HK1173589B - Image management tool with calendar interface - Google Patents

Description

Image management tool with calendar interface

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application date of 2006, 1/6, the application number of 200610000340.X and the name of the invention being an image management tool with a calendar interface.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to digital images, and more particularly, to techniques for organizing and displaying digital images.

Background

One of the major advantages of digital photography is the ability to take photographs without worrying about the cost of film and development for each photograph. As a result, people take many photographs in those situations where they previously taken only a few photographs. However, the proliferation of such photographs has its disadvantageous aspects when the images are to be organized and accessed in an intelligent manner.

One way to organize digital photographs includes taking advantage of the fact that electronic data associated with each photograph exists as an electronic file. In this way, a file system provided by the computer operating system may be used to order a set of digital photographs. For example, a photographer may create a separate electronic folder for each photo event and store image files for all photos taken at a particular event in the corresponding electronic folder.

Digital image management applications may be applied when a more complex organizational structure is desired. Digital image management applications typically provide a number of ways to organize and view digital images. For example, many digital image management applications allow users to organize photos into digital albums, where a single photo may belong to several albums at the same time.

Regardless of the organization mechanism, digital image management applications typically require a user to specify a mapping of photos to organizational structures on a per-photo basis. Given the large number of digital images that photographers are likely to manage, it is desirable to provide a less labor intensive technique for managing digital photographs.

In addition to static photo and organizational structure assignments, it is also possible to manage photos by applying dynamic filters to a collection of photos. Filters are typically associated with a particular set of criteria, such as "size > 2 megabytes". After applying the filter, only those photos in the collection of photos that meet the criteria associated with the filter are presented to the user. However, even the use of dynamic filters is labor intensive. For example, to filter photos based on category, a user may have to manually sort the photos.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section alone.

Drawings

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a calendar interface in a year-month mode according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a calendar interface in a month-day mode according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the calendar interface shown in FIG. 1, wherein a user has applied a yearly round robin pattern for a set of selected months;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the calendar interface shown in FIG. 2, wherein the user has applied an annual cycle mode to a set of selected dates within 9 months;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a screen display including a calendar interface and a thumbnail region;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a screen display including a keyword interface through which a user may filter images belonging to a collection;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an information interface through which a user may view information related to images in a collection;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a tab (tab) through which a user may switch between different interfaces of the image management tool; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer system upon which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

SUMMARY

Typically, the file of digital photographs contains or is associated with date information. The date information may reflect, for example, the date the digital photograph was taken. Techniques for automatically organizing and displaying photographs based on date information associated with the photographs will be described next. In one embodiment, an image management tool having a calendar-like user interface is provided. By interacting with the user interface, the user is able to select a particular date. In response to a user's selection of a particular date, the image management tool displays all photographs associated with date information pertaining to the particular date.

Date information

Digital images may be associated with multiple types of date information. For example, when taking digital photographs, many digital cameras are designed to embed date information into the image file itself that indicates when the photograph was taken. In the JPEG format, the image file portion containing this "acquisition date" information is referred to as EXIF header.

The acquisition date is just one example of date information that may be associated with an image file. Other types of dates that may be associated with an image file include a last modified date, a download date, a purchase date, and the like. The techniques described herein are not limited to any particular type of date information.

In addition, the techniques described hereinafter may be employed with date information embedded in the image file itself or with date information maintained separate from the file. For example, the last modified date of the image file may be kept outside of the image file by the operating system.

The techniques described hereinafter may be used for both automatically generated date information and manually specified date information. For example, an "acquisition date" is typically automatically generated for and associated with an image file at the time of taking a picture. Similarly, when the file is modified in a computer system, the last modification date is typically automatically generated for and associated with the image file. On the other hand, the image management application may allow a user to manually associate digital photographs with data.

It should be noted that the term "date information" generally refers to information about a point in time or time interval, not necessarily a particular day. For example, date information associated with an image file may represent one or more of: a particular date (1 month and 1 day 2004), a particular time of day (1: 12 pm), a particular month (5 months 2002), a particular date range (5/4/02-5/7/02), and the like. For ease of description, the date information is considered in the examples given as a specific date.

Calendar interface

According to one embodiment, an interface representing a calendar is presented to a user. By interacting with the user interface, the user specifies a filter criteria that is compared to date information associated with the image files in the collection. Those image files whose associated date information satisfies the specified criteria are presented to the user.

