PURPOSE: To provide a color image file controller which can perform the registering and retrieving operations with input of characters and also can retrieve and register the images through a data processor which can register, retrieve and edit a document including the color image information.

CONSTITUTION: A display device 13 can perform the registering and retrieving operations with input of characters and with use of a mouse 11 and a keyboard 12 and also can display an icon showing the feature of a color image document and the color information on a screen as the image information through a color image scanner 14. Then a registering means is added together with an icon which shows the image of the color image information to be retrieved in a retrieving state, and a means which can designate and retrieve the color information. In such a constitution, an image stored ambiguously can be retrieved when a color image file is retrieved out of an external storage 15. Then the color images can be retrieved in a form more similar to the human memory.