Using metadata in user interfaces

• US 7,953,757 B1
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Padgett, Allan P
• Primary Examiner(s): Mahmoudi; Tony
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khoshnoodi; Fariborz
• Application Number:
  US12/259,585
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• Field of Search: 707/8, 707/1, 707/104.1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/6, 707/10, 707/102, 707/200, 707/747, 707/803, 707/770, 707/705, 707/791, 707/793, 707/746, 707/707, 714/11
• US Class Current: 707/791
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer program products, for user interfaces. A user interface uses metadata of digital objects to navigate through a data structure that includes multiple containers to organize digital objects, such as digital images. Based on the metadata, the user interface can ignore empty containers that have no associated digital objects. The data structure can be presented without the empty containers, or the empty containers can be presented but automatically skipped when a user navigates through the data structure. For example in a calendar view, in which each day represents a container for images, days without images are automatically skipped when the user navigates in the calendar view.

Claims

1. A software product, tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device, for user interfaces, the software product comprising instructions to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a data structure organizing digital objects wherein each digital object is a collection of digital data including both content and separate metadata describing the content, the data structure specifying a respective container to represent each day of a month, wherein each container is capable of including other containers and two or more digital objects, each digital object being associated with one or more containers based on the digital object'"'"'s metadata, where the digital object metadata includes user-defined tags that define a classification for each digital object;

identifying each of the containers in the data structure as empty or non-empty, wherein each non-empty container is associated with one or more respective digital objects and empty containers are not associated with any of the digital objects, the plurality of containers having an order, the plurality of containers including at least two non-empty containers and at least one empty container that is between the two non-empty containers in the order;

presenting a calendar view representation of the data structure in a user interface, the calendar view representation including a respective simultaneous representation for each non-empty container representing a day of the month and a representation for any empty container representing a day of the month;

in the user interface, receiving user input specifying an instruction to navigate a cursor from a current container to a next container, the cursor marking a day representing the next container; and

determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty, and when the next container is empty, identifying the first non-empty container after the next container according to the order, and modifying the specified instruction to navigate the cursor to mark a day representing the first non-empty container, and when the next container is non-empty, navigating the cursor to mark a day representing the next container.

2. The software product of claim 1, where determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty includes using the associated metadata of the digital objects.

3. The software product of claim 1, where determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty includes using a cursor direction defined by the received user input.

4. The software product of claim 1, where the calendar view representation includes an indicator identifying each non-empty container.

5. The software product of claim 1, where navigating the cursor includes skipping one or more non-empty containers between a container associated with a beginning cursor location and a container associated with an ending cursor location in response to the received input.

6. The software product of claim 1, the presenting the calendar view representation of the data structure including presenting days of a month where each day of the month represents a container for digital objects including digital images in an image database.

7. A computer implemented system comprising:

a display to present elements of a user interface;

an input device to receive user input; and

data processing apparatus configured to perform operations comprising;

receiving a data structure organizing digital objects, wherein each digital object is a collection of digital data including both content and separate metadata describing the content, the data structure specifying a respective container to represent each day of a month, wherein each container is capable of including other containers and two or more digital objects, each digital object being associated with one or more containers based on the digital object'"'"'s metadata, where the digital object metadata includes user-defined tags that define a classification for each digital object;

identifying each of the containers in the data structure as empty or non-empty, wherein each non-empty container is associated with one or more respective digital objects and empty containers are not associated with any of the digital objects, the plurality of containers having an order, the plurality of containers including at least two non-empty containers and at least one empty container that is between the two non-empty containers in the order;

presenting a calendar view representation of the data structure in the display, the calendar view representation including a respective simultaneous representation for each non-empty container representing a day of the month and a representation for any empty container representing a day of the month;

receiving user input from the input device, the received user input specifying an instruction to navigate a cursor from a current container to a next container, the cursor marking a day representing the next container; and

determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty, and when the next container is empty, identifying the first non-empty container after the next container according to the order, and modifying the specified instruction to navigate the cursor to mark a day representing the first non-empty container, and when the next container is non-empty, navigating the cursor to mark a day representing the next container.

8. The system of claim 7, where determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty includes using the associated metadata of the digital objects.

9. The system of claim 7, where the calendar view representation includes an indicator identifying each non-empty container.

10. The system of claim 7, where navigating the cursor includes skipping one or more non-empty containers between a container associated with a beginning cursor location and a container associated with an ending cursor location in response to the received input.

11. The system of claim 7, the presenting the calendar view representation of the data structure including presenting days of a month where each day of the month represents a container for digital objects including digital images in an image database.

12. A method comprising:

receiving a data structure organizing digital objects, wherein each digital object is a collection of digital data including both content and separate metadata describing the content, the data structure specifying a respective container to represent each day of a month, wherein each container is capable of including other containers and two or more digital objects, each digital object being associated with one or more containers based on the digital object'"'"'s metadata, where the digital object metadata includes user-defined tags that define a classification for each digital object;

identifying each of the containers in the data structure as empty or non-empty, wherein each non-empty container is associated with one or more respective digital objects and empty containers are not associated with any of the digital objects, the plurality of containers having an order, the plurality of containers including at least two non-empty containers and at least one empty container that is between the two non-empty containers in the order;

presenting a calendar view representation of the data structure in the display, the calendar view representation including a respective simultaneous representation for each non-empty container representing a day of the month and a representation for any empty container representing a day of the month;

receiving user input from the input device, the received user input specifying an instruction to navigate a cursor from a current container to a next container, the cursor marking a day representing the next container; and

determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty, and when the next container is empty, identifying the first non-empty container after the next container according to the order, and modifying the specified instruction to navigate the cursor to mark a day representing the first non-empty container, and when the next container is non-empty, navigating the cursor to mark a day representing the next container.

13. The method of claim 12, where determining whether the next container is empty or non-empty includes using the associated metadata of the digital objects.

14. The method of claim 12, where the calendar view representation includes an indicator identifying each non-empty container.

15. The method of claim 12, where navigating the cursor includes skipping one or more non-empty containers between a container associated with a beginning cursor location and a container associated with an ending cursor location in response to the received input.

16. The method of claim 12, the presenting the calendar view representation of the data structure including presenting days of a month where each day of the month represents a container for digital objects including digital images in an image database.