HK1117608B - Property metadata navigation and assignment - Google Patents

Description

Attribute tree for metadata navigation and assignment

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to data storage in computer systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for organizing and locating data items by way of metadata attributes.

Background

Today, most computer users interact with the machine via a graphical user interface that mediates access to the operating system, applications, and stored data by utilizing the computer's visual display and an intuitive input device such as a mouse. The standard approach to designing user interfaces relies on simple visual metaphors in which data files are contained in folders organized within a hierarchically structured file system tree. The user interface provides controls that allow a user to navigate the file system tree to locate and act on the data. While such systems are easier to use than previous command line shell interfaces, they generally do not provide a higher level of abstraction from the underlying physical storage of data available in previous systems.

Real-world familiarity with the stored file/folder model has helped with its acceptance and popularity among computer users, but such user interfaces have also succeeded because users typically store relatively small numbers of data files on their machines. The ease with which computer systems can now be used, coupled with the availability of massive inexpensive disk storage, has made standard data storage a victim of its own success to some extent. Computers are now being used to store large amounts of personal data in a variety of different formats for use by a number of different applications. It is not uncommon for users to have hundreds or thousands of text documents, photographs, audio files, and other data records stored across multiple hard disks, shared networks, and other storage media. Given this development, the shortcomings of the conventional folder tree storage model are apparent to computer users.

For today's users, the conventional memory model is unpopular and inflexible one-dimensional. Data items exist in a location that is related to other files in a way via their relative location within the hierarchical folder tree, which ignores the many logical relationships that files may have with each other. In thatIn previous versions of (a) file is associated with a limited number of properties that the user has limited control, which properties are accessible via controls that are difficult to locate and use. In other systems, file metadata may be limited to file names and the user's informal knowledge of the type of file. Such restrictions make it difficult for a user to identify him in a new way based on the content and usage of the dataThe data of these. As a result, the growth in the amount of data stored by users makes searches for data less efficient and more cumbersome.

Certain applications provide a domain-specific solution to the problem of user data management. Two examples relate to applications for storing and organizing digital photo files.The Digital Image library in Digital Image Suite9.0 includes a "Keyword pointer" control that enables a user to easily identify and then locate images stored in different locations throughout the file system. The user clicks on an identification keyword selected by the user himself and then clicks on a thumbnail of a picture to which the selected keyword is to be assigned. The user can now filter the view of the picture library via a specific keyword. Adobe Photoshop album2.0 allows a user to associate a content description tag with a picture via a drag-drop (drag-drop) action of a thumbnail. The user may then quickly search the collection of pictures by subject using one or more tags.

Another example is the Grand Central email interface, which is a project for Microsoft Research. Hierarchical attributes are used to classify email messages. Any number of directories may be allocated via the user interface. The directory facilitates searching for messages and organizing messages into conventional threads (threads).

The public features of the Code-Named "Longhom" platform are directed to a more comprehensive solution. WinFs storage subsystems rely on an extensible scheme of metadata attributes to allow users to search, organize, and share data. The basic unit of a data container is an item, which is associated with a plurality of attributes set for a particular value. Items are organized at a particular time by the attributes most relevant to the user. Powerful query capabilities for data storage are provided. The user can thus find the data more quickly and organize and manipulate the data more efficiently.

However, prior to the present invention, there was no such asThe conventional storage system interface of the previous versions of the file system explorer tree is comparable in ease and generality to the general mechanisms for metadata allocation and metadata-based navigation, the former allowing users to navigate to folders and modify their contents in an intuitive manner such as using mouse drag and drop.

Summary of The Invention

The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The present invention is intended to be practiced in the context of a computer system having a graphical user interface or another user interface, and a data storage subsystem in which data items are organized and queried via metadata attributes. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method of assigning a value to an attribute is provided. The method includes displaying a property tree having nodes that expose properties of a set of data items. The method also includes, in response to user input indicating an assignment of the attribute exposed by the attribute tree, modifying a value associated with the attribute in the data storage subsystem.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method of user navigation of data is provided. The method includes displaying a property tree and, in response to user input indicating a query of the data store, such as selecting a node representing the query, displaying a browsable view of data items responsive to the query.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a display device for user navigation of a user to assign values and data to attributes is provided. The display device includes a property tree user interface control for displaying nodes that expose properties of a set of data items. The property tree user interface control is also used to display nodes representing queries of the data store.