According to one embodiment, the calendar interface supports multiple display modes, including a year-month mode and a month-day mode. FIG. 1 is an example of a calendar interface for a year-month mode. In the year-month mode, a visual depiction is generated for each month of a given year. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the visual depiction of each month is simply the name of the month, surrounded by a grayed out area. In alternative embodiments, the visual depictions associated with the months may be different. For example, each month may be represented by buttons, letters, or images. The techniques described herein are not limited to visually representing months in any particular manner.

FIG. 2 is an example of a calendar interface in a month-day mode. In the month-day mode, a visual description is generated for each day of a given month. In the illustrated embodiment, the visual depiction of each day is simply the number of that day. However, as with the visual depiction of the months, the visual depiction of the days may vary from implementation to implementation.

Communicating information about collections with a calendar interface

According to one embodiment, the visual depiction of the calendar interface is based in part on date information associated with the image files in the collection. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the visual depiction of each month reflects whether any image files in the collection have date information pertaining to that month. In particular, if any image file in a collection belongs to a month, then the visual depiction of the month is not the same as the visual depictions of those collections in which no image file belongs to the month.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, if any image file in the collection has date information pertaining to the month, the name of the month is bolded. If no image file in the collection has date information pertaining to the month, then the name of the month is not bolded. In the example shown, only months 9, 10, and 11 of 2004 were bolded. Thus, in all months displayed on the calendar interface in fig. 1, the collection of image files managed by the calendar interface has only image files associated with dates in the three months.

Similarly, in the month-day mode, the visual description associated with each day indicates whether the image files in the collection are associated with date information pertaining to that day. In particular, if any image file in the collection belongs to a day, the visual depiction of the day is not the same as the visual depiction of the day to which no image file in the collection belongs.

Referring to the embodiment shown in fig. 2, if any image in the collection has date information belonging to the day, the number of the day is bolded. If no image file in the collection has date information pertaining to the day, then the number for that day is not bolded. In the example shown, only days 9, 12 and 22, and 12, 1 are bolded. Thus, the collection of image files managed by the calendar interface has only image files associated with the three days of the day displayed on the calendar interface shown in fig. 2.

Bolding the visual representation of a month or day is just one example of how the calendar may visually reflect information about the dates associated with the image files in the collection. Alternate embodiments may use any of a variety of methods to cause a visual difference between the time interval when an image file is present and the time interval when an image file is not present. For example, alternative embodiments may use different colors, fonts, styles, font sizes, shading, etc. to visually distinguish between time intervals with images and time intervals without images. Furthermore, the visual depiction may even reflect how many images belong to a particular time interval. For example, the greater the number of image files belonging to a month, the larger and/or bolder the font for the name of the month in the calendar interface,

specifying filter criteria with calendar interface

According to one embodiment, the calendar interface conveys not only information about the date information of the image files in the collection; and also as a mechanism by which a user can specify filtering criteria to dynamically filter collections. Referring to FIG. 1, a user may interact with a calendar interface to select one or more months. For purposes of discussion, an embodiment will be described in which a month is selected (1) by clicking on the visual depiction of the month, and (2) a group of months is selected by dragging a bounding box around the visual depiction of the desired month. However, the interaction of a particular user for selecting a month and a group of months may vary from implementation to implementation. For example, the user may optionally select the month using a touch screen or by entering a text command prompt.

When a user selects one or more months through the calendar interface, the visual depictions of the months are changed to reflect that they were selected. For example, FIG. 3 shows the calendar interface after the user has selected from 5 months to 10 months.

Similarly, when the calendar is in the month-day mode, the user may select a particular date, or range of dates. In fig. 2, the user has selected from 9 months 19 to 10 months 9. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a week selection control is provided proximate to each week. When the user clicks on the week selection control, all dates corresponding to the week are selected. For example, clicking on the week selection control 202 selects the week 9, month 5-11, 2004. FIG. 4 illustrates a calendar interface in a month-day mode, where a selected date range has boundaries that do not correspond to the boundaries of a calendar week.

