Using guides to explore multimedia databases

The design and implementation of a multimedia database is surveyed and an interface technique called guides is presented, which simplifies database access by alleviating the need to construct search queries. The user is given a selection of images of people who embody easily understood points of view. A user can choose a guide as a companion while browsing the database. At each database node the user is provided with the guides next choice and thus can follow the interest path of a certain type of individual. The graphical tools and interface provided to the text, graphics and sound database are presented. The design and functionality of alphabetical and topical indexes, multimedia tours, timelines and animated maps are detailed. Future directions for development are indicated. The concept of guides can be easily generalized and applied to other databases