed by icons 201A, 201B, and 201C that are close to each other, and it means that three files corresponding to these icons have some relationship. The icons 205A, 205B, 205C, 205D are arranged at positions close to each other, and it is expressed that the four files specified by these four icons have some relationship.
[0032]
In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, the field of view for displaying the three-dimensional space can be changed. Changing the field of view can be broadly divided into changing the viewpoint and changing the line of sight. Here, let L be the distance between the viewpoint and the origin of the three-dimensional space.
[0033]
There are a method of moving the viewpoint around the origin of the three-dimensional space and a method of moving the viewpoint in the line of sight. In the method of moving the origin in the three-dimensional space as a center, the position of the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space is arranged on a sphere having a radius L with the origin in the center. The method of moving the viewpoint around the origin of the three-dimensional space is as follows. The mouse pointer is moved to the right in a state where the mouse pointer is placed in an area where the icon is not displayed on the screen 200 and the mouse 108 is dragged. The viewpoint is moved in a direction to rotate the three-dimensional space clockwise around the Z axis. When the mouse pointer is moved leftward while the mouse pointer is being dragged with the mouse pointer placed in an area of the screen 200 where no icon is displayed, the mouse pointer is rotated counterclockwise around the Z axis in the three-dimensional space. Move the viewpoint in the direction. When the mouse pointer is moved upward in a state where the mouse pointer is placed in an area where no icon is displayed on the screen 200 and the mouse 108 is dragged, the viewpoint is moved in a direction in which the Z value of the viewpoint increases. When the mouse pointer is moved downward in a state where the mouse pointer is placed in an area where no icon is displayed on the screen 200 and the mouse 108 is dragged, the viewpoint is moved in a direction in which the Z value of the viewpoint becomes smaller.
[0034]
When the viewpoint is moved in the direction of the line of sight, the page up key of the keyboard 106 is pressed to move the viewpoint in the depth direction parallel to the current line of sight. By pressing the page down key of the keyboard 106, the viewpoint is moved in the front direction in parallel with the current line of sight. In other words, when the viewpoint is moved in the line of sight, the user zooms in by pressing the page up key, and zooms out by pressing the page down key.
[0035]
The line of sight can be changed by pressing an arrow key on the keyboard 106. More specifically, the line of sight can be changed upward by pressing an upward arrow, and the line of sight can be changed downward by pressing a down arrow key. In addition, the line of sight can be moved rightward by pressing the right arrow key, and the line of sight can be moved leftward by pressing the left arrow key.
[0036]
By combining these operations, the viewpoint can be set at any position in the three-dimensional space, and the line of sight can be changed in any direction.
[0037]
As a result, even when a plurality of icons corresponding to a file can be viewed from an arbitrary position and an arbitrary direction in the three-dimensional space, another icon having no overlapping is displayed from a view in which the icons are overlapped. By changing to the field of view, the overlapping icons can be displayed without overlapping.
[0038]
Even if the field of view is changed, the icons can be reliably displayed on the screen 200 by arranging the icons all in the direction toward the viewpoint, that is, on a plane whose perpendicular is the line of sight. In addition, by displaying the icon as a size that is inversely proportional to the distance from the viewpoint, the position of the icon in the three-dimensional space can be displayed in an easily understandable manner. The icons may be displayed in the same size without changing according to the distance from the viewpoint. In this case, the perspective is expressed only by the overlapping of the icons.
[0039]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a file management process executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. This file management process is a process executed when a three-dimensional space is displayed on the display 102. Referring to FIG. 5, first, it is determined whether an arrow key or a zoom key of keyboard 106 is pressed (step S01). The zoom key is a page down key or a page up key of the keyboard 106. If the arrow key or the zoom key has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S03.
[0040]
In step S02, the viewpoint is moved or the line of sight is changed, as described above. Thereby, the visual field of the three-dimensional space displayed on the display 102 is changed.
[0041]
In step S03, it is determined whether the mouse pointer is over the icon. If it is determined that the icon is on the icon, the process proceeds to step S04; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S04, it is determined whether the left button of the mouse has been pressed. If the left button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S05; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S05, it is determined whether or not a drag has been performed to move the mouse pointer while the left button is being pressed. If it is determined that the user has been dragged, the process proceeds to step S07; otherwise, the process proceeds to S06.
[0042]
In step S07, a process of moving the dragged icon in the three-dimensional space is performed, and the process ends thereafter. The moving destination is the position of the mouse pointer at the time when the drop for releasing the pressing of the left button of the mouse pointer is performed. In step S06, it is determined whether or not a double click of pressing the left button of the mouse twice consecutively has been performed. If it is determined that a double click has been made, the process proceeds to step S08; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S09.
[0043]
In step S08, a process for displaying the file is performed, and then the process ends. In the process of displaying a file, an application program for displaying the file is started, and the file double-clicked by the application program is displayed.
[0044]
In step S09, the icon dragged in step S05 is in a selected state, and the process ends thereafter. In order to indicate the selected state, the selection can be clearly indicated to the user by blinking the icon or displaying the icon with high brightness.
[0045]
On the other hand, in step S10, it is determined whether the right button of the mouse has been pressed. If it is determined that the right button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S11; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S11, a context menu when the file corresponding to the icon where the mouse pointer is placed is selected is displayed, and then the process ends. The context menu includes, for example, items for executing a file property display, copying, and the like.
[0046]
In step S12, when the mouse pointer 410 is placed on the icon and no other operation is input, a pop-up window for displaying information about a file corresponding to the icon on which the mouse pointer 410 is placed is displayed. After that, the process ends.
