JPH06149648A - Hyper media system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention, in a hypermedia system capable of displaying data linked by a link on a card-by-card basis, not only the front-back relationship of the cards being displayed but also the overall positional relationship of information The most important feature is to be able to understand intuitively. [Structure] For example, the actual card image displayed on the screen of the display device 20 is reduced on the card display unit 102,
Create image data for card icons. Then, the map display unit 103 lays out this image data based on the information of the map layout management unit 14, and displays the map information. In addition, the map display unit 103
Then, information about the card being displayed is displayed on the card display unit 10.
By receiving from the card 2, the card icon on the map corresponding to the card is highlighted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hypermedia system such as a computer or a workstation capable of displaying hypermedia data linked by directional links in card units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, in a personal computer (personal computer), a system capable of displaying multimedia data such as hypertexts linked by directional links in card units and tracing the links along the links. Is being developed.

That is, in the conventional hypermedia system, the multimedia data is laid out and displayed on the card. A directional link can be set up between arbitrary data, and by following this link, it is possible to sequentially access information across a plurality of cards.

In this type of system, generally, when data (link node) having a link exists inside a displayed card, the link node is colored or the link node itself is rectangular. Although a means for indicating the existence position of the link node is provided such as surrounding, it is impossible to know what the information of the link destination extended to the link node is until the link is actually traced.

Therefore, a card image is reduced and saved in advance, and reduced images of other cards currently linked to the currently displayed card are displayed in a list as a card icon so that a link to be followed next can be displayed. Some systems have the function of guiding.

However, in the case of the above system,
There is a problem that it is not possible to guide the selection of a link that is more proactive because it only displays the icon image of the previous card or the previous card.

Further, since it is not possible to grasp the relationship of the links as a whole, there has been a demand for displaying a large number of card icons in a network-like form including the relationship between the cards.

[0008]

As described above, in the related art, since there is no means for grasping the overall link relationship, it is not possible to guide the selection of links proactively, and the card There were drawbacks, such as the inability to know the relationships between them.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to intuitively grasp not only the front-and-rear relationship of displayed cards but also the positional relationship of the entire information, and moreover, including the relationship between cards and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hypermedia system capable of simply displaying the card icons of the above in a form of being linked in a network form.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, in the hypermedia system of the present invention, a data management section for storing and managing multimedia data and a data management section for managing the multimedia data are provided. Information for connecting the managed multimedia data to each other with a directional link and for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit and a link management unit for managing the link. A card layout management unit that manages a card layout image, a map layout management unit that manages information for laying out the relationship of links between the cards as a map, and a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit. The card display control unit that creates the map and the map layout management unit that manages the map. A map display control unit that creates a map image based on layout information, a display device that displays the map image created by the map display control unit and the card image created by the card display control unit, and this display device. And an input device for inputting an instruction based on the display of the above, the map image created by the map display control unit is a card icon obtained by reducing the card image created by the card display control unit. It is configured to include a constituent means configured by.

Further, in the hypermedia system of the present invention, the directionality is set between the data management unit that stores and manages multimedia data and the multimedia data managed by this data management unit. A link management unit that connects the links with each other and manages the link; a card layout management unit that manages information for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit in card units; A map layout management unit that manages information for laying out link relationships as a map, a card display control unit that creates a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit, and the map layout management unit. The map image is based on the map layout information managed by the department. And the map display control unit to create a di-,
It has a display device for displaying the map image created by the map display control unit and the card image created by the card display control unit, and an input device for inputting an instruction based on the display on the display device. The map image created by the map display control unit is configured by a card icon that is a reduced card image created by the card display control unit, and a plurality of cards are registered as one group. The map is displayed for each group, and the map image is moved between the maps corresponding to the group to edit the group.

