JPH0338775A - Retrieving system for structure information on hierarchical directory - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively and accurately grasp a hierarchical structure by setting plural display window areas in response to the hierarchical levels and displaying hierarchically the information on a hierarchical directory based on a designated directory. CONSTITUTION:A storage part 1 is prepared to store the hierarchical directory structure information to be retrieved together with a processing part 2 which controls the retrieval of the directory structure information, an instruction input part 4 consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and a display part 3. Then the directory structure information on each hierarchical level are displayed in plural display window areas based on the hierarchical relation of these structure information. Thus it is possible to easily grasp the overall structure of a directory turned into a hierarchical structure based on a designated directory as well as the present position in the overall structure. Furthermore the information on the designated directory is displayed and then the information on the following directory information are automatically and successively displayed as long as the hierarchical level and direction are designated. As a result, the directory structure information can be easily and effectively retrieved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a method for easily obtaining structural information of a plurality of hierarchically structured directories while grasping the current position within the overall structure. The present invention also relates to a search method for hierarchical directory structure information that can be searched efficiently.

(Prior Art) Conventional directory structure information retrieval is performed by specifying a directory and displaying the information contained in that directory (files, lower-level directories ν, etc.) in order at a constant speed. . However, since it only displays information on the hierarchy level to which the specified directory belongs,
For example, there is a problem in that it is very difficult to grasp the directory structure spanning multiple hierarchies, such as information on upper or lower hierarchies that have a hierarchical relationship with a specified directory.

Furthermore, in the past, only the information contained in the specified directory was displayed, so if you wanted to search for information about another directory, you had to specify the directory again. Moreover, in this case, as described above, it is difficult to grasp the directory structure that spans multiple layers, so it is also extremely difficult to appropriately specify the next directory.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In this way, the conventional directory structure information search only displays a list of specified one-level information and displays the information of the directory specified in the file. There was a problem in that it was difficult to grasp the overall structure of the system and the current position within it, and it was not possible to search for information easily and efficiently.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a practical method for easily and efficiently searching the structural information of a directory constructed over multiple levels. The purpose of this invention is to provide a search method for directory structure information with high functionality.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The search method for directory structure information according to the present invention is as follows: ■ Classifying the structural information of a plurality of hierarchically structured directories by hierarchical level, and The directory structure information of the directory structure is associated with the directory structure information of the upper hierarchical level, and is managed collectively. ■ The specified directory structure information is Directory structure information of each hierarchical level having a hierarchical relationship is obtained from the management information and displayed respectively; For example, after sequentially displaying all of the directory structure information at the lower hierarchical level of the specified directory structure information, the next directory structure information at the same hierarchical level is updated and set as the new reference directory structure information. It is characterized by scrolling display.

(Function) According to the present invention, since the directory structure information of each hierarchical level is displayed in a plurality of display window areas according to the hierarchical relationship, it is possible to display, for example, the entire structure of a directory hierarchically based on a specified directory. It becomes possible to easily grasp the current position inside.

Moreover, when the level and direction of the hierarchy are specified, after the information of the specified directory is displayed, the information of the next directory is automatically displayed in sequence, making the search for directory structure information easier. This can be done easily and efficiently, just like turning the pages of a paper document file while looking at the classification index and the title of each page.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a search method for directory structure information according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a search device configured by applying the method of the embodiment, and numeral 1 indicates a storage unit that stores hierarchical directory structure information to be searched. This storage unit 1 classifies the structural information of a plurality of hierarchically structured directories by hierarchical level, and manages and stores the directory structural information of each hierarchical level in association with the directory structural information of the upper hierarchical level. It is something.

Specifically, for example, when hierarchically structured directory information as shown in FIG. 5 is given, the directory structure information at the first hierarchical level is r Tokyo", "Nagoya".
"Osaka", "Hiroshima", "Hakata", etc. are categorized and organized. Then, as directory structure information at the second hierarchical level, directories such as "Minato-ku", "Suginami-ku", etc. that correspond to the directory structure information "Tokyo" at the first hierarchical level and belong thereto are one group. It is compiled and managed as follows. Similarly, the directory structure information at the second hierarchical level corresponding to the directory structure information r Hiroshima at the first hierarchical level includes multiple directories "Nishi-ku" belonging to "Hiroshima", files, etc. managed as one group.

Note that the directories at the third and subsequent hierarchical levels are similarly managed in a group corresponding to the directories above them (for example, the second hierarchical level). In other words, for each hierarchical level, multiple directories and files existing at that hierarchical level are grouped together in correspondence with the directories at the higher hierarchical level to which they belong.
The information is organized according to the overall directory hierarchical structure and stored in the storage unit l.