[0047]
Referring to FIG. 4, screen 200 shows a state where mouse pointer 410 is placed on icon 203A, and in this case, pop-up window 209 is displayed. In the pop-up window 209, "xxx.txt (23KB-2002 / 2/28)" is displayed, the file name is "xxx.txt," the size of the file is 23KB, and the update date of the file is displayed. Is file information indicating that the date is February 28, 2002.
[0048]
Returning to FIG. 5, in step S13, it is determined whether the left button of the mouse has been pressed. If it is determined that the left button of the mouse has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S16; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S16, it is determined whether or not the mouse pointer has been dragged while the left button of the mouse has been pressed. If it is determined that the drag has been performed, the process proceeds to step S17; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S18.
[0049]
In step S17, a process of moving the viewpoint so as to rotate the three-dimensional space according to the direction in which the mouse pointer is moved in the three-dimensional space is performed. In step S18, a process of releasing the selected state of the file for releasing the state of the file selected in step S09 is performed (step S18).
[0050]
On the other hand, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the right mouse button has been pressed. If it is determined that the right button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S15; otherwise, the file management process ends. In step S15, a context menu for selecting a space is displayed. The context menu at the time of space selection refers to a menu including items for executing various processes performed on the three-dimensional space. The menu includes a menu of “marker creation” and “text input”.
[0051]
As described above, in the file management device according to the present embodiment, the field of view in the three-dimensional space can be freely changed. Accordingly, icons that have been displayed overlapping in the previous field of view can be displayed without overlapping.
[0052]
Further, by dragging and dropping the icon, the icon can be freely moved in the three-dimensional space. Further, it is possible to set a state where the icon is selected or a state where the selection is released. In order to move the position of the mouse pointer in a plane, the mouse pointer may be moved on the screen.To move the mouse pointer in the depth direction of the line of sight, press the page up button and move the mouse pointer toward the line of sight. In this case, a page down button may be pressed. Thus, the mouse pointer can be moved to an arbitrary position in the three-dimensional space.
[0053]
In addition, simply by hovering the mouse pointer over an icon, a pop-up window is displayed to display information about the file corresponding to the icon. For this reason, information on the file can be easily confirmed.
[0054]
Further, since a context menu of the file can be displayed, various operations on the file can be easily executed.
[0055]
[Marker installation process]
In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, the icons stored in correspondence with the files are displayed at the three-dimensional coordinates in the three-dimensional space so that the mutual relationship between the files is represented by the positional relationship in the three-dimensional space. I made it. In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display a mark for specifying a plurality of grouped files in a three-dimensional space. The processing for setting the mark will be described below.
[0056]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a mark setting process executed by the file management device 10 in the present embodiment. The mark to be set here is an icon image. A plurality of templates are prepared in advance, and the user can select a desired one from the templates. It is also possible to modify the selected template. Further, a new icon image may be used as landmark information.
[0057]
The mark setting process is a process executed in step S15 of FIG. 5 on condition that a context menu at the time of space selection is displayed. In the mark setting process, first, it is determined whether or not a context menu for selecting a space is displayed (step S21). If it is determined that the context menu has been displayed, the process proceeds to step S22; otherwise, the process enters a standby state.
[0058]
In step S22, it is determined whether or not the menu of "marker creation" included in the context menu is selected. If it is determined that the mark creation menu has been selected, the process proceeds to step S23; otherwise, the process ends.
[0059]
In step S23, a screen for creating a mark is displayed on the display 102, and the user can create the mark according to the displayed screen. The screen includes a screen for displaying a template including the plurality of icons described above and selecting the template from the templates. Also, a screen for creating a new icon is included, and the user can newly create an icon using the mouse 108 or the keyboard 106.
[0060]
In the next step S24, the mark created in step S23 is arranged at the coordinates in the three-dimensional space indicated by the mouse pointer 410. At this time, the mark created in step S23 and the coordinates in the three-dimensional space indicated by the mouse pointer are stored in the hard disk 114 in association with each other. When the mark is placed in the three-dimensional space, an iconic image is displayed on the display 102.
[0061]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a three-dimensional space in which a mark is set. FIG. 7 shows a state where the marks 211 and 212 are set on the screen shown in FIG. The marks 211 and 212 are icons, each having a different shape. The mark 211 is arranged near the icons 205A, 205B, 205C, 205D. For this reason, it can be said that this is a landmark for specifying a group composed of files corresponding to the icons 205A, 205B, 205C, and 205D.
[0062]
Similarly, the mark 212 is arranged near the icons 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D, 207E. Therefore, the mark 212 can be said to be a mark for specifying a file corresponding to each of the icons 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D, and 207E.
[0063]
In this way, by arranging and displaying the mark near the icon, it is possible to give the user an impression of the unity of the files specified by the plurality of icons.
[0064]
[Text input processing to placemarks]
In the above-described landmark setting process, the landmarks are iconographic images. The landmark may be an icon with text information added. The process of inputting text into a mark is a process of adding text information to an icon image.
[0065]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of a text input process to a mark executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment.
[0066]
Referring to FIG. 8, in the text input processing for a mark, first, it is determined whether or not a context menu for selecting a mark is displayed (step S31). The context menu at the time of selecting a mark is displayed when the mouse pointer is set to a mark set as an icon and the right button of the mouse 108 is pressed. If the context menu at the time of selecting the mark is displayed, the process proceeds to step S32, and if not, the process enters a standby state.
