JP2005020347A - Information processing system, information processor, method of managing storage information, storage medium storing the program for performing the method in a manner readable by information processor, and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of managing storage information by which a user can automatically update condition of service without burdening an operator. <P>SOLUTION: In the method of managing storage information in an online service system for storing data in an information processor connected to a network, picture data is moved to a second picture data storage region from a first picture data storage region. Data quantity of picture data is calculated, and storage information on picture data when picture data is moved is updated in accordance with calculated data quantity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, a storage information management method, a storage medium in which a program for executing the information is stored so as to be readable by the information processing apparatus, and the program thereof. An information processing system and an information processing apparatus that stores the data on a server connected using a communication environment and discloses the data to a third party, a storage information management method, and a program that executes the information storage so that the information processing apparatus can be read. The present invention relates to a storage medium and a program thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the development of communication infrastructure and the development of information communication technology, information providing services using the Internet have become possible.
[0003]
In recent years, the miniaturization of semiconductor devices has progressed smoothly, and the size and cost of LSI components and solid-state image sensors that constitute image input devices such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras have been scaled down. A user takes an image using an image input device and obtains digital image data. For example, digital image data captured by a user using a digital still camera is stored in a memory in the digital camera and then transferred to a recording device represented by an HDD or the like in a personal computer owned by the user. They are managed and stored, or written and stored on an external recording medium such as a CD-R.
[0004]
With the spread of color scanners, users can easily create and store images read using color scanners as digital image data.
[0005]
Against this background, as a kind of information providing service, a service in which digital image data taken by an image input device by a user is stored in a storage area of a server on a network, and the digital image data can be viewed when the user desires There is a network service that provides. There is also a network service that provides a service that allows the user to open the stored digital image data to a third party desired by the user. A provider that provides such a network service is hereinafter referred to as a photo site.
[0006]
With the development of the Internet environment, especially the high-speed lines that have become popular in ordinary homes and the widespread use of high-quality digital cameras, the file size of images uploaded to photo sites has increased dramatically. For this reason, if all user images are stored for a long period of time, the image database placed on the photo site will become enormous if the service period is long, and service operators will be required to operate a large amount of system operation costs such as adding disks. Will be applied. However, among the stored images, there are many images that are no longer used, and in practice, it is not necessary to store all images for a certain period or longer.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-203360 proposes a method for setting and extending an expiration date based on a print order. However, in the present day when the Internet access environment, particularly the high-speed line, has advanced, only print orders have been made. Is no longer a form of network photo service. For this reason, it is not always possible to make an appropriate image deletion determination without a print order. For example, for a user who wants to create an album using a network photo service and show the album to a large number of people, if he wants to extend the storage period of the album, he or she frequently deletes the album or image himself Is necessary and complicated. In addition, a large amount of system operation costs must be spent from the service operator side to increase the number of disks.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A storage information management method in an online service system for storing data in an information processing apparatus connected to a network, the moving step of moving image data from a first image data storage area to a second image data storage area And a calculation step for calculating the data amount of the image data, and a step for changing storage information of the image data when moving the image data in the moving step according to the data amount calculated in the account step. It is characterized by that.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of components, the display screen, and the like described in the present embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. Hereinafter, a system that provides storage of digital image data as an information providing system will be described as a representative. However, as described in the problem, the present invention is not limited to this, and a common problem in a service that uses a network. These are also included in the present invention.
[0010]
<Configuration example and basic operation example of information providing system of this embodiment>
As an embodiment of the present invention, an information providing system for sharing and providing digital image data via the Internet will be described.
[0011]
FIG. 1 shows the entire system constituting a service in this embodiment. In the following description, a party who stores image data is simply referred to as a user.
[0012]
(Image data acquisition example)
An image input device 101 is a digital still camera that can shoot a still image and record it as image data, a digital video camera that can shoot a movie and record it as moving image data, and the like. This is an apparatus for recording / reproducing digital information after conversion and predetermined image processing. Reference numeral 102A denotes a user personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a user PC), and reference numeral 116 denotes a data transfer interface for transferring photographed image data between the image input apparatus 101 and the user PC 102A. The data transfer interface 116 may be a wired interface typified by USB or IEEE1394, or a wireless interface typified by IrDA or Bluetooth.
[0013]
Image data photographed by the image input device 101 and stored as digital information is transferred to a storage area of an information storage device typified by the HDD of the user PC 102A via the data transfer interface 116. Regarding the image data transfer from the image input device 101 to the user PC 102A, the image data stored in the information storage device in the image input device 101 in response to an instruction from the OS or dedicated software installed in the user PC 102A. And a transfer command sent from the image input device 101, the OS of the user PC 102A or dedicated software may secure a data recording area in the information recording unit of the user PC 102A and transfer the image data.