The processing unit 2 that controls the search for directory structure information classified and organized in this manner basically includes a display control unit 2a, a directory search unit 2b, a directory search control unit 2c, and an instruction information determination unit 2d. It is composed of The display control unit 2a in the processing unit 2 controls the display of directory structure information by the display unit 3, and as described later, sets a plurality of display window areas corresponding to a plurality of hierarchical levels and displays the directory structure information at each hierarchical level. Display structural information for each.

Further, the instruction information determining section 2d identifies and determines instruction information given from the instruction input section 4 consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, etc.
Activating the display control unit 2a to control the display of directory structure information by the display unit 3, and activating the directory search control unit 2C to control execution of search processing for directory structure information by the directory search unit 2b. do.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a directory search processing procedure in the directory structure information search apparatus configured as described above. This directory search processing procedure basically uses any directory specified by default when the directory structure information search process is started.
This is done by displaying directory structure information based on the above information on the display section 3 (step a).
.

This directory structure information can be displayed by setting a plurality of sub-display window areas B corresponding to each hierarchical level in the directory structure information display window A, for example, as shown in FIG. This is done by displaying directory structure information for each hierarchical level. Specifically, for example, specify the directory structure information in the directory structure information according to the default (here, the directory rTokyo at the first hierarchy level), and set the directory structure information for each hierarchy level based on this directory structure information. indicate.

That is, in this example, each piece of directory structure information belonging to the first hierarchical level area is displayed in the display window area B1 corresponding to the first hierarchical level. If the directory "Tokyo" in this directory is specified by default, this directory "Tokyo" is clearly displayed by highlighting it, and the above directory "Tokyo" is displayed in the display window area B2 corresponding to the second hierarchy level. ” included in the second
Hierarchical level directory of ``Minato-ku'' and ``Suginami-ku''...
・Display etc. If the directory "Minato-ku" in the directory at the second hierarchy level is specified by default, this directory "Minato-ku" is highlighted and displayed, and the display corresponding to the third hierarchy level is displayed. In the window area B3, the third hierarchical level directories r, Shinbashi, Azabu, etc. included in the directory Minato Ward are displayed. Similarly, the display window area B4 corresponding to the fourth hierarchy level also displays the structure information of the directory at the fourth hierarchy level that is included in the directory specified at the upper hierarchy level (third hierarchy level). Ru.

0 In this way, in this embodiment, display window areas B corresponding to each hierarchical level are set according to the hierarchical structure of a plurality of hierarchical directories, and each display window B is filled with, for example, a default etc. The directory structure information of each hierarchical level based on the directory specified by is displayed according to the hierarchical hierarchical relationship.

Here, if one of the directory structure information displayed in each display window area B is specified, for example, by a mouse cursor operation from the instruction input section 4, the instruction information determination section 2d specifies the specified directory. (step b). In this case, if a directory is designated by a click operation on the mouse cursor and an instruction is given to move the mouse cursor, this is determined to be a directory search instruction and the directory search direction is specified (step C). Specifically, a directory in the directory structure information displayed in display window area B is specified by placing the mouse cursor on the directory structure information to be specified and clicking the mouse. By sliding the mouse cursor, a search for directory structure information is instructed. In this case, the direction in which the mouse cursor is slid is determined to identify (specify) the directory search direction.

When the designated directory is identified, the previously highlighted directory structure information is changed to the identified directory, and this is displayed in each display window area B using this as a reference. Update each directory structure information. Then, the updated directory structure information of each hierarchical level is displayed in the display window area B (step d). By specifying such directory structure information, for example, instead of the directory "Tokyo" mentioned above, you can change the directory to "Nagoya".
When specified, this directory ``Nagoya'' is highlighted. In the display window area B2 corresponding to the second layer level 2, directory structure information of the second layer level belonging to the above-mentioned "Direct Nagoya" is displayed, and the display window area B2 corresponding to the third layer level is displayed. B3 displays directory structure information belonging to the directory structure information specified at the second hierarchical level.

However, if a search is instructed at the same time as the above-mentioned directory designation, the directory structure information displayed in each display window area B is based on the directory structure information display screen updated and displayed as described above. Search processing is performed. This search process for directory structure information is performed by sequentially scrolling the specified directory at predetermined timing (step e).