In some aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the property tree provides nodes that represent folders within a hierarchical file system in addition to nodes that represent metadata properties. In other aspects of the invention, the property tree contains nodes representing properties having an inherent hierarchical structure and nodes representing user-defined hierarchical properties.

The present invention may be implemented via software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The invention may be implemented, for example, within an operating system shell or within a running application program. It is contemplated that the invention can be embodied in one or more computer-readable media.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary computer operating environment in which the present invention may be incorporated.

Fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 are screen shots of a user interface for viewing and organizing stored music data, within which embodiments of the present invention may be incorporated.

Detailed description of the invention

The invention includes a tree collection of user interface controls that display properties of data items, hereafter referred to as "ProperteTree". ProperTree provides two main functions. First, the ProperTree allows users to navigate across virtual namespaces of user data. Navigation will be discussed further below. Second, the ProperTree allows users to quickly and easily assign values to data item properties by adding or removing metadata to the property nodes exposed by the ProperTree. A user may add metadata to or remove metadata from numerous nodes simultaneously. Because the ProperTree mimics in some ways the traditional folder tree control, it enables users familiar with storing, organizing, and retrieving their data in a conventional way to work comfortably in a system in a fundamentally different way to an extensible scheme that relies on metadata attributes and queries.

In one embodiment, the ProperTree control is displayed by default in a window within the pane to the left of the pane displaying the item list view. When the user selects an item, the user can click on the property node exposed by the ProperTree to expand the node in situ; it can be folded if it has already been unfolded. A small window member, such as the display '+' or '-' may be used to indicate whether the node is folded or unfolded. The expansion of the node shows the attribute values set for the currently selected item, and other values that may be applied. In an embodiment, the most frequently used subset of cross term set values is shown; the user may fully expand the value list for the expanded attribute by, for example, clicking a button. The property node is expanded in the ProperTree, and the user can change the property value; the change is immediately applied to the one or more items selected by the user. The system may assign initial values to attributes based on the most frequently used values.

The attributes are displayed in the ProperTree in a manner appropriate to their type. Some attributes have only one value for an item. For example, the photograph may be "black/white" or "color" and the user is allowed to change that attribute. The user interface for changing values may in such a case comprise a clickable radio button adjacent to each possible value. Other properties may be able to have multiple values for an item. For example, a document may own multiple authors. In this case, the user interface may include a checkbox adjacent to each possible value, the user being allowed to check one or more boxes in a desired manner. More complex attributes are also appropriately supported. For example, a complex calendar control is shown for a date; for a hierarchy, five-star controls may be displayed. Properties that cannot be changed by the user, such as the date the document was written, have no value selection controls in the tree, and the nodes of such properties are only available for navigation. The system is extensible with respect to adding new controls appropriate to a particular data type.

For any given property or property value in the ProperTree, the user may navigate to a stored view of the pivot table for that property or value. Thus, unlike navigation using a conventional folder tree, navigation involves not only bringing the user to a single location. Instead, navigation via the ProperTree causes all relevant data to be rearranged into new results, viewable by the user via the structure. For example, a user may use the ProperTree to query the store of all documents with a particular "author" value. The list view then changes to show documents that meet the criteria. Alternatively, the user may use the ProperTree to display the authors of all documents. This results in a stacked view of the author within which the user can browse.

Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 2 through 19 are screenshots of an exemplary user interface 201 for viewing and organizing stored music data, included in embodiments of the present invention. On the right is the list view 205 and on the left is the ProperTree property tree 203. In embodiments, similar interfaces are provided for documents, messages, video files, and contacts, with the ProperTree in each case being specifically adapted to the kind of data items presented. Such content-oriented interfaces may be provided with an operating system product as an shell component. Further, in embodiments of the invention, the ProperTree is viaCommon File Dialog (Common File Dialog) in (c) is available for application developers to reuse in their applications. As described above, the ProperTree203 is displayed on the left side of the window 201 by default.

