JP2006526182A - File system shell - Google Patents

Abstract

The file system shell includes virtual folders (651 to 655) that expose normal files and folders to users in various views based on metadata rather than the actual physical basic file system structure. The user can handle the virtual folders (651 to 655) by direct operation. Filters (620-626) are prepared to narrow down the set of items. Quick links (610-613) generate a useful view of the collection of items. The library (600) is organized into large groups of available item types that can be associated together, along with functions and tools related to the items. The virtual address bar (1402) includes a plurality of segments, and each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting contents. A shell browser (2200) is realized that allows a user to easily identify an item based on metadata associated with that item. The object previewer (2202) in the shell browser (2200) displays a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types.

Description

  The present invention relates to a file system, and more particularly to a file system shell.

  There are many undesirable limitations in current computer file systems. One such limitation is the problem that the user cannot generally control the structure that is visible to the user. That is, when organizing folders, the user must select a structure, which is difficult to change. As a specific example, taking the “music” folder, the user can choose to organize the music files in an artist / album format, so that all album folders for each artist are in that particular artist's folder. As a group, and put all the songs of a particular album as a group in the album folder. The artist / album format does not lend itself to playing certain types of music (eg, playing two jazz songs of two different artists) or playing selected albums of different artists.

  Another problem is difficulty in organizing when the user has a very large number of files. Some users place files in an inflexible way and build a strict hierarchy for those files. The task of managing such files becomes increasingly complex and difficult as the number of documents available increases, and retrieval and retrieval also become difficult. This problem is exacerbated when files from other locations are added, such as shared files.

  Users also need to work with files at different locations, such as different devices, other personal computers (PCs), or online. For example, a user can choose to listen to music on a computer (accessible from a music program) or listen to music sent online from a website, but these two sources are strictly separated. ing. Music originating from different locations is organized differently and is not held in the same way or location. As yet another example, a file stored on a corporate network can be essentially separated from a file that the user has on the current machine.

  Also, the user needs to track not only the stored file data but also the location where it is stored. For example, for music files, users are forced to keep copies on various systems and attempt to track which music files are located where. This makes it difficult to find the file even if it is stored locally.

  Also, sometimes it is difficult to find a file owned by the user and return to that file. It will be difficult for the user to remember how and where a particular file was stored. Given a set of folders and a group of similar files, it is often difficult for the user to quickly find the file he / she wants. If the file is stored in a hard-to-find location, finding it will be a lot of work. In addition, if a user has many files in a folder, quick analysis of the folder becomes more difficult, especially if the contents are similar.

  Also, sometimes it is difficult to find a file on the network or return to that file. Sharing and publishing a file is often difficult, and it is often difficult to get such a file from someone who has made it available. Users typically have to remember and associate various sites and names needed to find files on the network.

  Namespaces can be different and can cause users to be confused trying to know what is “right”. This is especially true for networks with different naming conventions, restrictions, etc. For example, some operating systems require the use of short names with no spaces in order to be displayed.

  Programs also often store files in a directory or other name space dedicated to the program, which can make it difficult for users to get to those files. Programs often provide default directories and locations for storing documents. Also, the user often has to search the hard disk and guess the file storage location.

  Even related items are often stored in different locations. Related files held by the user may be stored in another part of the hard disk. Such a problem is more common in the development of digital media services for multiple content types (eg, images, music, video).

  The file system also has another problem related to the address bar. When a user navigates through a file system on a computer, a conventional graphical interface control, called the address bar, shows where he is in the file system hierarchy. The conventional address bar displays the current location for the folder, subfolder, and file hierarchy in the file system. Changing the user location displayed in the conventional address bar is typically performed in one of two ways: The first is a method of manually editing the address in the address bar. By manually editing the address in the address bar, the user can navigate to any number of locations in the file system hierarchy, but the user can organize the file system on the computer, that is, for a particular file system. You need to have specific information about the location. The second method, when operated, requires the use of an external navigation tool to update the address bar and reflect the new address or location. To operate an external navigation tool while bypassing direct editing of addresses in the address bar, the user still needs to have specific information about the organization of the file system and traverse the hierarchy. However, in a conventional address bar, there is a one-to-one relationship between the address in the address bar and a specific location in the file system hierarchy, so it is stored across multiple file system locations such as folders or drives. The file or data cannot be referenced.

  The prior art does not have an address bar that allows the user to specify an address to display a file stored across multiple file system locations. The prior art also does not have an address bar that allows the user to easily modify the address bar address without direct editing of the address or without specific information regarding the organization of the underlying file system. Furthermore, the prior art does not have an address bar that indicates to the user another selection of files that the user can select to navigate to those selected files. In addition, such an address bar can also selectively present a conventional address bar interface to the user, and the user can interact with the address bar according to previous experience with user preferences. .

  The file system also has problems related to identifying items stored on the computer. The need to be able to easily identify items stored in a computing environment such as a personal computer (PC) is stored as images, music and documents as more individuals use computers in their daily work. The more information you have, the more dramatically it increases. Documents and media are typically stored in a hierarchical manner on a computer and organized by information or media files stored in folders. A user can navigate through the file system by using the file system browser to find and open files and folders. For example, WINDOWS (registered trademark) EXPLORER (trademark) of Microsoft Corporation is a utility provided in the operating system, and a user can use this to browse a file system.

  For many users, it is difficult to correctly identify files based on information currently available in conventional file system browsers. Of course, the contents of the file can be confirmed by opening it with an application program, but browsing the file in this way is very inefficient. If the metadata about the file can be displayed in the file system browser, the user can very easily identify a particular file without opening it. For example, in the Microsoft Corporation WINDOWS 9X operating system, a user can display object metadata by accessing a property sheet for a particular object. The property sheet displays a list of object attributes or settings in the form of a tabbed property page that can be selected like an index card, and each page provides standard dialog-style controls for customizing parameters. . However, finding items using property sheets can be time consuming and tedious, and some users find it difficult to find relevant metadata in property sheets. Similarly, using infotip to find items is time consuming and tedious as the user must hover the mouse over each file to see the limited metadata displayed in the infotip. is there.

  In conventional file system browsers, users cannot enter and edit metadata related to files and folders, but if they do, they can find the files very easily later. So far, the functions for the user to input and edit metadata are limited to dedicated software programs. For example, a media player for electronic music files has a function for a user to edit metadata related to music albums and artists. Another example of such a program is an application program for electronic image files. However, the use of media players and other such programs is limited to the specific types of files supported by the program, as opposed to a universal file system browser that supports multiple file types.

  Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS XP operating system includes an image browser for use in the My Pictures folder. The My Pictures folder has a special function that allows the user to display images as photos as well as document icons. Using My Picture's image browsing function, you can display photos in thumbnail size or large format, rotate photos in landscape orientation, and create slideshows. The user can also display the details of the photograph, such as the dimensions, the shooting date and time, and the name of the camera that has shot. The preview control area in the My Picture folder includes an enlarged preview image of the image selected by the user, an iterator button for the user to view a series of images one after another, and a clockwise or counterclockwise image. Controls to rotate clockwise are placed. The image browsing function of WINDOWS (registered trademark) XP improves the situation because it is no longer necessary to call an application program to display and manipulate the image, but the user can still input metadata related to the image. And can't edit.

  Thus, there is room for improving the usability of a shell or file system browser where a user can easily find an item based on metadata associated with the item. What is also needed is a system and method for a user to enter and edit metadata associated with various types of items within a shell browser without calling an application program. There is also a need for a file system or shell browser that has an improved file content recognition function that allows users to easily find files. There is also a need for an improved graphical user interface for a shell browser that can select a previewer corresponding to a particular file type from a plurality of available previewers. There is also a need for an extended shell browser that allows software developers to provide users with additional information and functionality based on file type. Furthermore, it is necessary to make it possible to use a similar user interface (UI) even if the collection of items is different.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a system and method that uses virtual folders is implemented. Virtual folders present users with regular files and folders (also called directories) in various views based on metadata, rather than the actual physical basic file system structure on disk. Thus, the system can receive properties stored in the database and represent them as containers similar to folders. Users are already accustomed to working with folders, so displaying virtual folders in a similar way allows users to quickly adapt to new systems.

  In another aspect of the invention, a virtual folder is implemented based on a method for use in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items. This method selects a metadata property. After selection, the system searches for items with the selected metadata property and displays a virtual folder display object representing the collection of items with that metadata property.

  In another aspect of the invention, the system comprises a folder processor that retrieves queries from users and a relational database for storing information about items. The folder processor first gets a query from the user and passes the query to a relational database. The relational database sends the results back to the folder processor, which displays the results to the user as a virtual folder based on the results from the relational database. In one embodiment, the results sent back to the folder processor include database rows and columns. The database rows and columns are converted by the folder processor into an enumerated structure, which is then used to display the resulting virtual folder.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the user can operate the virtual folder by direct operation. In other words, the mechanisms provided for manipulating virtual folders are similar to the mechanisms currently used for manipulating traditional physical folders (eg click and drag, copy, paste, etc.). Yes.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for direct manipulation of virtual folders in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items. This method represents a group of items as a virtual folder. A predefined action that can be executed for direct manipulation of the virtual folder is prepared, and when the predefined action is executed, the virtual folder is operated as instructed by the predefined action. An example of a predefined action is an operation of clicking and dragging a virtual folder. In one embodiment, the action of clicking and dragging a first virtual folder to a second virtual folder performs the function of copying items from the first virtual folder to the second virtual folder. Copying an item to a virtual folder may involve adding or changing some selected metadata property associated with the item in some other way.

  In another aspect of the invention, a filter for manipulating virtual folders is implemented. A filter is essentially a tool for narrowing a collection of items. In one embodiment, the filter is dynamically generated based on the properties of separate items. For example, for a collection of items, the filter mechanism reviews the properties, and if those items typically have “authors” set as the property, the filter can output a list of authors. After that, if you click on a specific creator, items for which that creator is not set disappear. Thereby, the user can narrow down the contents.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for filtering items in a computer system that includes a display device and a memory for storing items along with metadata properties. Display objects each representing one or more items are displayed on a display device. Evaluate the metadata properties of the item represented by the display object. A filter condition corresponding to a metadata property shared by multiple items is displayed on the display device, and the item represented on the display device shares the specified metadata property by selecting the filter condition. It is narrowed down to the item to be.

  In another aspect of the invention, a plurality of items are displayed on a display device, and filter conditions are dynamically generated based on the metadata properties of the items. When the filter condition is selected, items displayed on the display device are narrowed down to items having metadata properties corresponding to the filter condition.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of items are displayed on a display device, and a filter area in which a user can input filter conditions is prepared. When the user inputs a filter condition, items displayed on the display device are narrowed down to items including the filter condition. When the user inputs the filter condition, additional items are filtered each time characters are added to the filter condition one after another.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a “back” button is provided that can be used to return to the filtering process. For example, the user may want to return to the set of items that were displayed on the display device after entering the filter condition and before the filter condition was applied. The “back” button allows the user to return to the target location for filter navigation.

  In another aspect of the invention, quick links are provided. In one embodiment, the quick links are a set of predefined links (eg, located on the left side of the display device) that can be clicked to generate a useful view of the collection of items. These can be predefined by the program or set by the user. For example, clicking on “all authors” returns a view stacked by the author. “All documents” can return a flat view of all documents across all storage areas. Users can also create their own quick links. For example, the user can narrow down to all documents modified in January 2003 and then save it as a quick link.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a method for implementing a quick link is implemented in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items. In this way, the user first navigates to the view of the desired collection of items. Save and name a quick link that corresponds to the collection of items you want. The name of the quick link is displayed on the display device so that the user can return to the view of the desired collection of items by clicking on the quick link.

  In another aspect of the invention, a library is provided. A library consists of a large group of usable types of files that can be associated together. For example, photos can be one library, music can be another library, and documents can be another library. Libraries provide tools and activities related to specific types of items. For example, in a photo library, there are tools and filters related to manipulating photos, such as creating slideshows and sharing images.

  In another aspect of the invention, a method for creating a library is implemented in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items. The method begins by creating a library that includes items with one or more specified metadata properties. Once started, items with one or more specified metadata properties are automatically grouped into a library. There are also tools for manipulating library items.

  In other aspects of the invention, various types of files or items can be utilized. That is, in the system, files / items from multiple physical locations (eg, different hard drives, different computers, different network locations, etc.) are viewed as if all items originated from a single location. Can be expressed as For example, even if the files can be physically stored on different hard drives, different computers, or different network locations, displaying all the music files on a single screen allows the user to view all the files in one view. Can be operated.

  In another aspect of the invention, a scope is used in a method of displaying an item on a computer system that includes a display device. This method requires defining the scope of the physical memory location from which the item to be retrieved is derived, including the current computer memory and at least one other physical location. When a query is received, in response to the query, items are retrieved from the physical location as defined in the scope, and the items retrieved from the query are displayed in one view on the display device. In one embodiment, the at least one other physical location may be another computer, a network location, or an external storage device. In one embodiment, the view on the display device can be switched to a physical folder view to indicate the physical location where the item is physically stored.

  In another aspect of the invention, non-file items can be represented in virtual folders. That is, the file stored in the memory is arranged in the physical store. A virtual folder may contain items that are not currently represented in the physical store. Examples of non-file items are email and contact information.

  In another aspect of the invention, a method for representing a non-file item is implemented in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing the item. This method provides a database that can search both non-file items and file items by query. When a query is received, non-file items and file items that match the query are retrieved, and then items that match the query are displayed on the display device. In one embodiment, a relational database containing selected information about file items can be provided to hold a number of non-file items in their entirety.

  In another aspect of the invention, a virtual address bar for selecting content stored on a computer file system is implemented. The virtual address bar is composed of a plurality of segments. Each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting content stored on the computer file system. The corresponding filter for each segment in the virtual address bar represents a virtual address for selecting content stored on the computer file system.

  Each segment is an interactive segment that can respond to an interactive operation by the user modifying the virtual address in the virtual address bar. Selecting one segment in the virtual address bar deletes the segment after the selected segment from the virtual address bar. Alternatively, selecting one segment in the virtual address bar displays a list of selectable peer filters to the user. A peer filter is the peer of the corresponding filter of a separately selected segment. Selecting one of the peer filters instead replaces the corresponding filter with the selected peer filter by the selected segment. In addition, the segment after the filter segment selected instead is deleted from the virtual address bar.

  Segments can be added to the virtual address bar according to external user actions. The segment is added to the end of the segment in the virtual address bar. Any segments that collide with the added segment are deleted. An existing segment in the virtual address bar collides with the added segment if the existing segment and the added segment are mutually exclusive. An existing segment in the virtual address bar also collides with the added segment if the scope of the existing segment is wider or narrower than the added segment.

  In another aspect of the invention, a shell browser with a window and edit controls is implemented. The window displays a group of items and also displays metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items. Using the edit control, the user can modify at least some of the metadata values displayed in the window.