[0067]
In step S32, it is determined whether the "text input" menu is selected. If it is determined that it has been selected, the process proceeds to step S33; otherwise, the process of inputting text to the mark ends. In step S33, a screen for inputting a text is displayed on display 102. Thus, the user can input the test information using the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108. Then, in the next step S34, the input text information is displayed while being superimposed on the icon displayed as the mark. Thereby, the mark becomes information in which the icon and the text are combined.
[0068]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where text is superimposed on a mark. FIG. 9 shows a state in which text has been input to the marks 211 and 212 shown on the screen 210 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 9, screen 220 includes a mark 211A on which the text of "document file" is superimposed and a mark 212A on which the text of "personal file" is input. In this way, by using the mark as a combination of the icon and the text, it is possible to more strongly impress the user with the information on the collection of a plurality of files.
[0069]
[Placemark text popup display processing]
So far, an example has been described in which a landmark is displayed as a combination of an icon and a text in a three-dimensional space. However, since the viewpoint can be moved freely in the three-dimensional space, the viewpoint and the landmark can be freely moved. When the distance in the three-dimensional space increases, the text of the mark is displayed small. Therefore, by displaying the text of the mark in the pop-up window, the text as the mark can be easily confirmed even when the distance between the viewpoint and the mark in the three-dimensional space increases.
[0070]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a mark text pop-up display process executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10, first, it is determined whether or not the mouse pointer is over a mark (step S35). If it is determined that the mouse pointer is over the mark, step S36 is performed, otherwise, the process ends. In step S36, a pop-up window for displaying the mark text is displayed near the mark. Thereby, even when the distance between the viewpoint and the mark in the three-dimensional space increases, the text of the mark can be easily confirmed.
[0071]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a three-dimensional space in a state where a mark text is displayed in a pop-up window. FIG. 11 shows an example in which the mouse pointer 410 is placed on the mark 212A on the screen 220 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 11, on screen 230, mouse pointer 410 is placed on mark 212A. Further, a pop-up window 231 is displayed near the mark 212A, and the text of “personal file” is displayed in the pop-up window 231.
[0072]
[Viewpoint movement processing]
The file management device 10 described so far can display the three-dimensional space on the display 102 while freely changing the field of view. The viewpoint moving process described here is a process of moving the viewpoint to a visual field including all the icons near the set landmark.
[0073]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the viewpoint moving process performed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. The viewpoint moving process is roughly divided into a registration process for setting a viewpoint and a moving process for moving to a registered viewpoint. FIG. 12A shows a flow of a registration process for registering a viewpoint. This registration process is a process executed when a mark is set in the above-described mark setting process. Therefore, the registration process is a process executed on condition that step S24 in FIG. 6 is executed. Referring to FIG. 12A, it is determined whether or not a mark has been set (step S41). If it is determined that the mark has been set, the process proceeds to step S42; otherwise, the registration process ends. In step S42, a shortcut button in which the icon of the installed mark is made smaller is registered in the window frame. Here, the window frame refers to a right end area of the screen displayed on the display 102. The shortcut button includes a reduced image of the icon set as the mark set in step S24 of FIG. 6, and is stored in the hard disk 114 in association with the visual field information including the coordinates of the viewpoint and the direction of the line of sight. The coordinates of the viewpoint may be set automatically, or a three-dimensional space may be temporarily displayed on the display 102 in a field of view determined by the viewpoint, and the user may move the viewpoint using the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108. By doing so, it may be determined. In the case of automatic setting, the coordinates of the viewpoint separated from the three-dimensional coordinates associated with the mark set in step S24 by a predetermined distance along the current line-of-sight direction are set as the coordinates of the viewpoint. And the line of sight direction are regarded as visual field information.
[0074]
FIG. 12B shows a flow of a moving process using a shortcut button. Referring to FIG. 12B, it is determined whether or not the shortcut button has been pressed (step S43). Whether or not the shortcut button has been pressed is detected by the mouse pointer being clicked on the shortcut button registered in the window frame in step S42 of FIG. 12A and clicked.
[0075]
If the shortcut button has been pressed, step S44 is executed; otherwise, the process ends without executing step S44. In step S44, the viewpoint is moved to the three-dimensional coordinates stored corresponding to the pressed shortcut button, and the three-dimensional space is displayed on the display 102 in a visual field determined by the line of sight stored corresponding to the shortcut button. (Step S44).
[0076]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a three-dimensional space from the visual field whose viewpoint has been moved. Referring to FIG. 13, screen 240 includes a mark 212A and icons 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D, 207E. The window frame of the screen 240 includes shortcut buttons 211B, 212B, and 213B. The shortcut button 212B is a button registered in the window frame when the mark 212A is set. Therefore, screen 240 shows a screen displayed on display 102 after the mouse pointer is moved to shortcut button 212B and clicked.
[0077]
As described above, by providing the shortcut button 212B corresponding to the mark 212A, a three-dimensional space can be displayed in a field of view including the mark 212A and the icons in the vicinity thereof simply by pointing the mouse pointer to the shortcut button 212B and clicking. Therefore, the visual field can be easily moved. Thereby, even when a plurality of marks are installed in the three-dimensional space, the viewpoint can be easily moved.
[0078]
[Multi-view display processing]
It is convenient to separately display a screen for displaying the three-dimensional space with a predetermined field of view in order to see the mutual positional relationship of the icons arranged in the three-dimensional space. The multi-view display process is a process of displaying a plurality of screens displaying the three-dimensional space in a plurality of views on the display 102 at one time.
[0079]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of the multi-view display process executed by the file management device 10 in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 14, it is determined whether the mouse pointer is positioned on the shortcut button and mouse 108 has been right-clicked (step S51). When it is determined that the right click has been performed, the process proceeds to step S52, and otherwise, the process ends.
