Miller columns
| Company type | User interface technique |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer user interfaces |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Mark S. Miller |
Area served | Computer software and file browsing |
| Products | Visualization and navigation method for hierarchical data |
Miller columns—also referred to as cascading lists—represent a visualization and navigation method designed for exploring tree structures. This approach simultaneously presents several hierarchical levels, clearly marking the user's current position within the structure. Originally developed independently by Mark S. Miller in 1980 while at Yale University, the technique was subsequently adopted by projects such as Project Xanadu, Datapoint, and NeXT.
At Datapoint, Miller further adapted the concept to facilitate browsing of directed graphs featuring labeled nodes and edges. This method is particularly effective for structures with a high degree—meaning large branching factors—whereas outline editors or graph visualization tools are more suitable for data with fewer branches.
History
Miller columns gained widespread recognition through their implementation as the “Columns view” in the macOS Finder and the "Browser" mode within iTunes. The Finder’s version traces its origins back to the NeXTSTEP File Viewer introduced in 1986. The GNUstep initiative continues to provide a Miller column browser for platforms like Linux, BSD, and others that manage extensive tree hierarchies. While the iPod employs a navigation style reminiscent of column browsing for categories and audio tags, it displays only a single column at any moment.
Issues
From a usability standpoint, Miller columns encounter several limitations:
- Navigating deeply nested levels results in an increasing number of columns, each becoming narrower until horizontal scrolling or keyboard controls are required.
- Options for sorting and displaying metadata remain restricted; nevertheless, macOS Finder addresses this by offering alternative views and preview columns that reveal metadata upon file selection.
Use in file browsers
- The macOS Finder, serving as the default file management tool, incorporates Miller columns within its "Columns" view, including in open/save dialogs.
- Path Finder, a shareware file browser for Mac OS X, supports this viewing mode.
- GWorkspace, a GNUstep-based workspace manager and file navigator, utilizes Miller columns.
- ranger, a terminal-oriented file manager with Vi-inspired key bindings, features a multi-column layout akin to Miller columns.
- lf, a terminal file manager coded in Go, draws significant inspiration from ranger.
- evidence, an outdated Enlightenment file browser, implemented Miller columns in its “browser-view”.
- Thunar, the default Xfce file manager, once had a “columns-view” branch which has since been discontinued.
- Dolphin, KDE’s standard file browser, halted development of Miller columns due to complexities in code maintenance.
- Tkdesk, a file manager for the X Window System, employs Miller columns.
- Marlin, a GTK 3-based file browser featuring Miller columns, had no recorded downloads as of November 2016.
- The Elementary OS team actively develops Pantheon Files (or simply Files), which is a fork of Marlin.
- FSViewer, an obsolete file browser designed for Window Maker, used Miller columns.
- Greg's Browser offers a NeXT-inspired column browsing experience tailored for Classic Mac OS.
- Windows file managers incorporating Miller columns include WinBrowser, Ultraexplorer, and xplorer2.
- One Commander provides a tabbed interface with automatically adjusted Miller columns on Windows platforms.
- Windows utility ThatFile integrates Miller columns alongside features aimed at improving workflow efficiency.
- Direttore File Manager for Windows 10 includes a view mode utilizing Miller columns.
- The Supabase storage explorer dashboard applies Miller columns within its "columns" view interface.
- Directory Opus for Windows features Miller Columns under the name FlatView, enabling directory hierarchy visualization with customizable sizing, sorting, and filtering options for files and folders.
See also
- Shelf: A NeXT graphical user interface component that utilizes columns to build a file manager.
External links
- NSBrowser Cocoa/NextStep class offering a versatile Miller Column widget
- RBrowser FTP browser featuring Miller Columns, originally developed for NeXTSTEP
- Responsive Miller Column jQuery plugin that provides an implementation of Miller columns