  In another aspect of the invention, the graphical user interface is embedded in a computer readable medium and is executable on the computer. The graphical user interface includes a first screen area that displays a set of items in the shell browser and a second screen area that displays metadata associated with one or more of the displayed items. The graphical user interface also allows the user to use means within the shell browser to modify the displayed metadata.

  In another aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method is provided that allows a user to modify metadata within a shell browser. One such method is to display a plurality of items, receive a first input representing selection of at least one displayed item from a user, and display metadata associated with the selected item. And an edit control that allows the user to modify the displayed metadata. Another such method is to display a Welcom pane (pane) and metadata associated with the Welcom pane and provide editing controls that allow the user to modify the displayed metadata.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a data structure including metadata associated with one or more items is displayed in a shell browser. A data structure stored on one or more computer-readable media includes a field that stores user-modifiable metadata associated with the one or more displayed items and the data structure. Metadata that can be modified by users in the body is also displayed in shell browsing.

  In another aspect of the invention, a shell browser with a default previewer and extension mechanism is implemented. The default previewer provides a standard level function for typing multiple items. By using the extension mechanism, it is possible to use functions beyond the standard level provided by the default previewer for one or more of the item types.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a shell browser having a first previewer and a second previewer is realized. The first previewer provides standard level functionality for multiple item types, and the second previewer provides another level or enhancement level functionality for one or more of the multiple item types. The shell browser is configured to selectively deploy either a first previewer or a second previewer for one or more item types.

  In another aspect of the invention, a graphical user interface for a shell browser that supports multiple item types is implemented. The graphical user interface comprises a first screen area for displaying a set of items in a shell browser and means for selecting a previewer for the displayed item from a plurality of available previewers.

  In another aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method for selecting a previewer that supports multiple item types with a shell browser is implemented. In this method, a plurality of previewers for a specific item type are prepared in the shell browser, and one of the previewers for the specific item type is selected. The selected previewer is then associated with a particular item type.

  In another aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method is provided that enables a third-party previewer that supports multiple item types to be used in a shell browser. This method provides a shell browser with a default previewer for multiple item types and an extension mechanism that allows third parties to develop alternative previewers for at least one of the multiple item types. Prepare.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a data structure including information indicating a plurality of previewers in the shell browser is prepared. A data structure stored on one or more computer readable media includes a first field that includes information indicating a default previewer that supports multiple item types. The second field contains information indicating an alternative previewer for the first item type, and the third field invokes the default previewer when an item of the first item type is displayed in the shell browser. Or information indicating whether to call an alternative previewer.

  In another aspect of the invention, different types of items are grouped into a library with a similar set of basic UI functions. That is, a similar set of basic UI functions are provided for different types of libraries, such as document libraries, photo libraries, and music libraries. This basic UI function group can include functions such as filtering, creating a new category, editing item metadata, and changing the pivot. Users can use similar basic UI functions for libraries to process and organize different types of items using attributes and functions that are already well-known.

  Many of the foregoing aspects of the invention and the resulting advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

  The present invention is directed to a file system shell incorporating a plurality of desirable functions. In essence, the shell allows the user to view and manipulate files and other items stored on the computer. In the following description, the functions shown in FIGS. 1 to 66 are first summarized and then described in detail.

  Briefly, FIGS. 1-9 are generally directed to an overall system for virtual folders. With virtual folders, a traditional user interface allows users to see regular files and folders (also called directories) in various views based on metadata, rather than the actual physical basic file system on disk Is realized. FIGS. 10-18 are generally directed to stacks, which are related to the ability of virtual folders to retrieve properties stored in the database and represent them as containers similar to folders. 19-21 are generally directed to direct manipulation of virtual folders and manipulate virtual folders similar to the mechanisms currently used to manipulate standard folders (eg, copy, paste, click, and It is related to realizing the mechanism for dragging etc.). 22-29 are generally directed to filters, which provide a set of tools for narrowing down a set of files / items. 30-34 are generally directed to quick links, which are a set of predefined links that can be clicked to generate a useful view of files / items. FIGS. 35-36 are generally directed to libraries, which can group together a group of available types of files and provide tools and activities related to a particular type of item. Related to the concept. FIGS. 37-38 generally allow files / items to be obtained from multiple physical locations (eg, different hard drives, different computers, computers in network locations, etc.), and for a user all files / items are 1 Intended for scopes related to the concept of being displayed with the same convenience as provided from one location. FIGS. 39-40 are generally directed to non-file items, which can be stored in a database with the file, and can also store items such as emails and contacts. 41 to 50 generally target a virtual address bar including a plurality of segments, and each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting contents. 51-57 are generally directed to a shell browser, which a user can use to easily identify an item based on metadata associated with that item. 58-66 are generally directed to extending the functionality of an object previewer in a shell browser that is configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types. The following description details each of these aspects of the invention.

  As described above, FIGS. 1-9 are generally directed to systems that implement virtual folders. Virtual folders use the same or similar user interface currently used for the file system. Virtual folders present users with regular files and folders (also called directories) in various views based on metadata rather than the actual physical basic file structure on disk. Create a location-independent view that allows users to manipulate their files and folders using controls similar to those currently used to manage the file system. In general, this means that users can organize and relocate files based on their own properties, rather than performing management and organization as a separate part of the system. A virtual folder can represent files or items within the same computer, between multiple computers, or from different physical locations, such as multiple disk drives at different network locations, and view a file or item while in different physical locations Can be made public. In one embodiment, different items or files need only be connected and stored via an IP (Internet Protocol) network.

  Virtual folder modeling can also be used for traditional non-file entities. An application of this is to provide a set of user interfaces similar to files and folders (ie objects and containers) to display traditional non-file entities. An example of such a non-file entity is email, but there is also contact information from a contact database. In this way, the virtual folder implements a metadata-based view system that is independent of location, operating regardless of whether the data displayed is a file or a non-file entity. In general, these aspects allow users to manipulate files and data not only using common interface technologies (drag and drop, double-click, etc.) but also take advantage of deep integration of various data types. Very flexible with respect to.

  FIG. 1 and the following description is a general description that briefly describes a suitable computing environment in which virtual folders and other aspects of the invention described herein can be implemented. Although not necessarily so, the invention will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, characters, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in other computer system configurations such as portable devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Will. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in local and remote memory storage devices.

  Referring to FIG. 1, an example system for implementing the present invention includes a processor 21, a system memory 22, and a conventional personal computer 20 that includes a system bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory 22 to the processor 21. Includes general purpose computing devices that take the form. The system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral device bus, and a local bus employing various bus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) 26 including a basic routine for assisting information transmission between elements in the personal computer 20 at the time of startup or the like is stored in the ROM 24. The personal computer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading and writing to the hard disk 39, a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading and writing to the removable magnetic disk 29, and a removable optical disk 31, for example, a CD (compact disc) -ROM or An optical disc drive 30 for reading and writing to other optical media is provided. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical drive interface 34, respectively. The drive and associated computer readable media comprise non-volatile storage for storing computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the personal computer 20. In the example environment described in this specification, the hard disk 39, the removable magnetic disk 29, and the removable optical disk 31 are adopted. However, those skilled in the art can use a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a digital video disk, a Bernoulli cartridge, It will also be appreciated that other types of computer readable media capable of storing computer accessible data such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM) may be used in the example operating environment.

  The hard disk 39, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24, or RAM 25 can store any number of program modules such as an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data 38. A user can input commands and information into the personal computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and a pointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, and the like. These input devices and other input devices are often connected to the processing device 21 via a serial port interface 46 coupled to the system bus 23, but are connected to a parallel port, a game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). It is also possible to connect via other interfaces such as A display device in the form of a monitor 47 is further connected to the system bus 23 via an interface such as a video card or adapter 48. One or more speakers 57 can also be connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as an audio adapter 56. In addition to the display device and speakers, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown) such as printers.

  Personal computer 20 may also operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more personal computers, such as remote computer 49. The remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, server, router, network PC, peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above associated with the personal computer 20. The logical connections described in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.

  When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 is connected to the local area network 51 via a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, personal computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over WAN 52, such as the Internet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a network connection environment, program modules described with respect to personal computer 20 or portions thereof can be stored in a remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

  Implemented in a system of the type described in FIG. 1, the present invention provides a high-level storage function that allows users to easily perform file operations and folder navigation (browsing) and take advantage of new functions. Use a virtual folder. Virtual folders show users the files and items in various views based on metadata, rather than the actual physical basic file system on disk.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a virtual folder system 200 according to the present invention. As described in detail below, by using virtual folders, the user can change the “pivot” that controls how the data is displayed. For example, a user can view music as an unstructured list of all songs that can be grouped by album. Alternatively, the user can switch views to display only the genre, artist, year, or the like. Furthermore, the user can correct the view so that only objects suitable for the task at hand are displayed. This eliminates the need for further navigation through the folder (down and back), improving the browsing operation. The same teachings and functions apply to modeling other data types that are not stored as files. For example, when the contact information is disclosed in this way, the user can use the familiar interface function and the infrastructure function that is superior in terms of operation compared to the function of the address book with no structure.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the virtual folder system 200 includes a folder processor 210, a relational database 230, a virtual folder description database 232, other shell folder components 234, a folder handler component 236, and a shell browser and view component 240. Is provided. The folder processor 210 includes a native handling code component 212, a handler factory component 214, a property writer component 216, a rowset parser component 218, a query builder component 220, an enumerator component 222, and a property factory component 224.

  The relational database 230 stores properties relating to all files in the system. In addition, some items, such as contacts (ie non-file items), are also stored completely. In general, this stores metadata about the types of files and items involved. The relational database 230 receives an SQL (Structured Query Language) query from the query builder 220. The relational database 230 further sends the SQL row set to the row set parser component 218, one row at a time for each column of items, where the columns become item properties.

  The virtual folder description database 232 includes virtual folder descriptions. The virtual folder description database 232 sends data to the query builder component 220 such as the type to display in the folder, the initial filter, and a list of physical locations (scopes) from which to display the results.

  With respect to other shell folder components 234, the folder processor 210 delegates from various types of items, including all files for handlers or properties, to an existing shell folder. Other shell folder components 234 send properties from other folders to property factory 224. Other shell folder components also send the handler to the handler factory 214.

  The folder handler component 236 defines code behavior for items that exist only in the database, such as contacts. This allows non-file items to behave like files. The folder handler component 236 sends the handler to the handler factory 214.

  For the native handling code component 212, several handlers are implemented directly by the folder processor 210 based on the item properties. The native handling code component 212 sends the handler to the handler factory 214. In the native handling code component 212 and the folder handler component 236, like all namespaces, a virtual folder must provide a set of handlers (context menus, icons, thumbnails, infotips, etc.) for items. For most of these (infotips, data objects, drag and drop handlers, background context menus, etc.), the virtual folder has a common (native) handler for all the types it holds. However, there are other things that the creator of that type must provide (such as the context menu of the item itself, a rewritable property store, etc.) You can also override the default handler. Virtual folders reuse this for files, and non-file items can do the same with virtual folders.

  The handler factory 214 receives the ID list and outputs code behaviors including context menus, icons, and the like. In general, the folder processor 210 delegates to a native handler, external handler, or other shell folder, as described above with respect to the native handling code component 212, other shell folder components 234, and folder handler component 236. Use to get the handler. The handler factory component 214 sends the handler to the shell browser in the view 240 when requested by the view. The handler factory component 214 sends the property handler to the property writer 216.

  Property writer 216 converts user intent, such as cut, copy, and paste, into ownership of the file or item. The shell browser and view component 240 sends data including direct manipulation (cut / copy / paste) or editing of metadata to the property writer 216. Generally, since a virtual folder displays an organization based on item properties, operations such as moving and copying (drag and drop) are editing for those properties. For example, moving a document in a view stacked with author from Author 1 to Author 2 is to change the creator. This function is implemented by the property writer component 216.

  The rowset parser 218 receives a database rowset and stores all item properties in a shell ID list structure. The rowset can receive a piecewise definition of the virtual folder, build an SQL string, and then publish it to the database. The rowset parser component 218 sends the ID list to the enumerator component 222. As described above, the rowset parser component 218 further receives data from the relational database 230 that includes the SQL rowset, one row per item, and the columns become item properties.

  The query builder component 220 builds an SQL query. Query builder component 220 receives data from enumerator component 222, including new filters from navigation. The query builder component 220 further receives data from the virtual folder description database 232 that includes a list of types to display in the folder, an initial filter, and a physical location (scope) from which results to display. The query builder component 220 sends the SQL query to the relational database 230.

  In general, the query builder component 220 includes a set of rows (ie, tables). This is the result obtained by executing the query. A row set parser component 218 receives each row and converts the row to an ID list using the column name. An ID list is a well-known shell structure that is used to reference items within a namespace. This way, the virtual folder looks just like any other namespace to the rest of the shell. In addition, by caching this data, it is possible to maintain access to a costly database to a minimum.

  The enumerator component 222 operates in response to navigation to the virtual folder. As described above, the enumerator component 222 receives the ID list from the rowset parser component 218 and sends a new filter from navigation to the query builder component 220. The enumerator 222 also sends data to the shell browser and view component 240, including an ID list that is returned after navigation and inserted into the view.

  The property factory component 224 receives the ID list and property identifier and returns values for those properties. The property factory component 224 receives data from the handler factory component 214 that includes property handlers. As described above, the property factory component 224 also receives data from other shell folder components 234 including properties from other folders. The property factory component 224 further sends data including item properties to the shell browser and view component 240 according to the request by the view.

  The shell browser and view component 240 displays the contents of the folder in a window and handles all interaction with the displayed file or item, such as clicking, dragging, and navigating by the user. The shell browser and view component 240 then receives the user action. The shell browser and view component 240 further obtains data about the required code behavior from the folder, in this case the folder processor 210.

  As described above, virtual folders allow users to see regular files and folders (also called directories) in various views based on metadata, rather than the actual physical basic file system structure on disk. Thus, the system can receive properties stored in the database and represent them as containers similar to folders. Users are already accustomed to working with folders, so displaying virtual folders in a similar way allows users to quickly adapt to new systems.

  FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 300 for providing a query that pulls a selected item by a user. At block 302, the folder processor obtains a query from the user. At block 304, the folder processor passes the query to the relational database. At block 306, the relational database provides the results to the folder processor. At block 308, the folder processor sends the results to the user in the form of virtual folders and items.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 320 that builds a virtual folder with either a default query or a query from a user and displays it on the screen. At block 322, the default query is used when the user first opens the virtual folder. This default query is retrieved from the registry. For example, a default query in the music library can display all songs grouped by album. At block 324, the folder processor constructs a query object for the query and passes the query to the relational database. At block 326, the relational database generates query results and passes them to the folder processor as database rows and columns.