[0080]
In step S52, a context menu corresponding to the shortcut button is displayed on the display 102. Then, it is determined whether or not the menu of “display sub window” in the context menu is selected (step S53). If the "sub window display" menu is selected, the process proceeds to step S54; otherwise, the process ends.
[0081]
In step S54, a screen that displays the three-dimensional space in a visual field determined by the coordinates of the viewpoint and the line of sight stored in correspondence with the shortcut button in the subwindow is displayed as a subwindow. In this case, the screen that has been displayed so far is displayed as it is without changing the field of view, and the subwindow is displayed in a superimposed manner.
[0082]
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a three-dimensional space with a plurality of visual fields. Referring to FIG. 15, screen 250 includes a sub window 251. The sub window 251 includes a mark 213A and icons 209A, 209B, 209C, 209D, and 209E. The sub window 251 is a screen that displays a three-dimensional space with a field of view stored in association with the shortcut button 213B. Therefore, the screen 250 is a screen displayed when the mouse pointer is placed on the shortcut button 213B and the menu of “sub window display” is selected from the context menu displayed by right-clicking the mouse 108.
[0083]
The user can freely change the field of view of the screen 250 using the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108. Even when the field of view is changed, the field of view of the sub window 251 is not changed, and the display is continued as it is.
[0084]
Although an example in which one sub-window 251 is displayed has been described here, a plurality of sub-windows can be displayed by displaying sub-windows corresponding to the shortcut buttons 211B and 212B.
[0085]
[Modification of viewpoint movement processing]
In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, the field of view for displaying the three-dimensional space can be freely changed. However, the three-dimensional space may need to be displayed again in the field of view displayed in the past. For this reason, a method is conceivable in which the field of view displayed in the past is recorded, and the field of view is moved backward in the past based on the recorded history information of the field of view.
[0086]
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying a return button and a forward button on a screen displaying a three-dimensional space. Referring to FIG. 16, screen 260 includes a back button 261 and a forward button 262 in addition to an area for displaying a three-dimensional space. By moving the mouse pointer to the return button 261 and clicking the mouse 108, the three-dimensional space is displayed in the previous field of view displayed on the display 102. When the mouse pointer is clicked on the forward button 262 and the mouse 108 is clicked, a three-dimensional space is displayed in the next visual field.
[0087]
FIG. 17 is another flowchart illustrating the flow of the viewpoint moving process performed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 17, first, it is determined whether or not a command to change the field of view has been received from the user (step S61). The view change command is determined based on whether an instruction to change the view is input from the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108. If it is determined that the command has been received, the process proceeds to step S63. If not, the process proceeds to step S62.
[0088]
In step S63, in order to store the visual field information before the movement, the visual field information before the change is additionally stored in a predetermined area of the hard disk 114 or the like. The view information here includes the position of the viewpoint (coordinates in the three-dimensional space) and the line of sight.
[0089]
Therefore, every time a view change command is received from the user, the view information before the change is additionally stored. Thereby, the past visual field information is stored as the history information.
[0090]
In step S62, it is determined whether the return button 261 has been pressed. If it is determined that the return button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S64; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S65. In step S64, it is determined whether there is a returning visual field. The presence or absence of the returning visual field is determined based on whether or not the previous visual field information is stored as history information. If it is stored, it is determined that there is a returning field of view, and if it is not stored, it is determined that there is no returning field of view.
[0091]
If there is a returning field of view, the process proceeds to step S67; otherwise, the process ends. In step S67, the immediately preceding visual field information is read, the visual field is determined by the coordinates of the viewpoint and the line of sight of the read visual field information, and a three-dimensional space is displayed on the display 102.
[0092]
On the other hand, in step S65, it is determined whether the forward button has been pressed. If it is determined that the forward button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S66; otherwise, the process ends. In step S66, it is determined whether or not there is a visual field to advance. Whether or not there is a visual field to advance is determined if there is a visual field to go ahead when the next visual field information is stored as history information, and it is determined that there is no visual field to proceed to when it is not stored.
[0093]
If it is determined that there is a visual field to advance, the process proceeds to step S68, and if not, the process ends. In step S68, a three-dimensional space is displayed on the display 102 in a visual field determined by the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction of the visual field information one point ahead.
[0094]
As described above, by using the history of the visual field, the three-dimensional space can be easily displayed in the visual field displayed in the past, and the three-dimensional space can be displayed again in the visual field before returning to the visual field displayed in the past. Can also be easily performed.
[0095]
[Semi-transparent icon display processing]
When a plurality of icons are arranged in the three-dimensional space, the icons at the back of the icon may not be seen due to the icons at the front of the viewpoint. In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, in order to display the icon that is located behind the viewpoint by overlapping the icons, the icon in front is displayed in a semi-transparent manner.
[0096]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of the semi-transparent processing of the icon executed by the file management device 10 in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 18, a setting value is obtained as to whether or not a file located at a certain distance from the viewpoint is translucently displayed (step S71). This set value is a value set by the user inputting from the keyboard 106. The set value is set to true when a command indicating translucent display is input from the keyboard 106, and set to false when a command indicating non-translucent display is input.
[0097]
In step S72, it is determined whether the set value is true. If the set value is true, the process proceeds to step S73; otherwise, the process ends. In step S73, a threshold value for determining whether to perform translucent display is acquired. This threshold value indicates a distance from the viewpoint, and is predetermined by the user and stored in the hard disk 114. The threshold can be freely changed by the user using the keyboard 106.
