Method and system for displaying and providing access to data on a monitor

This invention relates a method and system for displaying and providing access to data on a monitor. A method and system for displaying and providing access to data on a monitor includes retrieving at least two vistas from a memory, preparing the vistas for display, and then displaying the retrieved vistas in one of at least three different formats on the monitor. Each of the vistas comprises at least one panel of data for display. The three formats comprise a collapsed state wherein more than one, but less than all of the panels of data for the vista are displayed, an open state wherein a selected set of two or more of the panels of data are displayed for the vista, and an exploded state wherein all of the panels of data are displayed for the vista.