  At block 328, when the folder processor receives these results and converts those results, which are rows and columns of data, into an enumerated structure, the folder view uses this to display the resulting virtual folders and items on the screen. And the user interacts with them. At decision block 330, the user determines whether to change the view (by issuing a different query or “pivot”). For example, the user can issue a “show all artists” pivot. If the user does not want to change the view, the routine returns to block 324 where the folder processor passes this new query to the relational database, receives the resulting new rows and columns, and constructs a new enumeration structure. To do. This process then continues as described above when enumerating the “artist” object to the screen and clearing and updating the folder view.

  In one embodiment, an album object representing a container to which the user navigates is prepared. For example, double-clicking the “Beatles” album navigates the view and displays all Beatles songs. The folder processor issues a “show all Beatles' songs” query to the relational database, which sends back the rows and columns of data for those songs. The folder processor creates an enumerator for all these songs and then pulls it to the screen.

  The user can also select a view at any time while browsing the virtual folder. From the above example, after narrowing down to display only Beatles songs, the user can change the view to display the songs only as albums. The process of changing an item's view to another representation is called “stacking”. This is because the items are conceptually arranged in a “stack” based on their representation. In this case, the music is rearranged into a stack for each of the various albums. The user can navigate to one of these stacks and display songs only from that particular item. Again, the user can rearrange the views of those remaining songs into a stack based on properties (eg, ratings). If a rating property is selected, the songs on that Beatles album are displayed in a 1-star, 2-star, or 3-star rating stack.

  The result of each query depends on which physical location is included in the scope. For example, the scope can include only the folders in the user's “my documents” folder. Alternatively, the scope can include all folders on the computer, as well as all folders on multiple networked computers. The user can display and change the scope through the scope property sheet. In one example, the scope property sheet can be published by right-clicking on the virtual folder and selecting “properties”. The user can add a new folder to the scope or delete a folder that has already been added.

  Knowledge workers are a group of users who provide specific utilities in virtual folders. Using virtual folders, knowledge workers can easily switch between viewing documents by file type, project, case number, creator, and so on. Each knowledge worker tends to have different ways of organizing documents, so virtual folders can be used to accommodate these different preferences.

  FIG. 5 is a tree diagram of a folder structure by physical folder arrangement on the hard drive. This physical folder placement is based on a conventional implementation of folders, but may be based on NTFS (NT file system) or other existing file systems. Such a folder is called a physical folder because its structure is based on the actual physical basic file system structure on the disk. As will be explained in detail later, this is in contrast to virtual folders, which allow users to manipulate files and folders in a manner similar to what they currently use to manipulate physical folders. Create views that are not related to location.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the folder 400 is a “my documents” folder. At the first level, folder 400 includes folders 410, 420, and 430, corresponding to Clients 1, 2, and 3, respectively. At the second level, folders 410, 420, and 430 include folders 411, 421, and 431, respectively, each corresponding to a contract for the selected client. At the third level, folders 411, 421, and 431 include folders 412, 422, and 432, respectively, corresponding to 2001. At the third level, folders 411, 421, and 431 further include folders 413, 423, and 433, respectively, corresponding to 2002.

  It can be seen that a number of obstacles are displayed to the user who wants to navigate the physical folder file structure such as that illustrated in FIG. For example, to handle all contracts output by the user, the user must first navigate to the folder 411 and handle the contract for Clients 1, and then navigate again to the folder 421 to reach the contract for Clients 2. There is a need to navigate again to the folder 431 for the contract to Clients 3 again. This arrangement makes it difficult for the user to access all contracts and generally prevents simultaneous display and manipulation of all contracts. Similarly, if the user wants to view all contracts created in 2001, the user must navigate to folders 412, 422, and 432, respectively, and navigate again. As will be described in detail later, the file system structure is improved in the virtual folder of the present invention.

  FIG. 6 is a tree diagram of a virtual folder structure. As described in detail below, virtual folders create a view that is independent of location where users can manipulate their files and folders in a convenient way. As shown in FIG. 6, the virtual folder is represented as a stack. The virtual folder 500 is an “all items” folder. At the first level, the virtual folder 500 includes virtual folders 510, 520, and 530, corresponding to clients, contracts, and year, respectively. As will be described in detail below, this structure allows the user to access the file according to the desired parameters.

  FIG. 7 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 6. In the second level, the virtual folder 510 further includes virtual folders 511 and 512, corresponding to contracts and year, respectively. That is, the clients stack of the virtual folder 510 is further filtered by the contracts and the year. The process of determining which files and items are included in each of the virtual folders is described in detail below.

  FIG. 8 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 7. In the third level, the virtual folder 511 includes a virtual folder 513, which corresponds to year. That is, the contracts stack of the virtual folder 511 is further filtered by year. The virtual folder structure of the virtual folders 510, 511, and 513 is structured according to clients, contracts, and year, but as described in detail below with reference to FIG. Can be executed.

  FIG. 9 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 6. At the second level, the virtual folder 520 is further filtered into virtual folders 521 and 522, corresponding to clients and year. At the third level, the virtual folder 521 is further filtered to become a virtual folder 523, corresponding to year. From the comparison between the organizational structures of FIGS. 8 and 9, the flexibility of the virtual folder system can be understood. That is, in the virtual folder system, the user can navigate the virtual folder according to the desired parameters as opposed to relying on a location-dependent view of the physical file structure as illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a screen display 600 showing a stack of document libraries. As described above, a stack can be used to represent a certain type of virtual folder. As will be described in detail below, the screen display 600 includes quick link elements 610-613, filter elements 620-626, activity elements 630-633, information and control elements 640-645, and virtual folder stacks 651-655. .

  The quick link elements include a selection to display an “all categories” quick link 610, an “all authors” quick link 611, a “January work” quick link 612, and an additional quick link 613. As described in detail below, to select a quick link, the user performs the desired navigation of the virtual folder. Quick links can be prepared on the system side, and some quick links can be created and saved by the user.

  Filter elements include a “filter by” indicator 620, a blank entry 621, a “by date” indicator 622, a “year” selector 623, a “pick an author” selector 624, a “pick a category” selector 625, and a “more filters” ”Selector 626 is included. Looking at the “filter by” indicator 620, the user can see that the following items can be used to filter virtual folders or items. In the blank entry 621, an area in which the user can input a target new filter condition is prepared. Looking at the “by date” indicator 622, it can be seen that the user can filter the virtual folder or item by the selected year by selecting a date from the “year” selector 623. A “pick an author” selector 624 allows the user to filter according to a particular author. A “pick a category” selector 625 allows the user to filter according to the selected category. Using the “more filters” selector 626 allows the user to display additional filters in a pull-up format on the display device.

  The activity selector includes a “create a new category” selector 630, “activity” selectors 631 and 632, and a “more activities” selector 633. As described in detail below, the displayed activities are generally for the desired function or can be more specifically targeted to the activities used for the type of virtual folder currently displayed. . For example, the user can select a “create a new category” selector 630 to create a new category represented by a new stack.

  As described above, activity selectors 631 and 632 can more specifically target the type of folder or item being displayed. For example, the current display is a document library display, and “activity” selectors 631 and 632 can target activities that have been specifically tailored for documents, such as editing or creating attachments. If the current library is a photo library, “activity” selectors 631 and 632 may be for activities that are specifically directed to photos, such as forming photo albums or sharing photos with other users.

  Information and control elements include information lines 640 and 641, control lines 642, backspace control 643, and information lines 644 and 645. Information rows 640 and 641 provide information regarding the current navigation of the virtual folder or item. In this example, information line 640 indicates that the current navigation is to the document library, and information line 641 indicates more complete navigation, indicating that the document library is in the storage area. . The control line 642 includes a number of standard controls, and the user can use the backspace button 643 to back navigation. The information line 644 displays numerical information related to the current navigation content. In this example, information row 644 indicates that there are 41 items that occupy 100 MB in the document library stack. Information line 645 can be used to indicate additional information, such as supplemental information about the selected file.

  The document library stack includes an “ABC Corp.” stack 651, a “backups” stack 652, a “business plans” stack 653, an “XYZ Corp.” stack 654, and a “marketing reports” stack 655. The numbers at the top of each stack indicate the number of items in each stack. For example, it can be seen that there are 8 items in the “ABC Corp.” stack 651. The total number of items in the stack is the number of items indicated in the information row 644, and is 41 in this example as described above. A selection box SB that can be used by the user to select a target item is provided. Selecting the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 provides a view of the items in that stack, as described below with respect to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a screen display showing items in the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 in FIG. Note that information lines 640 and 641 currently indicate that the current navigation is displaying the “ABC Corp.” stack. The “ABC Corp.” stack 651 is shown as including eight documents 751-758, corresponding to documents 1-8, respectively. The information line 644 indicates that eight items occupy 20 MB of memory correspondingly. The document of FIG. 11 can also be placed in a stack within the “ABC Corp.” stack. That is, as will be described below with respect to FIGS. 12-16, within the virtual folder represented by the “ABC Corp.” stack 651, additional virtual folders can be organized to hold documents. .

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the stack function is selected for the document of FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the user can display the function box 760 in a pull-up format. The function box 760 includes a “view” selection 761, an “arrange icons by” selection 762, a “stacks” selection 763, a “refresh” selection 764, an “open containing folders” selection 765, a “cut” selection 766, and a “copy” selection 767, “undo” selection 768, “new” selection 769, and “properties” selection 770. The selection box SB is displayed so as to surround the “stacks” selection 763.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the “stack by author” parameter is selected for the stack function of FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 13, the displayed box 780 includes various stacking options. The displayed stacking options are an “unstack” option 781, a “stack by category” option 782, a “stack by author” option 783, and a “stack by a user” option 784. The selection box SB is displayed so as to surround a “stack by author” option 783.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the files in FIG. 13 are stacked by “author”. As shown in FIG. 14, stacks 791 and 792 correspond to creators Bob and Lisa, respectively. As indicated by the top number in each stack, Bob stack 791 contains two items and Lisa stack 792 contains five items. Item 758 (corresponding to document 8) does not have an author and is therefore not included in the “author” stack. Stacks 791 and 792 indicate that it can be organized at multiple levels, such as within the “ABC Corp.” stack 651. Thus, a virtual folder can be formed at multiple levels, such as the “Lisa” stack 792 in the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 in the document library.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the “stack by category” option is further selected for the file restacking function of FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 15, the selection box SB encloses a “stack by category” option 782. As will be discussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 16, some of the items are already stacked in stacks 791 and 792, so selecting the “stack by category” option 782 causes the items to be restacked.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the file of FIG. 14 is restacked by “category”. As shown in FIG. 16, stacks 793 and 794 correspond to the “XYZ Corp.” and “marketing reports” categories, respectively. Items 751 and 752 correspond to documents 1 and 2 and are not specified for additional categories and are therefore not in the other category stack.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which a quick link for a physical folder is selected. The selection box SB is displayed so as to surround the “all folders” quick link 616. As will be described in detail below with respect to FIG. 18, the “all folders” quick link 616 has the function of switching to the physical folder view.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a screen display for displaying a physical folder. The displayed physical folder includes files of the virtual folder stack of FIG. That is, items included in the stacks 651 to 655 in FIG. 17 are also included in some physical folders in the system. In FIG. 18, these are “My Documents” folder 851 arranged on the current computer, “Desktop” folder 852 arranged on the current computer, and “Fooo” arranged on the hard drive C :. ”Folder 853,“ My Files ”folder 854 located on the server,“ External Drive ”folder 855 located on the external drive,“ My Documents ”folder 856 located on other computers, and A “Desktop” folder 857 located on another computer is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the user can switch from the virtual file representation of FIG. 17 to the physical file representation of FIG. Thus, the user can switch between a virtual file representation and a physical file representation depending on which is desired for the current task. Different locations of the physical folders 851-857 also indicate that the scope of the virtual file system can span a relatively wide range, as will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 880 that allows a user to directly manipulate a virtual folder. As explained in detail below, the mechanisms provided for manipulating virtual folders are those currently used for manipulating regular folders (eg click and drag, copy, paste, etc.) ). As shown in FIG. 19, at block 882, the system comprises predefined actions that a user can perform to directly manipulate the virtual folder represented as a display object. At block 884, the user performs a predefined action. As described above, as an example of this, there is a method in which the user clicks and drags a virtual folder to copy the contents to another virtual folder. At block 886, the virtual folder and / or contents are manipulated as indicated by the action performed by the user.

  FIG. 20 is a view for explaining a screen display in which a new “West Coast” stack 656 is added to the stack of FIG. The “West Coast” stack 656 is formed by the user creating a new category of “West Coast”. When initially created, the new “West Coast” stack 656 is empty and has zero items. In the embodiment of FIG. 20, two items have been added to the “West Coast” stack 656. One way to add an item to the stack is to select a particular item and then modify or add an additional category to the category metadata for the item, for example as performed in the embodiment of FIG. For example, “West Coast” is added to two items. From this process, it can be seen that the category data is a metadata property of the item, which is a kind of ad hoc property. In other words, there is no implicit meaning for this type of property, and the user can assign any value. For example, the category “property” can take any value, but the “author” property must be the name of a person. As detailed below with reference to FIG. 21, items can also be copied from other stacks to the “West Coast” stack 656 by clicking and dragging (in this case, the category of the item). Is automatically updated to include “West Coast”). In this regard, FIG. 20 shows that the selection box SB surrounds the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 in preparation for copying content.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which a direct operation is used to copy a file from the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 to the “West Coast” stack 656. That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the user selects the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 and clicks and drags the stack as shown in FIG. 21 to “West Coast” stack 656. To copy. Thus, the “West Coast” stack 656 with two items in FIG. 20 is currently shown to include a total of 10 items, including the additional 8 items from the “ABC Corp.” stack 651. Yes. If an item is copied from the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 to the “West Coast” stack 656, this can be done in addition to the original “ABC Corp.” category by modifying the category description of the eight items. It is executed by including the “West Coast” category. This illustrates certain types of direct operations that can be performed.

  As another example of the direct operation, there is a method of right-clicking an item and selecting “delete”. In one embodiment, when the delete function is selected by the user, the user is asked whether to delete items in bulk or simply delete them from the current virtual folder. If the item is simply deleted from the current virtual folder category stack as described above, this can be done by deleting the desired category from the item's metadata. That is, if one of the items copied from the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 to the “West Coast” stack 656 is deleted from the “West Coast” stack 656, this means that the “West Coast” category is no longer in the particular file. It can be executed by modifying the category data so that it is not included.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 900 for dynamically generating new filter conditions on the system side. Filter conditions are used when manipulating virtual folders. Filter conditions are essentially used as a group of tools to narrow down a set of items. In one embodiment, the filter consists of a metadata category and its value (displayed as a clickable link or drop-down menu to the user in the user interface). The user clicks the filter condition to filter the current result set of items on the display device.

