Abstract: A system and method for displaying on a computer screen a specified data object that is part of a data table, in response to a user selecting a displayed object metaphor. The indexed location of the data object relative to other similar data objects in the table is computed and the maximum pixel positions needed to display characters on the screen is also determined. The system also produces the total number of similar data objects in the table and computes a signal that is proportional to the combination of the indexed location and the maximum character pixel positions. From the first signal, a second signal is created that is proportional to the value of the combination further combined with the total number of similar data objects in the table. Generally, the second signal is translated into a value representing the character pixel location of the specified data object and this value is used to position the object display.

Abstract: Graphical user interface (GUI) logic for enabling the selection and displaying of specific directories, subdirectories, and files. The GUI logic displays on the screen the selection and deselection options that are available. The entire hierarchical tree structure of the file system can be selected for a particular operation or any leaf or node of the tree may be selected. The logic automatically traverses the tree in response to a user's selection of a displayed object on the screen. Since the selection mode of the input device, such as a mouse, is displayed on the screen it is readily apparent to the user.