Further, in the hypermedia system of the present invention, the directionality is set between a data management unit that stores multimedia data and manages it, and the multimedia data managed by this data management unit. A link management unit that connects the links with each other and manages the link; a card layout management unit that manages information for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit in card units; A map layout management unit that manages information for laying out link relationships as a map, a card display control unit that creates a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit, and the map layout management unit. Based on the map layout information managed by the department, A map display control unit for creating a page, a display device for displaying a map image created by the map display control unit and a card image created by the card display control unit, and a display on this display device. In the one having an input device for inputting an instruction to, the map display control unit displays the relationship of links stretched between the cards along with their directionality,
It is configured to have means for changing the display according to the number of links.

[0013]

According to the present invention, since the above-described means makes it possible to express the entire link relationship by the card icon in which the card image is reduced, not only the positional relationship of the entire information but also the contents of the card, etc. Can also be reflected.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the outline of the configuration of a hypermedia system according to the present invention.

That is, the hypermedia system includes, for example, a system body 10, a display device 20 including a CRT display, and an input device 30 including a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse.
It consists of and.

The system main body 10 includes, for example, a primitive data management unit 11 and a card layout management unit 1.
2, a data management unit 101 including a link management unit 13 and a map layout management unit 14, a card display unit 102 as a card display control unit, and a map display unit 103 as a map display control unit.

The data management unit 101 is composed of, for example, a hard disk device, and the primitive data management unit 11 has a text, image,
Basic multimedia data such as voice and video, and image data for a card icon, which will be described later, are stored and managed.

The card layout management unit 12 manages information (card layout information) when the data in the primitive data management unit 11 is laid out and displayed on the card.

In the link management unit 13, the card display unit 10 is based on the information of the card layout management unit 12.
The links provided between the information laid out in No. 2 are managed. The map layout management unit 14 manages information (map layout information) for displaying the relationship of links between cards as a map.

The card display unit 102 is for displaying card information (card image) on the screen of the display device 20 based on the information of the card layout management unit 12.

The map display unit 103 is for displaying map information (map image) on the screen of the display device 20 based on the information of the map layout management unit 14.

The card display section 102 also has a function of creating image data for a card icon by using a change in layout information on the card or an update of data on the card as a trigger.

This function is to subject the card image to image reduction processing such as thinning processing up to the size of the card icon, and save this as image data for the card icon in the primitive data management section 11. . FIG. 2 shows an example of card display on the display device 20. This card (card 1)
In the case of C1, for example, text data T1 and two image data I1 ₁ and I1 ₂ are laid out. In this example, the card C1 is represented by a fixed size, but it may be a window whose size can be freely changed. Further, the card C1 may display image data or the like on itself (whole). Furthermore, text data T1 and image data I
In addition to 1 ₁ and I ₁₂ , it is possible to lay out moving image data and audio data. Here, a directional link can be established between the card and individual data laid out on the card and other data.

Thus, for example, when a link is established from the image data I1 _{1 of the} card C1 to the data laid out on another card, the image data I1 ₁ is input by the input device 30 such as a mouse. By selecting, it is possible to display the card in which the linked data is laid out. FIG. 3 shows an example of map display on the display device 20.

This map displays the relationship of the links of the cards displayed on the display device 20 with other cards by means of the card icon CI and the link L connected between the icons CI.

In this example, the directionality of the link L is indicated by an arrow. However, in addition to this, the directionality is changed by, for example, setting the link source to red and changing it to blue as it approaches the link destination. May be indicated. By displaying the map as shown in the figure, it can be easily understood that, for example, five cards are connected in the link relationship as shown.

Further, in the present embodiment, the card icon CI
Since it is configured by image data obtained by reducing the actual card image, the contents of each card can be roughly known from the map. FIG. 4 shows an example of information management in the map layout management unit 14 described above.

The map layout management unit 14 uses, for example, the first, second and third group information tables 14a,
14b and 14c, a card icon layout information table 14d, and a link layout information table 14e are arranged in a hierarchical manner.

That is, the coordinate data of the card icons laid out in the virtual space and the like are managed by the map layout management section 14 as a card icon layout information table 14d. Further, the link information regarding the displayed map is the link layout information table 14
It is managed by the map layout management unit 14 as e.

