JP4590320B2 - Information management apparatus, control method therefor, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management technique for folders and files secured or stored in a storage device.

  In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras and Internet broadband, users can easily obtain a large number of files such as images taken with digital cameras, images attached to E-Mail, still images and videos downloaded from websites, etc. It has become possible.

  In addition, with the recent high performance of digital cameras and high performance of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs), various information can be held for one file. For this reason, users are required to manage various types of files in large quantities. In order to efficiently manage these various files, it is necessary to easily check the information of each file and folder.

FIG. 3 shows an example of file information display on general file management software running on a PC. A window 303 includes a tree view 305 that displays a target folder tree, a browser area 306 that displays a list of image files stored in a folder opened in the tree view, and a selected image file in the browser area 306. The detailed information area 302 displays the detailed information. When the operator wants to confirm information on a desired file, the operator can confirm the information by opening the property window 3011 from the menu or the context menu with the file selected, or in the detailed information area 302 The information is confirmed (Non-Patent Document 1).
Published by Technical Critics Inc. “Canon users must-see! ZoomBrowser EX 5.0 that understands everything” written by Masato Ichijo (see page 35)

  As described above, in general file management software, the information can be confirmed by opening the property window 301 or using the detailed information area 302 of the display mode having a function of displaying information. These display methods have the following problems.

  First, the former method is to open the property window and confirm the information for the file. This requires an operation to open the property window from the menu or context menu for each file. Also, since the display area is limited, in the case of a file with a large amount of information, in order to check all the information, it is necessary to attach a scroll bar to the property window and operate the scroll bar. is there. If only the information of one file is confirmed, it is not so burdensome for the operator. However, when it is considered to confirm information of a plurality of images, the operation load increases rapidly. In addition, when the property window is no longer needed, the operator can close the property window by performing a "close" operation from the menu or by performing a "close" operation displayed in the property window. However, if it is performed on a plurality of images, the operation becomes complicated for the operator.

  The latter is an information confirmation method for the latter file. Detailed information on the file selected each time can be displayed in the detailed information area 302 only by switching the selected image in the browser area 306. However, when the detailed file information is not needed or for an operator who does not need to display them at all, it becomes a useless space and the display space cannot be effectively used.

  In addition, a simple file information display function called a current tool tip is common, but there are cases where the display size is fixed and display information cannot be displayed sufficiently.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is intended to provide a technique capable of checking a file type and a folder content while displaying a list of files and folders while effectively using a display screen. .

In order to solve this problem, the information management apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A plurality of folders that belongs to your original image an information management device to list on the screen,
And a cursor displayed in conjunction with the pointing device is moved over the screen, when the front SL cursor designates the folder, and displays a thumbnail image of the original image of the predetermined number belonging to the folder tooltip Display means;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not a predetermined key has been inputted when the tooltip is displayed on the screen ;
Change means for changing the number of thumbnail images of the original image to be displayed on the tooltip when the detection means detects that the predetermined key is input,
When the detecting means detects that the predetermined key is input, the display means changes the size of the tool tip and displays the thumbnail images of the original images of the number changed by the changing means. It is characterized by being displayed.

  According to the present invention, when a list of files and folders is displayed as an icon, file information and folder contents can be confirmed with a simple operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[System configuration]
First, prior to the description of the embodiments, the apparatus configuration will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a computer system which is a platform that can realize an information management apparatus. In FIG. 1, 701 is a personal computer (PC) main body, 702 is a display for displaying data, 703 is a pointing device such as a mouse, and 704 is a keyboard.

  FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of an information management apparatus including software and hardware according to an embodiment of the present invention. This configuration shows a case where the information management application is started after the apparatus is turned on and the OS is started.