In other words, when the directory structure information of the lowest hierarchy level is scrolled and displayed in order, and all of the directory structure information of that hierarchy level is displayed, the directory structure information specified at the upper hierarchy level is specified. Change to the next directory structure information in the specified search direction. Under this changed directory structure information, the directory structure information at the lower hierarchical level is scroll-displayed, and thereafter, such scroll display control is repeatedly executed.

Then, using the directory structure information specified as described above as a reference, when the scrolling display of all the directory structure information included therein is completed, the reference directory structure information is moved to the next directory structure information, and this new Using the set directory structure information as a reference, the directory structure information contained therein is scroll-displayed (step f).

Note that the scrolling of the directory structure information is stopped by instructing the user to stop scrolling by, for example, clicking the mouse when the desired directory structure information is found.

According to the device of this embodiment that scrolls and displays the structural information of the hierarchically structured directory in this manner, as described above, a plurality of display window areas B are used to display the information contained therein using the designated directory as a reference. Directory structure information can be displayed in a list format according to the hierarchical relationship, and then the directory structure information to be displayed can be efficiently scrolled sequentially according to the hierarchical structure. Become.

Therefore, while understanding the entire hierarchical structure of the directory,
It becomes possible to effectively search for desired directory structure information. Moreover, it is possible to continuously search for structural information about individual directories without specifying a reference directory, and it is possible to significantly improve the processing efficiency.

By the way, the device of this embodiment is configured such that a scroll speed setting display screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed by specifying an icon, for example, and the scroll speed can be set on the user side.

That is, the optimal scrolling speed varies greatly depending on individual differences among users, and also varies greatly depending on the information content of the search target.

Therefore, this device is equipped with an interface that allows the user to freely set the scroll speed, and is configured so that the user can freely set the scroll speed using the display screen shown in FIG. At this time, do you simply scroll the directory structure information, or control scrolling intermittently like turning pages?
Furthermore, the configuration is such that it is possible to select and set whether to control scroll skipping in units of half pages.

By providing such a user setting function for scrolling speed, it becomes possible to sequentially display directory structure information at a speed that the user can follow with his or her eyes. This eliminates problems such as skipping over the structural information or having to scroll through the directory structural information because the scrolling speed is slow.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the number of display window areas to be set corresponding to the hierarchical level may be determined according to the range of the floor structure to be displayed. It goes without saying that not only the directory structure information but also information on the files contained therein may be displayed at the same time. Furthermore, the scrolling direction of the directory structure information can be set not only horizontally but also vertically.

Further, the variable setting range of the scroll speed may be determined according to the specifications, and the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of display window areas corresponding to hierarchical levels are set on one screen, and information on hierarchically structured directories is displayed based on a specified directory. Since the information is displayed hierarchically, it is possible to understand the hierarchical structure effectively and accurately. It also becomes possible to accurately grasp the current location of the specified directory.

If scrolling is then instructed, when the scroll display of the directory structure information at a certain hierarchy level is finished, the directory structure information specified at the upper hierarchy level is automatically shifted and Since the scrolling display of the directory structure information about the directory structure information starts, it becomes possible to efficiently search information in a plurality of directories one after another with simple and few processing operations. Furthermore, since the scrolling speed can be set by the user, great practical effects can be achieved, such as being able to proceed with the search for directory structure information at an appropriate speed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show a search method for hierarchical directory structure information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a directory search device configured by applying the embodiment method, and FIG. 2 is a directory structure diagram. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for directory structure information, Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a scroll speed user setting display screen, and Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search process procedure for information. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a directory 8 structure. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Hierarchical directory structure information storage unit, 2... Processing unit, 2a... Display control unit, 2b... Directory search unit, 2c... Directory search control unit, 2d.
. . . instruction information determination unit, 3 . . . display unit, 4 . . . instruction input unit, A . . display window, B .

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Classify the structural information of a plurality of hierarchically structured directories by hierarchical level, and manage the directory structural information of each hierarchical level in association with the directory structural information of the upper hierarchical level, respectively. Displaying the directory structure information of each of the above hierarchical levels that has a hierarchical relationship with the specified directory structure information in a plurality of display window areas set according to the hierarchical levels of the above, obtained from the management information, respectively; A search method for hierarchical directory structure information, characterized in that directory structure information displayed in each of the display window areas is sequentially scrolled and displayed based on designated directory structure information. (2) The scrolling display of directory structure information is such that after sequentially displaying all the directory structure information at the lower hierarchical level of the specified directory structure information, the next directory structure information at the same hierarchical level is used as the new reference directory structure. 2. The search method for hierarchical directory structure information according to claim 1, wherein the information is updated and set, and the scrolling speed can be variably set by user input.