[0098]
In step S74, an icon whose distance from the viewpoint is smaller than the threshold is translucently displayed according to the obtained threshold. As a result, if another icon exists further behind the viewpoint than the translucent icon, that icon is displayed.
[0099]
Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the description will be made by taking the icons A, B and C as examples. Icons that are displayed translucently are called translucent icons, and icons that are not translucently displayed are called opaque icons.
[0100]
In the next step S75, the mouse pointer 410 is positioned on the translucent icon A, and it is detected that the icon has been left-clicked. Then, it is determined whether there is an opaque icon B at the clicked point (step S76). This is to determine whether or not there is another icon behind the translucent icon A. If it is determined that there is an opaque icon B, the process proceeds to step S77; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S78. In the step S77, the opaque icon B is set to the selected state, and the process is ended.
[0101]
On the other hand, in step S78, it is determined whether or not there is a translucent icon C at the transmission destination of the icon A. If it is determined that there is a translucent icon C, the process proceeds to step S79; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S82. In step S79, it is determined whether or not there is a further translucent icon at the transmission destination of the translucent icon C. If it is determined that there is such a translucent icon, the process proceeds to step S80; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S81. In step S80, the post-processing is ended after setting the translucent icon at the innermost position to the selected state. In step S81, the post-processing is ended after setting the translucent icon C to the selected state. In step S82, after setting the translucent icon A to the selected state, the post-processing ends.
[0102]
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the translucent processing has been performed. Referring to FIG. 19, screen 270 shows an example in which icons 201A, 201B, 201C, 202A, 203A, 204A, 204B, and 206A at a predetermined distance from the viewpoint are displayed in a translucent manner. It should be noted that in the figure, icons that are displayed translucently are indicated by dotted lines.
[0103]
In this way, by displaying an icon at a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in a translucent manner, it is possible to display an icon that is deeper in the viewpoint than the icon displayed in a translucent manner. Here, such newly displayed icons are 201D, 201E, 202B, 203B, 204C, 204D, and 206E.
[0104]
In addition, by moving the mouse pointer to a region where only the translucent icon is displayed and clicking the mouse 108, the translucent icon can be set to a selected state. Furthermore, when the mouse pointer is clicked on the opaque icon at the back, which is displayed overlapping with the translucent icon, the opaque icon is set to the selected state. For this reason, it is possible to easily select a back icon that is not displayed behind the icon that is in front of the viewpoint. Furthermore, if there are multiple icons, the icon that is deepest with respect to the viewpoint is selected at the position where the mouse pointer is placed, so the icon that is further deeper with respect to the viewpoint is displayed translucently. Even if it is, the icon can be selected.
[0105]
Further, by simply moving the viewpoint in the direction of the line of sight, an icon hidden by an icon in front of the viewpoint can be easily selected.
[0106]
In the present embodiment, icons within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint are displayed translucently, but icons within a predetermined range from the viewpoint are displayed without being displayed translucently. It may not be done. In this case, if it is desired to select an icon within a predetermined range from the viewpoint, the icon that has not been displayed can be displayed again by moving the viewpoint to the near side with respect to the shooting direction.
[0107]
[Icon relocation processing]
When the number of icons arranged in the three-dimensional space increases, the distance between the icons decreases, and it becomes difficult to add and display another icon. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the interval between the icons. In the file management device according to the present embodiment, a rearrangement process for increasing the interval between icons is executed.
[0108]
FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the icon rearrangement process executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. This icon rearrangement process is a process executed when the process of displaying the context menu at the time of space selection is performed in step S15 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 20, first, it is determined whether or not the menu of “space enlargement” is selected from the context menu at the time of space selection (step S91). If it is determined that the “space expansion” menu has been selected, the process proceeds to step S92; otherwise, the process ends.
[0109]
In step S92, it is determined whether or not a predetermined range in the three-dimensional space image displayed on the display 102 has been designated by dragging the mouse 108. If the range has been specified, the process proceeds to step S93; otherwise, the process ends.
[0110]
In step S93, it is determined whether there are a plurality of icons in the designated selection range. If it is determined that there are a plurality of such objects, the process proceeds to step S94. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S96.
[0111]
In step S94, the center of gravity of a plurality of icons (selected icon group) existing in the selection range is obtained. The center of gravity is obtained as the coordinates of the center of gravity of the three-dimensional space coordinates of each of the plurality of icons. Then, in the next step S95, for all the selected files (icons existing in the selection range), the coordinates in the three-dimensional space are determined so that the distance from the center of gravity is doubled, and the icons are rearranged ( Step S95).
[0112]
On the other hand, in step S96, it is determined whether there is one file in the selected range. If there is one, the process proceeds to step S97, and if there is no file, the process ends. In step S97, one file within the selection range is set to the selected state, and the process ends.
[0113]
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the rearrangement processing has been performed. Referring to FIG. 21, screen 280 includes a selection range 281. The selection range 281 includes the mark 212 and the microcomputers 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D, and 207E. The distance between the icons (selected icons) within the selection range 281 is larger than that shown on the screen 270 shown in FIG. As described above, since the icons 207A, 207B, 207C, 207D, and 207E are rearranged with a large interval between them, a new icon can be inserted between adjacent icons.
[0114]
[Batch selection process]
There is a case where it is desired to handle all icons in a group among a plurality of icons displayed in the three-dimensional space. In particular, in a case where the number of arranged icons is large and the distance to an adjacent file group is becoming short, it is necessary to move the icon group to a vacant space at once. In such a case, it is convenient to execute the icon batch selection process. In the icon collective selection process, when the mouse pointer is placed on the mark and the mouse 108 is clicked, all the icons specified by the mark are selected. By moving the mark while dragging it with the mouse 108 in a state where these icons are selected, it is possible to move all the selected icons in conjunction with the movement of the mark.
