Media manager with integrated browsers

• US 7,581,186 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2006
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Dowdy, Thomas, Heller, David, Jones, Anne
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; Thanh T
• Application Number:
  US11/519,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20080066016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: 715/716, 715/727, 715/715, 715/848
• US Class Current: 715/727
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/64 Browsing; Visualisation therefor generation of a list or set of audio data G06F16/638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

Methods and systems that improve the way media is played, sorted, modified, stored and cataloged are disclosed. One aspect relates to a browse window that allows a user to navigate through and select images that are related to media items. Another aspect relates to a graphical user interface of a media management program that utilizes multiple browse windows. Another aspect relates to simultaneously displayed media browse windows whose operations are integrated together so that the content shown therein is automatically synched when selections are made. Another aspect relates to resetting browsed content to the currently playing media.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface providing image-based browsing of data with respect to a display screen associated with a computing device, said graphical user interface comprising:

an image browser window generated by an application program operating on the computing device, the image browser window concurrently including a first browsing region and a second browsing region, the first browsing region displaying descriptive information regarding one or more digital assets, and the second browsing region displaying a plurality images associated with the one or more digital assets,

wherein the second browsing region displays the plurality of images on the display device, each of the images pertaining to an associated digital asset, the second browsing region including at least;

a primary image position displaying one of the plurality of images selected as a primary image; and

a plurality of secondary image positions, each of said secondary image positions displaying a different one of the plurality of images other than the primary image, and

wherein the data shown in the first and second browsing regions is automatically synched when selections are made in the first and second browsing regions.

2. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the primary image displayed in said primary image position is larger than each of the images displayed in said secondary image positions.

3. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1,

wherein the primary image displayed in said primary image position is not obscured by the images in said secondary image positions, and

wherein at least a plurality of the images displayed in said secondary image positions are obscured by other of the images displayed in said secondary image positions.

4. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the images displayed in said secondary image positions are skewed.

5. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 4, wherein the skewed images in said secondary image positions are skewed such that they are displayed to appear to extend from foreground into the background.

6. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 4, wherein the skewed images in said secondary image positions are skewed such that a top right corner is lowered and a bottom right corner is raised for each image in a left secondary position, and a top left corner is lowered and a bottom left corner is raised for each image in a right secondary position.

7. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein said graphical user interface further comprises:

a horizontal scroll bar configured to receive user input to traverse through the images.

8. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital assets are digital media files.

9. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein said graphical user interface further comprises:

at least one arrow button configured to receive user input to incrementally traverse through the images.

10. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein in response to a user input, the images are sequentially moved left or right within said image browse window until a particular desired image from one of said secondary image positions arrives at said primary image position.

11. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the descriptive information displayed in the first browsing region comprises a list having a plurality of entries, with each entry displaying aspects pertaining to one of the images.

12. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 11, wherein the images pertain to media items, and wherein each of the entries of the list displays metadata pertaining to the corresponding media items.

13. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 12, wherein the list has a vertical list format.

14. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 12, wherein, selection of one of the entries of the list, causes the image associated with the selected entry to be transitioned to said primary image position.

15. A method for browsing data items with respect to a display screen associated with a computing device, said method comprising:

providing first and second browsing regions on the display screen, each of the browsing regions providing a different way of browsing through the data items;

displaying, within the first browsing region, a plurality of images on the display screen in a horizontal arrangement, each of the images pertaining to an associated data item, where the horizontal arrangement includes at least one of the images displayed in a primary image position and other of the images displayed in secondary image positions;

receiving a user input identifying a particular image from the images displayed in the secondary image positions;

moving, in response to the user input, the image at the primary image position to one of the secondary image positions while also moving the particular image from the secondary image position to the primary image position;

displaying, within the second browsing region, information about the data items corresponding to the plurality of images concurrently with said displaying of the plurality of images on the display screen in the horizontal arrangement;

synchronizing the first browsing region with the second browsing region when one of the data items is selected in the second browsing region; and

synchronizing the second browsing region with the first browsing region when one of the images is selected in the first browsing region.

16. A method as recited in claim 15,

wherein the data items are digital media tracks,

if a navigation command has been made at the first browsing region, said synchronizing the first browsing region comprises moving the rows of media tracks across a viewing area in accordance with the navigation command, and

if a select command has been made for a selected media track at the first browsing region, said synchronizing the second browsing region comprises playing the selected media track, determining the image associated with the selected media track, and updating the images of the second browsing region based on the selected media track.

17. A method as recited in claim 15,

wherein the data items are digital media tracks,

if a navigation command has been made at the second browsing region, said synchronizing the second browsing region comprises moving the images across a viewing area in accordance with the navigation command, and

if a select command has been made for a selected image at the second browsing region, said synchronizing the first browsing region comprises determining the media tracks and the order of media tracks associated with the selected image, playing the first media track from the ordered group of media tracks, and updating the first browsing region browser window based on the selection.