Once selected, user interface controls may be provided to expand, add, or remove items of the selection set. For example, assume that months 6 and 7 of 2004 were selected on the year-month interface. If the user holds the command button and clicks on month 5 2004, then month 5 2004 will be added to the selected month without removing months 6 and 7 of 2004. If the hold command is keyed and clicks on a month in the selection set, then the month is removed from the selection set without otherwise affecting the members of the selection set.

Other combination keys or key/mouse combinations may be employed to expand the selection set. For example, assume again that months 6 and 7 of 2004 are currently selected. If the user presses a particular key while clicking on month 12 of 2004, the selection automatically extends from month 6 of 2004 to month 12 of 2004, including all the months in between. These are merely examples of user interface controls that may be used to conveniently select a desired time interval. These selection controls may be similarly used for all calendar modes (e.g., year-month mode, month-day mode, and day-hour mode).

Selection of a recurring time interval

According to one embodiment, the calendar interface provides control for simply selecting the recurring time interval. For example, in a month-day mode, the user may select a particular set of dates and then right-click on the selection. In response to the right click, the user is presented with a menu including a looping mode option. Among the remaining options, the rotation mode options may include "monthly, weekly date", "yearly, weekly date", "monthly, by date", "yearly, by date".

If the "monthly, weekly date" option is selected, a range of dates is automatically selected within the monthly range based on the currently selected weekly date. For example, in FIG. 4, the time intervals are selected from the second Tuesday through the third Thursday. If the user then selects the "monthly, weekly date" option, the second Tuesday through the third Thursday of each month will be selected.

If the "yearly, weekly date" option is selected, a range of dates for each year is automatically selected based on the currently selected weekly date. For example, in FIG. 4, the time intervals selected range from the second Tuesday of 9 months of 2004 through the third Thursday. If the user then selects the "by year, day of week" option, then the second Tuesday through the third Thursday for 9 months of the year will be selected.

If the "by month, by date" option is selected, a range of dates is automatically selected within each month based on the currently selected date paradigm. For example, in fig. 4, the selected time interval is from 9, 14, 2004 to 9, 23. If the user then selects the "by month, by date" option, then 14 to 23 days per month will be selected.

If the "by year, by date" option is selected, a date range for each year is automatically selected based on the currently selected date. For example, in FIG. 4, the selected time interval is from 9/14/2004 to 9/23/2003. If the user then selects the "by year, by date" option, then 9 months 14 to 9 months 23 of each year will be selected.

A recurring pattern can also be specified when the calendar is in the year-month mode. For example, if the user has selected month 5 to 10 of 2003, the user may select the "repeat by year" option to select month 5 to 10 of each year. FIG. 3 shows the calendar interface after the user has performed a yearly repeat of the 5-month to 10-month selection.

According to one embodiment, the manner in which the selected time interval is displayed on the calendar interface varies with the applied rotation mode. For example, if a recurring pattern is not specified, the selected time interval may be displayed in a highlighted (e.g., blue highlighted) form. If a cyclic pattern is specified, the selected time interval may be displayed in another form of highlighting (e.g., purple highlighting). Different highlights may also be used to distinguish different types of recurring patterns. For example, the monthly rotation mode may cause selected time intervals to be highlighted in green, while the annual rotation mode may cause selected time intervals to be highlighted in red.

Using highlight colors is just one example where a selection associated with a looping mode may be visually distinguished from a selection not associated with a looping mode. Other ways of visually indicating such a distinction include, but are not limited to, changing the color, style, and/or font associated with the selection, or marking a tick mark or other visual indicator around the selection. The techniques described herein are not limited to any particular manner of visually distinguishing between selections associated with recurring patterns and selections not associated with recurring patterns.

Different embodiments may use different round robin selection techniques. For example, in one embodiment, clicking on the date indicator may select a date without any cycles, while clicking when the control button is held down may select a date and automatically apply a particular cycle mode. The applied rotation pattern may vary, for example, based on which option key was pressed when the date was selected. Using the option keys in this manner, and generating a menu of loop mode options with a right-click operation, are just two examples of how a loop mode may be specified. The techniques described herein are not limited to any particular mechanism for selecting and applying a rotation pattern.

Applying filters to specified calendars

In response to a user selecting one or more time intervals using the calendar interface, filter criteria reflecting the selection are applied to date information associated with the image files in the collection. Those image files that meet the criteria are then indicated to the user.

