Image managing apparatus, image managing method and storage medium

• US 20070091123A1
• Filed: 10/25/2006
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Akashi, Hiroyuki
• Application Number:
  US11/586,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20070091123A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

An image managing method of an image managing apparatus which includes a display device and which manages a plurality of original images, the method includes displaying the plurality of images obtained by reducing the original images, indicating conditions on which display orders of the plurality of images are determined, setting the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images in accordance with the indicated conditions, and updating the display in accordance with the set display orders, wherein the setting of the display orders of the plurality of images is to set the display orders of the plurality of images displayed based on information imparted during photographing of the images or information of display states of the images in the display device in accordance with the conditions indicated to determine the display orders of the plurality of images.

Claims

1. An image managing apparatus which includes a display device to display an image and which manages a plurality of original images, the image managing apparatus comprising:

an image display unit which displays in the display device a plurality of images obtained by reducing the original images;

a display order indication unit which indicates conditions to determine display orders of the plurality of images;

an order setting unit which sets the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images in accordance with the conditions indicated by the display order indication unit; and

a display update unit which updates the display of the display device in accordance with the display orders set by the order setting unit,

wherein the order setting unit sets the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device based on information imparted during photographing of the images or information of display states of the images in the display device in accordance with the conditions indicated by the display order indication unit.

2. The image managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image display unit and the display update unit first display an image having a front display order, and

in a case where an image having a rear display order overlaps the image having the front display order, the image display unit and the display update unit hide an overlapped portion of the image having the front display order by an image having a rear display order.

3. The image managing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image group setting unit which sets as one group the images displayed overlapping one another or coming into contact with one another among the plurality of images displayed in the display device; and

an image selection unit which selects the image in the display device,

wherein the order setting unit sets the display orders of the images included in the group to which the image selected by the image selection unit belongs.

4. The image managing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display update unit updates the display of all the images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images or the display of the plurality of images which belong to the group in accordance with the orders set by the order setting unit without changing positions of the images in the display device.

5. The image managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information imparted during the photographing is information imparted as an Exif tag including a photographing date and a size of the image to the photographed image, and the information based on the display states is a ratio of a display area or a display size of each image displayed in the display device.

6. The image managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the images displayed in the display device are images for indexes obtained by reducing the original images as management objects in accordance with sizes of the original images.

7. An image managing method of an image managing apparatus which includes a display device to display a plurality of images and which manages a plurality of original images, the method comprising:

displaying in the display device the plurality of images obtained by reducing the original images;

indicating conditions on which display orders of the plurality of images are determined;

setting the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images in accordance with the indicated conditions; and

updating the display of the display device in accordance with the set display orders,

wherein the setting of the display orders of the plurality of images is to set the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device based on information imparted during photographing of the images or information of display states of the images in the display device in accordance with the conditions indicated to determine the display orders of the plurality of images.

8. The image managing method according to claim 7, wherein in the display in the display device and the updated display in the display device, the image having a front display order is first displayed, and

in a case where an image having a rear display order overlaps the image having the front display order, an overlapped portion of the image having the front display order is hidden by the image having the rear display order.

9. The image managing method according to claim 7, further comprising:

setting as one group the images displayed overlapping one another or coming into contact with one another among the plurality of images displayed in the display device; and

selecting the image in the display device,

wherein the setting of the display orders is to set the display orders of the images included in the group to which the selected image belongs.

10. The image managing method according to claim 9, wherein the updating of the display updates the display of all the images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images or the display of the plurality of images which belong to the group in accordance with the orders set by the setting of the display orders without changing positions of the images in the display device.

11. The image managing method according to claim 7, wherein the information imparted during the photographing is information imparted as an Exif tag including a photographing date and a size of the image to the photographed image, and the information based on the display states is a ratio of a display area or a display size of each image displayed in the display device.

12. The image managing method according to claim 7, wherein the images displayed in the display device are images for indexes obtained by reducing the original images as management objects in accordance with sizes of the original images.

13. A storage medium in which a program is stored, the program being executed by an image managing apparatus which includes a display device to display a plurality of images and which manages a plurality of original images, the program executing:

an image display step of displaying in the display device the plurality of images obtained by reducing the original images;

a display order indication step of indicating conditions on which display orders of the plurality of images are determined;

an order setting step of setting the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images in accordance with the conditions indicated in the display order indication step; and

a display update step of updating the display of the display device in accordance with the display orders set in the order setting step,

wherein the order setting step sets the display orders of the plurality of images displayed in the display device based on information imparted during photographing of the images or information of display states of the images in the display device in accordance with the conditions indicated in the display order indication step.

14. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein in the image display step and the display update step, an image having a front display order is first displayed, and

in a case where an image having a rear display order overlaps the image having the front display order, an overlapped portion of the image having the front display order is hidden by the image having the rear display order.

15. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the program further executes:

an image group setting step of setting as one group the images displayed overlapping one another or coming into contact with one another among the plurality of images displayed in the display device; and

an image selection step of selecting the image in the display device, and

the order setting step sets the display orders of the images included in the group to which the image selected in the image selection step belongs.

16. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the display update step updates the display of all the images displayed in the display device or hidden by the displayed images or the display of the plurality of images which belong to the group in accordance with the orders set in the order setting step without changing positions of the images in the display device.

17. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the information imparted during the photographing is information imparted as an Exif tag including a photographing date and a size of the image to the photographed image, and the information based on the display states is a ratio of a display area or a display size of each image displayed in the display device.

18. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the images displayed in the display device are images for indexes obtained by reducing the original images as management objects in accordance with sizes of the original images.