Further, the coordinates of the actual display area with respect to the virtual space coordinates of the map are managed by the map layout management section 14 as the third group information table 14c. The map layout management unit 14 manages the first and second group information tables 14a,
Details of 14b will be described later. Here, the operation of the map display unit 103 described above will be described.

That is, in the map display unit 103, a map is created in the virtual space using the information of the map layout management unit 14, and a part of the map is used as a display area in the display device 20.
Displayed on the screen of. In the map display unit 103,
The card icon corresponding to the card displayed on the screen of the display device 20 is always highlighted.

For example, when the card C1 corresponding to the card 1 is displayed on the display device 20 as shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5A, on the map corresponding to the card C1. The frame of the card icon CI1 is highlighted with a thick line.

This is because, for example, when the display of the card C1 is notified from the card display section 102, the information table 14d of the map layout management section 14 is checked,
It is performed based on the coordinate value of the card icon CI1 corresponding to the card C1 on the information table 14d.

Further, when the display of the card is changed by following a link or the like, as shown in FIG. 5B, the fact is notified by the card display unit 102, and the current operation is being performed. The highlighting of the card icon CI1 is canceled. Then, the information table 14d of the map layout management unit 14 is checked to search for a card icon corresponding to the above card display on the map.

When a card icon exists on the map, the card icon CI3 corresponding to the displayed card (for example, card 3) is highlighted based on the coordinate value of the card icon.

If the card icon does not exist on the map, the map is newly created and then the card icon CI3 corresponding to the displayed card (for example, card 3) is highlighted.

As described above, by highlighting the card icon, the position of the card displayed on the screen of the display device 20 on the map (the positional relationship of the entire information) is notified. ing. However, even if there is information about the desired card icon on the map,
The icon is not always displayed on the screen.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the card icon CI4 corresponding to the display of the card 4 is highlighted and the card icon CI5 corresponding to the display of the card 5 exists outside the display area. I will.

In this state, when the card display is switched from the card 4 to the card 5, the card icon CI5 corresponding to the display of the card 5 is displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 6 (b). The area is moved. Then, after moving the display area, the above-described highlighting process is executed in the same manner.

As described above, when the card icon is highlighted, it is confirmed by checking the information tables 14c and 14d of the map layout management unit 14 whether the coordinates of the target card icon are included in the display area. If not included, the moving distance is calculated from the difference between the coordinate value of the display area on the information table 14c and the coordinate value of the card icon on the information table 14d, and the display area is moved based on this. It has become. In this case, the display switching process can be performed at a higher speed than in the case where the display area is moved by moving the scroll bar SB, for example.

On the other hand, when the card icon displayed on the map is selected by the input device 30 such as a mouse, the map display unit 103 cancels the highlighting of the card icon corresponding to the current card display. Then, the newly selected card icon is highlighted, and at the same time, the card display unit 102 is notified of that fact. As a result, the card display unit 102 displays the card corresponding to the selected card icon on the screen. Next, a procedure for changing the layout of the card icons on the map will be described.

Now, it is assumed that the user uses the input device 30 to select, for example, a "layout change" command displayed on the screen and further selects a card icon whose layout is to be changed.

Then, in the map display section 103, a link extending from the selected card icon to another icon is determined from the link layout information table 14e of the map layout management section 14 to create a list.

When a new moving position of the card icon selected by the user is input, the map display unit 1
At 03, the position of the corresponding card icon is moved according to the input.

Then, the contents of the card icon layout information table 14d of the map layout management unit 14 are updated according to the moving distance, and at the same time, the link is redrawn according to the movement of the card icon based on the created link list. The map layout management unit 14
The content of the link layout information table 14e is updated.

That is, when there is a depth of content relationship between the cards, for example, as shown in FIG.
The procedure described above is applied to each icon CI1, CI2, CI3, C.
By executing this for I4 and CI5, the card 1 and the card 2 have a deep relationship with each other, and the card 3, the card 4, and the card 5 have a deep relationship with each other. Can be changed to
Next, a process for simplifying and displaying the links connected between the card icons will be described. When drawing a link, the map display unit 103 first creates a list of links related to the map to be displayed based on the information of the link management unit 13. Further, the number of links between cards is calculated, and the result is stored in the link layout information table 14e of the map layout management unit 14. Then, a link is drawn on the map based on the content of the link layout information table 14e. here,
The thickness is changed according to the number of links between the cards to be displayed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when only one link is provided between the card icons CI, the link La is a thin line, and when two links are provided. , The link Lb is a thick line,
Displayed respectively.