  FIG. 22 illustrates how filters can be generated dynamically. As shown in FIG. 22, at block 902, the properties (from metadata) of the items in the collection included in the current display are considered. At block 904, the proposed filter condition is dynamically generated based on the common properties of the items. At block 906, the proposed filter condition is displayed to the user and the user can make a selection for item filtering. As an example of this process, the system considers the properties of a set of items, and if those items generally have “Authors” as a property, the filter provides a list of authors to be filtered. . Thereafter, when a specific Author is clicked, an item for which that Author is not set is deleted from the set on the display device. This filtering process allows the user to utilize a mechanism that narrows the item set on the display device.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 920 for filtering items based on selection of filter conditions on the system side. At block 922, the user enters a new filter condition, or otherwise selects one of the filter conditions displayed in the system. As described above, filter conditions can be generated dynamically by the system or preset. At block 924, items from the collection on the display device are evaluated as to whether their selected properties meet the filter criteria. For example, if the filter condition is for an item authored by “Bob”, the item is evaluated depending on whether “author” is included in the author property. At block 926, items whose selected properties do not match the filter criteria are removed from the collection on the display device.

  24 to 29 exemplify how the filtering process is generally displayed on the screen display. Although described below with respect to FIGS. 24-29, in one embodiment, filtering may generally operate according to the following process. After the user clicks on the filter value, the items outside the filter range will gradually disappear from the screen with animation. This animation is generally designed to clearly show that an item is about to be deleted and that no new items are added. The back button 643 is selected by the user when restoring the filter operation. In one embodiment, a navigation stack including sequential filter actions can be created and used to restore each filter action when the back button 643 is selected. Each time a filter value is selected, the information areas 640 and 641 are updated to show the current filter value. In one embodiment, as described in detail below with reference to FIG. 30, after a filter value is selected, the user is presented with an option to save a new quick link to the current filter navigation. Once a filter value is selected, the filter control can be updated to be consistent with items remaining in the view.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which the stack of FIG. 10 is filtered according to the condition “AB”. As shown in the figure, in the filter region 621, the condition “AB” is a condition input by the user. Information rows 640 and 641 indicate that the item in the display has been filtered by the condition “AB”. As can be seen, the “ABC Corp.” stack 651 still contains 8 items, while the “Backups” stack 652 contains 3 items, and the “XYZ Corp.” stack 654 also contains 3 items. Contains items. Therefore, information row 644 indicates that a total of 14 items occupy a total of 35 MB of memory.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which the stack of FIG. 10 is filtered according to the condition “ABC”. With respect to the filter condition “AB” in FIG. 24, the user has simply entered the additional character “C” to create the complete filter condition “ABC”. As shown in FIG. 25, the information lines 640 and 641 indicate that the displayed item includes the condition “ABC”. The “ABC Corp.” stack 651 shows that it contains 8 items as they are, but the “Backups” stack 652 contains only 2 items. The “XYZ Corp.” stack 654 has disappeared because none of its contents match the “ABC” filter. Therefore, the information row 644 indicates that a total of 10 items are in the stack displayed on the display device and occupy a total of 25 MB of memory. 24 and 25 show an example of how a user can enter new filter conditions and how to filter items displayed on a display device using the filter conditions.

  The back button 643 can be used by the user when restoring the filter operation. As described above with respect to FIG. 10, the back button 643 allows the user to return to navigation. 24 and 25, after the filtering process based on the condition “ABC” in FIG. 25, the user can select the back button 643 to return the filtering process to the previous step and return to the state of FIG. . Alternatively, in other embodiments, the back button 643 could be used to completely erase the entire file condition and thus return to the state prior to returning to that filtering. In this case, when the back button 643 in FIG. 25 is pressed, the user returns to the state in FIG.

  In one embodiment, in addition to the back button, there is an additional means for the user to modify the filtered navigation by returning within the filtered navigation or by some other means. Using this additional means, the user can directly access and modify the information row 641, and the filter navigation is changed accordingly. That is, by accessing and modifying the information row 641 directly, the user can delete one or more of the applied filters or modify the value of the applied filter. This functionality is described in detail in US patent application Ser. No. 10 / 420,040 filed Apr. 17, 2003 by the same applicant, which is incorporated herein by reference. .

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the user can input a filter condition and use a timer. The timer is used to monitor a pause when the user inputs. The filter is applied after a selected time interval in which no input is made. For example, in the state of FIG. 24, the user inputs the filter condition “AB”, but there is no significant time lag between “A” and “B”. After entering the condition “AB”, the user pauses, then outputs the state shown in FIG. 24 and the filter condition “AB” is applied. After a while, the user adds the letter “C” to complete the filter condition “ABC” and then pauses again, at which time the filter condition “ABC” is illustrated in FIG. Applies to

  In one embodiment, after the user enters a filter condition in the filter area 621 and then selects another filter or navigation, the navigation state is updated and the filter condition in the filter area 621 is again emptied. Further, as described below with reference to FIGS. 26-29, other filter controls can be updated based on the selection results of several filter conditions.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which the system-provided filter condition “year 2002” is selected. As described above, under the date indicator 622, the year selection 623 includes year 2000, year 2001, or year 2002. The selection box SB is displayed so as to surround “year 2002”, and indicates that the user has selected it as a target filter condition.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a screen display to which the filter condition “2002” is applied. Also shown are other selections of the “pick a month” selector 623A. As shown in FIG. 27, after applying the filter condition “2002”, the number of items in the stack is reduced. Specifically, “ABC Corp.” stack 651 includes 6 items, “Backups” stack 652 includes 8 items, “Business Plans” stack 653 includes 3 items, and “XYZ” Corp. "stack 654 includes five items. Information line 644 indicates that a total of 22 items occupy a total of 50 MB of memory. Information rows 640 and 641 indicate that the item shown on the display device has been filtered to include the filter condition “2002”.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a screen display on which a list is displayed for selecting a month for the filtering process. A list of months is displayed in the prepared box 950. The box 950 is displayed on the display device because the user has selected the “pick a month” selector 623A. The selection box SB is displayed so as to surround the month of “January”.

  FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the screen display further showing the filter condition “day” obtained by further filtering the stack of FIG. 28 with the month “January”. As shown in FIG. 29, the information lines 640 and 641 indicate that the displayed item has been filtered by the condition “January”. The “Backups” stack 652 is currently displayed to include two items, but the “Business Plans” stack 653 is also displayed to include two items. The information line 644 displays a total of four items and indicates that a total of 10 MB of memory is occupied. The “pick by day” selector 623B is displayed when the user wants to further filter the results on a specific day of the week.

  As described above with respect to FIGS. 24-29, filter conditions can be displayed on the system side or entered by the user. Once a filter condition is selected, the remaining filter conditions displayed can be updated (eg, after year “2002” is selected in FIG. 26, in FIG. 27 the option to select a year is no longer displayed. Instead, a “pick a month” option is displayed). As described above, the back button 643 can be selected by the user when it is desired to restore the filtering process. For example, after the month of “January” is selected in FIG. 29, the user can select the back button 643 to return the filtering process to the year “2002” as illustrated in FIG. The filter menu also provides a “stack by” function, which behaves like a stack with the functions described above with respect to FIGS. For example, a “file type” filter may have “Excel”, “PowerPoint”, “Word”, and “Stack by file type” options. Selecting the “stack by” function changes the view to display stacks of various file types.

  In general, filters can be configured to apply to different properties of a file or item. In one embodiment, the filters can be categorized according to different types such as alphabetic indices, discrete values, dates, and numerical ranges. Examples of alphabetic index properties include file name, author, artist, contact friendly name, owner, document author, document title, document subject, and description. Examples of discrete value properties include location, file type (application name), genre, track, decade (for music), rating (for music), bit rate, protected, document category, document page count, document document, document document, document There are camera model, dimensions, product name, product version, image X, image Y, and document created time. Examples of date properties are last accessed, last modified, created on, and taken on (in the case of an image). An example of a numeric range property is file size.

  It will be appreciated that using the filters described above with respect to FIGS. 24-29, the user can narrow the list of items to find the particular item of interest. As a specific example, the process described above allows a user to narrow the list of current documents to display only Microsoft Word ™ files created by a particular person and edited last week. . Using this feature, the user can find a particular item in a list of many items, and the user does not have to manually scan each item in the list.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 940 for creating a new quick link. As described in detail below, a quick link is a predefined link that a user can click to create a user-selected view of a collection of items. In one embodiment, a quick link can be thought of as a kind of pivot. Quick links provide a mechanism for retrieving virtual folders. The user can click on the quick link to go to the target folder, in the same way as clicking on “favorites” to go to the website. Quick links can be pre-defined on the system side or set by the user. For example, clicking on “all authors” returns a view stacked by the author. Clicking on “all documents” returns an unstructured view of all documents for all storage areas. Users can also create their own quick links.

  As shown in FIG. 30, at block 942, the user makes a selection on the display device to indicate that a new quick link must be formed from the current filter condition or navigation. At block 944, the user gives the new quick link a new name. At block 946, the new quick link is saved and the new quick link name is sent to the quick link section on the display device.

  FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining a screen display for creating a new quick link “January Work” based on the filter processing of FIG. 29. As described above, in FIG. 29, the stack is filtered by January month. In FIG. 31, the user indicates that the filter processing result of FIG. 29 should be saved as a new quick link, and the new quick link is named “January work”. Therefore, a new January work quick link 612 is displayed in the quick link section of the display device. With respect to forming a new quick link, the user is generally presented with an option such as “save this collection as a quick link”.

  FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which the quick link “All Authors” is selected. As shown in FIG. 32, the selection box SB is displayed so as to surround the “All Authors” section 611. Other examples of collections accessible via quick links include: “all authors”, “reent documents”, “all documents I've shared”, “all documents I've authorized”, “all documents There are “desktop” and “all types”.

  FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining a screen display on which a list of all the creators of the items in FIG. 32 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 33, the prepared information line 950 shows columns that display the name, creator, modification date, type, size, and item location of the item. The list of Authors 951 to 954 is displayed corresponding to the corresponding Authors 1 to 4.

  FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which “Author 1” is selected from the list of FIG. The document “Author 1” includes Documents 951A and 951B, and corresponds to corresponding document 1 and document 2, respectively. Document 951A is a Microsoft Excel file created by Author 1 and shown as modified on July 11, 2001, occupying up to 282 kb of memory and retrieved from location \\ server1 \ folder2 ing. Document 951B, shown as authored by Author 1 and modified on December 22, 2002, is a Microsoft Word ™ file, occupies up to 206 kb of memory, and location My Documents \ folderl Is physically stored. The locations of documents 951A and 951B can also include items from different physical locations in the virtual folder of the present invention, as described in detail below.

  FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 960 for creating a new library. An example of a library is the document library described above with reference to FIG. In general, a library consists of a large group of available types of files that can be associated together. For example, photos can be one library, music can be another library, and documents can be another library. Libraries provide tools and activities related to specific types of items. For example, in a photo library, there are tools and filters related to manipulating photos, such as creating slideshows and sharing images. As shown in FIG. 35, at block 962, a new library is created and includes items with the selected characters. At block 964, the selected items are grouped into a library. At block 966, tools and / or activities related to the selected property of the item or other intended function are performed.

  FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a screen display on which a collection of available libraries is displayed. As shown in FIG. 36, the library includes a documents library 971, a photos and video library 972, a music library 973, a messages library 974, a contacts library 975, a TV and movies library 976, and an all items library 977. . The all items library 977 is shown to contain 275 items, where 275 is the total number of all items in the other library combined. The information line 644 indicates that there are 275 items in total and occupies a total of 700 MB of memory. Note that the documents library 971 is the library described above with respect to FIG.

  FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating a routine 990 that defines the scope of a virtual folder collection. As described in detail below, the virtual folder system represents items in multiple physical locations (eg, different hard drives, different computers, different network locations, etc.) so that the user can easily access all items. be able to. For example, music files from multiple physical locations can be displayed in a single display, so the user can manipulate the files at once.

  As shown in FIG. 37, at block 992, a scope is defined for the physical location from which the item is to be retrieved. At block 994, in response to the query, the item is retrieved from the physical location according to the scope definition. At block 996, all items retrieved by the query are displayed on a single display screen.

  FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating various sources that can form the scope of a virtual folder collection. As shown in FIG. 38, the system 1000 can comprise a current computer 1010, additional computers 1020, external and removable storage devices 1030, and locations on a network 1040. The entire scope 1001 is described as including all physical locations that are the source of the user's items that are drawn to create a collection. The scope can be set and modified by the user. As noted above, the other figures show that the source of the item is at a different physical location, for example, Figure 34 shows different documents originating from the My Documents folder on the server and the current computer, FIG. 18 shows physical folders physically stored in a plurality of locations.

  FIG. 39 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 1080 for putting a non-file item into a virtual folder collection. Non-file items are typically in contrast to file items that are located in physical file storage. Examples of non-file items are email and contact information. As shown in FIG. 39, at block 1082, a database is utilized to place non-file items along with file items that can be retrieved by a query. At block 1084, in response to the query, non-file items and file items are retrieved to match the query. At block 1086, non-file items and file items that match the query are displayed on the display device.

  FIG. 40 is a diagram for explaining a screen display for displaying various non-file items. As shown in FIG. 40, item filtering is performed, and items are filtered to include “John”. Those items are shown to include contact item 1101, email item 1102, and documents 1103 and 1104. Contact item 1101 and email item 1102 are non-file items. With this system, such non-file items can be included with regular file items and can be organized and manipulated as desired by the user. As described above with respect to FIG. 2, such non-file items can be stored in a relational database 230 that contains information about the properties of the file in some other way.

  41 to 50 correspond to the information row 641 in FIG. 10 and relate to the virtual address bar formed by the present invention. As will be described in detail below, the virtual address bar is composed of a plurality of segments, and each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting contents. In summary, the corresponding filter of each segment represents a virtual address for selecting the contents.

  FIG. 41 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networked computing environment 1200 suitable for manipulating a virtual address bar or any of the other aspects of the invention described herein. An example networked computing environment 1200 includes a computing device 1202, such as the personal computer described with respect to FIG. 1, for user interaction, where the user can store files or remote computing stored on a local computing device. You can view the files stored on the device. In the following description, the present invention is described in terms of a personal computer, but the computing device 1202 interacts with a minicomputer, mainframe computer, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), tablet computer, and user, and the computing device and It will be understood to include various types of physical devices, including other devices that can display files and contents stored elsewhere.

  The example networked computing environment 1200 further stores files accessible to the computing device 1202 and is connected to the computing device via a communications network, such as the Internet 1206, as shown in FIG. One or more remote servers, such as server 1204, may also be provided. Further, the computing device 1202 may connect to other information sources, such as a remote database 1208 that stores files or other content. Those skilled in the art will understand that files and information stored on both the remote server 1204 and the remote database 1208, as well as files and information stored on a local storage device, such as a hard disk drive (FIG. 1), are stored on a computer. It will be appreciated that the computing device 1202 can be accessed and displayed on it as part of the embedded file system on the computing device. Further, although a specific configuration of the remote server 1204 and remote database 1208 is shown in FIG. 41, those skilled in the art will interpret this specific configuration for illustrative purposes only and to limit the present invention. It will be easy to understand what should not be.

