Abstract:
A method and system of creating and customizing multiple roots in a navigation pane are described. By selecting desired pages and adding them to the navigation pane, users may create multiple roots with which to navigate. A multiple roots navigation system permits the user to bypass irrelevant pages while reducing the amount of information presented in the navigation pane. The individual root nodes may further be customized to reflect ownership, importance or general aesthetic preferences. Using multiple roots, a user is not restricted to a single hierarchical display structure.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to computers and user interaction with computers via a graphical user interface. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and a system of configuring and accessing a hierarchical data or application structure by creating and customizing multiple roots in a navigation pane. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following, the Windows® brand operating system is used in various examples, although the use of the invention is not restricted to the Windows®-based operating systems. Microsoft® Windows® brand and similar operating systems with graphical user interfaces commonly utilize navigation trees to facilitate access to applications or data. These known navigation trees organize data and/or applications into a hierarchical structure based on a single root with folders or other data structures branching off from the root corresponding to its position in the hierarchy. For example, in previous operating systems like the one illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a navigation tree is typically rooted in the “Desktop” with structures such as the “My Documents” folder and the “My Computer” structure branching off of the “Desktop.” Other data structures such as “Local Disk (C:)” and “My Pictures” branch off from “My Computer” and “My Documents,” their respective parent structures, in the data hierarchy. Thus, depending on the number of data structures such as physical and virtual folders, and storage devices (e.g., hard drives, optical disks, mass storage devices, removable storage devices, etc.), the navigation tree may be expandable to a significant number of levels, making navigation cumbersome and inefficient. 
     Navigation trees are often useful in navigating to a particular storage location (e.g., a subfolder or storage drive identified within the navigation tree) without requiring a user to first open each of the parent structures. That is, the user can merely expand the parent nodes to display the sought after storage location, then select the node representative of the sought after location. Navigation trees also facilitate viewing ancestral, descendant, and sibling relationships between various structures that may not have a direct parent-child association. However, with increasing storage capacity in even home computers, having only a single root in a navigation tree may require substantial time and effort to locate or access a particular page or storage location. In many instances, the considerable expansion of the navigation tree makes it especially difficult to view the relative locations of two different structures. For example, a user may search through a navigation tree for two particular folders. However, upon expansion of the tree, the folders become increasingly separated by an ever growing number of irrelevant nodes. As such, the substantial expansion of the navigation tree requires the user to either scroll up and down through the navigation tree to view the two relevant folders, or to open a second window in order to view one folder in each window. Moreover, such multi-level navigation requires the user to remember every parent structure, grandparent structure, etc. to efficiently navigate the tree. Thus, navigation quickly becomes increasingly tedious the deeper a desired folder or page is located in the navigation tree. 
     Additionally, current navigation systems only incorporate a single root. As a result, the navigation tree restricts the organization of a user&#39;s folders and other structures to a single representation. Such a restriction may pose substantial obstacles to efficiently viewing and navigating folders of comparable relevancy. In one example, a user may have limited space on each of his or her storage drives and is therefore forced to store his or her photographs on two separate drives. In known single root solutions, the user is forced to access both storage areas by expanding the navigation tree significantly at two different storage points. Such a method of navigation hinders viewing both sets of photographs simultaneously. 
