Methods and apparatuses for presenting a collection of digital media in a media container

• US 6,028,603 A
• Filed: 10/24/1997
• Issued: 02/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Pictra, Inc.
• Inventors: Maxwell, Delle, Wang, Wu, Morris, Steve, Lei, James, Narayen, Shantanu
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thai, Cuong T.
• Application Number:
  US08/957,225
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 345/328, 345/350, 345/352, 345/356, 345/357, 707/501, 707/513, 707/514, 707/515
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for presenting a collection of digital media in a media container. In one example of a method, a plurality of pages in a media container is defined. Each page has at least one location for presenting a digital media, and each page has first information which defines a layout on the page of at least one digital media. The first information for a page is independently controllable relative to other pages of said plurality of pages. At least one page of the media container is presented according to the first information.

Claims

1. A method for presenting a collection of digital media in a media container, said method comprising:

defining a plurality of pages in a media container, each page having at least one location for presenting a digital media, each page having first information which defines a layout on said each page of at least one digital media, and wherein said first information for a page is independently controllable relative to other pages of said plurality of pages, and wherein said media container, including said first information and said each digital media, is transferable from one digital processing system to another digital processing system automatically as an entity;

storing in a database digital media information for said each digital media and an association to a copy of said each digital media, wherein said copy is stored on a file storage device, and wherein said database comprises digital media information which specifies an assigned order of digital media in said media container, and wherein said digital media information for said each digital media comprises a lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital media, and wherein said assigned order of digital media may be changed by performing a dragging and dropping operation on an image generated from said lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital media;

in response to said first information defining a new layout, automatically repositioning said each digital media relative to said plurality of pages;

presenting at least one page of said media container according to said first information.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein each digital media is a digital picture and wherein said media container is a picture album and wherein said presenting step comprises displaying on a display device said at least one page.

3. A method as in claim 2 wherein said first information specifies a predetermined location for each digital picture on said each page for a particular layout which cannot be modified.

4. A method for presenting a collection of digital pictures in a picture album, said method comprising:

defining a plurality of pages in a picture album, each page having at least one location for presenting a digital picture, each page having first information, wherein said first information for said each page is independently controllable relative to other pages of said plurality of pages and defines a layout on said each page of at least one digital picture, and wherein said picture album, including said first information and said each digital picture, is transferable as an entity from one digital processing system to another digital processing system automatically;

storing in a database picture information for said each digital picture and an association to a copy of said each digital picture, wherein said copy is stored on a file storage device by a file management system, and wherein said database comprises picture album information which specifies an assigned order of pictures in said picture album, and wherein said picture information for said each digital picture comprises a lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital picture, and wherein said assigned order of pictures may be changed by performing a dragging and dropping operation on an image generated from said lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital picture;

in response to said first information defining a new layout, automatically repositioning each said digital picture relative to said plurality of pages;

displaying on a display device at least one page of said picture album according to said first information.

5. A method as in claim 4 wherein said first information specifies a fixed, predetermined location for each digital picture on said each page.

6. A computer readable storage medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a digital processing system cause the digital processing system to perform a method for presenting a collection of digital media in a media container, said method comprising:

defining a plurality of pages in a media container, each page having at least one location for presenting a digital media, each page having first information which defines a layout on said each page of at least one digital media, and wherein said first information for a page is independently controllable relative to other pages of said plurality of pages, and wherein said media container, including said first information and said each digital media, is transferable from one digital processing system to another digital processing system automatically as an entity;

storing in a database digital media information for said each digital media and an association to a copy of said each digital media, wherein said copy is stored on a file storage device, and wherein said database comprises digital media information which specifies an assigned order of digital media in said media container, and wherein said digital media information for said each digital media comprises a lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital media, and wherein said assigned order of digital media may be changed by performing a dragging and dropping operation on an image generated from said lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital media;

in response to said first information defining a new layout, automatically repositioning said each digital media relative to said plurality of pages;

presenting at least one page of said media container according to said first information.

7. A computer readable storage medium as in claim 6 wherein each digital media is a digital picture and wherein said media container is a picture album and wherein said presenting step comprises displaying on a display device said at least one page.

8. A computer readable storage medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a digital processing system cause the digital processing system to perform a method for presenting a collection of digital pictures in a picture album, said method comprising:

defining a plurality of pages in a picture album, each page having at least one location for presenting a digital picture, each page having first information, wherein said first information for said each page is independently controllable relative to other pages of said plurality of pages and defines a layout on said each page of at least one digital picture, and wherein said picture album, including said first information and said each digital picture, is transferable as an entity from one digital processing system to another digital processing system automatically;

storing in a database picture information for said each digital picture and an association to a copy of said each digital picture, wherein said copy is stored on a file storage device by a file management system, and wherein said database comprises picture album information which specifies an assigned order of pictures in said picture album, and wherein said picture information for said each digital picture comprises a lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital picture, and wherein said assigned order of pictures may be changed by performing a dragging and dropping operation on an image generated from said lower resolution version of said copy of said each digital picture;

in response to said first information defining a new layout, automatically repositioning each said digital picture relative to said plurality of pages;

displaying on a display device at least one page of said picture album according to said first information.

9. A computer readable storage medium as in claim 8 wherein said first information specifies a fixed, predetermined location for each digital picture on said each page.