[0014]
(Example of user registration)
The user needs to register the following user information on the site when starting to use the system. First, the photo site 105 is accessed via the user PC PC 102A, and the user calls the member registration screen from the photo site 105 by pressing the “member registration” button from the displayed screen.
[0015]
Next, the user is asked to enter the user ID, first name, first name, last name (first name), first name (first name), login name, password, e-mail address, postal code, address, telephone number (collectively user information and And press the “Register” button.
[0016]
In the photo site 105, the user information transmitted here is registered in the user information table 400B.
[0017]
With this as a starting point, the photo site 105 gives the value set in the data storage upper limit size 415 to the user as a capacity for storing data, and the user falls within the range of the capacity assigned here. Creation and registration of images will be available.
[0018]
(Image data upload example)
In this way, the image data transferred to the user PC 102A is uploaded to the photo site 105 connected to the Internet 104 by the following procedure.
[0019]
A browser having a standard protocol capable of transferring information on the Internet 104 operating on the user PC 102A accesses the photo site 105 using a standard protocol such as the http protocol, and HTML, XML, etc. managed by the server PC of the photo site 105 Information linked with multimedia information such as images and sounds created in the above description language is displayed. With this operation, the user PC 102A can receive a service using the Internet 104 as a communication infrastructure provided by the photo site 105.
[0020]
Next, the image data captured by the image input device 101 stored in the information storage area of the user PC 102A is transferred to the photosite 105 at the request of the user of the user PC 102A (hereinafter, this transfer is called image upload). ). For image upload, select the image data to be transferred from the browser described above and transfer it in conjunction with the image upload request action, or select the image data using image upload dedicated software, etc. May be transferred directly from the dedicated image upload software. In either case, it is executed based on a protocol available on the Internet such as http or ftp. A module that executes this series of operations at the photo site 105 is a photo sharing module 106.
[0021]
The uploaded image data is checked by the photo sharing module 106 as to whether the photo site 105 can be used. If it is determined that the uploaded image data can be used, the uploaded image data is stored in the image database 120. The attribute information and the like are stored in the database 118. At this stage, the photo sharing module 106 notifies the user PC 102A that the image data has been successfully uploaded. Here, in the photo site 105, the uploaded album is not directly uploaded to the image DB 117 as a target editable album, but all uploaded images are once an album for the purpose of temporary storage (hereinafter abbreviated as a temporary storage album). Are stored in the temporary image storage DB 120. In this way, the user can check the image data uploaded to the temporary image storage DB 120 via the browser of the user PC 102A.
[0022]
The temporary storage album stored in the temporary image storage DB 120 is automatically deleted in the photo site 105 after a certain period when the image is not moved, and the image is stored in the image DB 117. At the same time, the image is moved to the member album stored in, and is deleted from the temporary image storage DB 120 as a temporary storage album.
[0023]
On the other hand, various data such as user attribute information data registered in the photo site 105 are centrally managed in the database 118, and the user designates uploaded image data from the user PC 102A via a browser. It is possible to move from a temporary storage album to a member album, which enables long-term management and use of images.
[0024]
<Photo site configuration example of the information providing system of the present embodiment>
Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the information providing system described above automatically sets the storage expiration date from the image storage start date and time, so that each individual expiration date has been expired without imposing a workload on the system operator. A method for efficiently deleting image data existing in the album will be described in detail. Note that the services and functions realized by the system in the present embodiment are not limited to the above description.
[0025]
(Photosite function configuration example)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the photosite 105 in the present embodiment.
[0026]
Reference numeral 201 denotes a clock function. This is a clock function provided in the computer. For example, the current time used by the server application program is notified, an interrupt signal is generated when a preset time is reached, or another application is started. Can go. By using the clock function, in this embodiment, the time limit management module 202 is automatically called at a certain time every day.
[0027]
Reference numeral 202 denotes a time limit management module. The expiration date management module 202 checks the expiration of the user image uploaded by the user of the photo site 105 via the WWW application server 205, and uses the email notification function 203 to e-mail the user who owns the image after a certain period of time. Notification can be performed, and an image whose storage period has expired can be deleted using the deletion function 204.
[0028]
(Configuration examples of various tables)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image information table 300B that stores information about each image stored in the information DB 118 of the photosite 105 in the present embodiment.
[0029]
In this embodiment, each image has an image ID 301, a user ID 302 of the owner of the image, a title (image name) 303 used for the image, a file path 304 of the original image on the image DB 117, and a thumbnail displayed on the Web. A file path 305 to an image, a file path 306 to an image for detailed display on the Web, a comment 307 set by the owner for the image, and a notification made by the image owner to a third party The number of times the third party has browsed the image 308, the number of times the image has been ordered to print 309, the date and time 310 when the image was created, the date and time 311 when the image owner last notified the email to the third party, and the image The date and time 312 when the image was last edited, the date and time 313 that the image was last printed, and the date that the image was last viewed (the image was last accessed) 314, with the deletion flag 1701. The date and time shown in 310 to 314 is held as a total second with “0” set to 1:00:00 on January 1, 1970, but any format can be used as long as the date and time can be specified. Absent.
[0030]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a user information table 400B stored in the information DB 118 of the photo site 105 in the present embodiment.
[0031]
The user information table 400B includes a user ID 401, a user name (402 to 405), a login name 406, a password 407, a notification mail address 408 to the user, a user address (409 to 412), a telephone number 413, and a data storage period. 414, a data storage upper limit size 415, a notification period 1801 until deletion, and a deletion advance notice flag 1802 are stored.
[0032]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a storage time limit table 500B used in the photo site 105 in the present embodiment.
[0033]
The storage period table 500 includes a storage period starting type 501 at the time of user registration, an initial value 502 of a data storage upper limit size, an initial value 503 of a data storage period, an initial value 1901 of a period until notification, and a period of time until deletion. An initial value 1902 is stored. The storage start type 501 means an image creation date and time. In this embodiment, the storage period start type 501, the initial value 502 of the data storage upper limit, and the data storage period are set so that the operator of the photo site can change the set value as appropriate while monitoring the disk usage status. Although the initial value 503 is stored in the database, these values do not necessarily have to be set in the database. Any value can be set on the system, and it can be fixed on the system. It does not matter.
[0034]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an album information table 2300 used in the photo site 105 in the present embodiment.
[0035]
The album information table 2300 stores an album ID 2301, an album name 2302, a comment 2303, an image ID 2304, a creation date and time 2305, an edit date and time 2306, a browse date and time 2307, an image move date and time 2308, and a user ID 2310.
[0036]
(Example of timing of image transfer to member album)
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing for calculating a data storage period for each user in the present embodiment.
[0037]
After logging in to the member album, the user first selects an image to be moved from the temporary image storage DB 120 as a temporary storage album in which images uploaded in advance exist (step SB1). Moreover, it is not limited to being uploaded to the temporary image storage DB 120 as a temporary storage album in advance, and an image on the user's PC may be designated. Thereafter, the destination album stored in the image DB 117 is selected (step SB2), and the “move” button is pressed (step SB3). In order to create a new album in the image DB 117, the selected image is stored in the image DB 117 inside the photosite by pressing the “Create” button displayed on the browser screen on the user side. May be used to move to the member site.
[0038]
In this case, the valid period of the information DB 118 corresponding to each image registered in the image DB 120 in the photo site 105 is added to the valid period of the album stored in the temporary image storage DB 117 of the transfer destination. By adding the effective period, the storage period of the album image is updated. The addition of this effective period will be described in detail below.
[0039]
First, in the photo site 105, the request from the user in step SB3 is acquired (step SA1). The total data capacity of the image to be moved from the temporary image storage DB 120 to the image storage DB 117 is calculated from the information added to the request, and the sum of the capacity and the data capacity currently used in the account in the image storage DB 117 is calculated. It is determined whether or not the capacity limit given at the time of member registration is exceeded (step SA2).
[0040]
A member's album is provided with a certain amount of data storage space in advance, so that it cannot store more than a certain amount of capacity, the used capacity must be kept within the capacity limit, and the current image storage DB 117 It is necessary to determine whether or not the sum of the used capacity and the data capacity to be moved from the temporary image storage DB 120 to the image storage DB 117 falls within the capacity limit. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the image can be moved before moving the image. Compared to the case where an error is detected when actually moving the image, the reaction to the user is faster and comfortable use is possible. An environment can be provided.
[0041]
If the sum of the amount of data used in the current account in the image storage DB 117 and the amount of data of the image to be moved from the temporary image storage DB 120 to the image storage DB 117 falls within the capacity limit assigned to the account, the next move Whether the same image as the target image exists in the album stored in the destination image DB 117 corresponds to the information stored in the information DB 118 corresponding to the image in the temporary image storage album and the image in the member album. It collates with the information stored in the information DB 118, and makes a determination (step S4).