The ProperTree includes a header 207, which in this case is named "Music Links". Below the header 207 is a node of the ProperTree 203. The nodes are labeled Rating 217, Artist221 and Genre 223, which represent a single attribute. Some other nodes shown by tree203, All Songs209, Online Store 211, and Recently Played215 are members representing queries for specific items satisfying query conditions in the search list view 205. The node iPod213 representing the static list is similar to the Playlist 219. If, for example, the user selects All Songs in the list view 205, All Songs are displayed. However, if the user selects Recentrly Played215, only the most Recently Played song is shown.

Turning to fig. 3, the effect of the user's initial interaction with the ProperTree203 is shown. As indicated by arrow cursor 325, when the user hovers with a mouse in the ProperTree area, "expand" widgets 327, 329, 331, 333, 335 are displayed next to expandable property nodes 213, 217, 219, 221, 223, respectively. The property nodes 213, 217, 219, 221, 223 may be expanded by the user by clicking on the '+' displayed in the widget 327, 329, 331, 333, 335.

Turning to fig. 4, the state of the ProperTree203 after the user hovers with a mouse over the text label of one of the property nodes, in this case the Artist221, as indicated by the hand cursor 437 is shown. If the user double-clicks on the text label of the attribute node, the list view 205 will be updated so that it is organized by the particular attribute selected and the node will expand. In FIG. 5, the state of the ProperTree203 is shown when the user hovers with the mouse over '+' of the expand widget 333 associated with the Artist node 221, as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 539.

Turning to fig. 6, the state of the ProperTree203 after the Artist node 221 is expanded is shown. The "Artist" text label is presented in bold, and the expanded widget is replaced by a "collapsed" widget 641. A list of 5 Artist values 643, 645, 647, 649, 651 is displayed, representing the most frequently used and most recently used values, with an overflow arrow button 653 below.

Fig. 7 shows the effect of the user clicking on the overflow arrow 653 as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 755. A pop-up menu 757 is displayed showing all values of the Artist attribute as a flat list. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the complete list of values may be displayed in a pop-up menu 859 as a list of several child nodes 861, 863, 865, 867, 869, each representing a range within the complete list that may be further expanded by the user by clicking on one of the right arrow buttons 871, 873, 875, 877, 879. An alternate presentation of scope pop-up menu 881 is also shown.

Returning briefly to FIG. 6, it may be noted that the attribute value names 649, which are too long to be fully displayed, are truncated with an ellipsis or similar symbol. In FIG. 9, the effect of hovering over a value, such as a truncation, is shown, as indicated by a mouse hand cursor 983. Pop-up element 985 displays the full name of the value.

Turning to FIG. 10, the effect of selecting an item in the list view 205 is shown. Checkboxes 1087, 1089, 1091, 1093, 1095 are displayed next to each value in the expanded property node 221. The checkboxes serve as controls by means of which metadata can be assigned to the selected items. In this case, the user has selected the song item "account" 1097. The checkbox 1089 is checked, indicating that the item's existing Artist value is "50 Cent". The user may check different boxes to change the value by assigning different artist names to the song item. Similarly, a checkbox may be used in a list view of photos to assign keywords to selected photo items. FIG. 11 illustrates the effect of the user clicking on the overflow arrow button 653 when selecting an item in the list view 205, as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 1101. A pop-up menu 1103 is displayed with each value in the complete list now having a check box in front of it.

In general, a property node in the ProperTree203 may have a context menu specific to that node. An example is shown in FIG. 12, where a context menu 1205 for node Artist221 is displayed. The top element in the menu 1205 is "Show All Music By Artist" 1207. The effect of selecting this task is the same as the navigation effect of clicking the "Artist" tab described above. "Add new Artist" 1029 provides the user with an entry point to Add additional values to the list of values for this property node. The attribute may be renamed using a "Rename" 1211. In this case, "Rename" grays out because Artist is an attribute that the end user cannot Rename. The user can design new attributes that can be renamed. The order of the property nodes in the ProperTree203 can be organized using the menu elements "Move Up" 1213 and "Move Down" 1215.

