Miller columns explained

Miller columns (also known as cascading lists[1]) are a browsing/visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures. The columns allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once, and provide a visual representation of the current location. It is closely related to techniques used earlier in the Smalltalk browser, but was independently invented by Mark S. Miller in 1980 at Yale University. The technique was then used at Project Xanadu, Datapoint, and NeXT.

While at Datapoint, Miller generalized the technique to browse directed graphs with labeled nodes and arcs. In all cases, the technique is appropriate for structures with high degree (large fanout). For low-degree structures, outline editors or graph viewers are more effective.

History

Miller columns are most well known today as the “Columns view” mode of the Mac OS X Finder, as well as the "Browser" view in iTunes. The columns in Finder descend directly from the NeXTSTEP File Viewer's use of Miller columns going back to 1986. The GNUstep project continues to offer a Miller column browser that closely follows the NeXT approach, bringing the advantages of a column browser to Linux, BSD, and other operating systems with large tree structures. The iPod's browsing of categories and audio file tag attributes is reminiscent of column browsing, although only one column is visible at a time.

Issues

Miller columns have several issues from a usability standpoint:

Use in file browsers

See also

NeXT GUI element that can be combined with columns to make a file manager.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tidwell. Jenifer. Designing Interfaces. O'Reilly. 5 May 2015.
  2. Web site: Path Finder 6 by Cocoatech. 28 May 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130529085350/http://www.cocoatech.com/pathfinder/. 29 May 2013.
  3. Web site: GWorkspace User Guide . May 28, 2013.
  4. Web site: ranger . May 28, 2013.
  5. Web site: Evidence -- enlightened file-manager . May 28, 2013.
  6. Web site: Bug 96239 – Multi-column list view (aka Miller Columns) . May 28, 2013.
  7. Web site: Bug #511400 "add a miller columns view" : Bugs : nautilus-elementary . May 28, 2013.
  8. Web site: Idea #6497: "Finder-like column view in Thunar" - Ubuntu brainstorm . May 28, 2013.
  9. Web site: ppenz: Dolphin 2.0 - Status Update . 3 January 2012 . May 28, 2013.
  10. Web site: TkDesk User's Guide . May 28, 2013.
  11. Web site: Marlin in Launchpad . May 28, 2013.
  12. Web site: Files in Launchpad . May 28, 2013.
  13. Web site: Is Pantheon Files a fork of Marlin? | elementary. https://web.archive.org/web/20120701193633/http://elementaryos.org/support/answers/2874. 2012-07-01. May 28, 2013.
  14. Web site: Projects — FSViewer. 28 May 2013. George Clernon. 17 May 1999.
  15. Web site: Greg's Browser. 28 May 2013. Gregory D. Landweber. 2000.
  16. Web site: WinBrowser . May 28, 2013.
  17. Web site: Mustangpeak UltraExplorer . Magenta Systems Ltd . Magenta Systems Ltd . 23 December 2020.
  18. Web site: Miller Columns — YouTube . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/iG5NzIC5Vwk . 2021-12-21 . live. . May 28, 2013.
  19. Web site: One Commander. December 29, 2013.
  20. Web site: ThatFile. June 19, 2018.
  21. Web site: Direttore File Manager. May 15, 2020.
  22. Web site: Supabase. May 9, 2023.
  23. Web site: Directory Opus. March 6, 2023.