It is possible to faithfully reproduce the state of the links set up between the cards on the map based on the card layout information. In this way, however, the link consisting of one link is thin and two links are formed. It is possible to make it easy to understand the relationship of the links in the entire map by displaying the links consisting of the links in bold. Next, a means for dividing the map information into a plurality of groups and processing them will be described.

Now, after the user selects a group of cards that are semantically (contently) organized as a card icon on the map by the input device 30, for example, the "new group" command displayed on the screen is selected. Suppose

Then, in the map display section 103, the information regarding the selected card icon is already in the first group information table 1 of the map layout management section 14.
If it exists on 4a, it is deleted and then group information is newly created and registered.

For example, if the group information "group 1" as information about the selected card icon already exists, it is deleted, and new group information "group 2" is created and registered.

As shown in FIG. 4, the group information is managed by the map layout management unit 14 in the first group information table 14a on a group basis.

That is, in order to create new group information, first, "group 2" is added as group information on the first group information table 14a of the map layout management section 14. Then, the contents of the card icon layout information table 14d of the card icons to be grouped (moved) are transferred from "group 1" to "group 2".

Further, information of links related to card icons to be grouped is extracted from the link layout information table 14e of "group 1", and among the extracted link information, links between card icons to be grouped are extracted. Is the link layout information table 1
The contents of 4e are transferred from "group 1" to "group 2".

In this case, of the extracted link information,
For example, regarding the link between the card icon to be grouped and the card icon to be not grouped, the card icon to be grouped is unified as the icon of “group 2”, and the content of the link layout information table 14e is updated. At the same time, the information about the group icon is added to the card icon layout information table 14d.

In this way, when the map layout information of the map layout management unit 14 is updated, the map display unit 1
In 03, the corresponding map information is displayed again on the screen of the display device 20.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the card icons CI3 and CI corresponding to the cards 3, 4, and 5 are displayed.
It is assumed that the user selects the CI4 and CI5 by the input device 30 and selects, for example, the "new group" command displayed on the screen, assuming that they are deeply related in content.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, in the map display portion 103, first, the card icons CI1 and CI2 belonging to "group 1" are displayed on the screen using the information in the card icon layout information table 14d. In addition, the link layout information table 14 is used to display the link L1 stretched between the displayed card icons CI1 and CI2.
It is displayed by a thin line using the information of e. At this time, if there is a link that spans other groups, an icon corresponding to that group is displayed.

That is, in this example, since two links are provided from "group 1" to "group 2", the icon GI2 corresponding to "group 2" is displayed and the number of links is increased to two. The corresponding thick link L2 is displayed. In this way, when the map information regarding "group 1" is displayed, the map information regarding "group 2" is then similarly displayed.

When it is desired to move a card icon between existing groups, first, after the card icon to be moved and the destination group are selected by the input device 30, for example, "Move" displayed on the screen is displayed. Command is selected. Then, the layout information regarding the selected icon is changed by the same operation as that for creating a new group, for example. Then, all the map information for which the layout information has been changed is displayed again on the screen of the display device 20. Next, a means for displaying a plurality of maps for one group will be described. Now, the user inputs the input device 30
Then, for example, it is assumed that the "add map" command displayed on the screen is selected.

Then, the map display section 103 makes a copy of the contents of the original group, for example, the "group 1-1" to which the displayed map belongs, out of the information of the map layout management section 14, "Group 1
-2 "is added on the second group information table 14b. Thereby, a plurality of layout information can be managed for one group, for example, "group 1". After that, in the map display unit 103, according to the content of the new group, for example, "group 1-2",
The new map is displayed on the screen of the display device 20.

