Panoptic Visualization Of An Illustrated Parts Catalog

A method comprising:

• generating a layout of pages of an illustrated parts catalog (IPC) for a complex system, the IPC having a plurality of pages each of which depicts one or more elements of the complex system,
• wherein each page also has associated metadata providing information about the respective page, the metadata for each page also including information identifying a link between the page and one or more other pages, the link establishing a logical relationship between the respective pages according to a structural relationship between one or more elements of the complex system depicted by the respective pages, and
• wherein the layout includes a panoptic arrangement of visual representations of the pages of the layout according to the associated metadata of the respective pages;
• selecting one or more navigation options from a plurality of navigation options for navigating a visual presentation of the layout;
• and
• communicating the layout and selected navigation options.

A computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein that, in response to execution by a processor, cause an apparatus to at least:

• generate a layout of pages of an illustrated parts catalog (IPC) for a complex system, the IPC having a plurality of pages each of which depicts one or more elements of the complex system,
• wherein each page also has associated metadata providing information about the respective page, the metadata for each page also including information identifying a link between the page and one or more other pages, the link establishing a logical relationship between the respective pages according to a structural relationship between one or more elements of the complex system depicted by the respective pages, and
• wherein the layout includes a panoptic arrangement of visual representations of the pages of the layout according to the associated metadata of the respective pages;
• select one or more navigation options from a plurality of navigation options for navigating a visual presentation of the layout;
• and
• communicate the layout and selected navigation options.