  In FIG. 2, 801 is hardware, 802 is an operating system (OS) operating on the hardware 801, and 803 is application software (program functioning as an information management apparatus) operating on the OS 802. Note that functional blocks that are naturally included as constituent requirements among the blocks constituting the hardware 801 and the OS 802 but are not directly necessary for describing the embodiment of the present invention are not shown. As a block example (not shown), in hardware, a CPU, a memory, and an OS include a memory management system.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 807 denotes a hard disk that physically stores files and data, and 814 denotes a file system that constitutes the OS, which has a function that allows application software to input and output files without being aware of the hardware. . Reference numeral 811 denotes a disk IO interface for the file system 814 to read from and write to the hard disk 807. Reference numeral 813 denotes a drawing management system constituting the OS, which provides a function that allows application software to perform drawing without being aware of hardware. Reference numeral 810 denotes a video interface for the drawing system 813 to draw on the display 702. Reference numeral 812 denotes an input device management system constituting the OS, which provides a function that allows application software to receive user input without being aware of hardware. Reference numeral 808 denotes a keyboard interface for the input device management system 812 to receive input from the keyboard 704, and reference numeral 809 denotes a PD interface for enabling the input device management system 812 to receive input from the pointing device 703.

<First Embodiment>
An application 803 that functions as an information management apparatus in the embodiment will be described.

  In the following description, a “tool tip” means a mouse cursor (hereinafter simply referred to as a cursor) that is displayed in conjunction with a pointing device when it is moved over an object (file or folder). This refers to a function for automatically displaying a message for a corresponding object. This tooltip display process is executed using the fact that the OS generates a cursor over event (mouse over event) when the cursor moves on the object. That is, the application performs processing when this cursor over event occurs.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the basic part of the display processing of the information tooltip of this embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a window displayed when the file viewer is activated by the application 803 in the embodiment. In the figure, 403a, 404a, and 405a indicate cursors, and 403, 404, and 405 indicate tool tips displayed when the cursor moves. In the figure, display examples of cursors and respective tool tips are shown at three locations, but one of them is actually displayed. Note that this figure displays three events together for convenience.

  First, when a mouse over event occurs, in step S1001, it is determined what icon the cursor points to. If it is determined that the icon is a file icon, the process advances to step S1002 to determine whether the file is an image file. If it is determined that the file is an image file, the process advances to step S1003 to determine whether the file has a thumbnail. If it does not have a thumbnail, the process advances to step S1008 to open the file, create a thumbnail from the original image data, and save it in another file or embed it in the original file for use in the next display. Thereafter, in step S1004, the corresponding file information is acquired, and a tooltip composed of the information acquired in step S1005 and a thumbnail is displayed. The tool tip displayed in step S1005 corresponds to the tool tip 403 in FIG. When the file of interest is a moving image file, a thumbnail is created from the first frame and displayed.

  If it is determined in step S1002 that the file on which the cursor is located is not an image file, the process advances to step S1007 to display only text display information (file name of the corresponding file) tooltip (note that In addition to the file name, a time stamp and file size may be included). The tool tip displayed in step S1007 corresponds to the tool tip 405 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1001 that the cursor position when the mouse-over event occurs is on a folder (directory), the process proceeds to step S1009 to search for a file in the corresponding folder and search for four representatives. Extract or create thumbnails of image files (the first four image files found). If there are less than four image files, that number of thumbnails is extracted or created. In step S1005, an information tooltip with thumbnails is displayed. The tool tip 404 in FIG. 4 corresponds to this.

When the cursor is in the file list display area and is not on the file (for example, the position of reference numeral 402 in FIG. 4), the tool tip is not displayed. However, it is also possible to display the information you about the folder you are viewing a list (number of files, the total data size or the like included in the folder).

  In the above processing, the normal tooltip provides information to the operator with specific information in a specific size, whereas in this embodiment, the size of the tooltip being displayed is specified by the operator. Changed by operation.

  This specific operation is performed by a combination of a wheel function mounted on a mouse or the like and a specific key operation (however, the specific operation is not limited to the combination described above, but only the mouse wheel function may be used. Of course, the operation using is also good).

  You can change the tooltip size by rotating the mouse wheel while holding down the "Ctrl" key on the keyboard when displaying an information tooltip (hereinafter referred to as "Ctrl + wheel rotation"). When the wheel is rotated in the back direction, it expands, and conversely when it rotates in the near direction, it reduces.

Here, there are the following three types of information tooltip information display methods in the embodiment. By changing the size of this information tooltip, the following demands can be addressed.
1. Increase in the amount of text information 2. 2. Change of font size, thumbnail image size and representative image size Changing the number of representative images

  Each of the above three methods will be described below. It should be noted that whether to assign the operation of “Ctrl + wheel rotation” to any of the above 1 to 3 is selected in the environment setting GUI of the application 803 (FIG. 8 described later).