     For at least the foregoing reasons, a method and system of enhancing the organization, accessibility and customizability of navigation controls is needed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One or more illustrative aspects of the present invention solve the aforementioned problems by providing a method and system of creating and customizing multiple roots in a navigation pane. With such a system, a user may be able to bypass needless navigation by allowing direct access to relevant documents, applications and other data through such alternative roots. A user may customize a navigation pane by dragging a desired root or structure to a specific position in the navigation pane. Alternatively, the system may further comprise a customization dialog that permits the user to systematically add and remove roots through a menu type system. The user may further organize and reorganize the roots in a navigation pane by clicking and dragging the roots to particular positions relative to the other roots on the pane. Dragging the roots to the desktop may further create a shortcut to that root. Users may further have the option of adjusting the properties of each root, allowing further customizability. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, the multiple roots system permits roots to comprise other types of nodes beyond the typical physical locations (i.e., physical folders) used in current systems. More specifically, the multiple roots system allows users to define lists and autolists as roots in the navigation pane. These lists and autolists may comprise files or other data that satisfy a specified set of rules or filters. Additionally, roots may comprise custom extensions that correspond to a user&#39;s email (i.e., MSN® Hotmail Drive). These enhancements to the navigation system permit the user significantly greater flexibility in customizing a preferred set of navigation controls in a variety of applications. 
     These as well as other advantages and aspects of the invention are apparent and understood from the following detailed description of the invention, the attached claims, and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a suitable computing environment in which one or more illustrative aspects of the invention may be implemented. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a prior art shell browser system comprising a single root navigation pane. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a partial screenshot of a shell browser window implementing a multiple root navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a multiple root navigation pane according an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5A  illustrates a method for customizing a navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5B  illustrates a method for reordering page nodes in a multi root navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a configuration dialog for customizing the navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates a page node property configuration dialog according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7B  illustrates a multi root navigation pane with an invisible root according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Illustrative Operating Environment 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a suitable computing environment  100  in which the invention may be implemented. The computing environment  100  is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment  100  be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment  100 . 
     The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers; server computers; portable and hand-held devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs or laptop PCs; multiprocessor systems; microprocessor-based systems; set top boxes; programmable consumer electronics; network PCs; minicomputers; mainframe computers; game consoles; distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices; and the like. 
     The invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , an illustrative system for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer  110 . Components of computer  110  may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit  120 , a system memory  130 , and a system bus  121  that couples various system components including the system memory  130  to the processing unit  120 . The system bus  121  may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus. 
     Computer  110  typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer  110  and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by computer  110 . Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media. 
     The system memory  130  includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)  131  and random access memory (RAM)  132 . A basic input/output system  133  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer  110 , such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM  131 . RAM  132  typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit  120 . By way of example, and not limitation,  FIG. 1  illustrates operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 . 
     The computer  110  may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,  FIG. 1  illustrates a hard disk drive  141  that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive  151  that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk  152 , and an optical disk drive  155  that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk  156  such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, DVD, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive  141  is typically connected to the system bus  121  through a non-removable memory interface such as interface  140 , and magnetic disk drive  151  and optical disk drive  155  are typically connected to the system bus  121  by a removable memory interface, such as interface  150 . 
     The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in  FIG. 1 , provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer  110 . In  FIG. 1 , for example, hard disk drive  141  is illustrated as storing operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147 . Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 . Operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147  are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer  110  through input devices such as a keyboard  162  and pointing device  161 , commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  120  through a user input interface  160  that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port, universal serial bus (USB), or IEEE 1394 serial bus (FireWire). At least one monitor  184  or other type of display device may also be connected to the system bus  121  via an interface, such as a video adapter  183 . The video adapter  183  may support advanced 3D graphics capabilities, in addition to having its own specialized processor and memory. Computer  110  may also include a digitizer  185  to allow a user to provide input using a stylus input device  186 . In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers  189  and printer  188 , which may be connected through an output peripheral interface  187 . 
     The computer  110  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  180 . The remote computer  180  may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer  110 , although only a memory storage device  181  has been illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 1  include a local area network (LAN)  171  and a wide area network (WAN)  173 , but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  110  may be connected to the LAN  171  through a network interface or adapter  170 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  110  may include a modem  172  or other means for establishing communications over the WAN  173 , such as the Internet. The modem  172 , which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus  121  via the user input interface  160 , or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  110 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,  FIG. 1  illustrates remote application programs  182  as residing on memory device  181 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. 
     One or more aspects of the invention may be embodied in computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like. 