Fig. 13 shows the state of the ProperTree203 after the user selects "Add New Artist" 1209 in the context menu 1205 shown in fig. 12. A key-in box 1317 is displayed allowing the user to enter a new value for the Artist attribute. Once the new Artist value is entered, it may be assigned to the selected song item.

Fig. 14 illustrates the fact that the ProperTree203 is not limited to containing assignable property nodes, but may contain several navigable sets, pages, or collections. Here, the Playlist node 219 is expanded. Playlist in the context of music data items is an example of a user-defined list that serves as a container for data items, similar to a conventional file system folder. Like traditional folders, the Playlist219 may contain any number of nested components in the hierarchy, unlike property nodes that contain only values. Here, the most frequently used subsets 1419, 1421, 1423 of the Playlist's sub-list are displayed, followed by an overflow arrow button 1425. Fig. 15 shows the state of the ProperTree203 after the user clicks the overflow button 1425 of fig. 14. The full list hierarchy of the Playlist219 is shown, containing sub-lists 1421, 1527, 1529, 1531, 1533, 1423.

Turning to fig. 16, the state of the ProperTree203 is shown after the user selects the tab 1637 of the "Recently Played" node 215, as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 1635. As described above, the node is not a single attribute, but represents a query. As described above, the user may perspective the list view by selecting the symbol 1639 to the left of the node label 1637. As shown in fig. 16, selecting the node label 1637 displays a context menu 1641. Selecting the top element 1643 "Show 'Recently Played' (showing 'Recently Played')" of the context menu 1641 has the same navigation effect as selecting the symbol 1639. Below which are two specific node tasks 1645, 1647 (not further specified here). The remainder of the context menu 641 is similar to the context menu 1205 of the attribute node Artist221 of FIG. 12. The user may select Delete 1649 to Delete an item, Rename1651 to Rename it, and Move Up1653 and Move Down1655 to reorder it in the ProperTree 203.

Turning to fig. 17, the state of the ProperTree203 is shown after the user clicks on the Music Link header 207, as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 1759. A command menu 176 is displayed allowing the user to perform certain tasks applicable to the entire tree control 203. By selecting the task "Add Current Page to Music Links" 1763, the user can define a new node to Add to the tree 203. By selecting "sort music Links by" 1765, the user can sort the nodes in the desired order. The user can Hide the entire tree from view by selecting "Hide Pane" 1767. By selecting the entry point 1769, "Add/Remove music links" at the bottom of the menu, the user may cause a dialog to be provided, allowing the user to select among different properties to Add or Remove properties from the ProperTree 203.

Similar to conventional folder tree control, the ProperTree203 supports drag-and-drop semantics, but behaves differently. An item in the list view 205 may be dragged and dropped onto a node in the ProperTree203, but the item does not disappear from the list view; this behavior is more like tagging information to a file. The drag and drop action is shown in FIG. 18. The user clicks on an item in the list view, here item 1871 corresponds to the song "Encounter" and drags it to the Artist node 221 in the PropertTree 203, as indicated by the mouse arrow cursor 1873 and the blurred selected item image 1875. In this case, Artist221 is not an assignable attribute by itself. Turning to FIG. 19, if the user hovers over the Artist node 221 long enough, the node 221 expands allowing the user to drop the dragged item 1871 over the displayed Artist's name. In this case, the user places item 1871 on the artist value "kruder & Dorfmeister" 649 and highlights the checkbox 1093 associated with that value. This is another mechanism by which a user can assign metadata to an item.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ProperTree is integrated with a conventional folder tree control. In this embodiment, the tree has nodes representing attributes and expanded to represent values, and nodes representing folders located in the hierarchical file system. In this embodiment, the advantages of both the stored hierarchical model and the metadata model are presented. The tree may additionally include nodes representing other components, such as links to web pages.

