Lab · Atlas

A zoomable file canvas

The folder tree is good at storing files and bad at tidying them. It shows one folder at a time, so moving a file means remembering the whole structure and dragging it blind into a folder you can’t see. The task is about the relationship between two places, but the tool only ever shows one.

This prototype uses one zoomable canvas instead. Zoom out and files become terrain: bigger folders take more space, stale ones dim, and duplicates are marked — so you can see where the clutter is before reading a single name. Zoom in and the same shapes become readable file previews. It’s one surface at different scales, not separate screens. Scroll to zoom; drag a file to move it.

Downloads9 items · 511 MB

Downloads9

3 dupes511 MB

Screenshots3 items · 8 MB

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Invoices2 items · 900 KB

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Projects3 items · 99 MB

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Archive 20193 items · 411 MB · untouched

Archive 20193

411 MBstale

Loose pile — drop here0

invoice-acme-q3.pdf

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design-assets-final.zip

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design-assets-final-v2.zip

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Contract — Statement of Work

Draft · v0.3 · confidential

This agreement sets out the terms under which the Contractor will provide design and engineering services to the Client for the duration of the engagement.

Deliverables, milestones, and acceptance criteria are defined in Schedule A. Payment is net-30 from the date of each approved milestone.

Either party may terminate with fourteen days' written notice. Work product transfers to the Client upon final payment.

contract-draft.docx

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receipt-uber.pdf

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statement-mar.pdf

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invoice-northwind.pdf

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invoice-lattice.pdf

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Atlas — design spec

Ryan Zhang · working draft

A folder tree is built for storing, not for tidying. Atlas treats the disk as one continuous map: pull back and files become terrain, push in and they resolve into real, readable content.

Zoom is the only navigation. There are no separate windows — overview and detail are the same surface seen at different distances, so you never lose your place.

The deepest layer is the file itself. The glass is only the container; reaching it means you can read the document without ever opening it.

atlas-spec.docx

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moodboard.jpg

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build.zip

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taxes-2019.pdf

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old-site-backup.zip

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resume-2019.docx

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1 · spot the mess2 · zoom in3 · carry & drop

scroll to zoom · drag a file to move it

Notes

One zoom, four levels of detail: Zoomed out, a file is just terrain — size, age, and whether it's a duplicate. Closer, it's a labelled tray with any problems flagged. Closer still, a card. All the way in, the actual file: a photo fills the frame, a PDF shows its layout, a document shows its text. It's a single continuous zoom, so you don't lose your place moving between the overview and the detail.
Clutter is visible without opening anything: Size maps to area, stale files dim, and duplicates are marked — including two real copies of the same image that read as one pile. The zoomed-out view is the diagnosis: it tells you where to start before you open a thing.
Move files without losing context: Pick a file up and it stays under the cursor while the canvas keeps zooming underneath. So you can grab something in a crowded folder, zoom out until the destination is on screen, and drop it there — both ends visible at once, instead of dragging blind.
Scope of the prototype: This is a front-end sketch with mock files — no real filesystem behind it. It's meant to test one idea: whether semantic zoom is a better way to tidy than drilling in and out of folders. Search, undo, and multi-select aren't built.