METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ORGANIZING INFORMATION IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM

The invention provides a method for organizing information in a computer system, particularly one having a graphical user interface which includes graphical representations of documents. In the method of the invention, the user creates a pile (or collection of documents) by positioning the cursor (for example, a pointer) over one graphical representation of a document and then selecting that document and moving the graphical representation of the document (by moving the cursor) over to another graphical representation of another document and then depositing the first document on top of the second document in order to create a pile. The system will typically display a graphical representation of the pile which is different than the graphical representation of each document separately and after a pile is created, the original graphical representation of each document in the collection will typically no longer be displayed. A sideways view of the graphical representation of the document replaces the original graphical representation of the document, and the sideways view of the graphical representation is located in the graphical representation of the collection. The user may then browse through the pile by positioning the cursor at an item in the pile for a predetermined period of time to reveal a proxy within a viewing cone for the item positioned under the cursor. After the user creates a pile, the system may display a base (or plinth) under the pile to further indicated to the user that the collection of documents is a pile and to allow the user to select the pile as a group. The user may then select the pile for further action by pointing the cursor to the base of the pile.