In an embodiment, the ProperTree supports "hierarchical properties," i.e., properties that are inherently hierarchically structured. For example, the date attribute may be represented in the tree as a hierarchy:

Year

Month

Day

further, in embodiments, the ProperTree supports free-form hierarchical properties set by the user. For example:

Animal

Dog

Poodle

Cat

Mineral

Gold

Plant

Palm Tree

FIG. 1 is a highly simplified schematic diagram illustrating an example of a suitable operating environment 100 in which the present invention may be implemented. The features of such an environment are well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail herein. The operating system 100 is only one example of a suitable operating environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Suitable computing environments for use with the invention include any computing device or computing system that supports interaction between a user and a machine.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a computing device, such as device 101. Device 101 generally includes at least one processing unit 103 and a main memory unit 105, and at least one level of cache memory 107 coupled to or within processing unit 103 or located as a buffer of main memory 105. The device 101 has additional storage, including at least one magnetic hard disk 109 that serves as non-volatile secondary storage and is also used with the main memory 105 to provide virtual memory. Device 101 also has other storage 111, such as optical disks, removable magnetic disks, magnetic tape, and other removable and non-removable computer-readable media capable of nonvolatile storage of program modules and data and accessible by device 101. Any such storage media may be part of device 101. To facilitate user-machine interaction, device 101 has input devices 113, such as a keyboard 115 and mouse 117 or other pointing device, and output devices 119, including a monitor or other display device 121. Device 101 also typically includes one or more communication connections 123 that allow the device to communicate data with other devices.

Programs containing sets of instructions and associated data for device 101 are stored in memory 105, from which they may be retrieved and executed by processing unit 103. Programs and program modules stored in memory 105 are those that include or are associated with an operating system 125 and application programs 127. The device 101 has one or more systems of logical data storage associated with the operating system 125, such as a file system or alternative system using database-related techniques. Such a system of logical data storage serves to map logically organized data to data physically located on a secondary storage medium, such as data stored in clusters or sectors of the hard disk 109.

Computing device 101 includes various forms of computer-readable media. Computer readable media includes any available media that can be accessed by computing device 101. Computer readable media may include storage media and communication media. Storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, object code, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media includes any information delivery media typically embodied in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism.

All references cited herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth herein in its entirety.

The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of describing the invention, especially in the context of the following claims, are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including" are to be construed as open-ended terms (meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Claims (38)

1. In a computer system having a display device that presents a graphical user interface and a data store, a method of assigning values to attributes using the display device, comprising:

displaying a property tree containing a plurality of property nodes that can be expanded into child nodes, each of which exposes metadata properties for a set of data items in a data store, wherein the metadata properties are displayed in a manner appropriate to the type thereof, wherein displaying the property tree includes displaying a most frequently used subset of values associated with the nodes and assigning an initial value to the property based on the most frequently used values;

receiving user input indicating a selection of one or more data items in a data store, wherein the data items in the data store are organized and queried via metadata attributes, and user input changing attributes of respective child nodes in the attribute tree, the respective child nodes being expanded and exposing the metadata attributes of the selected one or more data items;

modifying, in response to the user input, attributes of child nodes that expose metadata attributes of the selected one or more data items; and

the property tree is displayed to expose the modified property, including displaying values associated with the single-valued nodes in proximity to the radio button.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input indicates adding metadata to at least one property node in the property tree.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input indicates that metadata is removed from at least one property node of the property tree.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree comprises displaying the property tree in a pane of a window having a second pane displaying a list view of data items.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises expanding at least one property node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises, in response to user input indicating expansion of the subset of values, displaying a full set of values associated with the node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises clicking on the radio button.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying values associated with multi-valued nodes with adjacent check boxes.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user input comprises checking the checkbox.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying values associated with nodes via a user-defined control.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises dragging and dropping an item onto a node in the property tree.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying a tree containing nodes representing folders within a hierarchical file system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying a tree containing nodes representing links to web pages.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying a tree containing nodes representing properties having an inherent hierarchical structure.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the property tree further comprises displaying a tree containing nodes representing user-defined hierarchical properties.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the data items comprise items including one or more of text data, audio data, video data, and image data.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed within an operating system shell application.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed within a running application.

