Image display apparatus and image display method for displaying thumbnails in variable sizes according to importance degrees of keywords

An image display method for producing thumbnails of images stored as image data, said method comprising:

• storing said image data of each image in a data file in an association with keyword information containing at least a keyword relating to said each image;
• reading out said keyword information from said data files;
• producing and displaying an importance degree setting section on a display device based on said keyword information read from said data files;
• setting each of the keywords contained in said keyword information at an appropriate importance degree through said importance degree setting section;
• and
• controlling said display device to produce the thumbnails of the images stored, in an order of a time and a date when said images stored are captured, said controlling said display device controlling displaying the thumbnails of the images stored in variable sizes according to the importance degrees of respective keywords set through said importance degree setting section, and wherein, before sizes of the thumbnails are changed to said variable sizes according to the importance degrees of respective keywords, the thumbnails are displayed in a same size on said display device in the order of the time and the date when said stored images are captured.