Tags let me refer to all the items in a column at once (by giving them a "colX" tag for various values of X). Tags also let me logically group items that are scattered about the canvas.

In my particular application, the column dimensions are stable (may be user adjustable, but all the same size). The cells will not be all the same height, so "rows" do not exist as a concept (or at best, weakly).

The set of states/images is fairly small. The display is all visual, so the "noise" is not an issue.

Thanks for the thoughts, even if I cruelly reject them *grin*

yours,
Michael