  FIG. 42 shows an example of a file viewer 1300 with a conventional address bar 1302 associated with displaying a file in a computer file system, as found in the prior art. For purposes of describing the present invention, a file viewer shall be a view or window on a display device, such as a display device (FIG. 1), for displaying a file or other content to a user. . The file viewer may be a window corresponding to an executable program for specifically displaying the file to the user. Apart from that, the file viewer is an open or closed dialog box on an executable program that must store or retrieve data from a storage device connected to the computer system locally or remotely. Inside view may be used. It should be noted that the above example of a file viewer is for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

  The address in the conventional address bar 1302 corresponds to a specific location in the file system. As described above, in order to edit the address displayed in the conventional address bar 1302, the user must modify the address based on detailed knowledge of the file system. Alternatively, the user can select an entry in the tree view 1304 to navigate to another location. One skilled in the art will appreciate that other controls outside the address bar 1302 that are not displayed in the example file view 1300 are also available. The address displayed in the conventional address bar 1302 corresponds to a specific location in the file system, but related files that are distributed among multiple folders in the file system are associated with the conventional address bar 1302. It cannot be displayed.

  FIG. 43 shows an example of a file viewer 1400 with a virtual address bar 1402 associated with displaying a file in a computer file system. The virtual address bar 1402 corresponds to the information row 641 in FIG. A virtual address bar 1402 having a virtual address 1404 is configured to display information similar to that displayed by the conventional address 1304 of the prior art file viewer 1300 of FIG. Virtual addresses, also called virtual paths, refer to files stored in a computer file system according to selection criteria.

  Similar to conventional addresses, such as address 1304 in FIG. 42, virtual address selection criteria can refer to files stored at specific locations within the file system hierarchy. However, in contrast to conventional addresses, virtual address selection criteria can also refer to files regardless of a particular file system location. Thus, virtual addresses can refer to files stored in multiple locations within a computer file system. As shown in FIG. 43, the file viewer 1400 may display additional files such as files 1406 and 1408 that are not visible in the file viewer 1300 of FIG. 42 due to the virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402. it can. In addition, the virtual address bar 1402 can be used to display content other than files in the computer file system. For example, the virtual address bar 1402 can be used to reference content including system devices, system services, or Internet locations.

  FIG. 44A illustrates a situation where the virtual address 1404 segment in the virtual address bar 1402 is manipulated to navigate within the computer file system. Each virtual address bar, such as virtual address bar 1402, is composed of one or more interactive segments, such as segments 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508. Each segment in the virtual address bar corresponds to a predetermined filter or selection criteria for all available content or files accessible from the computer file system. In summary, all segment filters in the virtual address bar 1402 represent virtual addresses in the virtual address bar.

  The first segment in the virtual address bar, such as segment 1502, is called the root segment, or route filter. The root segment represents the broadest category of content that can be used for selection by the virtual address bar 1402. For example, the segment 1502 “Files” may represent a filter that references all files accessible from the computer file system. Alternatively, the root segment can represent a filter that references all system services available to the user on the computer system, or a filter that references all hardware devices installed in the computer system. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other alternative route filters can be used with the present invention. Accordingly, the foregoing examples have been taken for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention. Further, the label displayed for each segment, such as “Files”, on the root segment 1502 is for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention. According to one embodiment, the labels displayed on the segments are configurable on the user side.

  Each additional segment in virtual address bar 1402, such as segments 1504, 1506, and 1508, represents an additional filter to apply when selecting and displaying a file or content in file viewer 1400. For example, root segment 1502 “Files” refers to all files available from the computer system. Segment 1504 “Document Library” filters the files selected in the root segment 1502 by selecting the files generated as documents by the user, such as via a word processor, spreadsheet, or some other document generation application. To do. Segment 1506 “Word Documents” filters the file selected in segment 1504 according to a document generated using a word processor, such as the Word application of Microsoft Corporation. Finally, segment 1508 “Author A” filters the document processing document selected by segment 1506 depending on whether “Author A” is the creator. Therefore, the content selected according to the virtual address represented by the virtual address bar 1402 must satisfy the filter corresponding to all segments in the virtual address bar.

  The segments in the virtual address bar 1402 are generally ordered from the most inclusive filter to the least inclusive filter. For example, as already described, segment 1502 “Files” is the broadest and most comprehensive. Segment 1506 “Word Documents” and segment 1508 “Author A” are less comprehensive. Virtual address bar 1402 shows the order of the segments from left to right, but for purposes of this description, segments 1504, 1506, and 1508 are after root segment 1502. However, it will be appreciated that other orientations are possible, such as a top-to-bottom arrangement, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, left-to-right orientation should be considered as illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

  As already mentioned, the segments in the virtual address bar 1402, such as the segments 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508, do not necessarily correspond to specific locations in the computer file system such as folders, drives, and directories. is not. Thus, segment 1504 “Document Library” can refer to files or content distributed over multiple servers, drives, or folders / directories. However, some segments in the virtual address bar 1402 can refer to specific locations by the computer file system hierarchy. Details of virtual address segments that refer to specific file system locations are described below with respect to FIGS. 48A and 48B.

  In contrast to the conventional address bar, each segment in the virtual address bar 1402 represents an interactive user interface element that can be acted upon. For example, a segment in the virtual address bar 1402 responds to a selection by the user, monitors whether the cursor is placed on that segment within a specified period of time, and also from the virtual address bar by an interactive operation that the user drags. It can also be removed. Thus, as shown in FIG. 44A, the user places the cursor 1510 over a segment such as segment 1504 “Document Library” in the virtual address bar 1402 and selects or clicks on that segment as described with respect to FIG. 44B. As you can, you can navigate to that level, that is, truncate the virtual address in that segment.

  FIG. 44B shows the result of selecting segment 1504 in virtual address bar 1402. By clicking on segment 1504 in virtual address bar 1402, the user indicates that he wants to navigate to that level at the virtual address. In fact, the user will prune the filter after the selected segment. For example, by clicking on segment 1504 “Document Library” (FIG. 44A), the resulting virtual address 1404 no longer includes segments 1506 “Word Documents” and 1508 “Author A” (FIG. 44A). Furthermore, because the user has navigated to an unrestricted set of filters, the resulting virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402 is more comprehensive. This is due to the addition of documents in the file viewer 1400 of FIG. 44B, which was not previously seen in the file viewer 1400 of FIG. 44A, including document 1512, document 1514, and document 1516, and is also space limited. Therefore, it can be understood that there is a scroll button 1518 indicating that an additional file that cannot be displayed on the file viewer 1400 (FIG. 44B) can be displayed.

  In addition to selecting a segment in the virtual address bar and navigating to an unrestricted segment, the user may also want to navigate or select a peer filter for the current segment in the virtual address. A peer filter is an alternative filter that can be selected and applied to a given segment in a virtual address bar. For example, referring to FIG. 44A, the peer filter for segment 1506 “Word Documents” may include filters such as “Excel Documents”, “Journals”, and the like. Other types of filters can also be applied to a given segment in the virtual address bar, including specific file system locations, hardware devices, or computer services. A peer filter may or may not be logically associated with the current filter for a given segment. A peer filter can be set for each segment in the virtual address bar. Selecting a segment peer filter in the virtual address bar is also referred to as navigating horizontally. Selecting a peer filter for a segment in the virtual address bar is described below with respect to FIGS. 45A-45D and with respect to FIG.

  45A-45D are pictorial diagrams illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a segment of a virtual address in the virtual address bar 1600. FIG. As shown in FIG. 45A, the virtual address bar 1600 has a virtual address that includes a plurality of segments, segments 1602-1608. In order to select a peer filter for a given interactive segment in the virtual address bar 1600, the user must make an alternative selection, or alternative operation, for that interactive segment. One way to make an alternative selection is to right click on a given segment. Right-click is well known in the art and means using a secondary button on a mouse or other input device, which is usually on the right side of the mouse. Apart from that, the interactive segment can monitor when the cursor is over it, so you can choose to place the cursor on the interactive segment and leave the cursor in place for the specified time, i.e. hover. Selection can be made. However, while the description herein describes another method of displaying a peer filter, it is for purposes of explanation and should not be construed as limiting the invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many other ways to generate alternative choices.

  To illustrate making an alternative selection of a segment, referring to FIG. 45A, a user first places the cursor 1610 over a segment 1604 “Document Library” for a predetermined amount of time, ie, on a segment. Hover and select that segment. FIG. 45B shows the result of alternative selection of segment 1604 “Document Library” in virtual address bar 1600. As shown in FIG. 45B, after alternatively selecting a segment 1604 “Document Library”, a peer filter view 1612 is displayed that includes a peer filter corresponding to the selected segment. It will be appreciated that the peer filter displayed in the peer filter view 1612 is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

  To select another peer filter, the user places cursor 1610 over one of the filters displayed in peer filter view 1612, such as peer filter 1614, as shown in FIG. select. As shown in FIG. 45D, after selecting another peer filter 1614, the already selected segment 1604 (FIG. 45A) is replaced with a new segment 1616 representing the other selected peer filter 1614. . Further, the segments following the alternatively selected segment 1604 in the virtual address bar 1600 of FIG. 45A, in particular 1606 “Journals” and 1608 “All Documents in 2002”, are removed from the virtual address bar 1600 of FIG. 45D. . As a result, although not shown in the figure, files or content already selected according to segments 1604 “Document Library”, 1606 “Journals”, and 1608 “All Documents In 2002” are no longer displayed in the corresponding file viewer. Instead, only files or content selected according to segments 1602 “Files” and 1616 “Picture Library” will be displayed.

  Through various user interaction operations at the end of an existing segment, the segment can be added to the virtual address in the virtual address bar. To add a filter to a virtual address in the virtual address bar, the user operates an actionable control associated with a particular filter found in the window or operates a file viewer with a virtual address bar can do. For example, referring to the file viewer 1400 of FIG. 43, the user can click the actionable control 1412 “2003” to add a corresponding filter to the virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402. Alternatively (not shown in the figure), the user can manually enter a known filter at the end of the virtual address by entering the name of the filter. There are a variety of other ways to add a filter to a virtual address, all of which are considered within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it will be understood that the above examples are for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

  When adding a filter to a virtual address in the virtual address bar, a process is performed to ensure that the newly added filter does not collide with a filter that currently exists as part of the virtual address. If a newly added filter conflicts with an existing filter, the existing filter is deleted. The newly added filter, unlike the width of the existing filter, collides with the existing filter in the virtual address if it is wider or narrower than the existing filter. Further, a newly added filter collides with an existing filter if it is mutually exclusive with the existing filter. However, a newly added filter equivalent to an existing filter is not added because it has no effect. It will be understood that the above description is given for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there may be other collisions between filters that are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

  FIGS. 46A to 46D are pictorial diagrams illustrating adding a filter to the virtual address 1702 in the virtual address bar 1700 and deleting the existing conflicting filter. FIG. 46A shows an example of a virtual address 1702 displayed on the virtual address bar 1700. As shown in FIG. 46B, a new filter represented by segment 1706 “2002” is added to virtual address 1702. As described above, a new filter is added to the end of the virtual address by placing a segment 1706 “2002” at the end of the segment in the virtual address bar 1700 of FIG. 46B. Thereafter, the process executed to add segment 1706 “2002” determines that the added filter does not collide with the current filter in virtual address 1702. Therefore, the existing filter is not deleted from the virtual address 1702.

  As shown in FIG. 46C, another filter represented by segment 1708 “Author A” is added to virtual address 1702. The process performed to add this new filter determines that the new filter “Author A” collides with the filter represented by segment 1704 “Author A-F”, which is the new filter “Author A”. Is narrower than existing filters. Accordingly, the segment 1704 “Author A-F” is deleted from the virtual address bar 1700 and the segment 1708 “Author A” is added to the end of the segment in the virtual address bar.

  FIG. 46D shows the result of adding the segment 1710 “2003” to the virtual address bar 1700 of FIG. 46C. The filter in virtual address 1702 is constrained and not cumulative. Each filter further constrains the selected content. Therefore, a mutually exclusive filter cannot select a file or content at the virtual address 1702, and therefore a collision occurs. As shown in FIG. 46D, segment 1706 “2002” (FIG. 46C) is deleted from virtual address bar 1700 because it is mutually exclusive with newly added segment 1710 “2003” and there is a conflict.

  If the virtual address bar such as the virtual address bar 1800 (FIG. 47A) has a limited virtual address bar size, if the virtual address cannot be displayed completely, a part of the virtual address may be displayed depending on the size of the virtual address bar. Is displayed. However, the undisplayed portion of the virtual address can still be accessed by the user. More specifically, the virtual address bar displays an actionable visual indicator that scrolls through virtual paths in the virtual address bar. 47A and 47B show an example of a virtual address bar 1800 that displays a virtual address when the virtual address exceeds the display capability of the virtual address bar. As shown in FIGS. 47A and 47B, scroll icons 1802 and 1804 indicate the direction in which virtual address bar 1800 can scroll to display portions of the virtual address that were not previously displayed. However, while the illustrations illustrate the use of scroll icons, this is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many other ways of scrolling virtual addresses within the virtual address bar, all of which are considered within the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 48A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtual address bar 1900 having segments that reference both virtual and real locations in the file system. As already described, a virtual address in virtual address bar 1900 can include a segment that references a specific location in the computer file system hierarchy, and a segment that refers to a virtual or logical location in the computer file system. Can also be included. Files or content referenced by virtual segments can be distributed among many physical locations. The virtual address bar 1900 can include a segment that references a physical location and a segment that references a virtual location. For example, the virtual address bar 1900 includes a segment 1902 “Local Disk (C :)” that refers to a file or content contained in a particular area within the computer file system of a particular drive “C”. Alternatively, its own segment 1904 “Case Files” refers to files or content stored in multiple folders within the computer file system hierarchy associated with the case file. However, when combined with the segment 1902 “Local Disk (C :)”, the segment 1904 “Case Files” refers only to the case file in the local drive “C”. Furthermore, the segment 1906 “ContainsFax ′” filters the file on the local disk C: and associates it with the case file depending on whether it includes the word “Fax”.

  As shown in FIG. 48B, the virtual address bar 1900 can be configured to function as a conventional address bar. For example, referring to FIG. 48A, by placing the cursor 1908 in an empty area of the virtual address bar 1900 and clicking on it, the virtual address bar 1900 displays a segment representing the virtual address as shown in FIG. 48B. Thus, the function switches to functioning as a conventional address bar for displaying the conventional address 1910. The conventional address 1910 in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIG. 48B approximates the virtual address displayed in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIG. 48A. However, filters in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIG. 48A that do not correspond to physical locations in the computer file system cannot be displayed and are removed from the conventional address 1910. In particular, segment 1904 “Case Files” and segment 1906 “ContainsFax ′” are not part of conventional address 1910 (FIG. 48B).

  To reconfigure the virtual address bar 1900, which functions as a conventional address bar, to function normally as a virtual address bar, the user must do so by a method other than clicking on an empty area of the bar. Must. When configured to function as a conventional address bar, the virtual address bar must allow the user to click on an empty area to edit the address. Clicking on an empty area of the conventional address bar moves the editing cursor to the end of the address / path so that you can edit it. Thus, to reconfigure a virtual address to function again normally as described above, the user can either press a predefined key or key sequence such as the Esc or Tab key, or another area of the window or view Click to focus on another area of the window or view. One skilled in the art can also reconfigure the virtual address bar 1900 to function again in normal mode as described above using other user actions, all of which are within the scope of the present invention. You will understand what is possible.

  FIG. 49 is a flow diagram illustrating a peer filter selection routine 2000 that selects a peer filter for the segment identified in the virtual address bar. The routine 2000 begins detecting peer filter selection activity from block 2002. Invoking the peer filter selection process is described above with respect to FIGS. At block 2004, the segment for which peer filter selection was requested is identified. At block 2006, a peer filter for the identified segment is determined from a predetermined list of peer filters. At block 2008, the peer filter is displayed to the user. At block 2010, the user's peer filter selection is obtained from the displayed peer filter. At block 2012, the virtual address is truncated by deleting the segment identified from the virtual address bar and, if the segment has been added after the identified segment. At block 2014, a segment representing the selected peer filter is added to the remaining segments in the virtual address bar. Thereafter, the routine 2000 ends.

  FIG. 50 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a filter addition routine 2100 that adds a filter to a virtual address in the virtual address bar. The example routine 2100 begins at block 2102 and obtains a filter to add to the virtual address. For example, with respect to FIG. 43, as already mentioned, a filter is added to the virtual address according to user actions outside the virtual address bar, or alternatively, the virtual address bar can be entered by entering the name of a predefined filter. Can be added directly.

  At block 2104, a determination is made whether the new filter is in conflict with a filter that already exists in the virtual address. As already described with respect to FIGS. 46A-46D, the new filter may collide with the existing filter by subsequently narrowing or widening the scope of the existing filter. Alternatively, the new filter is mutually exclusive with the existing filter and may collide with the existing filter. If, at decision block 2104, the new filter conflicts with an existing filter, at block 2106, the existing filter is deleted from the virtual address. Alternatively, at 2104, if the new filter does not collide with the existing filter, or after deleting the existing conflicting filter in block 2106, at block 2108, the new filter is added to the end of the virtual address. Thereafter, the example routine 2100 ends.

  FIGS. 51-57 are diagrams relating to systems and methods according to other aspects of the present invention that improve user usability within a shell browser. More specifically, it provides a system and method that allows a user to identify an item relatively easily based on metadata associated with the item.

  Referring to FIG. 51A, a window 2200 represents a screen-sized display area for a shell browser graphical user interface. Window 2200 includes a preview pane area 2202 and a view area 2204. The preview pane 2202 can include a preview control 2206, a user interface (UI) or edit control 2208, and a task control 2210. Typically, preview control 2206 allows a user to preview an image or other visual display of an item (eg, a selected file). The preview control 2206 can also use controls such as an iterator button that allows the user to move the focus from one item to the next item by clicking the mouse button. Metadata corresponding to one or more items and / or metadata corresponding to item containers can be displayed at various locations within window 2200. For example, the user has the option to edit metadata as well as include editing controls and metadata in the same location in the edit control area 2208, including the display of key properties of items to be previewed in the edit control area. Can be displayed. Task control 2210 includes tasks related to namespaces and / or selections.

  For the purposes of the present invention, the terms “metadata” and “user modifiable metadata” exclude shell item names. The term “shell item name” refers to a property used to arrange and display items in the shell browser. As described above, in one unique aspect of the present invention, a user can edit metadata within a shell browser.

  One skilled in the art will understand that the present invention contemplates the presence of optional features within window 2200. For example, preview control 2206 and task control 2210 are not essential functions for the purposes of the present invention. In addition, other non-essential features not shown in FIG. 51A, such as an iterator button that allows the user to open / close the preview pane or a toolbar that includes a show / hide button, are also within the scope of the present invention. It is in. However, these optional features and other optional features can help a user to quickly find a particular item within the shell browser.

  View area 2204 displays a list view of one or more items 2212, such as file system files or folders. The term “list view” means an enumeration or list of items in a container. The terms “item” and “shell item” can be used interchangeably herein and include files, folders, and other such containers, and other non-files that can be represented in list views Points to the object. Examples of non-file objects include contacts, favorites, and email. The terms “shell browser” and “file system browser” can be used interchangeably herein and are used by a user to navigate within various namespaces including files and other non-file items. A browser that can.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention contemplates a variety of window 2200 designs and layouts. For example, the preview pane 2202 is displayed on the view area 2204 in FIG. 51A. However, other layouts, such as the arrangement of the preview pane 2202 and the side-by-side view area 2204, are clearly within the scope of the present invention. The location of the edit control 2208 is further independent of the location of the metadata being displayed, and is not related to the location of other controls. Various view types are possible for items shown in the list view area 2204 such as details, slide show, filmstrip, thumbnails, tiles, icons and the like.

  FIG. 51B is similar to FIG. 51A except that the view area 2204 is replaced with a view area 2214 that displays the item 2212 in detailed mode. As usual for shell items displayed in advanced mode, item 2212 is aligned with the column to the left of view area 2214 and one or more column headings 2216 are placed in the same row. Form the top row of a set of columns that contain metadata 2218 related to the corresponding item being. Importantly, the present invention takes into account that a metadata value can be explicitly changed to another value by instantiating one or more edit controls 2208 somewhere within the window 2200. It is. For example, edit controls can be provided in preview pane 2202 and / or view area 2214. For example, editing controls that are not initially displayed to the user can be provided in the view area 2214. Such a control can be instantiated, for example, when the user hovers over metadata 2218 and then clicks to enter edit mode.

  Referring now to FIG. 52, a schematic diagram of the Welcome pane within the shell browser is shown. The Welcome pane is sometimes referred to as the “null select” pane because it represents a namespace or container as opposed to a selection. If the user has not yet made a selection, the preview pane 2302 displays metadata 2304 and key tasks related to the folder or shell library. If necessary, the task can be divided into a number of premier tasks 2306 and other related tasks 2308. The welcome pane 2300 further includes a view area 2310 in which a plurality of files or other items 2312 can be displayed. The welcome pane metadata 2304 can include information such as properties of a container (eg, MyPictures), in which case the metadata display is static. Alternatively, the welcome pane metadata 2304 can include information such as a sampling of metadata retrieved from each item in the container, in which case the metadata display can change frequently. For example, the metadata display can be limited to the properties of one item at a time by sequentially repeating from one item to the next item every 30 seconds.

  FIG. 53 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane 2400 in the shell browser. Contrary to the Welcome pane, the selected pane represents a selection by the user. If the user selects a container or folder, the selected pane need not be the same as the welcome pane for that container or folder. In FIG. 53, the selected pane 2400 comprises a preview pane 2402 that includes a preview control 2404, a metadata display 2406, and a task display 2408. Like the welcome pane 2300 (FIG. 52), the selected pane 2400 further includes a view area 2410 in which multiple files or other items 2412 can be displayed. However, in FIG. 53, the user has selected one of the files. Accordingly, the preview image of the selected file is displayed in the preview control 2402, the properties of the selected file are displayed in the metadata display 2406, and the task display 2408 is used for operating the selected file. A menu of related tasks is displayed.

  FIG. 54 is a schematic diagram of the selected pane of FIG. 53 that also includes a context menu 2500 that can be used by the user to modify metadata in the shell browser according to one embodiment of the invention. The context menu 2500 of FIG. 54 provides several options for the user to change the selected metadata. The general text shown in menu 2500 is, of course, only one example of the type of option that can be displayed to the user so that the displayed metadata can be edited. Since the context menu can be provided in any window including a welcome pane, the usability of the user is improved. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention supports various context menus and can be used in any number. For the purposes of the present invention, a context menu such as the editable metadata context menu 2500 is provided as one means for allowing the user to modify the metadata displayed in the shell browser. The user can invoke a context menu, for example, by clicking on the corresponding text or object in the preview pane.

  One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention contemplates means other than a context menu that the user can use to make modifications to the metadata displayed in the shell browser. As such other means, there is a method of entering an edit mode when the user clicks on the metadata. In contrast, the user can enter edit mode by hovering over the associated text or object in the preview pane. Various alternative means are also available and within the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 55 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2600 for a user to modify metadata displayed in a Welcome pane within a shell browser according to one embodiment of the invention. In this method 2600, at 2602, the Welcom pane and metadata associated with the Welcom pane are displayed. Thereafter, at 2604, a control is provided for the user to modify the displayed data. When the user manipulates the control in 2606 to modify the displayed metadata, this method associates the modified metadata in 2608 with the welcome pane, and the modified metadata is displayed the next time the welcome pane is displayed. Make the data visible.

  FIG. 56 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2700 for a user to modify metadata displayed in a selected pane in a shell browser according to one embodiment of the invention. In this method 2700, at 2702, a number of items are first displayed, such as an item in a welcome pane or an item in a selected container. If the user selects one or more items at 2704, the method displays metadata associated with the item selected at 2706. The method 2708 provides a control for the user to modify the displayed metadata. When the user operates the control to modify the displayed metadata in 2710, this method associates the modified metadata in 2712 with the selected item, and the selected item is displayed the next time. Make the modified metadata visible.

  If the user selects multiple items at 2704, the displayed metadata can include the intersection property of the selected item, the union property of the property, or perhaps a new property related to the selected item. . Alternatively, the displayed metadata can also include a rotated sample of metadata retrieved from each of the selected items (eg, from the metadata of one selected item to the next selected item To the metadata at 30 seconds). The display of metadata obtained from the selection of all items may be the same as the display of metadata obtained from null select.

  FIG. 57 is a block diagram of a data structure 2800 that stores user modifiable metadata associated with items displayed in the shell browser. Data structure 2800 includes a title field 2802 indicating the name of the item. For non-file items, the title field 2802 can contain the name of the property used to alphabetize the item in the list view. The data structure 2800 includes a user editable property field 2804 that includes one or more properties associated with the item being displayed, and the user editable property is displayed in the shell browser along with the item being displayed. . The data structure 2800 can optionally include a read-only property field 2806 that is associated with the item being displayed and includes a read-only property that is worth displaying in the shell browser. If the size limit of metadata displayed in the shell browser is specified, the number of properties in the fields 2804 and 2806 may be limited. Thus, the data structure 2800 can optionally include all property fields 2808, which are locations (eg, property pages) that include all of the properties or metadata associated with the item being displayed. Stores a link or pointer to Of course, all property fields 2808 are not necessary if fields 2804 and 2806 include all the properties associated with the item being displayed. Data structure 2800 is stored on one or more computer readable media, such as a file system or shell, and displays various storage device views, thus improving the usability of the user within the shell browser.

  In the present invention, it is possible to use various scenarios that are not possible with a conventional shell browser. As a first example, students can manage their projects using the preview pane. If you get a new document as part of your project, you can select the document in your document library and use the edit controls to enter the document creator's name and project name in the keyword fields. Can do. Then, the new document is displayed in the favorite view “Documents Grouped by Keyword and Listed by Author”. As a second example of a new scenario that can be used according to the present invention, there is a case of searching for materials of an advertisement campaign in which an employee comes. When browsing through a collection of his employer's photos using a shell browser, he selects some images and adds a new keyword “Summer 2003 Campaign” from the preview pane. After updating the metadata with multiple selections, the employee can then pivot on the keywords and display all of the “Summer 2003 Campaign” files that are grouped together. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention has many other advantages.

  58-66 are related to systems and methods that extend the functionality of an object previewer in a shell browser that is configured to display multiple items that represent multiple item types. As will be described in detail below, a shell browser with a default previewer and extension mechanism is implemented. The default previewer has a standard level of functionality for multiple item types. By using the extension mechanism, it is possible to use functions beyond the standard level provided by the default previewer for one or more of the item types.

  FIG. 58 is a schematic diagram of a prior art graphical user interface for browsing images stored in folders within a shell browser environment used to display other non-image files and folders. As noted above, the demand for easily identifying items stored within a computing environment such as a PC has increased dramatically. For digital images, the user had to call a third party software program to display a specific file on the PC as before. FIG. 58 illustrates a conventional solution, filmstrip view, that allows a user to easily display and identify an image associated with a given file within a graphical operating environment. Filmstrip view is aimed at browsing through folders of images by providing a fast iterative process that allows users to preview a resizable image of one or more image files in the folder. Was to use as little of the software program as possible.

  FIG. 58 relates to a system for browsing images stored in a folder, and a series of folder images within the environment (ie, shell browser) used to display other non-image files and folders. Are displayed in a row as thumbnails. Furthermore, the user can select thumbnails one after another with the cursor, and at that time, an enlarged preview image of the thumbnail selected by the user is displayed. FIG. 58 is a diagram of a representative window on the user's screen. As can be seen, the window 3200 is divided into a plurality of areas including a header area, a task options area 3206, a preview control area 3202, a caption or comment area, and a filmstrip area 3204. The task options area 3206 includes a list of tasks that can be selected by the user to perform various operations related to file and folder management as well as other system selections. These operations are partly specific to the images in the filmstrip area 3204 and the preview control 3202. The preview control area 3202 is an area in which an enlargement of the preview image of the image selected by the user is displayed. This area can also store navigation icons that help the user follow a series of images one after the other. Immediately below the preview control area is a caption or comment area that can be used to display various text information. The filmstrip area 3204 includes an area for displaying images P1, P2, P3, and P4 in which thumbnails of image files stored in a designated folder are arranged in a line. In addition, the filmstrip area 3204 further includes a cursor that allows the user to scroll within a folder for image files. Note that the filmstrip area 3204 includes a thumbnail image that is interleaved and can be displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 58, P1, P2, and P4 are displayed in landscape orientation, while P3 is displayed in portrait orientation.

  The user can select any one of a plurality of thumbnail images, thereby displaying an enlarged preview image of the user thumbnail selection image in the preview control area. Further, when a thumbnail image is selected on the user side, the user can select and execute one of the tasks listed in the task option area 3206 with respect to the selected image. Using the first control button, the user can easily preview each enlarged image of the thumbnail images in the designated folder continuously by repeating in one direction. That is, the user does not need to “click” on each of all successive thumbnails in order to preview the image. Instead, the user simply clicks the first control button and repeatedly moves through the folder. The second control button performs a similar but repeat function only in the opposite direction.