19. In a computer system having a display device that presents a graphical user interface and a data store, a method of user navigation of data using the display device, comprising:

displaying a property tree containing a plurality of property nodes that can be expanded into child nodes, each of which exposes a plurality of nodes for metadata properties for a set of data items in a data store, wherein the metadata properties are displayed in a manner appropriate to their type, wherein displaying the property tree includes displaying values associated with single-valued nodes in proximity to radio buttons, wherein displaying the property tree includes displaying a most frequently used subset of the values associated with the nodes and assigning an initial value to the property based on the most frequently used values;

receiving user input indicative of a query of a data store, the user input specifying a criterion;

(ii) causing all data items meeting said criteria to be rearranged into a new result via navigation of the property tree; and

a browsable list view of the data items is displayed.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein displaying the property tree comprises displaying the property tree in a pane of a window having a second pane displaying a list view of data items.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the user input comprises a selection of a node in the property tree representing the query.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein displaying the property tree comprises displaying at least one node representing a navigable set containing data.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one node representing a navigable set contains at least one nested component.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the user input comprises expanding at least one node in the property tree.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the data items include items including one or more of text data, audio data, video data, and image data.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the method is performed within an operating system shell application.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the method is performed within a running application.

28. An apparatus for displaying a graphical user interface and a data store in a computer system for user assignment of values to attributes and user navigation of data, comprising:

means for displaying a property tree, wherein the property tree contains a plurality of property nodes that can be expanded into child nodes, wherein each child node exposes metadata attributes for a set of data items in a data store, wherein the metadata attributes are displayed in a manner appropriate to the type of the metadata attribute; wherein the means for displaying the attribute tree displays a most frequently used subset of values associated with a node, displays a full set of values associated with the node in response to user input indicating expansion of the subset of values, and assigns an initial value to an attribute based on the most frequently used value; and

means for modifying, in response to the user input, attributes of child nodes that expose metadata attributes of the selected one or more data items.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying the property tree is further for displaying a plurality of nodes representing folders within a hierarchical file system.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying the property tree is further for displaying a node representing a link to a web page.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein said means for displaying a property tree is further for displaying a tree having nodes representing properties having an inherent hierarchical structure.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying the tree of attributes is further for displaying a tree having nodes representing user-defined hierarchical attributes.

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying the property tree is further for displaying nodes representing queries of the data store.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for displaying the property tree is further for displaying at least one node representing a navigable set containing data.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the at least one node representing a navigable set contains at least one nested component.

36. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the data items comprise items including one or more of text data, audio data, video data, and image data.

37. In a computer system having a display device that presents a graphical user interface and a data store, an apparatus for assigning values to attributes using the display device, comprising:

means for displaying a property tree containing a plurality of property nodes that can be expanded into child nodes, each of which exposes metadata properties for a set of data items in a data store, wherein the metadata properties are displayed in a manner appropriate to their type; the means for displaying the attribute tree displays a most frequently used subset of values associated with a node, displays a full set of values associated with the node in response to user input indicating expansion of the subset of values, and assigns an initial value to an attribute based on the most frequently used value;

means for receiving user input indicating a selection of one or more data items in a data store, wherein the data items in the data store are organized and queried via metadata attributes, and user input changing attributes of respective child nodes in the attribute tree, the respective child nodes being expanded and exposing the metadata attributes of the selected one or more data items;

means for modifying, in response to the user input, attributes of child nodes that expose metadata attributes of the selected one or more data items; and

means for displaying the property tree to expose the modified property.

38. In a computer system having a display device that presents a graphical user interface and a data store, an apparatus for user navigation of data using the display device, comprising:

means for displaying a property tree having a plurality of property nodes that can be expanded into child nodes, each of which exposes a plurality of nodes for metadata properties for a set of data items in the data store, wherein the metadata properties are displayed in a manner appropriate to their type, means for displaying the property tree displaying values associated with multiple valued nodes in proximity to check boxes, means for displaying the property tree displaying a most frequently used subset of the values associated with the nodes and assigning an initial value to the property based on the most frequently used value;

means for receiving user input indicative of a query of a data store, the user input specifying a criterion;

means for causing all data items meeting said criteria to be rearranged into a new result via navigation of the property tree; and

means for displaying a browsable list view of data items.