  First, an example of performing “increasing text information amount” will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram when setting is made to increase the amount of text information by changing the size of the tooltip. In the figure, three examples are shown, but in reality, any one of the moments is the same as described with reference to FIG.

  The operator may not be satisfied only with the information amount of the currently displayed file (in the case of FIG. 4, only the file name / folder name). In that case, this problem can be solved by enlarging the information tooltip to increase the area for displaying the information amount.

  An information tool tip 501 in FIG. 5 shows a case where “Ctrl + wheel rotation” operation is performed in a state where the information tool tip 403 in FIG. 4 is displayed. As illustrated, the information tool chip 501 increases the amount of text information to be displayed (file size, update date / time).

  Further, the information tool chip 503 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the information tool chip 405 in FIG. 4, and the information tool chip 502 corresponds to the information tool chip 404 in FIG. The amount of text information can be increased by increasing the size of the information tooltip. Note that the maximum size of the information tooltip is when all the information about the corresponding file or folder is displayed or does not fit in the display area of the display device. The minimum size is the size when no text information is displayed. Therefore, when there is only text information in a general file, the tooltip is not displayed. In the case of an image file or folder, there is no text information area, and only thumbnails or representative images are displayed.

  Next, “change in font size, thumbnail image size, and representative image size” will be described.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the information tooltip information is expanded as it is. The information tool chips 601, 602, and 603 in the figure correspond to the information tool chips 403, 405, and 404 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, although the content displayed in FIG. 6 is the same as that in FIG. 4, the image and text are large as a whole because the display size increases. Since there is a display having a higher resolution than the display screen size of a display device in recent PCs, visibility can be improved by performing such an enlarged display.

  Processing in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when an enlargement processing event (“Ctrl + wheel rotation” event) occurs, in step S1101, the current image or the thumbnail size held by the system is acquired, and the size is set to T1. In step S1102, the thumbnail size to be displayed is calculated based on the size of the enlarged tooltip. This size is T2. In step S1103, the sizes of T1 and T2 are compared. If T1 ≧ T2, the currently held thumbnail is used as it is and displayed on the tooltip in step S1104. If T1 <T2, a tooltip thumbnail is regenerated from the original image in step S1105, and used to display it on the tooltip in step S1104.

  The maximum size of the information tooltip is assumed to be larger than the original image when the thumbnail does not fit in the display area of the display device or when the thumbnail for the image is enlarged. Conversely, when the minimum size is less than or equal to a specific size, the portion specified for the item to be enlarged is hidden. Therefore, if the item for enlarging the thumbnail size is set in the image file, only the text information is displayed when the thumbnail size is reduced to the minimum, and in the opposite case, only the thumbnail remains. If both are specified, it will be hidden.

  Next, “changing the number of representative images” will be described.

  This process is performed when the “Ctrl + wheel rotation” operation is performed when the cursor is positioned on the folder.

An information tool chip 701 in FIG. 7 corresponds to the information tool chip 404 in FIG. 4 and shows an example in which the number of thumbnail images in the corresponding folder is nine (3 × 3). As shown in the figure, by increasing the number of thumbnails to be displayed, the prediction rate of whether or not the target image file exists in the image file stored in the target folder can be increased without opening the target folder. It becomes possible to raise.

  This process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, a mouse over event occurs, and when the cursor is on the folder and the information tooltip 404 in FIG. 4 is displayed, an enlargement / reduction event ("Ctrl + wheel rotation" event) occurs. This is the process when

  When the enlargement / reduction event occurs, in step S1201, the number of rows a and the number of columns b of the currently displayed representative image is acquired (the initial value is the state shown in FIG. 4, so a = b = 2).

  Next, in step S1022, it is determined whether the event is an enlargement process or a reduction process. If it is determined that the process is an enlargement process, a process of increasing the number of representative images is performed in step S1203. If it is a reduction process, a process of reducing the representative image is performed in step S1204. When any one of the processes is performed, a representative image is retrieved and displayed according to the determined number of rows a and number of columns b in step S1205.