[0042]
In other words, by allowing rewriting of the expiration date (a period in which the album image is not deleted) even when moving the same image, it is prohibited to add the expiration date of the image without limitation. It is possible to determine whether or not to add the effective period of the image stored in the temporary image storage DB 120 to the effective period of the image stored in the image storage DB 117 before moving the image to the DB 117. As a result, compared to the case where an error is detected when actually moving an image, the reaction to the user is quicker and a comfortable use environment can be provided.
[0043]
On the other hand, when the capacity limit is exceeded, the image is not moved, and an error message indicating that the capacity is exceeded is temporarily stored as an album and transmitted to the screen of the user PC 102A (information device 113A, 101 on the user side). (Step SA3). Then, a screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the browser of the user PC 102A (user-side information equipment 113A, 101, etc.) (SB4). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the image may be moved within a range not exceeding the capacity, and the image that could not be moved may be displayed together with the error message. Alternatively, in order to improve the convenience for the user, it is possible to permit the movement of all the movement target images only when the limit capacity is exceeded during the image movement, and not to allow any further movement.
[0044]
Here, when an image moved from the same temporary storage album already exists on the member site, the photo site 105 adds the selected image to the designated album without changing the validity period, and for the member. The album screen is displayed (step SA5).
[0045]
That is, in the case of the determination result that the images already exist in the album stored in the destination image DB are moved, the expiration date is not rewritten in order to prevent the expiration date from being added without limitation. However, it should not hinder the movement of the image itself desired by the user, and only the image may be moved from the temporary image storage DB 120 to the image storage DB 117. The reason for displaying the member album screen after moving the image from the temporary image storage DB 120 to the image storage DB 117 is a measure for allowing the user to immediately recognize the moved image.
[0046]
On the other hand, if it does not exist, the effective period starting from the moving date of the image in which the moving target image exists is added to the remaining days of the effective period of the destination album, and updated as a new effective period (step SA6). ). Finally, the image to be moved is moved from the temporary image storage DB to the image DB and registered in the designated album (step SA7).
[0047]
This allows the user to move images from the temporary storage album to the member album as long as the limited capacity permits, and prevents the user from stocking images without limitation in terms of quantity or period, and reduces the load on the management side. It is possible to suppress the increase in operating costs.
[0048]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a user information table 400B stored in the information DB 118 of the photo site 105 in the present embodiment.
[0049]
The user information table 400B includes a user ID 401, a user name (402 to 405), a login name 406, a password 407, a user notification mail address 408, a user address (409 to 412), a telephone number 413, and a deletion notification. A period 1801, a data storage period 414, a data storage upper limit size 415, and a deletion advance notice flag 1802 are stored.
[0050]
The deletion advance notice flag 1802 is set to “1” when notifying that there is an album to be deleted among one or a plurality of albums existing in the user's account, and to “0” otherwise. While the deletion advance notice flag 1802 is “1”, no new deletion advance notice is performed. As a result, even when a plurality of albums of the same user are to be deleted, the notification mail can be suppressed to be notified only once.
[0051]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a storage time limit table 500B used in the photo site 105 in the present embodiment.
[0052]
The storage period table 500B stores an initial value 501 of the storage period starting type at the time of user registration, an initial value 502 of the data storage upper limit size, a period 1901 until a data deletion notification, and a period 1902 until the data deletion. Yes. When the storage start type 501 is “1”, the starting point of the storage period is the date and time when the image was moved to the album, when it is “2”, when it was last edited, when it was “3”, the date when it was last viewed (last The date and time when the album was accessed) is used as the starting point of the storage period. In the present embodiment, the storage period starting point type 501, the initial value 502 of the data storage upper limit, and the data deletion notification are provided so that the operator of the photo site can change the set value as appropriate while monitoring the disk usage status. The period 1901 and the period 1902 until data deletion are stored in the database, but these values do not necessarily have to be set in the database, and any value can be set on the system. It's okay or it can be fixed on the system. Needless to say, the period 1902 until deletion is set longer than the period 1901 until notification.
[0053]
Next, a method for notifying the owner of an album that has left a certain period until the expiration date on the photo site 105 in this embodiment, and further deleting the album whose expiration date has expired and images existing there will be described. To do.
[0054]
(Example of processing procedure for deletion notification)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image deletion notification module in the present embodiment. The deletion notification module is automatically activated and registered in the photo site 105 when the clock function 201 in the photo site 105 reaches a predetermined date and time, such as once a day, once a week, or once a month. For all users, an expiration date check is performed for all albums held by the user.