18. A method as recited in claim 15,

wherein the data items are digital media tracks, and

wherein said method further comprises:

playing a media track; and

providing updated first and second browsing regions, the first browsing region containing a list of media tracks, the second browsing region containing a plurality of images that are associated with one or more media tracks of the first browsing region;

if a navigation command is made at the second browsing region, said synchronizing of the second browsing region comprises;

transitioning images across a viewing area in accordance with the navigation command;

starting a timer each time the second browsing region stops transitioning through the images;

during the timer, if a select command has been made at the second browsing region closing the timer, playing a new media track associated with the selection, and updating the first and second browsing regions based on the selection; and

if the timer has ended, transitioning the images in the second browsing region window back to the image associated with the media track being currently played.

19. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein selection of one of the images being displayed in the horizontal arrangement causes the information corresponding to the selected image to be distinctively displayed.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein selection of one of the data items being displayed in the second browsing region, causes the image being displayed in one of the secondary image positions of the horizontal arrangement that corresponds to the selected one of the data items to be transitioned to the primary image position.

21. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein selection of one of the images being displayed in the horizontal arrangement causes the information about the data item corresponding to the selected image to be distinctively displayed in the second browsing region, and wherein selection of a certain one of the data items being displayed in the second browsing region causes the image being displayed in one of the secondary image positions of the horizontal arrangement that corresponds to the certain one of the data items to be transitioned to the primary image position.

22. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said synchronizing the first browsing region comprises sequentially moving images into and out of the primary image position until the particular image from the secondary image position arrives at the primary image position.

23. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said synchronizing the first browsing region comprises sequentially and concurrently moving images into and out of the primary image position using a flipping visual effect until the particular image from the secondary image position arrives at the primary image position.

24. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the image in the primary image position is larger than each of the images displayed in the secondary image positions.

25. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said displaying of the information about the data items corresponding to the plurality of images comprises displaying a table having a plurality of rows, with each row displaying aspects pertaining to one of the data items.

26. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said displaying of the information about the data items corresponding to the plurality of images comprises displaying a list having a plurality of entries, with each entry displaying aspects pertaining to one of the images.

27. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the images pertain to media items, and wherein each of the entries of the list displays metadata pertaining to the corresponding media items.

28. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the list has a vertical list format.

29. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein, selection of one of the entries of the list, causes the image associated with the selected entry to become the primary image.

30. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein, when the image at the primary image position changes, the order of the entries in the list being displayed changes such that the entry associated with the image in the primary image position is displayed as the first entry in the list.

31. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein, when the image at the primary image position changes, the entry in the list associated with the image in the primary image position is distinctively displayed.

32. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said displaying of the plurality of images on the display screen comprises modifying the images for display in the secondary image positions to include a reflected portion.

33. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said displaying of the plurality of images comprises skewing the images being displayed in the secondary image positions.

34. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein said skewing comprises:

for one or more of the images at the secondary image positions displayed to the left of the primary image, lowering the top right corner of the image and raising the bottom right corner of the image; and

for one or more of the images at the secondary image positions displayed to the right of the primary image, lowering the top left corner of the image and raising the bottom left corner of the image.

35. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein the images being displayed at the secondary image positions are overlapped such that only a portion of at least a plurality of the images being displayed at the secondary image positions are exposed.

36. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein the images being displayed at the secondary image positions are skewed so as to have the appearance of extending from foreground to background.

37. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein for the images being displayed to the right of the primary image, the height on a left side of the images is reduced as compared to the height on a right side of the corresponding images.

38. A method as recited in claim 37, wherein for the images being displayed to the left of the primary image, the height on a right side of the images is reduced as compared to the height on a left side of the corresponding images.

39. A method for browsing data items with respect to a display screen associated with a computing device, said method comprising:

displaying a plurality of images on the display screen in a horizontal arrangement, each of the images pertaining to an associated data item, where the horizontal arrangement includes at least one of the images displayed in a primary image position and other of the images displayed in secondary image positions;

receiving a user input identifying a particular image from the images displayed in the secondary image positions;

moving, in response to the user input, the image at the primary image position to one of the secondary image positions while also moving the particular image from the secondary image position to the primary image position; and

displaying information about the plurality of images concurrently with said displaying of the plurality of images on the display screen in the horizontal arrangement, the information being displayed including a list having a plurality of entries, with each entry displaying aspects pertaining to one of the images,

wherein, user selection of one of the entries of the list, causes said moving to cause the image associated with the selected entry to become the primary image, and

wherein, when the image at the primary image position changes in response to the user input, the entries in the list being displayed change such that at least one entry in the list associated with the image in the primary image position is distinctively displayed from other entries in the list.

40. A method as recited in claim 39, wherein, when the image at the primary image position changes in response to the user input, the order of the entries in the list being displayed changes such that the at least one entry in the list associated with the image in the primary image position is displayed at the top of the list.