  This example represents a process of increasing / decreasing the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, the vertical direction,... By one row / column when increasing or decreasing. The representative image is displayed again with the number of rows and columns obtained as a result. In the information tool chip 701 in FIG. 7, an example in which the display is increased from four (2 × 2) to nine (3 × 3) representative images N is shown as an enlarged example. In this case, when the image is reduced, the image is reduced until the representative image disappears. Therefore, the smallest case is only the folder name. If the folder name is not displayed, the tooltip is hidden.

  As described above, the processing content for the above “Ctrl + wheel rotation” is performed by the environment setting GUI in the application 803 ending in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 shows the environment setting window.

  801, 802, and 803 shown in the figure are examples in which a radio button format is set in order to select one of items that are mutually exclusive. In the example of FIG. 8, “Enlarge font size” is selected in the text setting 801, “Enlarge thumbnail” in the image thumbnail setting 802, and “Enlarge representative image” in the representative image setting 803. An example is shown.

  Once the setting is completed, the setting contents are registered in the system (registry file if the OS is Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation in the United States), and this setting is maintained and “Ctrl + wheel rotation” is changed unless changed. Will work.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a mouse over event occurs, when the cursor is on an image file, a tooltip with a thumbnail is displayed from the image file, and when the cursor is on a non-image file. Displays the file information as before. When the cursor is positioned on the folder, it is possible to display tooltips with thumbnails of up to a predetermined number of representative image files in the folder, and effectively use a limited display area of the display device. It becomes possible. In addition, when an enlargement / reduction event occurs due to “Ctrl + wheel rotation” while the tooltip is displayed, changing the tooltip display size will increase the amount of text information, font size, thumbnail image size and It is also possible to change the size of the representative image or change the number of representative images, thereby improving convenience.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, when the Enter key is operated (hereinafter referred to as “Ctrl + Enter”) while pressing the Ctrl key of the keyboard while the information tool tip is displayed, the display format of the information tool tip is changed. When changing the display format, in order to clarify that the display is switched, an animation effect may be displayed so that the front and back of the paper are touched.

An information tool chip 901 in FIG. 9 shows an example in which “Ctrl + Enter” operation is performed in a state where the information tool chip 403 in FIG. 4 is displayed. The image thumbnail displayed is changed to a text display. Here, text information is attached information of the image. The attached information may be information held by the image, or information held by the image management software may be displayed. The merit of this display method is an effective function for an operator who wants to perform only text display without displaying thumbnails in the tooltip. By doing “Ctrl + Enter” operation, the text display format changes one after another. Specifically,
1. 1. Display image thumbnail + simple information as text 2. Detailed information of images is displayed only in text. Display the information held by the image management software for the image in text only and change the display format so that it is 1 → 2 → 3 → 1 ... (or vice versa) each time “Ctrl + Enter” is performed. To do.

  As described above, the display method suitable for the operator himself can be used, so that information on the target file or folder can be displayed more easily.

  The above is the case of the image file, but when the folder is focused, the representative image is switched. When the number of representative images N = 4, images in the folder in focus are acquired and displayed for every four images. By this process, even if there is no desired image in the representative image, it is possible to search for the desired image by switching the representative image. It should be noted that the second embodiment can be used together with the setting contents of FIG. 8 described above.

<Third Embodiment>
Consider a case where a slider bar 1001 for setting the enlargement ratio of the file list display area is provided as shown in FIG. 10 and the thumbnail size display magnification is minimized.

  By reducing the thumbnail size, there is a merit that a large number of thumbnails can be displayed on the browser window at the same time, but it becomes difficult to check the thumbnails or it is difficult to accurately place the mouse pointer on the thumbnails. The problem exists at the same time. To solve this problem, hold down the Ctrl key when the tooltip is displayed and operate the arrow (either up, down, left, or right) key provided on the keyboard (hereinafter referred to as “Ctrl + arrow”), and the arrow points Show information about direction thumbnails. At this time, at the timing when the display is switched, the cursor is switched so as to simultaneously hit the thumbnail.

  For example, when the file of the cursor 1003 in FIG. 10 is focused, when the “Ctrl key + up arrow key” is pressed, the cursor 1003 is displayed (moved) at the position 1004 and moved, and the tool tip is also at the position 1004. The content is to display certain file information.

