Patent ID: 8364731

Claim:
A file management apparatus comprising: a storage unit configured to store a plurality of first file management information each being associated with and referencing one or more electronic data files and serving as a unit for managing the one or more electronic data files in a same hierarchy, and a plurality of second file management information each being associated with and referencing one or more of the plurality of the first file management information and serving as a unit for managing the plurality of first file management information, wherein the plurality of second file management information controls an arrangement of a plurality of first symbol images corresponding to each of the plurality of first file management information in a graphical user interface; a first display control unit configured to display the plurality of first symbol images in the graphical user interface, each of the first symbol images corresponding to one of the plurality of the first file management information on a display unit based on the second file management information; a second display control unit configured to display, when one of the first symbol images is selected, thumbnail images of the one or more electronic data files within the hierarchy of a first file management information of the plurality of first file management information corresponding to the selected first symbol image on the display unit; a first symbol managing unit configured to register, upon receiving a request for registering a first symbol name for identifying a first symbol image specified from the first symbol images displayed on the display unit, the first symbol name in association with the first file management information corresponding to the specified first symbol image, wherein the first display control unit is configured to display the first symbol name with the first symbol image corresponding to the first file management information associated with the first symbol name, on the display unit, each of the plurality of second file management information is associated with more than one of the plurality of the first file management information in order, the first display control unit is configured to display the first symbol images in the order on the display unit, the first display control unit is configured to display the first symbol images in a matrix, and the file management apparatus further comprises a reconfiguring unit that is configured to reconfigure the matrix by either adding or deleting file management information depending on a position of a first symbol image in which either one of the file and the first symbol name has been registered among the first symbol images displayed on the display unit.