For example, as indicated in the EXIF header of the image file, it is assumed that the date information is the "acquisition date" of the image file. Further assume that the user has used the calendar interface to select a time range from 9-month 14-9-month 23-2004, as shown in fig. 4. In response to the selection, the acquisition dates of the image files in the set are compared with the time range from 9, month 14 to 9, month 23 in 2004, and then the group of image files whose acquisition dates are within the specified time interval is indicated to the user.

The manner in which such image files that meet specified criteria ("filtered images") are indicated to the user may vary from implementation to implementation. In one embodiment, a list of names of filtered images is displayed to the user. In an alternative embodiment, thumbnails of the images in the collection are displayed in a "thumbnail area" of the screen. When the user interacts with the calendar interface, those image files that do not meet the criteria disappear from the thumbnail area, leaving only thumbnails of the filtered images in the thumbnail area.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a screen display 500 including a calendar interface 502 and a thumbnail area 504 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As the user interacts with the calendar interface 502, the contents of the thumbnail area 504 change such that only those image files that meet the filter criteria specified through the calendar interface are displayed.

Combined filter criteria

In some embodiments, other mechanisms may be used in conjunction with the calendar interface to specify the filtering criteria. For example, the user may have classified the image files. The user may then use the calendar interface to specify date-related filtering criteria, as well as some other mechanism to specify category-based filtering criteria. In these cases, the thumbnail area 504 may display only thumbnails for those image files that satisfy all of the specified filtering criteria.

The filtering criteria ultimately applied to a digital image may be expressed as a set of conditions combined with boolean operators, such as AND, OR, XOR, AND the like. The techniques described herein may be used in embodiments where the calendar interface is the only mechanism for specifying filtering criteria, and/or in embodiments where the calendar interface is one of a plurality of mechanisms for specifying filtering criteria. Moreover, the techniques described herein may be used in implementations where the logic of the filtering criteria is simple, and/or the logic of the filtering criteria is arbitrarily complex.

Time zone option

Some image acquisition devices include time zone information along with date information associated with the image file. According to one embodiment, the calendar interface may be designed to compensate for or ignore differences between the time zone associated with the image file and the time zone of the computer executing the software that generates the calendar interface.

For example, if a calendar interface implemented on a computer in the Pacific Standard time zone compensates for the time zone difference, a photograph taken at 1 am of the eastern Standard time zone would be considered to be taken at 31 days of 12 months. Conversely, if the calendar interface executing on the computer of the Pacific Standard time zone is configured to ignore time zone differences, a photograph taken at 1 o' clock in 1M 1 in the morning of the eastern Standard time zone will be considered to be taken at 1M 1.

User interface selection

According to one embodiment, the calendar interface includes various controls to provide flexible and simple use for the user. For example, a control may be provided for scrolling between calendars representing earlier and later dates. Controls for switching between different display modes, such as year-month, month-day, day-hour modes, may also be provided. For example, a double click on a visual representation associated with a month may "expand downward" to cause the month to be displayed in a month-day mode.

Selectable interface

According to one embodiment, an image file management tool is provided in which the calendar interface is only one of a number of ways to control the contents of the image display area. For example, the image file management tool may include a "keyword" view and an "information" view. When in the keyword view, the tool stops displaying the calendar interface and displays the keyword interface at the location where the calendar interface is displayed. The keyword interface includes a visual representation associated with a keyword, which may be associated with an image file. An example of a keyword interface is shown in FIG. 6.

By interacting with the keyword representation, the user is able to associate the image file with the keyword, as well as the keyword-based filter. For example, to associate one or more image files with a keyword, a user may select an image file and drag the selection onto the appropriate keyword representation. In response, the image file management tool records and establishes associations between keywords and those image files. If the option key is pressed during the drag operation, the selected image files are disassociated from the keywords to which they are dropped. In one embodiment, a thumbnail associated with an image file visually indicates a keyword that has been associated with the image file.

Conversely, the user will be able to select multiple keyword representations and drag the representations onto a photograph or a group of photographs. In response to a keyword representation "falling" on a photo, the photo is automatically associated with all keywords falling on it.

