System and method for directly manipulating fields for grouping items

摘要

A system and method for grouping and editing items directly on a display screen without accessing a dialog box. A box is displayed for grouping a plurality of items. These items are comprised of various fields of information. At least one field is selected for grouping the items. After the field is selected, the field is placed onto the box. The selected field is then displayed in the box. After the field is displayed in the box, the items are grouped by the selected field. After grouping the items by the selected field, the items are displayed as grouped by the selected field. The tasks are repeated for each field remaining if nesting of groups is desired. Items can be edited directly on the display screen by selecting an item from a first field group. The item is then moved to a second field group. As the item moves to the second field group, a message is displayed indicating the status of the item if the item is placed in the second field group. The item is then placed in the second field group. As a result of placing the item in the second field group, the item and fields are updated to reflect the new grouping status.