     Illustrative Embodiments 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a partial screenshot  300  of a shell browser window implementing a multiple root navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The shell browser window  301  is comprised of a menu bar  305  spanning the top of the window, a shell browser pane  310  on the right side and a multiple root navigation pane  315  along the left side of shell browser window  301 . The implementation of a multiple root navigation pane within the shell browser window  301  allows a user significant flexibility in navigating, as described herein. A user may either browse files and/or data by accessing individual folders or pages via page views in shell browser pane  310  or navigate using the navigation pane  315  by jumping directly to desired nodes representative of documents or files corresponding to a page view. As used herein, a page refers to a collection of related documents; a page view refers to a graphical display of data items in a particular page; and a page node refers to an iconic or graphical representation of a particular page. Each page may include and/or represent static lists, auto-lists, physical folders, virtual folders, and any other structure or data collection of related files, data, or pages, and each page displayed in shell browser pane  310  may have a corresponding node displayed in navigation pane  315 , as further described below. The ability to view both shell browser pane  310  and navigation pane  315  simultaneously facilitates many of the customization options associated with a multiple root navigation pane  315 . For example, folders or lists may be dragged from the shell browser pane  310  to the navigation pane  315  todefine an additional root in the navigation pane  315 . In a navigation pane, a root node generally relates to a page node that lacks a parent page node. According to an aspect of the invention, each root node in the navigation page might have a parent node, however, the navigation pane does not display any parents of a node identified as a root node. The user is thus unable to navigate to the parent of a root node, when one exists, via that root node itself. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a multiple root navigation pane according an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The multiple root navigation pane  315  may comprise multiple root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413 . Root nodes are commonly used as a starting point for navigating through data stored on a device such as a hard disk. Navigation pane  315  combines root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413 , with any expanded descendant nodes, to graphically illustrate the organization of data. In one hierarchical representation, root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  may be aligned along a single vertical axis in the navigation pane  315  to convey their status as root nodes. Accordingly, child pages  421 ,  422  &amp;  423  of root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413 , respectively, may be positioned below its respective root node and aligned on a second vertical axis located to the right of the vertical axis of root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413 . A first page or node is said to be a descendant of a second page or node if the first page immediately depends on the second page. The relative positioning of the root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  and descendent page nodes  421 ,  422  &amp;  423  graphically delineates their hierarchical relationship. Further levels (e.g., descendants of descendants of a root node) of the storage hierarchy may be represented on the navigation pane  315  following the above described scheme using the position of a parent page node for orientation. One of skill in the art will appreciate that numerous ancestor/descendant orientation schemes may be utilized to represent the hierarchical relationship of a root node and its descendants, as is known in the art. 
     Each root node  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  and descendent page nodes  421 ,  422 ,  423  may further comprise an expansion control widget  420 , an identifying icon  426  and identification text  425 . Generally, identification text  425  conveys the general category or description of the pages or files stored therein. For example, root node  411  may be labeled with “Lyon&#39;s Doc Folder” to identify the contents of that page as documents belonging to user Lyon. An identifying icon  426  may be positioned adjacent to the identification text  425  to allow a user to graphically differentiate between one or more root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  or page nodes  421 ,  422  &amp;  423 . For instance, a user may create a unique icon to mark his or her ownership of certain pages or to indicate a type of files stored at the represented location. Similarly, users may use different icons to represent different types of pages (i.e., folders, lists, autolists). To access a page node and view its contents, a user may either double-click the identification text  425  or toggle the expansion control widget  420  associated with the particular node. By using either of these methods, the user may expand the parent page node thereby revealing its descendant nodes. The absence of an expansion control widget  420  may signal that the page node has no descendants and thus, cannot be expanded. If an expansion control widget  420  does exist, the control widget  420  may change to the corresponding page node&#39;s current state (i.e., expanded or collapsed). For example, the expansion control widget  420  may comprise a clear arrowhead  450  pointing away from the identifying text  425  when the page node is collapsed (i.e., hiding its descendant nodes). Conversely, if the page node is in an expanded state, the expansion control widget  420  may comprise a darkened arrowhead  451  pointing toward the displayed descendants of that page node. The expansion control widget  420  may be implemented in numerous ways and using a variety of symbols, colors and/or animations, such as ‘+’ and ‘−’, as is known in the art. 