Keyword filtering may be performed by selecting one or more keyword representations. In response to the selection, filter criteria are established and display of those image files that do not meet the filter criteria is stopped. When multiple keywords are selected, the filter criteria may be, for example, an image file associated with any of the displayed selected keywords. This has an implicit OR operation between the conditions associated with the selected key. Through different user interface operations, an implicit AND operation may be established, so that only image files associated with all selected keywords are selected. However, different user interface operations may be used to specify the "ANDNOT" operation. The boolean operator applied by the selection may vary, for example, based on whether the option key was pressed when the keyword representation was selected. The keyword interface may also be configured to allow a user to specify any complex boolean operation that includes the selected keyword by interacting with the keyword interface. The description of the keyword representation visually reflects the boolean operator to be used for the corresponding keyword. For example, keywords combined with OR are highlighted in blue, while keywords combined with "ANDNOT" are highlighted in red.

Automatic keyword creation

According to one embodiment, when an image file is added to a collection, the image file management tool determines whether the image file is associated with any attribute value from a particular predefined set of "attribute values of interest". The attribute values of interest may be specified by the user and/or built into the image management tool. If the newly added image file is associated with the attribute value of interest, the image file is automatically associated with the corresponding keyword. If no image file is previously associated with a corresponding keyword, the keyword is added to the set of keywords defined in the image file management tool and a visual representation of the new keyword is displayed.

For example, assume that "original image file type" is established as an attribute value of interest. The keyword "original" may be automatically established the first time an original image file is added to the collection, and the newly added original image file may be automatically associated with the keyword "original".

The image file type is only one example of possible attribute values of interest. The present invention is not limited to any particular type of attribute value form. For example, the attribute values of interest may include the particular device type or device model from which the image was taken, whether the image file corresponds to a single image or movie, whether the image is color or black and white, and so forth.

Information interface

According to one embodiment, the image file management tool includes an "information" view. When in the information view, the tool stops displaying the calendar interface and instead displays the information interface at the location where the calendar interface is displayed. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an information interface.

According to one embodiment, each of the various interfaces supported by the image file management tool is associated with a unique set of user-specified characteristics. The user-specified characteristics may include, for example, the size of the different windows presented by the interface. When the user switches from one interface to another, the display is changed to reflect the user-specified characteristics associated with the newly selected interface.

Switching between interfaces

In embodiments that support multiple interfaces (e.g., calendar, keyword, and information interfaces), user interface controls are provided for switching between different interfaces of the image file management tool. According to one embodiment, the interface toggle control includes a set of tabs, each tab corresponding to an interface. Fig. 8 shows a tab 800 for switching between interfaces.

Both the calendar interface and the keyword interface provide a mechanism for applying filtering criteria. According to one embodiment, when the user switches from one of these interfaces to another, the filtering criteria applied by the interface from which the user is switching is stopped from being implemented. Thus, if the user has filtered the collection of image files using the keyword interface, switching to the calendar interface will cancel the keyword-based filter.

Unlike calendar and keyword interfaces, the information interface does not apply filters. Thus, according to one embodiment, when a user switches from a calendar interface or a keyword interface to an information interface, any filtering criteria specified by these interfaces continue to be applied in the information interface.

According to one embodiment, while in the information interface, a visual indication is displayed to indicate whether a filter is applied to one of the other interfaces. For example, assume that the user applies filtering using a calendar interface and then switches to an information interface. While in the information interface, the label for the calendar interface may visually reflect that the calendar filter is still active. For example, a label for the calendar interface may be displayed in a different color or have tick marks thereon. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the tab associated with the calendar interface has a dot 802 in the upper right corner. Similarly, if a user applies a filter using a keyword interface and then switches to an information interface, the label for the keyword interface will visually reflect the fact that the keyword filter is still valid.

According to one embodiment, when the user exits the information view, the image management tool automatically returns to the interface associated with any filters that are still active. Thus, if the calendar-based filter is active while the user is in the information view, exiting the information view will cause the image management tool to automatically return to the calendar view. Similarly, if a keyword-based filter is active while the user is in the information view, exiting the information view will cause the image management tool to automatically return to the keyword view.

