A graphical user interface for allowing an end-user to navigate and edit a hierarchy of objects and relationships is disclosed. The user can add or remove patent and children data objects to or from the view by clicking on a given node, allowing the hierarchy to be examined to any desired level of detail. The user can drag-and-drop nodes from a palette to add new nodes to the database. Similarly, the user can add new relationships by drawings a link between two nodes in the view. The user can delete objects or relationships by clicking on them. The user can modify objects or relationships by clicking on them and changing their properties. The graphical user interface automatically scales and re-adjusts to accommodate the modified object relationships.