[0115]
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of the icon batch selection process executed by the file management device 10 in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 22, the mouse pointer 410 is set to the mark, and it is determined whether or not the left button of the mouse 108 has been clicked (step S101). If the left button has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S102; otherwise, the process ends.
[0116]
In step S102, it is determined whether or not there is an icon whose distance from the mark is equal to or less than a preset threshold value. If there is an icon that is equal to or smaller than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S103; otherwise, the process ends.
[0117]
In step S103, the icon below the threshold is set to the selected state. Then, in the next step S104, it is determined whether or not there is an icon whose distance from the selected icon set in the selected state in step S103 is equal to or smaller than the set threshold value. If there is an icon that is equal to or smaller than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S103; otherwise, the process ends.
[0118]
As described above, the icon whose distance from the mark is equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold value is set to the selected state. Then, another icon located at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined threshold from the icon set in the selected state is further set in the selected state. By repeating the process of further selecting an icon whose distance from the selected icon is within the threshold value, it is possible to set all the icons specified by the landmarks to the selected state.
[0119]
When the icons are set to the selected state, a process of moving all the selected icons by the same distance and direction in the three-dimensional space becomes possible. According to the batch processing of the icons, simply moving the mouse pointer to the mark and clicking the left button sets all the icons specified by the mark to the selected state. When the mark is moved in this state, by reflecting the same movement as the movement of the mark on all of the selected icons, all of the selected icons can be moved in the same distance and in the same direction. Although movement can be instructed only in the two-dimensional direction on the screen, the movement in the line of sight can be performed by using the page up key and the page down key of the keyboard 106.
[0120]
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the icon batch processing has been executed. Referring to FIG. 23, screen 290 shows a state where mouse pointer 410 is positioned at mark 211A and the left button of mouse 108 is clicked. In this case, the icons 205A, 205B, 205C, 205D are selected. In the figure, the selected selection icon is hatched.
[0121]
[Search result display processing]
In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, in order to arrange icons corresponding to files in a three-dimensional space, a file extracted as a result of a search using predetermined conditions is displayed in a different format from a file not extracted. Display in a manner. In the file management device, the field of view that allows the user to overlook all the files extracted by the search is automatically determined, and all the icons other than the icons corresponding to the extracted files are displayed translucently. Note that a display mode may be adopted in which all icons other than the icon corresponding to the extracted file are not displayed.
[0122]
FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a search result display process performed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 24, first, it is determined whether or not there is a search execution command (step S111). If there is a search execution command, the process proceeds to step S112; otherwise, the process ends.
[0123]
In step S112, the viewpoint moves to a field of view in which the icon corresponding to the file extracted by executing the search can be overlooked. Then, the files other than the file hit by the search are displayed translucently (step S113).
[0124]
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the search result display processing has been executed. Referring to FIG. 25, on screen 300, icons 301A, 201A, 205A, 206C, and 207A of the file hit by the search are displayed as they are, and the other icons are displayed translucently. The field of view for displaying the three-dimensional space is set to a field of view including all of the icons 301A, 201A, 205A, 206C, and 207A corresponding to the files extracted by the search.
[0125]
For this reason, in the search result display processing executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, the position information of the file extracted by the search can be directly presented to the user.
[0126]
[Sort result display processing]
Since the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment arranges the icons corresponding to the files in the three-dimensional space, the positions of the icons cannot be moved when the files are rearranged under predetermined conditions. For this reason, when executing the rearrangement process, the file management apparatus 10 displays the order determined by the rearrangement by numbers.
[0127]
FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the sorting result display process executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 26, first, it is determined whether or not there is a sort execution instruction (step S121). If there is a sort execution command, the process proceeds to step S122; otherwise, the process ends. In step S122, the order determined as a result of rearranging the files by the key specified by the user is represented by a number, and is displayed so as to be superimposed on all icons.
[0128]
Then, it is determined whether or not the user has selected the icon (step S123). If it is determined that the icon has been selected, the process proceeds to step S124; otherwise, the process ends.
[0129]
In step S124, the visual field is moved to a point where several icons before and after the selected icon can be fully viewed. Then, icons other than the selected icon are displayed translucently (step S125). Note that a display mode may be adopted in which all icons other than the selected icon are not displayed.
[0130]
FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the sorting result display process has been executed. Referring to FIG. 27, screen 310 includes areas 311A, 311B, 311C, 311D, 311E, 311F, and 311G for displaying numbers in the order by rearrangement. The areas displaying the numbers in order are all the same size.
[0131]
Further, the screen 310 displays an icon 207B of the 69th sort, an icon 206C of the 70th sort, an icon 201C of the 71st sort, an icon 203A of the 72nd sort, a 706A of the 73th sort, It includes 204B in order 74 and 205C in order 75. All other icons are translucent. This screen 310 shows a case where the icon 203A is selected. Therefore, three icons are displayed in order of rearrangement from the selected icon 203A. The order of rearrangement is displayed on each icon. For example, in icon 207B, area 311A indicating the number 69 is displayed so as to be superimposed on icon 208B. An area 311B indicating the number 70 is superimposed on the icon 206C.
[0132]
In the figure, only the areas 311A, 311B, 311C, 311D, 311E, 311F, 311G for displaying the numbers of the order by rearrangement are shown. The area for displaying the number is displayed in the same display mode as the display mode (semi-transparent or opaque) of the corresponding icon.