  Referring to FIG. 59, a window 3300 represents a screen-sized display area for a generic shell browser graphical user interface. Window 3300 includes a preview pane area 3302 and a view area 3304. Preview pane 3302 can include a preview control 3306, an edit or metadata control 3308, and a task control 3310. Typically, preview control 3306 allows the user to preview an image or other visual display of the item (eg, a selected file). The preview control 3306 can also use controls such as an iterator button that allows the user to move the focus from one item to the next item by clicking the mouse button. The edit control 3308 not only includes displaying the key properties of the previewed item, but also displays controls for editing the metadata to the user. Task control 3310 includes tasks related to namespaces and / or selections.

  One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention contemplates the presence of optional features within window 3300. For example, metadata control 3208 and task control 3210 are not essential functions for the purposes of the present invention. In addition, other non-essential features not shown in FIG. 59, such as an iterator button that allows the user to open / close the preview pane or a toolbar that includes a show / hide button, are also within the scope of the present invention. It is in. However, these optional features and other optional features can help a user to quickly find a particular item within the shell browser.

  View area 3304 displays a list view of one or more items 3312 such as file system files or folders. The term “list view” means an enumeration or list of items in a container. The terms “item” and “shell item” can be used interchangeably herein and include files, folders, and other such containers, and other non-files that can be represented in list views Points to the object. Similarly, “shell item” refers to an item in a shell library. Examples of non-file objects include, but are not limited to, contacts, favorites, and emails. The terms “shell browser” and “file system browser” can be used interchangeably herein and are used by a user to navigate within various namespaces including files and other non-file items. A browser that can.

  One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention contemplates a variety of window 3300 designs and layouts. For example, the preview pane 3302 is displayed on the view area 3304 in FIG. However, other layouts, such as the arrangement of the preview pane 3302 and the arrangement of the side-by-side view areas 3304, are clearly within the scope of the present invention. Also, various views are possible for the items shown in the view area 3304 such as details, slideshows, filmstrips, thumbnails, tiles, icons and the like.

  Referring now to FIG. 60, a schematic diagram of a welcome pane 3400 within a shell browser is shown. The Welcome pane is sometimes referred to as the “null select” pane because it represents a namespace or container as opposed to a selection. If the user has not yet made a selection, the preview pane 3402 displays metadata 3404 and key tasks related to the folder or shell library. If necessary, the task can be divided into several premier tasks 3406 and other related tasks 3408. The welcome pane 3400 further includes a view area 3410 where a plurality of files or other items 3412 can be displayed. The welcome pane metadata 3404 can include information such as properties of a container (eg, MyPictures), in which case the metadata display is static. Alternatively, the welcome pane metadata 3404 can include information such as sampling of metadata retrieved from each item in the container, in which case the metadata display can change frequently. For example, the metadata display can be limited to the properties of one item at a time by sequentially repeating from one item to the next item every 30 seconds.

  FIG. 61 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane 3500 in a shell browser. Contrary to the Welcome pane, the selected pane represents a selection by the user. If the user selects a container or folder, the selected pane need not be the same as the welcome pane for that container or folder. In FIG. 61, the selected pane 3500 comprises a preview pane 3502 that includes a preview control 3504, a metadata display 3506, and a task display 3508. Like the welcome pane 3400 (FIG. 60), the selected pane 3500 further includes a view area 3510 where a plurality of files or other items 3512 can be displayed. However, in FIG. 61, the user has selected one of the files. Accordingly, the preview image of the selected file is displayed in the preview control 3504, the properties of the selected file are displayed in the metadata display 3506, and the task display 3508 is used for operating the selected file. A menu of related tasks is displayed.

  FIG. 62 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane similar to the selected pane 3500 of FIG. 61, but with enhanced controls according to one embodiment of the present invention. Selected pane 3600 includes a preview pane 3602 that includes a preview control 3604 that includes an extended control 3614, a metadata display 3606, and a task display 3608. The selected pane 3600 further includes a view area 3610 where a plurality of files or other items 3612 can be displayed. The user has selected one of the plurality of files 3612, so a preview image of the selected file is displayed in the preview control 3604, and the properties of the selected file are displayed in the metadata display 3606. The task display 3608 displays a menu of related tasks for operating the selected file.

  The extended control 3614 represents a function at a level exceeding the functions that can be used from the shell browser by default. For example, the default preview pane or preview control, as shown in FIGS. 58 and 61, simply displays a preview image of the selected item. If the item is a word processing document or slide presentation, the default preview image can be the first page of the document or slide deck. However, since the function of the preview image has been expanded to enhance the interactive operability, the user can operate the extended control 3614 very easily, and can view the document or slide presentation one page at a time. This increased level of functionality allows the user to browse more comprehensively without opening the preview item, and is particularly useful for files that are not easily identifiable, especially on the first page alone, improving usability. Yes.

  The extended control 3614 can be made available to the user as part of an alternative previewer within the shell browser. The term “previewer” may mean a preview control or a preview pane that includes a preview control. The present invention provides a default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types and one or more alternative previewers with different levels of functionality for specific item types to enhance usability. Considering a shell browser. The value of using file browsing by publishing alternative previewer development to independent software development companies (ISVs) and other third-party developers so that relevant aspects of the file can be seen in an easily recognizable way. Will increase. In the present invention, various file types such as, but not limited to, image files, video files, contacts, games, scanners, video cameras, document files, spreadsheet files, slide presentation files, drawing files, and tablet ink files. And consider custom previewers for non-file item types.

  In the present invention, it is possible to use various scenarios which have been described above and which cannot be performed by a conventional shell browser. Third parties can explain and demonstrate the file type by providing code that can see the contents of the file type and provide a meaningful image that the user understands. For example, Apple can implement a QuickTime ™ preview control that is displayed when a user selects a QuickTime ™ file with a shell browser. This preview control allows the operating system shell to include default features such as displaying the QuickTime ™ video for the first 5 seconds and / or providing a button and control for the user to launch the QuickTime ™ player. It is possible to realize an alternative level or extended level function that exceeds the previewer. Alternative previewers for music files can also have similar extensions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there is no limit to the possibilities of the alternative previewer extension.

  FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram of the selected pane of FIG. 61 that also includes a context menu 3714 that can be used by a user to modify metadata in the shell browser according to one embodiment of the invention. Selected pane 3700 includes a preview pane 3702 that includes a preview control 3704, a metadata display 3706, and a task display 3708. The selected pane 3700 further includes a view area 3710 where a plurality of files or other items 3712 can be displayed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that for the purposes of the present invention, metadata control 3706 and task control 3708 are not essential functions. The present invention believes that the presence of these optional features and / or other optional features may help a user to quickly find a particular item in the shell browser or in some other way to improve usability.

  The context menu 3714 in FIG. 63 displays a plurality of options for the user such as selecting either a default previewer or an alternative previewer for the selected item. The general text shown in menu 3714 is, of course, just one example of the type of options that can be displayed for the user selecting the previewer. Since the context menu can be provided in any window including a welcome pane, the usability of the user is improved. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention supports various context menus and can be used in any number. For the purposes of the present invention, a context menu, such as context menu 3714, is provided as one means for allowing the user to select a previewer within the shell browser. The user can invoke a context menu, for example, by clicking on the corresponding text or object in the preview pane.

  Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention contemplates means other than a context menu for selecting a previewer for an item being displayed from a plurality of available previewers in the shell browser. . As such other means, there is a method in which the user clicks the preview control to enter the selection mode. Similarly, the user can be requested to select a previewer by right clicking in the preview pane. In contrast, the user can enter the selection mode by hovering over the associated text or associated object in the preview pane. Various alternative means are also available and within the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 64A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 3800 for a user to select a previewer in a shell browser that supports multiple item types according to one embodiment of the invention. In method 3800, at 3802, a plurality of previewers are prepared in the shell browser. The plurality of previewers can include a default previewer corresponding to a plurality of item types and one or more alternative previewers corresponding to a particular item type. These alternative previewers can include installed applications developed by third parties. At 3804, the method 3800 displays two or more previewer selections corresponding to the particular item type to the user. The prompt for selection of the previewer can be activated by a shell browser (eg, after displaying a new item type) and / or a user (eg, clicking on an object to display a context menu). After receiving input from the user at 3806 to select one of the previewers corresponding to the particular item type, the method 3800 associates the selected previewer with the particular item type at 3808. The selected previewer remains in use until the user selects another one. However, if the selected previewer is an installed application, the use of the selected previewer is ended by uninstalling the application.

  FIG. 64B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 3810 for automatically selecting a previewer in a shell browser that supports multiple item types according to one embodiment of the invention. In method 3810, a plurality of previewers are prepared in the shell browser at 3812. The plurality of previewers can include a default previewer corresponding to a plurality of item types and one or more alternative previewers corresponding to a particular item type. These alternative previewers can include installed applications developed by third parties.

  At 3814, the system (as opposed to the user) automatically and transparently selects a default previewer from two or more available previewers corresponding to a particular item type. The system can also select a previewer in response to an event such as the display of a new item or the presence of an alternative previewer. The system is configured to select a default previewer based on logical rules. In exceptional circumstances, the system can override those rules at 3816 and select a previewer that has not been selected according to the applicable rules. For example, if it is a rule to select a new available previewer in the current default previewer, the installed application will generally change the default previewer from the installed application to the currently available previewer. You can have permission to change. However, for example, the shell browser can reserve the right to override the proposed change by the newly installed application. For example, the override may be appropriate if the newly installed application cannot be authenticated as the appropriate owner of the item type that is focused on.

  In any case, method 3810 then associates the selected previewer with a particular item type at 3818. The selected previewer remains in use until another one is selected. However, if the selected previewer is an installed application, the use of the selected previewer is ended by uninstalling the application.

  Referring to FIG. 65, a flowchart illustrates a method 3900 that allows a third party previewer in a shell browser that supports multiple item types to be used in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method 3900 includes providing a shell browser with a default previewer for multiple item types at 3902. The method 3900 further includes implementing an extension mechanism for a third party development of an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types at 3904. An alternative previewer can be registered in the shell browser at 3906. For installed applications, registration can be performed substantially at installation time. For example, when an application is installed in the OEM, a substitute previewer can be registered before the user purchases a computer. Alternatively, the user can install the application locally or remotely.

  A number of approaches to the extension mechanism referenced above in 3904 are possible. One such approach is to expose a set of application program interfaces (APIs) so that independent software developers (ISVs) and other third-party developers can develop alternative previewers. . In the API approach, there is a registration mechanism that allows an ISV to associate a preview control with an item type owned by the ISV. When that type of item or file is selected in the shell browser, the ISV preview control is instantiated through this registration mechanism and an extended API. The API sends data to the preview control: data representing the selected item in the view and data representing the parent container of the item in the view. The preview control manipulates this data and provides a user interface through an API provided by the shell browser. The user can input with the keystrokes and mouse events passed to the preview control by the shell browser, and can manipulate those user input events with this control.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various approaches are possible in the context of using the expansion mechanism of the present invention. In addition to the API approach, similar functionality can be achieved through user configuration, pointers to HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), or flash hosting. Further, the extended model may require that only one application that owns the selected item type has only one alternative previewer. That is, the number of usable previewers can be limited to one default previewer and one alternative previewer, so that it is possible to avoid a plurality of registered extended previewers from competing with each other to deteriorate usability. However, in other models, an application that can process the selected item type can add one more previewer. In the alternative model, one more previewer can be added to any item type by the execution code. In some situations, it may be desirable to replace or delete the default previewer. Many other models are possible and are contemplated by the present invention.

  FIG. 66 is a block diagram of a data structure 4000 that is stored on one or more computer readable media and includes information indicating a plurality of previewers in a shell browser. The data structure 4000 includes a default previewer field 4002 and stores information indicating a default previewer that supports a plurality of item types. The substitute previewer field 4004 stores information indicating a substitute previewer for the first item type. Other alternative previewer field 4006 may store information indicating a second alternative previewer for the first item type, or may store information indicating an alternative previewer for the second item type. One skilled in the art may have only one alternative previewer field, and in some cases, there may be two or more alternative previewer fields. The selected previewer field 4008 stores information indicating whether to call a default previewer or an alternative previewer when an item of a specific item type is displayed in the shell browser. When the field 4006 stores information indicating an alternative previewer for the second item type, the selected previewer field 4010 displays one or more items of the second item type in the shell browser. Information can be stored indicating whether to call the default previewer or an alternative previewer from time to time. The information stored in fields 4002, 4004, and / or 4006 can store a preview code that is configured to execute when the user selects that type of object.

  While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, it will be understood that the locations of the various UI functions shown herein are for illustrative purposes and can be changed, and that different arrangements of the various UI functions are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. . Further, the various aspects of the invention described herein can be formed in various combinations and without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

  Embodiments of the invention claiming exclusive rights or privileges are defined in the claims.