In this state, the user moves the card icon on the newly displayed map by using the input device 30, so that the original map becomes a group 1-1 as shown in FIG. 10, for example. Can create a new group 1-2 map having a different layout and an arbitrary layout.

As described above, it is possible to manage a plurality of maps showing the relationships between the cards from completely different viewpoints, and at the same time display them on the screen of the display device 20.

When deleting unnecessary map information, the map is selected by the input device 30 and the "Delete map" command displayed on the screen, for example, is selected.

Then, in the map display section 103, it is checked from the first and second group information tables 14a and 14b of the map layout management section 14 whether or not a plurality of layout information exists in the group to which the map belongs. Then, if it exists, the card layout information is deleted, and the map information corresponding to the deletion is deleted from the screen of the display device 20. If a plurality of pieces of layout information do not exist, the above "map deletion" command is ignored. This ensures that at least one map layout information exists for one group. Next, a means for changing the display area so that the linked card icon is displayed by selecting a link will be described. In FIG. 11, it is assumed that the input device 30 inputs the point P shown in FIG. 11A in order to select an arbitrary link.

Then, the map display section 103 obtains the coordinate value of the point P and searches the link layout information table 14e of the map layout management section 14 for the link having the shortest distance from the point P on the map.

That is, the perpendicular line from the point P to each of the links La and Lb is obtained based on the contents of the link layout information table 14e, and the length from the intersection of the perpendicular line and the links La and Lb to the point P is calculated. To do. Then, the link having the shortest distance (link Lb in this example) is set as a candidate,
Highlighting, for example, the start point and the end point of the link Lb are displayed by blinking.

Thereafter, it is confirmed whether or not the link Lb highlighted by the user is the target link. If the link is not the target link, for example, the "Cancel" command displayed on the screen is displayed. It is input by the input device 30. When a mouse having three buttons is used as the input device 30, for example, the right button, which means cancel, may be clicked. Then, when this “cancel” command is input, the map display unit 103 cancels the highlighted display of the selected link Lb.

If the selected link is the one for the purpose, one of the card icons CIa and CIb connected to the link is displayed again in order to display one of the card icons CIa and CIb, as shown in FIG. Input by 30 is performed.

When this input is made, the map display unit 10
At 3, the coordinate value of the input point P'is obtained and
The distances from the point P ′ to both ends of the selected link Lb are calculated.

Then, of the calculated distances, the one with the longer distance (in this example, the end point side of the link Lb) is determined as the display target, and the card icon CIb connected to the end is highlighted.

Further, from the information tables 14c and 14d of the map layout management unit 14, the card icon CI
By calculating the movement distance from the difference between the coordinate value of b and the coordinate value of the display area and moving the display area according to the movement distance, the card icon CIb is displayed on the screen of the display device 20. To control.

As described above, by selecting the link on the map, the card icon at the link destination can be displayed, so that the time required for switching the display area can be shortened. As described above, it is possible to express the overall link relationship by the card icon which is a reduced card image.

That is, a map is constructed by a card icon obtained by reducing an actual card image, and the map is displayed on the screen. This makes it possible to reflect not only the context of the displayed card but also the contents of the card and the like. Therefore, it is possible to intuitively understand the positional relationship of the entire information, and it is also possible to easily know the outline of each card and the relationship between the cards.

Since the position of the displayed card on the map can be emphasized, the current position can be easily known and the card can be followed without departing from the flow of information. .

Further, since the layout of the card icons can be freely changed on the map, the card icons are classified and re-laid out according to the contents of the card, or the icons are laid out in order. ,
It is possible to improve workability when organizing and linking information.

Further, since the relationship of the links between the cards on the map can be displayed in a simplified manner, it is possible to easily grasp the relationship between the cards even if the information has many complicated links. Is possible.

Further, since some card icons can be displayed as a map in another window in group units, it is possible to easily manage and grasp the information in a structured manner.

Further, since a plurality of maps can be displayed for the same data, it is possible to manage a large number of information that are complicatedly related to each other, such that information can be managed from different viewpoints at the same time. , And can be managed.