Overview of hardware

FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 900 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. The computer system 900 includes: a bus 902 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor 904 coupled with bus 902 for processing information. Computer system 900 also includes a main memory 906, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 902 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 904. Main memory 906 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 904. Computer system 900 also includes a Read Only Memory (ROM)908 or other static storage device coupled to bus 902 for storing static information and instructions for processor 904. A storage device 910, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or magneto-optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus 902 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 900 may be coupled via bus 902 to a display 912, such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. An input device 914, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 902 for communicating information and command selections to processor 904. Another type of user input device is cursor control 916, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 904 and for controlling cursor movement on display 912. The input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), allowing the device to specify positions in a plane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 900 for implementing the techniques described herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computer system 900 in response to processor 904 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 906. Such instructions may be read into main memory 906 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 910. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 906 causes processor 904 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The term "machine-readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operation in a specific mode. In one embodiment, implemented using computer system 900, various machine-readable media are involved, for example, in providing instructions to processor 904 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, or magneto-optical disks, such as storage device 910. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 906. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 902. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave or infrared data communications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical or magneto-optical medium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other storage chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of machine-readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 904 for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 900 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infrared monitor can receive data carried in an infrared signal and convert the data to an infrared signal using an infrared transmitter. An infra-red detector can receive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 902. Bus 902 carries the data to main memory 906, from which processor 904 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory 906 may optionally be stored on storage device 910 either before or after execution by processor 904.

Computer system 900 also includes a communication interface 918 coupled to bus 902. Communication interface 918 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 920 that connects to a local network 922. For example, communication interface 918 may be an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communication interface 918 may be a Local Area Network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 918 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

Network link 920 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 920 may provide a connection through local network 922 to a host computer 924 or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 926. ISP926 in turn provides data communication services through the global packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the "internet" 928. Local network 922 and internet 928 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals on network link 920, through the signals on the various networks and the signals on communication interface 918, which carry the digital data to and from computer system 900, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.

Computer system 900 can send information and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 920 and communication interface 918. In the Internet example, a server 930 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 928, ISP926, local network 922 and communication interface 918.

The received code may be executed by processor 904 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 910, or other non-volatile storage for later processing. In this manner, computer system 900 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. The exclusive use and particularity of the invention, as well as the applicants desire the invention to be derived from the application to its specific form, including any amendments, equivalents, improvements, etc. made subsequently. The terms contained in these claims, wherein any definitions expressly set forth herein shall govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims (10)

1. A computer system for automatic keyword association, comprising:

apparatus for: receiving attribute values from a user for inclusion in a set of predefined attribute values, wherein the attribute values are associated with respective keywords;

apparatus for: adding an image file to a collection of image files;

apparatus for: determining whether the image file is associated with the attribute value from the set of predefined attribute values; and

apparatus for: automatically associating the image file with the corresponding keyword if the image file is related to the attribute value from the set of predefined attribute values.

2. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising:

apparatus for: if the image file has been automatically associated with the corresponding keyword and no image file has been previously associated with the corresponding keyword, the corresponding keyword is added to a keyword group defined in the image file management tool.

3. The computer system of claim 2, further comprising:

apparatus for: displaying a visual description of the keyword if the keyword is added to a keyword group defined in the image file management tool.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein means for determining whether the image file is associated with an attribute value from a set of predefined attribute values comprises means for identifying the attribute value from the image file.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the attribute value represents one of:

the type of the image file is selected,

the type of camera that acquired the image of the image file,

the model of the camera that acquired the image of the image file,

whether the image file contains a single image or video, or

Whether the image of the image file is a color image or a black and white image.

6. A method in a computer system for automatic keyword association, the method comprising:

receiving attribute values from a user for inclusion in a set of predefined attribute values, wherein the attribute values are associated with respective keywords identifying an image acquisition device;

adding an image file to a collection of image files;

determining whether the image file is associated with the attribute value from the set of predefined attribute values; and

automatically associating the image file with the corresponding keyword if the image file is related to the attribute value from the set of predefined attribute values.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

if the image file has been automatically associated with the corresponding keyword and no image file has been previously associated with the corresponding keyword, the corresponding keyword is added to a keyword group defined in the image file management tool.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a visual description of the keyword if the keyword is added to a keyword group defined in the image file management tool.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining whether the image file is associated with an attribute value from a set of predefined attribute values comprises the step of identifying the attribute value from the image file.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the attribute value represents one of:

the type of the image file is selected,

the type of camera that acquired the image of the image file,

the model of the camera that acquired the image of the image file,

whether the image file contains a single image or video, or

Whether the image of the image file is a color image or a black and white image.