Combined representation of a hierarchical data item collection

A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions for displaying a collection of data items organized in a hierarchy containing a plurality of levels, said collection comprising at least one individual item and at least one sub-collection item at a same level of the hierarchy as the at least one individual item, each sub-collection comprising one or more sub-collection data items, said computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

• displaying in a first area of a display a graphical representation corresponding to each of said individual items;
• displaying in a second area of the display a sub-collection representation item corresponding to each of said sub-collection items that is at the same level of the hierarchy as the displayed individual items;
• displaying in a third area of the display functionality selection data for selecting functionality that can be performed on a data item;
• in response to a request to display additional graphical representations of individual items, resizing at least one of the first, second, and third areas of the display;
• in response to a grouping command specifying a group corresponding to a selected keyword, modifying the display of the at least one individual item to display the at least one individual item as at least one group thumbnail image representative of the group specified by the grouping command, the at least one group thumbnail image comprising a visual indication of the keyword corresponding to the group specified by the grouping command;
• and
• in response to a unified sorting command, modifying the display of the at least one individual item to display the at least one individual item in sorted order and modifying the display of the sub-collection representation area to display the at least one sub-collection in sorted order.

A system for generating a display of data items stored in hierarchical groupings, each hierarchical grouping comprising at least one child data item or one child hierarchical grouping, said system comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory;
• a collection indication acceptor for accepting an indication of a selected hierarchical grouping;
• a first area display data generator operably connected to said collection indication acceptor, said first area display data generator for generating first area display data, said first area display data comprising at least one thumbnail image, each thumbnail image corresponding to a child data item in a level of said selected hierarchical grouping;
• and
• a second area display data generator operably connected to said collection indication acceptor, said second area display data generator for generating second area display data, said second area display data comprising at least one sub-collection representation item, each sub-collection representation item corresponding to a child hierarchical grouping at the same level in said selected hierarchical grouping as the child data item,
• wherein the first area display data and the second area display data are displayed in respective first and second display areas, at least one of the first and second display areas being resized in response to a request to display additional thumbnail images,
• wherein, in response to a grouping command specifying a group comprising a plurality of images, the first area data generator generates a revised first area display data, said revised first area display data comprising at least one group thumbnail image comprising a composite of the plurality of images in the group specified by the grouping command, and
• wherein, in response to a unified sorting command, the first area display data generator modifies the first area display data such that the at least one thumbnail image is displayed in sorted order and the second area display data generator modifies the second area display data such that the at least one sub-collection representation item is displayed in sorted order.