       FIG. 5A  illustrates a method for customizing a navigation pane according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. A user may customize a navigation pane  315  in a variety of ways including adding new root nodes, removing existing root nodes, modifying the order of page nodes as they appear in the pane and creating shortcuts to pages or root nodes. In this embodiment, the method for customizing a navigation pane permits a user to add a node representing a specified page to the pane  315  as a root node. The addition of new root nodes facilitates navigating to oft-used pages by circumventing irrelevant parent pages. To add a new root node, a user may initially locate the desired page  557  using shell browsing methods generally known in the art. For example, a user may locate the desired page  557  using the shell browser pane  310  of  FIG. 3 . After locating the desired page  557 , the user may then select and drag the page  557  from the shell browser pane  310  ( FIG. 3 ) to the navigation pane  315  as shown in the illustration. 
     Upon receiving a user request for the creation of a new root node, the navigation pane  315  may identify the page type, acquire the page&#39;s physical location, determine the page&#39;s descendants and create a root node comprising a pointer to the page&#39;s physical location and an expandable/collapsible list of descendants. In contrast to a simple pointer or shortcut, a root node is a dynamic tool that permits a user to not only view a corresponding page by selecting the node, but also to view or hide (i.e., expand or collapse) an associated list of descendants. For example, if a user wants to make the folder “Louie&#39;s Documents” a root node in the navigation pane  315 , the navigation pane  315  will identify that it is a folder page type. Subsequently, the navigation pane  315  will create a node structure in the pane  315  with the name “Louie&#39;s Documents” pointing to the physical or virtual location of “Louie&#39;s Documents.” When a root node represents a static or dynamic list, the root node may store information identifying a location of the definition of the list to which it refers. Additional pages/root nodes may be similarly added to the navigation pane  315 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the list of root nodes is stored in a registry that may comprise data and settings corresponding to system options, hardware and the like. Storage in a medium such as a registry allows a custom list of root nodes in a navigation pane to persist from browsing session to browsing session. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the list of nodes may be stored using an array of other methods and in a variety of other mediums. 
     The user may remove a preexisting root node  412  from the navigation pane  315  by using a remove option available in a context menu. In one embodiment of the invention, the user may access the context menu of a particular root node  412  by selecting and/or right-clicking (i.e., using a mouse) on root node  412 . Once the user selects the remove option from the context menu, the navigation pane  315  removes the selected root node  412  and its associated list of descendants  512 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5B , a user may further adjust the ordering of the root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  by selecting and dragging root nodes  411 ,  412  &amp;  413  to their preferred locations in navigation pane  315 . The user may similarly reorder sibling nodes having a common parent. The destination location may be identified by a position indicator  570  to ensure accurate relocation of root nodes. For example, a user may reorganize Lyon&#39;s Doc Folder  412  by dragging Work page  590  to the location identified by position indicator  570 . Alternatively, a user may drag an existing page on the navigation pane  315  to a desktop. By doing so, the user may create a shortcut on the desktop to the selected page without removing the page node from the navigation pane  315 . In such an instance, the navigation pane  315  may create a copy of the node pointer and place that copy on the desktop. Yet another alternative (not shown) permits a user to pin a parent and child node so that they appear on the same hierarchical level. For instance, a user may pin “Lyon&#39;s Doc Folder”  412  and child folder “Work”  590 . By pinning the parent and child folder, “Lyon&#39;s Doc Folder”  412  and “Work”  590  appear on the same hierarchical level in the navigation pane without actually modifying the underlying structure. Such a feature allows a user to temporarily modify the hierarchical view of the navigation pane without making permanent changes. 
