Digital media management apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. A method implemented by a computer processor comprising:
- receiving a first input indicating that a user has dragged and dropped an icon representing a first metadata tag onto a graphical representation of a first digital media object, the first metadata tag having associated first metadata, the first digital media object being one of a plurality of digital media objects;
retrieving, in response to the first input, the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag;
identifying, in a database, a first database record that is associated with the first digital media object and updating the first database record to include the retrieved first metadata, the database comprising a plurality of records, each associated with a respective one of the plurality of digital media objects;
receiving a second input indicating that the user has associated the first metadata tag represented by the icon with a graphical representation of a search function for the database;
querying the database for digital media objects associated with metadata that matches the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag represented by the icon; and
displaying a representation of the digital media objects that are responsive to the database query.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for managing, finding and displaying objects such as digital images. Objects are tagged (“associated”) with descriptive textual and numeric data (“metadata”), and stored in a relational database from which they can be selected, sorted, and found. Tags can be defined by name, tag type, and associated attributes. Objects can be tagged by dropping a tag onto the object, or relating a database record for the tag to a database record for the object. Tagged objects can be searched for and displayed according to the degree to which their metadata matches the search criteria. Visual cues can indicate whether displayed objects match all, some but not all, or none of the search criteria. Database object distributions can be displayed as histograms or scatter plots, including timelines, calendars or maps. Object distributions can be used to search for objects or to limit search results for a previous search.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method implemented by a computer processor comprising:
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receiving a first input indicating that a user has dragged and dropped an icon representing a first metadata tag onto a graphical representation of a first digital media object, the first metadata tag having associated first metadata, the first digital media object being one of a plurality of digital media objects; retrieving, in response to the first input, the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag; identifying, in a database, a first database record that is associated with the first digital media object and updating the first database record to include the retrieved first metadata, the database comprising a plurality of records, each associated with a respective one of the plurality of digital media objects; receiving a second input indicating that the user has associated the first metadata tag represented by the icon with a graphical representation of a search function for the database; querying the database for digital media objects associated with metadata that matches the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag represented by the icon; and displaying a representation of the digital media objects that are responsive to the database query. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in a machine readable storage device, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to perform operations including:
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receiving a first input indicating that a user has dragged and dropped an icon representing a first metadata tag onto a graphical representation of a first digital media object, the first metadata tag having associated first metadata, the first digital media object being one of a plurality of digital media objects; retrieving, in response to the first input, the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag; identifying, in a database, a first database record that is associated with the first digital media object and updating the first database record to include the retrieved first metadata, the database comprising a plurality of records, each associated with a respective one of the plurality of digital media objects; receiving a second input indicating that the user has associated the first metadata tag represented by the icon with a graphical representation of a search function for the database; querying the database for digital media objects associated with metadata that matches the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag represented by the icon; and displaying a representation of the digital media objects that are responsive to the database query. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system comprising a computer having a processor coupled to a memory containing instructions that when executed cause the computer to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a first input indicating that a user has dragged and dropped an icon representing a first metadata tag onto a graphical representation of a first digital media object, the first metadata tag having associated first metadata, the first digital media object being one of a plurality of digital media objects; retrieving, in response to the first input, the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag; identifying, in a database, a first database record that is associated with the first digital media object and updating the first database record to include the retrieved first metadata, the database comprising a plurality of records, each associated with a respective one of the plurality of digital media objects; receiving a second input indicating that the user has associated the first metadata tag represented by the icon with a graphical representation of a search function for the database; querying the database for digital media objects associated with metadata that matches the first metadata associated with the first metadata tag represented by the icon; and displaying a representation of the digital media objects that are responsive to the database query. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification