System for managing multimedia objects6301586Abstract A system for managing multimedia objects such as text, images, sound, and video clips. The system provides improved organization of multimedia objects, through use of albums organized into collections of albums. In addition, improved printout of multimedia objects through user-activateable selection of particular fields from a multimedia database to accompany printouts of multimedia objects. A user interface is defined for allowing a user to obtain a thumbnail view of images in multimedia objects, simply by sliding a mouse cursor over database entry pointing of the image. In addition, a unique architecture of a system for managing multimedia objects is described. Claims What is claimed is: Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TABLE 1
Summary of all database field name and type
Table Field
Name Field Name Type Description
AlbumType AlbumTypeID Integer AutoNumber unique
TypeName Text Name of the type of
albums (unique)
NotFields Number The total number of
custom fields
Field1Name Text Name of customized field
#1
Field1Type Text Type of customized field
#1
. . . . . . . . .
Field20Name Text Name of customized field
#20
Field20Type Text Type of customized field
#20
AlbumInfo AlbumID Integer Primary key (auto
incremented)
AlbumTypeID Text Foreign key from
AlbumType table
AlbumName Text Unique album name for
each album
Description Memo Up to 32k characters can
be used
PictureFile Text Picture file path for
each album
AnnotationFile Text Audio annotation file
path
DateTimeCreated Date/Time Album created date
DateTimeModified Date/Time Album modified date
Album AlbumID Integer Foreign key from table
Collection Image ID Integer AlbumInfo; Primary key
Tables together with ImageID
field
Customized Field 1 Text The user can customize up
. . . . . . to maximum 20 fields.
Customized Field N Text Each time the user
creates a new type
(collection) album, a
new table will be
created.
ImageInfo ImageID Integer Primary key (auto
Media file incremented)
Info VolumeID Integer Foreign key from
RemovableStorage table
Name Text Name for the image
Description Memo Description up to 32k
characters
Filepath Text Directory/subdirectory
FileName Text File name with extension
FileFormat Text File format such as
"BMP", "JPG", "GIF", etc.
DateTimeCreated Date/Time Date/time when the image
created
DateTime Modified Date/Time Date/time when the image
modified
Width Integer Width of the image in
pixels
Height Integer Height of the image in
pixels
ThumbnailFile Text File path and name of the
thumbnail
AnnotationFile Text Audio annotation file
path and name
ImageCraftScriptFile Text Script file path and name
created by Canon
ImageCraft
Keyword ImageID Integer Image ID number
KeywordID Integer Keyword ID number
KeywordLink KeywordID Integer Keyword ID number
Keyword Text The actual key word name
Volume VolumeID Integer Primary key index number
DriveLetter Text C, D, E, etc.
VolumeLabel Text Unique ID of each storage
PhotoCD, Camera, etc.
Label Text Label on storage media
Drive DriveLetter Text C, D, E, etc.
DriveType Text Uniquely specify the type
of storage media such as
PhotoCD, APS, Camera,
etc.
Camera ImageID Integer Primary key for
connection with ImageInfo
table
ElectronicFlash Yes/No Yes - with Flash
No - without Flash
ExposureCompensation Integer ?
ExposureValue Integer Exposure value used by
camera
LensType Text Lens zoom range/ f number
ShutterSpeed Integer Speed of shutter
APS ImageID Integer Primary key
Autocrop Text Special camera records
location of subject on
film (?)
Camera f number Integer Aperture value
Camera serial number Text Serial number of camera
Cartridge ID number Text File cartridge serial
number, used for path
info as well
Flash fired Yes/No Yes - with flash
No - without flash
Film Speed Integer Speed of film emulsion
Illuminant Text Camera records scene
illumination
ImageCropping Text (x1, y1, x2, y2)
Magnification Text Zoom of camera
Print Aspect Ratio Text C, H, or P
Scene brightness Integer Four levels of scene
brightness
Shutter speed Integer Speed of shutter
User Select Title Text Title imprinted by camera
[3.0 MOMA GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI)] When the user starts MOMA, it opens its main window, which is the container (parent window) of all child windows. While other implementations are possible, the implementation given here is preferred for the Windows 98 Multi Document Interface (MDI) standard so that all of the child windows are contained by the MDI parent window. FIG. 6 shows the MOMA main window 140. As shown in FIG. 6, main window 140 includes a menu bar 141, a toolbar 142, an MDI client area 144, and a status bar 145. Available selections on menu bar 141, which are discussed extensively below, are shown in the insets for FIG. 6, and include Album 150, Edit 160, View 170, Image 180, Search 190. Window 200 and Help 210. Buttons on toolbar 142 allow direct access to items in the menu bar 141. Client area 144 is where MOMA displays its user interfaces and allows a user to work. Status bar 145 gives current status of MOMA, as well as text-based descriptions of menu selection. Menu bar 141 has two modes: album and image mode. The default mode is the album management menu. When the user works with an image window, this menu changes to image mode. Toolbar 142 lets the user work with both albums and images. Status bar 145 reflects the current tool or operation. When the user starts MOMA, the "open existing album windows", described below in Section 3.1.2, is opened as the default and displayed in client area 144. All of the existing albums will be listed in the vertical menu 146. The first vertical menu is "All Albums Info" menu. Each icon (or button) in menu 146 corresponds to a collection of albums. By clicking "All Albums Info" menu, the user can view information about the collection such as album names, collection names, description about the albums, date/time created, date/time modified, and the icon file name that represents the created album. The remainder of the vertical menu represents the collections created by the user. By clicking any of the vertical menus, the user can view all of the albums created under each of the collections. Each album is represented by a double clickable icon such as icon 147. The user can create as many albums as he/she wants. If there isn't enough space for displaying all of the created album icons, two scroll buttons will be displayed for the user to scroll up and down to browse all of the albums that belong to the same collection. By single clicking the album icon, the user can preview the currently selected album. The user can open the selected album by double clicking the album icon button as shown at 148 in FIG. 7. Once the album is opened, the user can view the album in three different views as shown in FIG. 8: Thumbnail view, Notebook view, and Spreadsheet view. Each view is discussed below in Sections 3.3.2, 3.3.3, and 3.3.4. A detailed explanation now follows of each of the menu items in menu bar 141. [3.1 "Album" Menu] The Album menu 150 consists of the following menu items: New; Open; Close; Clean up; Backup; Restore; Acquire Images; Select Image Source (e.g., cameras or scanners); Web Browser; HTML Generation; Slide Show; Printer Setup Printing; and Exit. [3.1.1 "New"] When a user clicks the "New" button or selects "New" from the album menu or presses "Ctrl+N", the "Create New Album" dialog box shown in FIG. 9 will pop-up. The user needs to enter the new album name and type in a brief description about the album. One the left side of the list view, the user can either select an existing collection to create the album or click the new collection button to create a new collection. If the user selects an existing album collection, the associated attributes will be displayed on the right hand side of the dialog box. If the user chooses to create a new collection, a set of default attributes will be displayed on the right hand side of the dialog box. The user can select any of the fields by highlighting the row and clicking the check box. If the user wants to edit the selected field name, just click the field name to edit and click the field type to select an appropriate field type. The current supported field types are Text, Number, Currency and Date/Time. [3.1.2 "Open"] When a user selects this menu, or clicks the open button, the "Open Existing Album" window shown in FIG. 10 will be popped up for the user to select an existing album to open. As described above in connection with FIG. 6, the window consists of a left side vertical menu and a right side preview window. The user can click any of the left side vertical menus to select each existing album collection, and click each icon to preview the selected album. The first vertical menu item is by default the place where the user can view all of the information associated with each created album. The common attributes for all of the collections and albums are Album Name; Collection Name; Description for each album; Date/Time that album was created; Date/Time that album was modified; and Icon file name and path for the album. The existing albums can be sorted by clicking any of the columns. [3.1.3 "Close"] Closes the currently active window. [3.1.4 "Acquire"] Displays the TWAIN user interface for the selected TWAIN devices such as digital cameras and scanners. [3.1.5 "Select Image Source"] Displays the TWAIN image input source list dialog box so that the user can select a TWAIN compliant device such as digital camera and scanner. [3.1.6 "Clean Up"] Cleans the whole MOMA database system. The database "Clean Up" consists of the following functions: 1. Ask the user if he/she wants to delete all files in the default album. If the user's answer is "Yes", empty the DefaultCollection table in the MOMA database. 2. Make sure the Drive Table of the MOMA database system is consistent with the current computer system drives. For each drive in the DriveListBox, check if it is included in the Drive Table. If it is not included, call WinAPI to get the type of the drive and add a record to the Drive Table. 3. For each of the empty albums, pop up the dialog box to ask the user if he/she wants to delete the empty album from the collection. 4. For each of the empty collections, pop up the dialog box to ask the user if he/she wants to delete the empty collection. 5. For each album in the MOMA database, recreate the thumbnail PCX multipage file so that the page index number and the thumbnail view order can be updated. This is necessary due to the constant modification activities such as add, delete, drag and drop, copy, paste, etc. 6. For each image file in the ImageInfo table of the MOMA database, check if it is used by any of the existing albums. If it is not used by any of the existing albums, delete it from the ImageInfo table and delete the audio annotation file associated with this image. 7. Check if any of the keywords in the keyword table is not used by any of the album images. If not, delete it from the keyword table. 8. For each file in the ImageInfo table, if DriveType is fixed, check if the image file actually exists on the drive. If not, pop up the dialog box to ask the user if he/she wants to supply new paths or file name for the missed file. This check is necessary when the user changes the file name, or moves the images to a different location. [3.1.7 "Backup"] Copies the MOMA.mdb file from the application directory and all PCX files for all of the created albums from the "thumbnail" sub-directory to the "Backup" sub-directory under the application directory. Preferably, a dialog box is implemented to allow the user to specify where to save the backup. This dialog allows the user to perform the following backup steps: 1. Select the album the user wants to backup. 2. From the Album menu, choose "Backup. 3. Select the drive and folder for the album's backup. (All the original files in the selected folder will be removed first and then replaced with the backups.) 4. Click OK to create the backup. [3.1.8 "Restore"] Copies the MOMA.mdb file from the "Backup" sub-directory to the application directory, and copies all associated PCX files for all of the created album from the "Backup" sub-directory to "thumbnail" sub-directory under the application directory. Preferably, a dialog box is implemented to allow the user to specify what to restore back to the application directory. This dialog allows the user to perform the following restore steps: 1. Select the album the user wants to restore. 2. From the Album menu, choose "Restore". 3. Click OK to create the restore. [3.1.9 "Web Browser"] The web browser is implemented by using the Microsoft WebBrowser ActiveX control. Since this browser is mainly implemented for MOMA internal use, it preferably provides simplified browser features. The following commonly used features are implemented in the MOMA browser: Back; Forward; Stop; Refresh; Home and Search. A preferred user interface is shown in FIG. 11. [3.1.10 "HTML Generator"] Initializes the HTML web page generation wizards described below in Section 3.1.14.2.1, with step by step guide to walk the user through the HTML export process. The Web page generator will generate home pages that are HTML standard compatible, and can be viewed by the most popular browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. [3.1.11 "Album Slide Show"] Allows user to view the album contents in term of slide show with the following control options: number of special effects adjustable slide show speed slide show with audio annotation selectable options such as repeat, stop, re-size image, etc. [3.1.12 "Printer Setup"] The printer setup is a standard Windows COMMDLG.DLL printing setup dialog box in terms of selecting existing printer, print page range, number of copies, and setting the printer properties. [3.1.13 "Exit"] Exits the MOMA application. [3.1.14 "Print"] Print functionality, and more generally output functionality, is provided under the "print" option. Output functionality preferably includes: 1. Basic functionality to generate simple printed photo albums and HTML files. 2. Additional templates and graphical enhancements (frames, borders, etc.) for more elaborate and formatted outputs. 3. Templates for specific vertical markets, such as real estate, inventory control, catalog sales, and the like. 4. Output editor developed for enabling advanced customization by users and VAR's. In MOMA, "printer" is conceptualized as either of printing a hard paper copy, or generating and outputting HTML files for publication on the World Wide Web. In either case, i.e., hard copy printout or HTML generation, templates guide the layout and organization of resulting output. MOMA further provides "wizards" to aid the user in design, use and storage of appropriate templates, as described below. [3.1.14.1 "Print Album"] When the user selects "Print Album" the dialog shown in FIG. 12 appears. The user can select a pre-defined template or create a new one using the template wizard. A preview of the selected template is shown. Photos in the template are samples only. Templates are stored internally in the MOMA database. The user can delete or modify the selected template or select "New" to create a new template setting. If "Delete" is selected, an "Are you sure?" dialog is displayed. If the user selects "Modify", the dialog proceeds to the template wizard sequence described below with the existing template settings displayed as a starting point. The existing template may be modified accordingly and re-saved with the new settings if the user so desires. If "New" is selected, the dialog proceeds through the wizards using the default settings as a starting point and a new template can be saved if the user so desires. This dialog also lets the user set the page orientation and the header/footer. The header is set as a title centered on the top of the page. The font for the title can also be defined including typeface, style, size and color. The footer is simply the print date and time and is printed on the lower, right hand corner of each page (10 point Arial font, date/time format determined from country code) if the checkbox is selected. If the user wants to proceed with the selected template, they press "print" and the printing commences. The basic installation will include a set of 5-8 pre-defined templates, including: Plain Photo Album (4 per page)--default Classic Photo Album (4 per page with boarders and background) Kids Photo Album (8 per page "Sticker Book" style) Flyer (1 per page with first 6 data fields as default) Catalog (2 per page, diagonal with first three data fields as default) Others to be determined A template wizard, described below, allows a user to customize and/or modify templates as desired. [3.1.14.1.1 "Printing Template Wizard--Page Layout"] If the user selects to generate a new template or modify an existing template, the dialog shown in FIG. 13 starts the printing template wizard process. A guide across the top lists the steps in the wizard sequence and shows the user where they are in the process. This dialog allows the user to select the layout of the pictures on the page. As modifications are made to the settings, appropriate changes are made to the preview sample page. The orientation of the preview area is based on the portrait/landscape setting made in the page setup dialog. The user can select how many pictures to display on the page. The selection can either be implemented as a series of radio buttons or a drop down. If the user has selected less than 6 pictures for printing, the non-applicable selections will be grayed out. For the Picture layout, the dialog will show sketches of two pictures and three lines displayed side by side (horizontal), up and down (vertical), or diagonally. These sketches will not change based on the number of pictures per page. The preview will indicate the actual layout of hard copy, as summarized in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Hard Copy Layout
Number
of
Pictures Horizontal Vertical Diagonal
1 Image on top, Image on left, Image in upper left
text below text on right corner, text in lower
right corner
2 Two images Two images One image in upper left
across top, text down left of page, corner, associated text to
below each text to right of right of it, next image in
each lower right, associated
text to left of it
3 Three images Three images One image in upper left
across top, text down left of corner, associated text to
below each page, text to right of it, next image in
right of each middle right, associated
text to left of it, last
image in lower left, text
to right of it
4 (P) Two images (P) Four images (P) One image in upper
across top, text down left of left hand corner,
below each, next page, text to associated text to right,
two across right of each. alternate down page.
middle, text (L) Two images (L) Two columns: one
below each. down left side, image in upper left of
(L) Four images text to right of column, text to right;
across top, text each; next two next image in lower right
below each. down middle, of column, text to left.
text to right of
each.
5 (P) Two images (P) Five images (F) One image in upper
across top, text down left of left hand corner,
below each, next page, text to associated text to right,
three across right of each. alternate down page.
middle, text (L) Three images (L) Two columns: Left
below each. down left side, column: one image in
(L) Five images text to right of upper left corner,
across top, text each; next two associated text to right
below each. down middle, of it; next image in
text to right of middle right, associated
each. text to left of it; last
image in lower left, text
to right of it. Right
column: one image in
upper left of column, text
to right, next image in
lower right of column,
text to left.
6 (P) Three images (P) Six images (F) One image in upper
across top, text down left of left hand corner,
below each, next page, text to associated text to right,
three across right of each. alternate down page.
middle, text (L) Three images (L) Two columns: one
below each. down left side, image in upper left
(L) Six images text to right of corner, associated text to
across top, text each; next three right of it; next image in
below each. down middle, middle right, associated
text to right of text to left of it; last
each. image in lower left, text
to right of it.
The selections for more than three images will vary depending on whether the page orientation is portrait (P) or landscape (L). Generally, for portrait, no more than three pictures will be placed across the width of the page, while up to six may go down the page; for landscape, no more than three will go down the page, but up to six may go across the page. The last selection enables the user to decide if data fields from the MOMA database are displayed with each picture. If the user selects "Pictures and Data", the dialog in FIG. 13 above is shown and the next step in the process is the data layout dialog. If "Pictures Only" is selected, then the dialog changes to the screen shown in FIG. 14. On this screen, the preview no longer shows simulated lines of text and the next step shown in the guide across the top is the Background and Borders dialog, which is where the user goes when "Next" is pushed, bypassing the data layout dialog. [3.1.14.1.2 "Printing Template Wizard--Data Layout"] If the user does select "Pictures and Data", the next dialog is the data layout dialog shown in FIG. 15. In this dialog the user can select up to size fields of data from the MOMA database to be displayed with each picture. Selection boxes allow the user to turn on up to size fields. If the user skips a field entry then the next one selected is used (i.e., if the user selects the first, second and fourth entry, only three fields are printed next to each picture). The available MOMA fields are displayed in a drop down list on each entry line. Users can select that same field more than once. The font button allows users to pick a typeface, style (bold, italic, underline), Relative Size (large, medium, small, tiny), and Color (16 color palette). Relative font sizes are used and the specific font size will be determined automatically based on other selections (# pictures/page, layout, etc.). Relative font sizes also control the number of characters per line and number of lines that will be displayed for each field. To summarize, a method for printing components of a multimedia object having at least an image component and a text component, each corresponding to a field in a database record that stores the multimedia object includes displaying a user interface which includes a thumbnail view of the image component of the multimedia object and user selectable fields corresponding to fields in the multimedia database, accepting user selection of up to plural fields for printout with the image component, selecting an output template for the image component and the user-selected field, and outputting the image component together with the user-selected fields in the template selected by the user. [3.1.14.1.3 "Printing Template Wizard--Backgrounds & Borders"] The next dialog shown in FIG. 16 allows the user to pick some limited graphical enhancements to produce a pleasing, colorful album. A series of backgrounds, both solid colored and tiled patterns are provided. When the user select one from the drop down list, close up view of the background is shown to the right and indicated on the page preview. The background fills the area between the outside of the picture frames and the inside page frame. The selected picture frame will place a graphical boarder around the outside of the images. The selections will include traditional wood frames, photo album corner tabs, and drop shadows. The Page frames print out to the printable area edge of the selected printer. The architecture of the graphical enhancement selectors is such that users can add additional selections through program upgrades. These upgrades may be made available on a web site to encourage users to visit the site. For example, in exchange for registering the product on line a certain number of enhancements will be provided. [3.1.14.1.4 "Printing Template Wizard--Save Template"] Once all the selections have been made, the user is given the opportunity to save the template settings as shown in FIG. 17. If the user is modifying an existing template, the name of the existing template is shown allowing the user to re-save the template with the new settings, or continue without updating the existing template. If the user is creating a new template, the name field is empty. Once the user types text into the name field, the save button is activated. [3.1.14.1.5 "Printing Template Wizard--Print With New Template"] When the new or modified settings are completed (whether saved or not), the user is returned to the initial Print Album dialog with the preview reflecting the new settings as shown in FIG. 18. If the template was saved, that name is indicated in the list. If the template is not saved, no template name is indicated. [3.1.14.2 "Save as HTML"] When the user selects to "Save as HTML", the dialog shown in FIG. 19 appears. The user can select a pre-defined template or create a new one using the template wizard. A preview of the selected template is shown. Photos in the template are samples only. Templates are stored internally in the MOMA database. The user can delete or modify the selected template or select "New" to create a new template setting. If delete is selected an "Are you sure?" dialog is displayed. If the user select "Modify" the dialog proceeds to the template wizard sequence described below with the existing template settings displayed as a starting point. The existing template may be modified accordingly and re-saved with the new settings if the user so desires. If "New" is selected, the dialog proceeds through the wizards using the defaults settings as a starting point and a new template can be saved if the user so desires. The action of saving as HTML will create a new folder contained in the selected location. Both the folder name and the HTML page "title" will be the same. The folder will contain both the generated HTML pages and the linked image files (JPEG format). The user can then ftp the files to their web site. All references to image files in the HTML file will assume the images are located in the same directory as the HTML file. The first HTML file will be named index.htm, subsequent files will be called from the first and will be named based on the folder name, i.e., if the folder is named My Trip, the subsequent files will be named My_Trip2.htm; My_Trip3.htm. If the user wants to proceed with the selected template, he/she presses "Save" and the HTML files will be generated and saved in the new folder. The basic installation will include a set of five to eight pre-defined templates including: Plain Photo Album (4 per page)--default Classic Photo Album (4 per page with boarders and background) Kids Photo Album (8 pre page "Sticker Book" style) Flyer (1 per page with first 6 data fields as default) Catalog (2 per page, diagonal with 1" three data fields as default) Others to be determined A template wizard, described below, allows a user to customize and/or modify templates as desired. [3.1.14.2.1 "HTML Template Wizard--Page Layout"] If the user selects to generate a new template or modify an existing template, the dialog shown in FIG. 20 starts the HTML template wizard process. A guide across the top lists the steps in the wizard sequence and show the user where they are in the process. This dialog allows the user to select the layout of the pictures on the page. As modifications are made to the settings, appropriate changes are made to the preview sample page. The user scan select how many pictures to display on the page. The selection can either be implemented as a series of radio buttons or a drop down. If the user has selected less than six pictures for the HTML album, the non-applicable selections will be grayed out. For the Picture layout, the dialog will show sketches of two pictures and three lines displayed side by side (horizontal), up and down (vertical), or diagonally. These sketches will not changed base on the number of pictures per page. The preview will indicate the actual layout of how the HTML file would look on a browser, as summarized in Table 4.
TABLE 4
HTML Layout
Number
of
Pictures Horizontal Vertical Diagonal
1 Image on top, Image on left, Image in upper left
text below text on right corner, text in
lower right corner
2 Two images Two images down One image in upper
across top, text left of page, left corner,
below each text to right of associated text to
each right of it; next
image in lower
right, associated
text to left of it
3 Three images Three images down One image in upper
across top, text left of page, left corner,
below each text to right of associated text to
each right of it; next
image in middle
right, associated
text to left of it;
last image in lower
left, associated
text to right of it
4 Two images Four images down One image in upper
across top, text left of page, left hand corner,
below each, next text to right of associated text to
two across each right, alternate
middle, text down the page
below each
5 Two images Five images down One image in upper
across top, text left of page, left hand corner,
below each, next text to right of associated text to
three across each right, alternate
middle, text down the page
below each
6 Three images Six images down One image in upper
across top, text left of page, left hand corner,
below each, next text to right of associated text to
three across each right, alternate
middle, text down the page
below each
The last selection enables the user to decide if data fields from the MOMA database are displayed with each picture. If the user selects "Pictures and Data", the dialog in FIG. 20 above is shown and the next step in the process is the data layout dialog. If "Pictures Only" is selected, then the dialog changes to the screen shown in FIG. 21. On this screen, the preview no longer shows simulated lines of text and the next step shown in the guide across the top is the Background and Boarders dialog, which is where the user goes when "Next" is pushed, bypassing the data layout dialog. [3.1.14.2.2 "HTML Template Wizard--Data Layout"] If the user does select "Pictures and Data", the next dialog is the data layout dialog shown in FIG. 22. In this dialog, the user can select up to six fields of data from the MOMA database to be displayed with each picture. Selection boxes allow the user to turn on up to six fields. If the user skips a field entry then the next one selected is used (i.e., if the user selects the first, second and fourth entry, only three field are printed next to each picture). The available MOMA fields are displayed in a drop down list on each entry line. Users can select that same field more than once. The font button allows users to pick a typeface (Proportional/Fixed), style (Bold, Italic, Underline), relative size (Large, Medium, Small, Tiny), and color (16 color palette). Relative fonts sizes are used and the specific font size will be determined automatically based on other selections (# pictures/page, layout, etc.). Relative font sizes also control the number of characters per line and number of lines that will be displayed for each field. To summarize, a method for printing components of a multimedia object having at least an image component and a text component, each corresponding to a field in a database record that stores the multimedia object includes displaying a user interface which includes a thumbnail view of the image component of the multimedia object and user selectable fields corresponding to fields in the multimedia database, accepting user selection of up to plural fields for printout with the image component, selecting an output template for the image component and the user-selected field, and outputting the image component together with the user-selected fields in the template selected by the user. [3.1.14.2.3 "HTML Template Wizard--Backgrounds & Buttons"] The next dialog shown in FIG. 23 allows the user to pick some limited graphical enhancements to produce a pleasing, colorful web page. A series of backgrounds, both solid colored and tiled patterns will be provided. The patterns will be designed with a "browser-safe palette" to avoid dithering. When the user selects one from the drop down list, a close up view of the background is shown to the right and indicated on the page preview. The navigation buttons will enable the viewer of the web page to move through the web album as follows: "<<" go to first page, "<" back one page, ">" forward one page, ">>" to end of album. Buttons will be able to be placed on the top, left side, or bottom of the page. An option to place buttons on the right of the page will not be provided since that can produce unplanned results in different browsers. The architecture of the graphical enhancement selections will be such that users can add additional selections through program upgrades. These upgrades may be made available on an internet web site to encourage users to visit the site. For example, in exchange for registering the product on line a certain number of enhancements might be provided. [3.1.14.2.4 "HTML Template Wizard--Save Template"] Once all the selections have been made, the user is given the opportunity to save the template settings as shown in FIG. 24. If the user is modifying an existing template, the name of the existing template is shown allowing the user to re-save the template with the new settings, or continue without updating the existing template. If the user is creating a new template, the name field is empty. Once the user types text into the name field, the save button is activated. [3.1.14.2.5 "HTML Template Wizard--Save HTML with New Template"] With the new or modified settings being completed (whether saved or not) the user is returned to the initial Save as HTML dialog with the preview reflecting the new settings as shown in FIG. 25. If the template was saved, that name is indicated in the list. If the template is not saved, no template name is indicated. [3.2 "Edit Menu"] The edit menu consists of the following menu items: Undo; Cut; Copy; and Paste. [3.2.1 "Undo"] The Undo menu will be dynamically changed according to previous action. Currently, the undo functions include: 1. Undo delete album. This undo function is enabled only after the user has deleted an album. 2. Undo delete image. This undo function is enabled only after the user has deleted an image from the current active album. [3.2.2 "Cut"] This function is enabled when the image editing and enhancement functions are implemented. [3.2.3 "Copy"] The user can copy any of the selected images of the current active album and paste it to any other application. [3.2.4 "Paste"] The user can paste an image to MOMA image album by first copying the image from any other application. [3.3 "View Menu"] The view menu consists of the following menu items: Toolbar; Status Bar; Notebook; Spreadsheet; Thumbnail and Option [3.3.1 "Toolbar"] When the check mark is displayed, the horizontal toolbar will be visible to the user. When the check mark is not displayed, the horizontal status bar will be invisible to the user. [3.3.2 "Notebook"] The notebook view is shown in FIG. 26. The notebook view uses the album metaphor to organize/manage image/media files for the MOMA. Just as the user can add photos to the user's personal album, the user can add or insert any number of images to the user's album. The notebook view will be designed to manage images and information by using the tab keys and page keys. The tab keys provide an intuitive method for the user to organize and categorize media files. The tab keys are dynamically created based on the associated database tables for the number. The user can use the tab key to navigate between general category such as flowers, animals, vacation photos, etc. Within each category, the user can use the earmark of the page key to flip through all of the pages contained in that category. [3.3.3 "Spreadsheet"] The spreadsheet view is shown in FIG. 27. Media files can also be viewed in the form of a database table. Each column of the table represents one of the properties of the associated media file. Each row of the table represents one record that stores all properties such as index, file type, format, size, date, time, file path and name, are automatically generated when the album is created, some of the properties such as description (comments) and keyword should be specified by the album creator. Some of the spreadsheet cells can be updated or edited like any standard spreadsheet editing. Viewing media files in database tables is more efficient in terms of speed and memory consumption. There are both vertical and horizontal scroll bars. Vertical bar will be enabled whenever there is not enough space for displaying more records. Horizontal bar will be enabled whenever there is not enough space displaying more columns. The users can scroll up and down or left to right to view more records or fields. In the spreadsheet view, there are two kinds of data fields: basic common fields and customized fields for each collection of albums. All of the albums have the same basic common field name. The basic common fields are: ImageID, VolumeID, Driver Letter, Volume Label, Label, Name, Description, Keyword, File Path, File Name, File Format, Date/Time Created, Date/Time Modified, Image Width, Image Height, Image Color Depth, and other camera related information. When the user highlights or selects a particular record, the corresponding thumbnail image will show up on the upper left corner of the spreadsheet, as illustrated. To summarize, a user interface for displaying a database of multimedia objects including at least an image component and a non-image component with each component corresponding to a field in a database record for the multimedia component includes a display of at least a portion of a table having entries for multimedia objects in the database extending in a first direction and individual fields within each database record extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a cursor display of a mouse cursor superimposed over one of the tabular entries in the table display, and a pop-up display of a thumbnail of an image component of a multimedia object which pops-up when the mouse cursor is superimposed over the corresponding image component of the multimedia object. The spreadsheet can be sorted by single clicking any of the columns. In addition, the user can change the column width by dragging the boundary on the right side of the column heading until the column is the width you want. The user can change the height of the row or record by dragging the boundary below the row heading until the row is the height you want. The user can perform in cell editing for some of the editable columns such as description. As shown in FIG. 28, by clicking the right mouse button, the user can pop up the edit menu for performing editing function such as undo, copy, delete, paste, and select all. The user can directly work in the cell to type in the cell with up to maximum 256 characters. In order to update all of the updated data in the database, the user has to move the mouse cursor to next record. Otherwise, the previous edited data won't get saved in the database. The global text annotation is designed to allow the user to change all of the text in the description filed. For example, the user may not want to type in detail description for each of the photos he/she took during the Paris vacation trip. Instead, as shown in FIG. 29, the user globally annotated the created photo album by Paris Trip. The user can also select one or several records for text annotation. The user can select any of the image files and record one audio annotation file for the selected image, as shown in FIG. 30. The file format of the audio annotation file is "WAV", a standard windows audio file format. All of the audio annotation files are stored in the "Annotations" sub-directory. FIG. 31 shows how the user can add one or more keywords to the selected image by either selecting a keyword from a list of the existing keywords or by typing in a new keyword. [3.3.4 "Thumbnail"] Thumbnail view of album is the basic view method used by traditional album management programs. The default MOMA album view is the thumbnail view. By choosing items from the View menu, the user can view each album in terms of three different views, Thumbnail view, Spreadsheet view, and Notebook view, as described herein. The user can click the right mouse button to pop up the menu items that are applicable to the thumbnail view windows, as shown in FIG. 32. All of the thumbnails can be ordered by using any of the basic field name or the customized field names. The default caption for thumbnails is the caption field. However, the user can use any of the basic field name or the customized field name as the caption. The user can view all of the selected images by selecting the "view" menu item from the pop-up menu. Once the user clicks the view menu, a viewer application will be launched to view all of the selected images with desired special effects. The user can either view the selected image inside the view window or in the full screen. The viewer application will run in two modes: AUTOMATIC and MANUAL. In AUTOMATIC (the default mode), the viewer mode will automatically start showing the images one by one at certain time intervals with some smooth transition between the two images. The image will last on the screen for some predefined and user configurable time period. User can stop at a certain image by pressing STOP button and then can start the slide show using AUTOPLAY button. If there are any sounds for a particular image, the image will stay on until all the sound files associated with that image file are played. In MANUAL mode, user will have to use BACK and FORTH buttons to progress through the selected images. It will also have a SOUND button for the sound annotations in the album. The user can listen to sound data associated with a particular image by pressing SOUND button on the toolbar. The SOUND button will be enabled if there are any sound files available for the current image being displayed. Other user configurable options are related to showing of the images. Images will not be uniform in size and re-size options are therefore preferable. [3.3.5 "Options"] The options dialog box will allow user to set the time interval between two images (applicable to AUTOMATIC mode). [3.4 "Image Menu"] The Image menu contains "Add", "Delete" and "Information" selections. [3.4.1 "Add"] The "Add" dialog box shown in FIG. 33 allows the user to add media file to the current active album. If there is no active album, images will be added to the default album. The user needs to select the drive, directory, image files that will be added to the current active album. The user can add one image at a time, or select several images by using the "CTRL" or "Shift" key to do multiple selections. Once the image is selected, a thumbnail will be displayed to preview the selected image. On the right side of the dialog box, the user can type in a keyword or select a keyword from the drop down list box. Click the arrow button to add a keyword and click the X button to delete the highlighted keyword. Below the keyword frame, the image specific frame provides the space for user to enter information for all of the customized field names for the current active album. The user needs to select each of the field names one at a time, and enter information for the selected field. If the user neglects or forgets to select and enter information for any of the fields, the corresponding database field will be empty. To help the user work more efficiently, MOMA supports both OLE drag and drop and file drag and drop. The OLE/file drag and drop always applies to the current active album. If there is no current active album, the dragged files will be dropped to the default album. The user can use the "drag and drop" technique to perform the following operations: 1. Drag one or several files from Windows Explorer view and drop them to a MOMA album. 2. Drag one or several files from desktop and drop them to a MOMA album. 3. Drag one image from an album to an OLE compliant image editing software such as Photoshop, Microsoft Image Composer, Ulead PhotoImpact, etc. 4. Drag one full image or selected region of interest from any OLE compliant image application software to MOMA album. 5. Drag one image from any OLE compliant Internet Browser and drop it to a MOMA album. [3.4.2 "Delete"] The user can delete any selected member of the current active album by either clicking the delete menu or the delete button. CTRL+X will be the key combination for performing deleting. [3.4.3 "Image Info"] The menu item for user to view information such as file size, file name, file format, color depth, etc. [3.5 "Search Menu"] In order to search the MOMA database, the user needs to select collections and albums. Once the user selects a specific collection and albums, all of the associated keywords will be displayed in the keyword drop down list box. The user can select any of the listed keywords. The user can also use any of the customized fields to search the MOMA database system. The "Search" menu provides for four selectable items: "Sort", "Filter", "Query", and "Find". The search dialog is illustrated in FIG. 34. [3.5.1 "Sort"] By using the sorting functions, the user can arrange the album media files in alphabetical or numerical order. The user can sort any of the properties or combination of the properties in either ascending or descending order. [3.5.2 "Filter"] By using the filtering functions, the user can selectively display certain files by using predefined filtering criteria. For example, the filtering criteria can be used to selectively display files only with JPG format, files created between 1995-1996, files only related to flowers, etc. [3.5.3 "Query"] The real power of this media database management system is the powerful and flexible way to query the database system by suing predefined criteria. The user can question the database in terms of selected fields by using logical combinations such as "and", "or", "between", etc. The database engine can search the whole database system quickly and display all of these files that meet the specified criteria. [3.5.4 "Find"] The user can use the find dialog box to locate a file in the database by using index number, keyword, file type, file size, data, and time, etc. [3.6 "Window Menu"] The "Window" menu provides standard MDI windowing options, as follows: [3.6.1 "Cascade"] Arranges windows in a cascade formation so that the windows overlap one another so that the titles are showing. [3.6.2 "Tile command"] Arranges the windows in a tile formation so that the windows are truncated. [3.6.3 "Arrange Icons"] Arranges all windows icons along bottom edge of current view window. [3.7 "Help Menu"] The "Help" menu provides standard help functions, as follows: [3.7.1 "Content"] Displays the contents of the MOMA Help System, step-by-step instructions for using MOMA, reference information, examples and demonstrations of MOMA features. s the user looks through Help, the user can return to the Contents screen by clicking the Contents button in the Help window. [3.7.2 "Search for Help on"] Searches in Help for information related to topics on which the user wants more information. To use the Search For Help on command, type the topic or select it from the list in the Search dialog box, and then choose the Show Topics button to see related topics. To display a particular topic from the list of topics, select it and then choose the GO TO button. To quickly search for information in MOMA Help, double-click the Help button on the Standard toolbar to open the Search dialog box. [3.7.3 "Index"] Displays a comprehensive index to information contained in the MOMA Help system. To see the entries for a topic, click the first letter of the word the user wants to look up, or press TAB to select the letter and then press ENTER. [3.7.4 "Technical Support"] Gives details on product support options for MOMA available from Canon, including how to contact Canon Product Support Services world wide. [3.7.5 "About MOMA"] Displays information about the user's copy of MOMA, including the version number; the copyright, legal and licensing notices; and the system information for the user's computer. It is emphasized that several changes may be applied on the above-described invention without departing from the teachings of the invention. In particular, it is intended that all matter contained in the present disclosure, or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.
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