[0133]
In this way, the order of the files can be displayed numerically by the rearrangement, and the positions of the icons can be simultaneously displayed on the three-dimensional space.
[0134]
Note that the area for displaying the order number may be arranged near the icon without overlapping the icon. Furthermore, the sizes of the regions displaying the numbers in the order may not be the same size but may be different depending on the distance from the viewpoint.
[0135]
Also, after executing the search processing, the rearrangement processing may be executed on the extracted files. In this case, a search result display process is executed, and thereafter, a rearrangement result display process is executed using only the extracted files.
[0136]
[Thumbnail display processing]
In the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment, thumbnails can be displayed instead of icons. Also, when displaying a thumbnail, the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment displays a larger thumbnail as it is closer to the viewpoint, but if the resolution of the thumbnail is low, even if the thumbnail is displayed in a large area. However, the image quality is deteriorated due to the low resolution. For this reason, the file management device 10 is configured to display a thumbnail whose resolution and size are determined according to the distance from the viewpoint.
[0137]
FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the thumbnail display process executed by the file management device 10 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 28, first, it is determined whether or not the user has selected one or more files (step S131). If it is determined that a file has been selected, the process proceeds to step S132; otherwise, the process ends. In step S132, it is determined whether the user has input a thumbnail creation command. If a thumbnail creation command has been input, the process proceeds to step S133; otherwise, the process ends.
[0138]
In step S133, a thumbnail of the file corresponding to the selected icon is created, and the created thumbnail is displayed in place of the icon. The thumbnail created at this time is created with a resolution and size determined according to the distance between the viewpoint and the icon. The resolution increases as the distance decreases, and the size increases as the distance decreases.
[0139]
Next, it is determined whether or not the viewpoint has moved (step S134). If the viewpoint has moved, the process proceeds to step S135; otherwise, the process ends. The viewpoint movement is a process performed by the user operating the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108. When a predetermined input is made from the keyboard 106 or the mouse 108, it is determined that the viewpoint has moved.
[0140]
In step S135, after the thumbnail of the file corresponding to the icon selected in step S131 is created again, it is displayed instead of the icon. This is because the distance between the icon and the viewpoint changes due to the viewpoint movement, and the thumbnail is created again based on the distance between the icon and the viewpoint after the viewpoint movement. Will be displayed.
[0141]
When the file is an image file, the resolution and the size can be enlarged to the size of the actual image file. On the other hand, when the file is character data, the font size is fixed regardless of the size of the thumbnail, and the display range is expanded or narrowed according to the size of the thumbnail.
[0142]
FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen on which the thumbnail display processing has been performed. Referring to FIG. 29, thumbnails 321 and 322 corresponding to character data files and thumbnails 323 and 324 corresponding to image files are included. When comparing the thumbnails 321 and 322 of the character data, the font size is the same, but the size of the thumbnail 321 is larger. For this reason, the range of character data that can be displayed in the thumbnail 321 is wider than the range of character data displayed in the thumbnail 322.
[0143]
When the thumbnails 323 and 324 corresponding to the image files are compared, the thumbnail 323 is larger than the thumbnail 324. In this case, the resolution of the thumbnail 323 is higher than that of the thumbnail 324.
[0144]
By displaying the thumbnails in this way, the contents of the file can be easily confirmed. Also, by simply moving the viewpoint and bringing the viewpoint closer to the thumbnail, a high-resolution thumbnail can be viewed in the image data, and the content of the file can be confirmed in more detail. In addition, for a thumbnail corresponding to a file of character data, by moving the viewpoint closer to the thumbnail, the range in which the character data is displayed is expanded, so that the content of the file can be confirmed in more detail.
[0145]
In the file management device 10 according to the above-described embodiment, a case has been described as an example where the file management program is installed on a computer and executed, but another configuration may be used. For example, in an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or an MFP capable of storing read image data or print data sent from another computer in a storage device such as a hard disk built therein, these data are stored in the device. The above-described file management program can be applied so as to be operated by the operation panel.
[0146]
Further, in the present embodiment, the file management apparatus 10 has been described. However, a file management method for executing the above-described processing, or a file management program for causing a computer to execute the above-described processing and a file management program for the same are provided. The invention can be regarded as a recorded computer-readable recording medium.
[0147]
<File management method>
(1) storing each of a plurality of files in association with an icon and three-dimensional space coordinates;
Displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where the plurality of icons are arranged at correspondingly stored three-dimensional space coordinates;
Setting landmark information for specifying a plurality of icons whose distances in the three-dimensional space are within a predetermined range in the three-dimensional space.
[0148]
(2) In the file management method, a viewpoint and a line of sight that define a visual field including the three-dimensional space coordinates of the landmark information and the three-dimensional space coordinates of all of the icons specified by the landmark information correspond to the landmark information. And displaying the three-dimensional space with the viewpoint and the line of sight stored in the step of storing the visual field in response to a predetermined instruction.
[0149]
(3) In the displaying step of the file management method, the icon within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space is displayed translucently, or the icon at a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space is displayed. Do not display icons that are in range.
[0150]
(4) the file management method includes: extracting a file that matches a predetermined extraction condition from the plurality of files;
Rearranging the files extracted by the extracting step according to a predetermined rearranging condition;
Receiving a designation of any icon from among the icons corresponding to the file extracted by the extracting step,
In the displaying step, the order determined by the rearranging step is displayed so as to be superimposed on each icon, and in response to the specification received by the step of receiving the specification, the order is determined before and after from the file corresponding to the specified icon. The icons corresponding to files other than the files in the order up to the specified number are displayed translucently.
