Data organization support method and program product therefor

• US 20030210278A1
• Filed: 05/06/2003
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakano, Takashi, Noguchi, Kunio, Kyoya, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,458,034 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

Proposed are a data-organization support method for efficient user-initiative on-screen data classification and a program product for achieving the data-organization support method. A data file, a correction of items to be classified is loaded to display a classification window having a group window and several item (contents-view) windows. An on-screen operation, such as, shifting an item over the item windows initiates item processing such as change in a group to which the item belong. An on-screen operation, such as, shifting a group in the group window initiates group processing such as displaying the contents of the group or change in group hierarchy. The results of classification are reflected on the group window and stored as a classification history.

Claims

1. A computer-aided data-organization support method for classifying data into a plurality of groups comprising:

displaying a plurality of contents-view windows on a computer screen by using element-indicating images each expressing one of a plurality of elements constituting each group, the windows being capable of displaying a list of elements of each group;

classifying the data on the computer screen, the data-classifying step further deciding a group to which the elements belong when an element-indicating image selected from the list of elements displayed on one of the contents-view windows is shifted; and

storing at least one result of the data classification.

2. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1, wherein

the data-classifying step includes:

displaying the list of elements of a specified group on one of the contents-view windows; and

deleting the list of elements of the specified group when the specified group is released and closing the contents-view window displaying the list of elements of the specified group, and wherein

the group-deciding step includes creating a new group corresponding to a closed contents-view window to which the element-indicating image selected from the list of elements displayed on one of the contents-view windows is shifted, and processing an element expressed by the shifted element-indicating image, the element being regarded as shifted to the new group.

3. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1 further comprising displaying a group window with the contents-view windows on the computer screen, the group window displaying hierarchy of the groups by using a plurality of group-indicating images each expressing each group.

4. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 3, wherein the data-classifying step includes processing a group expressed by a group-indicating image that is selected and shifted in the group window, the group being regarded as shifted to a particular level of the hierarchy corresponding to a location of the shifted group-indicating image.

5. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 4, wherein the group-processing step includes switching one of the contents-view windows from being opened to being closed or vice versa or the displayed contents in accordance with an operation to the group-indicating images displayed on the group window.

6. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 5, wherein the switching step includes displaying a list of elements of a group expressed by a group-indicating image that is selected on the group window and shifted to one of the contents-view windows, irrespective of whether the one of the contents-view windows is opened or closed.

7. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 5, wherein the switching step includes deleting a list of elements of a group of low priority in use, when a group is specified, among lists of elements displayed on the contents-view windows that are all opened, and displaying a list of elements of the specified group on a contents-view window from which the list of elements has been deleted.

8. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes displaying a predetermined number of the contents-view windows,

the data-classifying step includes:

changing the number of the contents-view windows to be displayed when the number of groups to be displayed on the windows is changed; and

displaying the changed number of contents-view windows.

9. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 4, wherein the data-classifying step includes switching data-classifying procedures according to whether targets to be subjected to the data classification is one or several element-indicating images, one or several group-indicating images or both of the element- and group-indicating images.

10. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes displaying a predetermined number of the contents-view windows, and

the data-classifying step includes:

changing the number of the contents-view windows to be displayed when the number of groups to be displayed on the windows is specified; and

displaying the changed number of contents-view windows.

11. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1, wherein the data-classifying step includes classifying the data in accordance with at least one attribute specified for the data.

12. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1, wherein the data-classifying step includes displaying lists of elements at once for all groups at a specified level of hierarchy.

13. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1 further comprising displaying the stored result of the data classification in a specific format, and wherein the step of displaying the stored result includes displaying a tree-diagram screen for displaying a graph expressing a tree diagram of the result of the data classification.

14. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1 further comprising displaying the stored result of the data classification in a specific format, and wherein the step of displaying the stored result includes switching and displaying a plurality of results of the data classification for each data.

15. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1 further comprising combing a plurality of results of the data classification with reforming several of the results of the data classification into a format of a specified result among the results of the data classification.

16. The computer-aided data-organization support method according to claim 1 further comprising combining a plurality of results of the data classification at same level of hierarchy, same group or same data while creating new groups for the results of the data classification at different levels of hierarchy, different groups or different data.

17. A computer-readable program product for executing classification of data into a plurality of groups comprising:

a function of displaying a plurality of contents-view windows on a computer screen by using element-indicating images each expressing one of a plurality of elements constituting each group, the windows being capable of displaying a list of elements for each group;

a function of classifying data on the computer screen in response to on-screen operations, the data-classifying function further deciding a group to which the elements belong when an element-indicating image selected from the list of elements displayed on one of the contents-view windows is shifted; and

a function of storing at least one result of the data classification.

18. The computer-readable program product according to claim 17, wherein

the data-classifying function includes:

a function of displaying the list of elements of a specified group on one of the contents-view windows; and

a function of deleting the list of elements of the specified group when the specified group is released and closing the contents-view window displaying the list of elements of the specified group,

the group-deciding function includes the function of creating a new group corresponding to a closed contents-view window to which the element-indicating image selected from the list of elements displayed on one of the contents-view windows is shifted, and processing an element expressed by the shifted element-indicating image, the element being regarded as shifted to the new group.

19. The computer-readable program product according to claim 17 further comprising the function of displaying a group window with the contents-view windows on the computer screen, the group window displaying hierarchy of the groups by using a plurality of group-indicating images each expressing each group.