     A user may also add, remove, rename and/or reorder root nodes using a configuration dialog similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 6  according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The configuration dialog  600  may comprise a displayed pages pane  605 , an available pages pane  610 , an add button  615 , a remove button  620 , reordering buttons  625  &amp;  626 , a reset button  630 , a rename button  635  and a set as homepage option  640 . The configuration dialog  600  permits users to view a list of available pages in one pane  610  while modifying the contents of the navigation pane in the displayed pages pane  605 . The available pages pane  610  displays a list of selectable pages that correspond to a selected location. A user may change the selected location by using a drop-down menu  650 . Once the user has a list of available pages, the user may then select an available page and choose add option  615  to create a new root node corresponding to the selected page. Displayed pages pane  605  may automatically update its contents to reflect the addition of new root nodes. In other words, upon detection of a change the configuration dialog  600  may refresh panes  605  &amp;  610  to reflect the most current information. 
     If the user wants to remove a current root node, the user may select the root node in the displayed pages pane  605  and choose the remove option  620 . Upon removing the root node, the navigation pane disassociates the node with the corresponding page and removes the node from the pane. Other options permit the user to rename a current root node or set a root node as the home page. A user may reorder a root node in the displayed pages pane  605  by selecting a node and adjusting its relative position using arrow buttons  625  &amp;  626 . Should the user make a mistake in adding, removing, reordering or renaming one or more root nodes, the user has the reset option  630  to reset the changes he or she made to the navigation pane. Selecting reset button  630  may revert any changes made by the user since the window  600  was last opened, or may revert to a default state, undoing any changes the user has made. 
       FIG. 7A  illustrates a page property dialog for customizing page nodes according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. A user may configure the aforementioned properties of a specified page node through a property dialog  700 . The property dialog  700  may comprise an expansion control selection tool  703 , icon selection tool  605 , an identifying text changing tool  710 , a size selection bar  715  and a hide option  720 . The expansion control selection tool  703  and icon selection tool  705  provide the user with the flexibility to change the expansion control icon (e.g., to ‘+’ and ‘−’ as in previous operating systems) and the representative icon adjoining the identifying text. The expansion control selection tool  703  and icon selection tool  705  may be implemented through a drop-down list or through a shell browser utility that permits a user to search through and select from a database of images and icons. With regard to the expansion control selection tool  703 , a user may be asked to select two images to represent each of a collapsed and expanded state. Alternatively, the selection tools  703  and  705  may comprise a predefined menu of available icons or images. Once the user has selected an icon, he or she may have the option to preview the change prior to applying it to the page node. 
     In addition, a user may change the substance and appearance of the identification text of the page node and the underlying page. This may be accomplished by editing the text within the navigation pane or, alternatively, through the property dialog  700 . The property dialog  700  may comprise options for adjusting font, font size, style (italics, bold, smallcaps, etc.) and color. For example, a user may increase the font size and alter the font color of a page of particular significance or importance and its representative node. Such features may allow a user to identify to others that the page is of high importance or relevance. 
     A further option of the page property configuration dialog  700  may allow a user to hide a page node in the navigation pane so that the page node is not visible when viewing the navigation pane. In one embodiment of the invention, when a page node is hidden, its descendant nodes may be elevated to root node status in the navigation pane. Thus, a hide option permits a user to create several root nodes simultaneously. A navigation pane comprising a hidden page node is illustrated in  FIG. 7B . Group  710  comprises descendant page nodes of the hidden Autolist root node while the Folders page node  715 , not related to the hidden node, is also visible. Hiding a particular root node may also be advantageous when a user is working extensively with the pages dependent on the hidden root node. By hiding the node, a user is not required to continuously expand and collapse the root node to interact with the children nodes. 
     The present invention has been described in terms of preferred and illustrative embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this disclosure.