Miller columns

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A Miller Column browser as implemented by GNUstep. It incorporates a Shelf. GNUstep-liveCD.png
A Miller Column browser as implemented by GNUstep. It incorporates a Shelf.

Miller columns (also known as cascading lists [1] ) are a browsing/visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures. The columns allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once, and provide a visual representation of the current location. It is closely related to techniques used earlier in the Smalltalk browser, but was independently invented by Mark S. Miller in 1980 at Yale University.[ citation needed ] The technique was then used at Project Xanadu, Datapoint, and NeXT.

Contents

While at Datapoint, Miller generalized the technique to browse directed graphs with labeled nodes and arcs.[ citation needed ] In all cases, the technique is appropriate for structures with high degree (large fanout). For low-degree structures, outline editors or graph viewers are more effective.

History

Miller columns are most well known today as the “Columns view” mode of the Mac OS X Finder, as well as the "Browser" view in iTunes. The columns in Finder descend directly from the NeXTSTEP File Viewer's use of Miller columns going back to 1986. The GNUstep project continues to offer a Miller column browser that closely follows the NeXT approach, bringing the advantages of a column browser to Linux, BSD, and other operating systems with large tree structures. The iPod's browsing of categories and audio file tag attributes is reminiscent of column browsing, although only one column is visible at a time.

Issues

Miller columns have several issues from a usability standpoint:

Use in file browsers

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Tidwell, Jenifer. Designing Interfaces. O'Reilly. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Path Finder 6 by Cocoatech". Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "GWorkspace User Guide" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ "ranger" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Evidence -- enlightened file-manager" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bug 96239 – Multi-column list view (aka Miller Columns)" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Bug #511400 "add a miller columns view" : Bugs : nautilus-elementary" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Idea #6497: "Finder-like column view in Thunar" - Ubuntu brainstorm" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ "ppenz: Dolphin 2.0 - Status Update". 3 January 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ "TkDesk User's Guide" (PDF). Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Marlin in Launchpad" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Files in Launchpad" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Is Pantheon Files a fork of Marlin? | elementary". Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ George Clernon (17 May 1999). "Projects — FSViewer" . Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  15. ↑ Gregory D. Landweber (2000). "Greg's Browser" . Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "WinBrowser" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Mustangpeak UltraExplorer". Magenta Systems Ltd. Magenta Systems Ltd. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "Miller Columns — YouTube". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  19. ↑ "One Commander" . Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  20. ↑ "ThatFile" . Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Direttore File Manager" . Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Supabase" . Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Directory Opus" . Retrieved March 6, 2023.
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