[0151]
(5) The precursor file management method includes a step of receiving designation of an arbitrary icon from among the plurality of icons;
Generating a thumbnail of the file at a resolution and size according to the distance from the viewpoint,
The displaying includes displaying the thumbnail generated in the step of generating the thumbnail instead of displaying the icon specified in the step of receiving the specification.
[0152]
<File management program>
(6) storing each of the plurality of files in association with the icon and the three-dimensional spatial coordinates;
Displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where the plurality of icons are arranged at correspondingly stored three-dimensional space coordinates;
Setting a landmark information for specifying a plurality of icons whose distances in the three-dimensional space are within a predetermined range in the three-dimensional space.
[0153]
(7) The file management program associates a viewpoint and a line of sight defining a visual field including the three-dimensional space coordinates of the landmark information and the three-dimensional space coordinates of all of the icons specified by the landmark information with the landmark information. Further comprising the step of attaching and storing
The displaying step displays a three-dimensional space with the viewpoint and the line of sight stored in the step of storing the visual field in response to a predetermined instruction.
[0154]
(8) The displaying step of the file management program may include displaying an icon within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space in a semi-transparent manner, or displaying an icon at a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space. Do not display icons that are in range.
[0155]
(9) the file management program extracts a file that matches a predetermined extraction condition from the plurality of files;
Rearranging the files extracted by the extracting step according to a predetermined rearranging condition;
Receiving a designation of any icon from among the icons corresponding to the file extracted by the extracting step,
In the displaying step, the order determined by the rearranging step is displayed so as to be superimposed on each icon, and in response to the specification received by the step of receiving the specification, the order is determined before and after from the file corresponding to the specified icon. The icons corresponding to files other than the files in the order up to the specified number are displayed translucently.
[0156]
(10) the file management program accepting designation of an arbitrary icon from the plurality of icons;
Generating a thumbnail of the file at a resolution and size according to the distance from the viewpoint,
The displaying includes displaying the thumbnail generated in the step of generating the thumbnail instead of displaying the icon specified in the step of receiving the specification.
[0157]
(6) A computer-readable recording medium recording the file management program according to any one of (10) to (10).
[0158]
The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a file management device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property file stored in a hard disk of the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a file management process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a landmark setting process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a three-dimensional space in which a mark is set.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a text input process to a mark executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where text is superimposed on a mark and displayed.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a mark text pop-up display process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where a mark text is displayed in a pop-up window.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a viewpoint moving process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for displaying a three-dimensional space from a viewpoint moved from the viewpoint.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of a multi-view display process executed by the file management device in the present embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for displaying a three-dimensional space in a plurality of fields of view.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a return button and a forward button on a screen displaying a three-dimensional space.
FIG. 17 is another flowchart showing the flow of the viewpoint moving process executed by the file management device in the present embodiment.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of an icon translucent display process executed by the file management device in the present embodiment.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a translucent process has been performed.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an icon rearrangement process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a rearrangement process has been executed.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an icon collective selection process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which an icon collective selection process has been executed.
FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a search result display process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which search result display processing has been executed.
FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a sorting result display process executed by the file management device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a sorting result display process has been executed.
FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a flow of a thumbnail display process executed by the file management device in the present embodiment.
FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a thumbnail display process has been executed.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 file management device, 100 computer, 101 digital camera, 102 display, 106 keyboard, 108 mouse, 110 CD-ROM drive, 112 FD drive, 114 hard disk, 126 bus, 130 interface, 209, 231 popup window, 211, 211A, 212, 212A, 213A mark, 211B, 212B, 213B shortcut button, 251 sub window, 261 back button, 262 forward button, 281 selection range, 410 mouse pointer, 201A to 201E, 202A to 202B, 203A to 203B, 204A to 204D, 205A-205E, 206A-206E, 207A-207E, 3001A Icon, 321, 322, 323, 324 Thumbnail Le.

Claims (5)

Storage means for storing each of the plurality of files in association with the icon and the three-dimensional space coordinates;
Display means for displaying a three-dimensional space in a state where the plurality of icons are respectively arranged at correspondingly stored three-dimensional space coordinates;
A file management device comprising: mark setting means for setting mark information for specifying a plurality of icons whose distances in a three-dimensional space are within a predetermined range in the three-dimensional space. Visual field storage means for storing a viewpoint and a line of sight defining a visual field including the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of the landmark information and the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of all of the plurality of icons specified by the landmark information in association with the landmark information; Prepare,
2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a three-dimensional space based on a viewpoint and a line of sight stored in the visual field storage unit in response to a predetermined instruction. The display means semi-transparently displays icons within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space, or does not display icons within a predetermined distance from the viewpoint in the three-dimensional space. The file management device according to claim 1. Extracting means for extracting a file matching a predetermined extraction condition from the plurality of files,
Sorting means for sorting the files extracted by the extracting means according to a predetermined sorting condition;
Further comprising designation accepting means for accepting designation of an arbitrary icon from among icons corresponding to the file extracted by the extracting means,
The display unit superimposes and displays the order determined by the rearranging unit on each icon, and according to the reception of the specification by the specification reception unit, a predetermined number of files before and after the file corresponding to the specified icon. 2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein icons corresponding to files other than the files in the order up to are displayed translucently. Designation receiving means for receiving designation of an arbitrary icon from the plurality of icons,
Thumbnail generating means for generating a thumbnail of the file at a resolution and size corresponding to the distance from the viewpoint,
2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a thumbnail generated by the thumbnail generation unit instead of displaying an icon specified by the specification reception unit. 3.

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