One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that displays and facilitates browsing through a sparse view of content items in a hierarchy. First, the system receives a request to display a set of content items with a common parent in a hierarchy. If the display area has insufficient space to display some of the items, the system logically splits the content items into a first subset of content items and a distinct second subset of content items. The system then displays the first subset, and displays a search element that represents the second subset. When the system detects the selection of the search element by a user, the system initiates a search operation that allows the user to determine and select a desired item from the second subset.