1 is a block diagram of a preferred general-purpose computer system that implements the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a virtual folder system according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine for supplying a query that retrieves files and folders selected by a user. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which builds a virtual folder with either a default query or a query from a user and displays it on the screen. It is a tree diagram of a folder structure by physical folder arrangement on a hard drive. It is a tree diagram of a virtual folder structure. FIG. 7 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 6 in which the client stack is further filtered by “Contracts” and “Year”. FIG. 8 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 7 in which “Contracts” in the client stack is further filtered by “Year”. FIG. 7 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIG. 6 in which the contract stack is further filtered with “Clients” and “Year”, and “Clients” is further filtered with “Year”. It is a figure explaining the screen display which shows the stack | stuck of a document library. ABC Corp. of FIG. It is a figure explaining the screen display which shows the document in a stack. It is a figure explaining the screen display as which the stack function is selected about the document of FIG. It is a figure explaining the screen display in which the "stack by author" parameter is selected about the stack function of FIG. It is a figure explaining the screen display on which the file of FIG. 13 is stacked by "author". FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which a stack function is selected and a “stack by category” option is further selected for restacking the file in FIG. 14. It is a figure explaining the screen display by which the file of FIG. 14 is restacked by "category". It is a figure explaining the screen display as which the quick link which displays a physical folder is selected. It is a figure explaining the screen display on which the physical folder which stores the file of the virtual folder stack of FIG. 17 is displayed. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which a user can operate a virtual folder directly. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which a new “West Coast” stack is added to the stack of FIG. 10. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which a direct operation is used to copy a file from the “ABC Corp.” stack to the “West Coast” stack of FIG. 20. It is a flowchart explaining the routine for producing | generating a new filter condition dynamically on the system side. It is a flowchart explaining the routine for filtering an item based on selection of filter conditions by the system side. It is a figure explaining the screen display by which the stack | stuck of FIG. 10 was filtered by condition "AB". It is a figure explaining the screen display by which the stack | stuck of FIG. 10 was filtered by condition "ABC". FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which a filter condition “year 2002” is selected for the stack of FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen display in which the stack of FIG. 10 is filtered by another selection of “year 2002” and the filter condition “month”. It is a figure explaining the screen display in which the list | wrist is displayed in order to select the month with respect to filter processing. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen display further illustrating a filter condition of “day” in which the stack of FIG. 10 is further filtered by a month of “January”. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which creates a quick link newly. It is a figure explaining the screen display which creates the new quick link called "January Work" based on the filter process of FIG. It is a figure explaining the screen display in which the quick link "All Authors" is selected. It is a figure explaining the screen display as which the list of all the creators of FIG. 32 is displayed. FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining a screen display in which “Author 1” is selected from the list of FIG. 33 and all documents of “Author 1” are displayed. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which creates a new library. It is a figure explaining the screen display on which the collection of various available libraries is displayed. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which defines the scope of a virtual folder collection. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating various sources that can form a scope for a virtual folder collection. It is a flowchart explaining the routine which puts a non-file item in a virtual folder collection. It is a figure explaining the screen display which displays various non-file items stored in a virtual folder. It is a pictorial diagram which shows the example of a computer environment connected with the network suitable for implementing this invention. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram illustrating an example file viewer with a conventional address bar associated with displaying files in a computer file system, as found in the prior art. It is a pictorial diagram explaining an example of a file viewer for displaying a file in a computer file system by a virtual address on a virtual address bar formed according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram of the example file viewer of FIG. 5 illustrating selecting a virtual address segment with a virtual address bar for navigating within the file system. FIG. 45B is a pictorial diagram of the example file viewer of FIG. 45A for explaining a result of selecting a virtual address segment in the virtual address bar. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a virtual address segment in a virtual address bar. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a virtual address segment in a virtual address bar. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a virtual address segment in a virtual address bar. FIG. 6 is a pictorial diagram illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a virtual address segment in a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining adding a filter further to the virtual address in a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining adding a filter further to the virtual address in a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining adding a filter further to the virtual address in a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining adding a filter further to the virtual address in a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining the example of the virtual address bar which displays a virtual address when a virtual address exceeds the display capability of a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram explaining the example of the virtual address bar which displays a virtual address when a virtual address exceeds the display capability of a virtual address bar. It is a pictorial diagram illustrating an example of a virtual address bar having a virtual address with a filter that refers to both a virtual location and a real location in the file system. FIG. 48B is a pictorial diagram illustrating an example of the virtual address bar of FIG. 48A configured to display a conventional address bar. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative filter selection routine for selecting an alternative filter in the virtual address bar. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the filter addition routine which adds a filter to the virtual address in a virtual address bar. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example graphical user interface for a shell browser with editing controls according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example graphical user interface for a shell browser with one or more edit controls according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a Welcome pane in a shell browser. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of selected panes in a shell browser. FIG. 54 is a schematic diagram of the selected pane of FIG. 53 including a context menu that can be used by a user to modify metadata in a shell browser according to one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a user to modify metadata displayed in a welcome pane in a shell browser according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for a user to modify metadata displayed in a selected pane in a shell browser according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a data structure that stores metadata that can be modified by a user associated with an item displayed in a shell browser. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art graphical user interface for browsing images stored in a folder in a shell browser environment used to display other non-image files and folders. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example graphical user interface for a shell browser. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a Welcome pane in a shell browser. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of selected panes in a shell browser. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane in a shell browser with extended controls according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 62 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane similar to FIG. 61 that includes a context menu that can be used by a user to select a previewer in a shell browser according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a user to select a previewer in a shell browser according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for selecting a previewer in a shell browser on the system side according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method that can use a third party previewer in a shell browser according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the data structure which stores the information which shows the some previewer in a shell browser.

Claims (124)

A method for displaying a collection of items in a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items, comprising:
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
Providing one or more tools for manipulating items in the library. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
Providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window that displays a group of items and also displays metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
The method of claim 1, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
Providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: an extension mechanism that allows a function beyond the standard level of the default previewer to be used for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
The method of claim 1, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
The method of claim 1, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
The method of claim 1, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item includes:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
The method of claim 1, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. Further comprising a method of representing the item to a user, wherein the method of representing the item to the user comprises:
Providing a database that can be searched for both non-file items and file items,
Receiving a query and retrieving both non-file items and file items matching the query in response to the query;
The method of claim 1, comprising displaying both non-file items and file items that match the query on the display device. A system for exposing items stored in memory to a user,
A folder processor that retrieves queries from users;
With a relational database to store information about items,
The folder processor obtains a query from a user and passes the query to the relational database;
The relational database sends results back to the folder processor;
Based on the results from the relational database, the folder processor supplies the results to the user as a virtual folder. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
12. The system of claim 11, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. A shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
The system of claim 11, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. A previewer that can use a third-party previewer within a shell browser that supports multiple item types,
A shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
The system of claim 11, comprising an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. And further comprising a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
The system according to claim 11, further comprising: an extension mechanism that allows a function beyond the standard level of the default previewer to be used for one or more of the plurality of item types. A virtual address bar that provides a virtual path to an item stored in a computer file system,
A virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
One or more additional interactive segments of the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further comprising one or more additional interactive segments that constrain the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
The system of claim 11, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. A virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
12. The system of claim 11, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
The system of claim 11, comprising modifying the display object supplied on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further includes displaying the collection of items, the displaying the collection of items comprising:
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
Providing the one or more tools for manipulating the items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item includes:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
12. The system of claim 11, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. A computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing an item, wherein the item has an associated metadata property and the item is exposed to a user comprising:
Selecting a first metadata property;
Searching for an item having the selected first metadata property;
Providing a first virtual folder display object representing the collection of items having the first metadata property. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
22. The method of claim 21, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
The method of claim 21, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
22. The method of claim 21, comprising providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
The method of claim 21, comprising: an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
The method of claim 21, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
The method of claim 21, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter for selecting items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
The method of claim 21, comprising modifying the display object supplied on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further includes displaying the collection of items, and displaying the collection of items includes:
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
Providing a tool or tools for manipulating items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item comprises:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
22. The method of claim 21, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. In a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing an item, a method for operating the item, comprising:
Representing a group of items as a virtual folder;
Providing at least a first predefined action that can be executed for direct manipulation of a virtual folder, wherein when the first predefined action is executed, the virtual folder is defined by the executed action. And a step operated as instructed. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
32. The method of claim 31, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
The method of claim 31, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
32. Providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
32. The method of claim 31, comprising an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
The method of claim 31, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
The method of claim 31, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
32. The method of claim 31, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further includes displaying the collection of items, and displaying the collection of items includes:
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
Providing a tool or tools for manipulating items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item includes:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
The method of claim 31, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. A method of filtering items in a computer system comprising a memory for storing items together with a display device and metadata properties comprising:
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
Modifying the display object supplied on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
42. The method of claim 41, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the metadata being displayed. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
42. The method of claim 41, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
42. Providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
42. The method of claim 41, further comprising an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
42. The method of claim 41, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
42. The method of claim 41, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
42. The method of claim 41, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. , Further comprising a method of displaying the collection of items, the method of displaying the collection of items,
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
42. The method of claim 41, comprising providing one or more tools for manipulating items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item includes:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
42. The method of claim 41, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. In a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items, a method for displaying selected items comprising:
Storing a link to a desired collection of items that the user has navigated to;
Displaying the link on the display device so that a user can return to a view of the desired collection of items by clicking the link. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
52. The method of claim 51, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
52. The method of claim 51, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
52. The method of claim 51 including providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
52. The method of claim 51, further comprising: an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
52. The method of claim 51, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
52. The method of claim 51, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
52. The method of claim 51, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further comprises a method of displaying the collection of items, the method of displaying the collection of items,
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
52. The method of claim 51, comprising providing one or more tools for manipulating items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item comprises:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
52. The method of claim 51, comprising displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. In a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing an item, a method for representing the item to a user comprising:
Providing a database that can be searched for both non-file items and file items,
Receiving a query and retrieving both non-file items and file items matching the query in response to the query;
Displaying both non-file items and file items that match the query on the display device. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
62. The method of claim 61, comprising: providing a user with a control to modify the displayed metadata. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
62. The method of claim 61, comprising editing controls that allow a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata values displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
62. The method of claim 61, further comprising providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
62. The method of claim 61, further comprising an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
62. The method of claim 61, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
62. The method of claim 61, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
62. The method of claim 61, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. The method further comprises a method of displaying the collection of items, the method of displaying the collection of items,
Creating a library containing items with one or more specified metadata properties;
Automatically grouping items having the one or more specified metadata properties into a library;
Providing one or more tools for manipulating items in the library. The method further includes a method of displaying an item, and the method of displaying the item includes:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
62. The method of claim 61, comprising: displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. A method of providing a virtual path to an item stored in a computer file system using a virtual address bar, comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
The method of claim 1, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. 72. The method of claim 71, wherein a user selectable filter is displayed on the display device and items are filtered based on metadata properties specified by the filter. 72. The method of claim 71, wherein a user-selectable quick link is displayed on the display device to display a specified collection of items. 72. The method of claim 71, comprising providing a library comprising a collection of items and a set of tools for manipulating the items of the library. 72. The method of claim 71, wherein the items in a virtual folder can be physically stored at different physical locations in memory. The method of claim 75, wherein the different physical locations include at least one of the computer and different computers, a location on a network, and an external storage device. 72. The method of claim 71, wherein the items include both file items and non-file items. 78. The method of claim 77, wherein the non-file item includes at least one of a contact or an email. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
72. The method of claim 71, further comprising: providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
72. The method of claim 71, further comprising providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. A method performed by a computer so that a user can modify metadata in a shell browser,
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
Providing a control for the user to modify the displayed metadata. 82. The method of claim 81, wherein a user selectable filter is displayed on the display device and items are filtered based on metadata properties specified by the filter. 82. The method of claim 81, wherein a user-selectable quick link is displayed on the display device to display a specified collection of items. 82. The method of claim 81, comprising providing a library comprising a collection of items and a set of tools for manipulating the items of the library. 82. The method of claim 81, wherein the items in a virtual folder can be physically stored at different physical locations in memory. 86. The method of claim 85, wherein the different physical locations include at least one of the computer and different computers, a network location, and an external storage device. The method of claim 81, wherein the items include both file items and non-file items. 88. The method of claim 87, wherein the non-file item includes at least one of a contact or an email. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
83. The method of claim 81, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
82. The method of claim 81, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. A computer-implemented method that allows a third-party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types,
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
Providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. 92. The method of claim 91, wherein a user selectable filter is displayed on the display device and items are filtered based on metadata properties specified by the filter. 92. The method of claim 91, wherein a user-selectable quick link is displayed on the display device to display a specified collection of items. 94. The method of claim 91, comprising providing a library comprising a collection of items and a set of tools for manipulating the items of the library. 94. The method of claim 91, wherein the items in a virtual folder can be physically stored at different physical locations in memory. 96. The method of claim 95, wherein the different physical locations include at least one of the computer and different computers, a location on a network, and an external storage device. 94. The method of claim 91, wherein the items include both file items and non-file items. 98. The method of claim 97, wherein the non-file item includes at least one of a contact or an email. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
94. The method of claim 91, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
94. The method of claim 91, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. In a computer system comprising a display device and a memory for storing items, a method for displaying a library of said items, comprising:
Providing a library for storing similar types of items;
Providing a similar set of UI functions for each of the libraries. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the different types include at least two of documents, images, and music. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the set of similar UI functions includes a function for editing. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the set of similar UI functions includes a function for creating a new category. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the set of similar UI functions includes a function for editing the metadata of an item. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the similar set of UI functions includes a function for changing the pivot. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein, in addition to including similar types of items, the library can further include different types of items. A shell browser method that allows a user to modify metadata within the shell browser, the shell browser method comprising:
Displaying multiple items;
Receiving from the user a first input representing a selection of at least one displayed item;
Displaying metadata associated with the at least one selected item;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising providing a control for a user to modify the displayed metadata. Providing a shell browser, the shell browser comprising:
A window displaying a group of items and also displaying metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising: an edit control that allows a user to modify at least a portion of the metadata value displayed in the window. The method further comprises a previewer method that allows a third party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the previewer method comprising:
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. Providing a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing a plurality of item types, the shell browser comprising:
A default previewer with standard level functionality for multiple item types,
102. The method of claim 101, further comprising an extension mechanism that allows the default previewer to use features beyond the standard level for one or more of the plurality of item types. The virtual address bar method further comprises using a virtual address bar to provide a virtual path to an item stored in the computer file system, the virtual address bar method comprising:
Displaying a virtual address bar operable to include a first interactive segment that references an item on the computer file system in response to a corresponding filter for selecting an item;
Adding one or more additional interactive segments to the virtual address bar, each additional interactive segment further constraining the item referenced by the preceding interactive segment;
102. The method of claim 101, wherein the first interactive segment and the one or more additional interactive segments include a virtual path. Providing a virtual address bar user interface control for selecting items accessible from the computer system for display, the virtual address bar comprising:
102. The method of claim 101, wherein each interactive segment comprises a plurality of interactive segments corresponding to a filter that selects items for display. And further comprising a method of filtering the item, the method of filtering the item,
Providing a plurality of display objects on the display device, each representing one or more items;
Filtering the item represented by the display object based on a filter condition;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising modifying the display object provided on the display device to represent the item remaining after the filtering of the item. A method for displaying an item, the method for displaying the item comprising:
Defining a scope of physical memory locations from which items to be retrieved, the scope including current computer memory and at least one other physical location;
Receiving a query and retrieving an item from the physical location as defined in the scope in response to the query;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising: displaying the item derived from the query in a view on the display device. A method of expressing the item to the user further includes a method of expressing the item to the user.
Providing a database that can be searched for both non-file items and file items,
Receiving a query and retrieving both non-file items and file items matching the query in response to the query;
102. The method of claim 101, comprising displaying both non-file items and file items that match the query on the display device. A computer-implemented method that allows a third-party previewer to be used within a shell browser that supports multiple item types,
Providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the plurality of item types;
Providing an extension mechanism that allows a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the plurality of item types. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein a user selectable filter is displayed on the display device and items are filtered based on metadata properties specified by the filter. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein a user-selectable quick link is displayed on the display device to display a specified collection of items. 102. The method of claim 101, comprising providing a library comprising a collection of items and a set of tools for manipulating the items of the library. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the items in a virtual folder can be physically stored at different physical locations in memory. 122. The method of claim 121, wherein the different physical locations include at least one of the computer and different computers, a location on a network, and an external storage device. 102. The method of claim 101, wherein the items include both file items and non-file items. 124. The method of claim 123, wherein the non-file item includes at least one of a contact or an email.

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