In addition, since a large number of card icons can be efficiently displayed on the limited display screen, and the overall link relationship can be easily grasped, it is always possible to keep a proactive link. It will be possible to guide the choice.

Further, since it becomes possible to grasp the relationship of the entire links, it is possible to efficiently create hypermedia data connected in a network without designing the data association on paper beforehand. Becomes

In the above embodiment, a case has been described where highlighting is performed by drawing the frame of an icon on the map corresponding to the displayed card with a thick line, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example the entire icon is displayed. The highlighting may be performed by changing the color tone.
Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0083]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to intuitively grasp not only the front-and-rear relationship of the currently displayed cards but also the positional relationship of the entire information, and moreover, the relationship between the cards. It is possible to provide a hypermedia system capable of simply displaying a large number of card icons including links and the like in a network-like form.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hypermedia system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram similarly showing an example of card display.

FIG. 3 is a diagram similarly showing an example of map display.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of information management in the map layout management unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining highlighting of a card icon and its switching operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a process of highlighting a card icon and switching a display area, similarly.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for changing the layout of card icons on the map.

FIG. 8 is a diagram similarly shown for explaining processing when a link formed between card icons is simplified and displayed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a means for processing map information by dividing it into a plurality of groups.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a means for displaying a plurality of maps for one group.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a means for changing a display area so that a link destination card icon is displayed by selecting a link.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... System main body, 11 ... Primitive data management unit, 12 ... Card layout management unit, 13 ... Link management unit, 14 ... Map layout management unit, 20 ... Display device,
30 ... Input device, 101 ... Data management unit, 102 ... Card display unit (card display control unit), 103 ... Map display unit (Map display control unit).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A link for linking a data management unit that stores multimedia data and manages the multimedia data and the multimedia data managed by the data management unit with a directional link to manage the data. A management unit, a card layout management unit that manages information for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit on a card basis, and information for laying out a link relationship between the cards as a map Based on the map layout management unit that manages the card layout control unit, a card display control unit that creates a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit, and the map layout information managed by the map layout management unit. This map display and the map display control unit that creates the map image A hyperlink comprising a display device for displaying the map image created by the control unit and the card image created by the card display control unit, and an input device for inputting an instruction based on the display on the display device. In the media system, the map image created by the map display control unit is
2. A hypermedia system, characterized in that the hypermedia system is provided with a constituting means for constructing a card icon in which a card image created by the card display control section is reduced. 2. A link for connecting a data management unit that stores multimedia data and manages the multimedia data and the multimedia data managed by the data management unit with a directional link and manages the linked data. A management unit, a card layout management unit that manages information for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit on a card basis, and information for laying out a link relationship between the cards as a map Based on the map layout management unit that manages the card layout control unit, a card display control unit that creates a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit, and the map layout information managed by the map layout management unit. This map display and the map display control unit that creates the map image A hyperlink comprising a display device for displaying the map image created by the control unit and the card image created by the card display control unit, and an input device for inputting an instruction based on the display on the display device. In the media system, the map image created by the map display control unit is
A configuration unit configured by a card icon that is a reduced card image created by the card display control unit, and a plurality of cards are registered as one group, a map is displayed in group units, and a map corresponding to a group is displayed. By moving the map image,
A hypermedia system characterized by comprising an editing means for editing a group. 3. A link for connecting a data management unit that stores multimedia data and manages the multimedia data, and the multimedia data managed by the data management unit with a directional link, and manages the linked data. A management unit, a card layout management unit that manages information for laying out a plurality of multimedia data managed by the data management unit on a card basis, and information for laying out a link relationship between the cards as a map Based on the map layout management unit that manages the card layout control unit, a card display control unit that creates a card image based on the card layout information managed by the card layout management unit, and the map layout information managed by the map layout management unit. This map display and the map display control unit that creates the map image A hyperlink comprising a display device for displaying the map image created by the control unit and the card image created by the card display control unit, and an input device for inputting an instruction based on the display on the display device. In the media system, the map display control unit includes means for displaying the relationship of links stretched between the cards with their directivity and changing the display according to the number of links. Hypermedia system to do.