Digital information is present in everyone's life. Most of the time we spend in front of a computer is in managing (processing, creating, editing, searching, and organizing), digital documents. Current tools for managing digital information are based on concepts developed over 40 years ago. Even with the desktop metaphor and improved visualization, these methods do not support management of large amounts of information. This paper provides an overview of the current state of personal information management and suggests a design based on a "piles of documents" metaphor that more closely supports the working habits of many users.Godkänd; 2005; 20061227 (ysko)</p