[0055]
In step S2001, the current time T is acquired. The current time T can be acquired by the clock function 201 of the photo site 105. In step S2002, a time T2 obtained by subtracting the deletion notification period R1 from the current time T is obtained. Here, the deletion notification period R1 is acquired from the period 1801 until the deletion notification of the user information table 400B. In step S2003, a starting time T3 necessary for determining an album to be notified is obtained. The start time T3 can be acquired from the album information table 2300 according to the value set in the storage period start type 501 of the storage time limit table 500B.
[0056]
In step S2004, T2 and T3 are compared. If T3 is older than T2, the album and the image data existing there are subject to deletion, and the process proceeds to step S2005. If T2 is older than T3, this album is not regarded as a deletion notification target, and the processing for this album is terminated. In step S2005, “1” is set in the deletion notification flag 2309 of the album information table 2300 for the album currently being processed and the deletion notification flag 1701 of the image information table 300B for the image existing in the album.
[0057]
In step S2006, it is determined whether or not the deletion advance notice flag 1802 of the record related to the user information table 400B of the corresponding user is “1”. Since the deletion notification notice mail has already been transmitted to the user whose deletion advance notice flag 1802 is “1”, the process ends. When the deletion advance notice flag 1802 is “0”, the process proceeds to step S2007.
[0058]
In step S2007, a deletion notice mail is transmitted. In step S2008, “1” is set in the deletion advance notice flag 1802, and the process ends.
[0059]
(Example of image deletion process)
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the album deletion module in the present embodiment. The deletion module is automatically activated when the clock function 201 in the photo site 105 reaches a predetermined date and time, such as once a day, once a week, or once a month. The expiration date of all the albums owned by the user is checked. It should be noted that the deletion module may be set to be activated when a predetermined time has elapsed after activation of the deletion notification module.
[0060]
In step S2101, the current time T is acquired. The current time T can be acquired by the clock function 201 of the photo site 105. In step S2102, a time T4 obtained by subtracting the storage period P from the current time T is obtained. Here, P is a value acquired from the data storage period 414 of the user information table 400B of the corresponding user. In step S2103, a start time T3 necessary for determining an album to be deleted is obtained. The starting time T3 is obtained by acquiring the date and time of the same item as T3 obtained in step S2003 from the image information table 2300.
[0061]
In step S2104, T4 and T3 are compared. If T3 is older than T4, the album is to be deleted, and the process proceeds to step S2105. If T4 is older than T3, this album is not considered to be deleted and the processing for this album is terminated. In step S2105, the target album is deleted. The deletion of the target album is to delete the image file from the image DB 117 and delete from the information DB 118 the album information table record related to the deletion target album and the image information table record related to the image.
[0062]
In step S2106, a record having the user ID of the corresponding user is searched from the album information table 2300, and it is searched whether there is a record whose deletion notification flag 2309 of the record is “1”. If a record is found, the process ends. If no record is found, the process proceeds to step S2107. In step S2107, “0” is set in the deletion advance notice flag 1802 from the user information table 400B of the corresponding user, and the process ends.
[0063]
By performing the deletion processing after the elapse of the capacity limit arrangement and the valid period as described above for each album registered in the photo site 105, it is possible to save labor and cost generated on both the user and the service operator side. I can do it.
[0064]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) that records software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to perform a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.
[0065]
Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU of the function expansion card or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0066]
When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.
[0067]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a storage information management method capable of automatically changing service usage conditions without imposing a burden on the operator.
[0068]
In particular, in the network photo service, by increasing the storage period and allowable storage capacity of albums and images, the service usage conditions can be automatically changed according to the usage status of the user, and the expiration date has passed. It is possible to provide a storage information management method that can easily and automatically delete albums and images according to the usage conditions of the user without imposing a burden on the operator.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of an entire information providing system as an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a photosite in the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image information table that stores information about each image in the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a user information table in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a storage time limit data table in the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an album editing screen displayed when logging in to a photo site according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user information setting screen in the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image upload screen according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a mail notification screen in the present embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of an image deletion notification module according to the present exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another processing example of the image deletion module in the present embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an album information table in the present embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an error screen when moving an image in the present embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of image movement processing in the present embodiment.

Claims (1)

A storage information management method in an online service system for storing data in an information processing apparatus connected to a network,
A moving step of moving the image data from the first image data storage area to the second image data storage area;
A calculation step for calculating the amount of image data;
A method for managing storage information, comprising: changing storage information of image data when moving image data in the moving step according to a data amount calculated in the account step.

Images