  By this processing, the operator can check the thumbnail and detailed information one after another without moving the mouse pointer finely. If the above operation is performed while a plurality of images are selected, the images are switched within the selected range.

  Note that the third embodiment can also be used in combination with the first and second embodiments.

  In each of the above embodiments, the file list display portion of the application software 803 has been described. However, the application software 803 performs image editing and the like, manages images captured by a digital camera, and edits and prints as necessary. It doesn't matter what kind of thing it is. In short, any device having a function of displaying a list can be applied.

  In the embodiment, an example in which the ctrl key, enter key, arrow key, and the like of the keyboard are used has been described. However, the keys to be used are not limited to this, and any combination may be used.

  The embodiment according to the present invention has been described above. However, since the processing in the present embodiment is performed by the application software 803, the present invention naturally includes a computer program in its category. Further, since the computer program is normally stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and can be executed by setting it in a computer and copying or installing it in the system, naturally Such computer-readable storage media are also included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the computer system in embodiment. Example of overall configuration of information management apparatus including software and hardware in embodiment It is a figure which shows the example of the list display of the conventional file management system. It is a figure which shows the example of a file list display in 1st Embodiment, and the display of a tool tip. It is a figure which shows the example of a display when text information is increased with the expansion of a tooltip. It is a figure which shows the example of a display when a thumbnail and a text are expanded as it is with expansion of a tool tip. It is a figure which shows the example of a display when the number of representative images of a folder is increased with the expansion of a tooltip. It is a figure which shows the operation setting UI at the time of expansion / contraction. It is a figure which shows the switch display of the tooltip in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the display and operation | movement in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the tooltip display processing content in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the expansion process procedure for performing the display of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the expansion process procedure for performing the display of FIG.

Claims (5)

A plurality of folders that belongs to your original image an information management device to list on the screen,
And a cursor displayed in conjunction with the pointing device is moved over the screen, when the front SL cursor designates the folder, and displays a thumbnail image of the original image of the predetermined number belonging to the folder tooltip Display means;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not a predetermined key has been inputted when the tooltip is displayed on the screen ;
Change means for changing the number of thumbnail images of the original image to be displayed on the tooltip when the detection means detects that the predetermined key is input,
When the detecting means detects that the predetermined key is input, the display means changes the size of the tool tip and displays the thumbnail images of the original images of the number changed by the changing means. An information management device characterized by being displayed on the screen. The screen displays a list of original image icons and folder icons, and when the cursor is positioned on the original image icon, the display means displays the attached information of the original image on a tool tip. ,
The information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attached information is at least one of a file name, a file size, an image size, and an update date . When the input of the predetermined key instructs an enlargement process, the changing means increases the number, and the display means enlarges and displays the size of the tooltip, while the input of the predetermined key reduces the number. 3. The information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change unit reduces the number, and the display unit displays the tooltip with a reduced size. A plurality of folders that belongs to your original image and a control method for an information management system to list on the screen,
And a cursor displayed in conjunction with the pointing device is moved over the screen, when the front SL cursor designates the folder, and displays a thumbnail image of the original image of the predetermined number belonging to the folder tooltip Display process;
A detection step of detecting whether or not a predetermined key has been input when the tooltip is displayed on the screen ;
A change step of changing the number of thumbnail images of the original image to be displayed on the tooltip when the detection step detects that the predetermined key is input,
In the display step, when it is detected that the predetermined key has been input by the detection step, the tool tip size is changed, and the thumbnail images of the original images of the number changed by the change step are displayed in the tool tip. A method for controlling an information management apparatus, characterized by: By computer executes read, the computer, a computer program to function a plurality of folders belongs your original image as an information management apparatus that list displayed on the screen,
The computer,
And a cursor displayed in conjunction with the pointing device is moved over the screen, when the front SL cursor designates the folder, and displays a thumbnail image of the original image of the predetermined number belonging to the folder tooltip Display means;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not a predetermined key has been inputted when the tooltip is displayed on the screen ;
When the detection means detects that the predetermined key is input, the detection means functions as a changing means for changing the number of thumbnail images of the original image to be displayed on the tooltip,
When the detecting means detects that the predetermined key is input, the display means changes the size of the tool tip and displays the thumbnail images of the original images of the number changed by the changing means. A computer program characterized by being displayed on the screen.

Images