User Interface for Navigation

Abstract

A user interface comprising a navigation pane including a plurality of selectable items, the navigation pane displayable in a first region of a display at a display device; and a column explorer display area selectively displayable in a second region of the display at the display device, the second region distinct from the first region; wherein a first link to a most recently used data item in a first column of the column explorer display area is displayed in a first location in the navigation pane, the first link associated with a first data item in the navigation pane, and wherein the navigation pane, the first link, and the column explorer display area are displayed concurrently.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer readable storage device that includes instructions executable by a processor to display:
 a navigation pane including a plurality of selectable items, the navigation pane displayable in a first region of a display; and   a column explorer display area displayable in a second region of the display, the second region distinct from the first region;   wherein a link to a most recently used data item in a column of the column explorer display area is displayed in a first location in the navigation pane, the link associated with a first data item in the navigation pane, and wherein the navigation pane, the first link, and the column explorer display area are displayed concurrently.   
     
     
         2 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 1 , wherein the link corresponds to a display indicator associated with a particular one of the selectable items in the navigation pane and identifies a data item previously displayed in the column explorer display area. 
     
     
         3 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 2 , wherein the column explorer display area includes a plurality of expandable pop-up display regions or a plurality of fixed display regions. 
     
     
         4 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 3 , wherein the column explorer display area is displayed in the second region of the display upon selection of the particular one of the selectable items, and wherein the column explorer display area selectively displays either the plurality of expandable pop-up display regions or the plurality of fixed display regions upon a user selection of either a pop-up mode or a docked mode. 
     
     
         5 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 1 , wherein the navigation pane includes a first control item to select a first tree data structure display and a second control item to select a second tree data structure display, wherein the first tree data structure display presents hierarchical data of a tree data structure with respect to a first orientation and the second tree data structure display presents the hierarchical data of the tree data structure with respect to a second orientation. 
     
     
         6 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 5 , wherein the second tree data structure display is an alternate display to navigate the tree data structure. 
     
     
         7 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 1 , wherein each displayable column in the column explorer display area represents a group of nodes of data of a tree data structure, and wherein the group of nodes are at the same level of the tree data structure. 
     
     
         8 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 7 , wherein each displayable column in the column explorer display area is vertically expandable to display additional selectable items. 
     
     
         9 . The computer readable storage device of  claim 7 , wherein a first displayable column in the column explorer display area represents data at a higher level in the tree structure than data represented by a second displayable column in the column explorer display area, and wherein the second displayable column is displayable adjacent to the first displayable column, such that the tree data structure is navigable from a higher level node of the tree data structure to a lower level node of the tree data structure. 
     
     
         10 . A method of displaying user interface information, the method comprising:
 displaying each of a first set of items in a first navigation display area;   displaying a second navigation display area, the second navigation display area including display of a list of a second set of items;   detecting a selected use of a particular item of the list displayed in the second navigation area;   creating a direct link to the particular item; and   displaying the direct link to the particular item in an area of the first navigation display area that is associated with one of the first set of items,   wherein the first navigation display area, the direct link, and the second navigation display area are concurrently displayed.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising accessing the particular item without requiring further navigation upon selection of the direct link in the first navigation display area. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the selected use of the particular item is detected when a user selects an end node of the hierarchical data structure, when data is presented in a results viewing area and after expiration of a results viewing period of time, or upon the user taking an action with respect to results data associated with the particular item or otherwise taking an action related to the particular item. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the action is a right mouse button selection or a user selected action from an action pane and wherein the first set of items corresponds to a first portion of a hierarchical data structure. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a location of the particular item in the second navigation display area is stored in a computer memory, and wherein the particular item is immediately useable upon selection of the direct link, such that the direct link provides a shortcut to access the particular item. 
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 navigation pane logic to provide a navigation pane as part of a user interface, the navigation pane including a plurality of displayable data items, and   expandable column explorer logic to selectively present one or more columns, the one or more columns to display a second set of data items where the second set of data items are selectively displayed by the one or more columns, wherein a first of the one or more columns includes a first portion of the second set of data items and a second of the one or more columns includes a second portion of the second set of data items, wherein upon navigation to a data item in the one or more columns, a link to the data item is added as a selectable link and displayed in association with one of the plurality of displayable data items in the navigation pane, and wherein the navigation pane, the selectable link, and the one or more columns are displayed concurrently.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising a navigation service to couple data items displayed in the one or more columns within a column explorer display area of the user interface to corresponding displayable data items in the navigation pane. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising navigation data that is bound to the navigation pane and to the column explorer display area, the navigation data including records of a plurality of most recently used data items, wherein each of the records is identifiable by a different link displayed within the navigation pane. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the navigation pane further includes a second plurality of displayable data items representing a second set of nodes of the hierarchical data structure. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein a first link to a data item in a first column is displayed in a first location in the navigation pane associated with a first data item in the navigation pane and a second link to a second data item in a second column is displayed in a second location in the navigation pane associated with a second data item in the navigation pane. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein each of the one or more columns is adapted to enable a search of data items at a particular level of the hierarchical data structure, and wherein the first portion identifies data items at a different level of a hierarchical data structure than the second portion.