JP2012042997A - Information processor, program and link creation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor capable of making virtual access to another drive look like access to an original drive by simple operation even at the time of access to an existing folder, and to provide a program.SOLUTION: When a user specifies a location of an origin folder of a link, a CPU 13 creates a destination folder of replacement (a destination folder of the link) in a RAM drive 161. At that time, the destination folder of the link is created as a virtual link dedicated folder in an NTFS. The CPU 13 copies content of the origin folder of the link specified by the user onto the created destination folder of the link. Then, the CPU 13 renames the origin folder of the link and sets a virtual link having the same name as the origin folder of the link from the destination folder of the link; that is, a new, virtual folder is created with the folder before renaming as the origin of the link.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a program, and more particularly to a technique related to data management.

  Conventionally, for example, Windows (registered trademark) is used as an operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as OS) of a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as PC). In Windows (registered trademark), a user can set a link to a folder in a certain drive (for example, C drive) and specify the link destination as another drive (for example, D drive). In this case, the created folder is recognized as being stored in the C drive on the OS.

  For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a function of mounting another physical drive (D drive) as a virtual link destination of a new folder in a certain drive (C drive). With this mount function, when the virtual link is accessed, the D drive is actually accessed, but the OS can appear to be accessing a folder in the C drive.

JP 2009-65357 A

  However, the above mount function mounts a newly created folder on another physical drive and makes it appear that the original folder is accessed while accessing the other folder as a virtual link. I could n’t.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus and program that can make an appearance appear to be accessing an original folder while accessing another folder virtually even with an existing folder by a simple operation. The purpose is to provide.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first storage unit, a second storage unit, and a control unit. The first storage means is, for example, a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD), and the second storage means is, for example, a virtual area in which a partial area on the RAM is recognized as HDD (hereinafter referred to as RAM drive). Say). However, the first storage means and the second storage means may be different physical drives, and are not limited to a drive built in the PC, but an external drive (for example, an external HDD or a flash memory). Also good.

  The control unit is realized by the CPU by an OS or an application installed in the information processing apparatus. The control unit of the present invention executes the following processing.

  First, the control unit receives an instruction from a user to replace a predetermined folder in the HDD with a RAM drive. Any reception method may be used. For example, an operation screen for designating a location of a folder to be replaced may be displayed together with a message such as “Please select a replacement source folder”.

  When receiving a replacement instruction from the user, the control unit creates a replacement destination folder in the second storage means (RAM drive). Then, the contents of the replacement source folder designated by the user are copied to the replacement destination folder. Thereafter, the replacement source folder is deleted from the first storage means (HDD). At this time, the replacement source folder may be backed up. For example, if the replacement source folder is renamed and saved, the backup can be performed together with the folder deletion.

  Then, the control unit sets a virtual link having the same name as the replacement source folder with the replacement destination folder as the link destination. This virtual link uses, for example, functions (NTFS junction function and symbolic link function) that are standardly installed in NTFS, which is one of the file management systems in Windows (registered trademark). With the NTFS junction function and symbolic link function, if the link source of this dedicated folder is the same name as the replacement source folder as a virtual link dedicated folder, when the link source is accessed, the dedicated folder (RAM drive) actually linked It is possible to make it appear as if the link source folder (HDD) is being accessed on the OS.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the user simply designates a folder (folder on the HDD) as a replacement source, and the folder is virtually linked to another folder (folder on the RAM drive). Can do. Therefore, with an easy operation, even an existing folder can appear to be accessing the original drive while virtually accessing another drive.

  Therefore, for example, by virtually linking a folder in the HDD in which the application is installed to the RAM drive, the operation of the application can be easily accelerated. For example, when the first storage unit is an HDD and the second storage unit is a non-volatile high-speed memory such as a flash memory, a folder storing various data read from the HDD when the OS starts is stored. If replaced, it is possible to speed up the startup of the OS.

  Further, for example, the first storage means is a high-speed drive such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the second storage means is suitable for the present invention even if it is a large capacity drive such as an HDD. That is, a high-speed drive such as an SSD has a high capacity unit price and a small capacity in many cases compared to an HDD, but virtually replaces a folder in which data with low access frequency is stored with a folder in the HDD. Thus, the capacity can be secured while maintaining the high speed of the SSD.

  On the other hand, when receiving the release of the virtual link from the user, the control unit executes the following processing.

  First, the virtual link is released and the replacement source folder is restored. In other words, a folder with the same name as the replacement source folder is created again. Then, the contents of the replacement folder are copied to the created folder. As a result, the replacement source is restored. Thereafter, the control unit deletes the replacement destination folder. If you have backed up the replacement folder, delete this backup as well.

  According to the present invention, even with an existing folder, it is possible to make it appear that the original drive is being accessed while virtually accessing another drive even with an existing folder.

It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of CPU. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen for various operations. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement in the case of creating a new virtual link. It is a figure which shows the management list of a virtual link. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a link addition error. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a link deletion error. It is a flowchart which shows link correction operation | movement. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the information processing apparatus which concerns on another example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the information processing apparatus (PC1) of the present invention. The PC 1 includes various input / output interfaces (I / F) 12, such as USB and VGA terminals, a bus 14, a CPU 13, an HDD 15, and a RAM 16, and has a general PC configuration. The I / F 12, the CPU 13, the HDD 15, and the RAM 16 are connected via the bus 14.

  Connected to the I / F 12 are an operation unit 11 and a display (LCD) 2 through which a user such as a mouse or a keyboard performs operation input. The I / F 12 outputs an operation signal input from the operation unit 11 to the CPU 13, and outputs a screen display video signal input from the CPU 13 to the display 2.

  The CPU 13 develops the OS and applications stored in the HDD 15 in the RAM 16 and performs various operations. Thereby, the operation | movement (program) of the control part in this invention is implement | achieved. In this embodiment, Windows (registered trademark) is used as an example of the OS, and NTFS is used as the file management system. In the present embodiment, the HDD 15 is recognized as the C drive on the OS.

  An area of the RAM drive 161 is allocated to the RAM 16. The RAM drive 161 is virtually recognized as an HDD as a partial area on the RAM 16. In the present embodiment, the RAM drive 161 is recognized as the D drive on the OS.

  In the PC 1 according to the present embodiment, an application for setting the RAM drive 161 on the RAM 16 is a simple operation and the original folder is accessed on the OS while accessing other folders virtually even with an existing folder. Realize the function (folder replacement function) that makes it appear as if you are accessing In this embodiment, an example in which the folder replacement function is performed on the RAM drive setting program will be described. However, a program having only the folder replacement function may be prepared separately.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 13. This operation is performed when the user operates the operation unit 11 to activate a specific application. For example, it is assumed that the RAM drive setting utility is activated.

  First, the CPU 13 displays a virtual link creation screen (s11). For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, on the LCD 2, a RAM drive setting screen (referred to as RamPhantom property in the figure) is displayed, and a screen called “virtual link” is displayed as a virtual link creation screen. indicate.

  When the user performs an operation of pressing the creation button (s12), a folder replacement instruction is accepted (s13). For example, the operation screen for designating the location of the replacement source folder (link source folder) is displayed as shown in FIG. 3B, such as “Please select a source folder for creating a virtual link”. To do.

  When the user specifies the location of the link source folder (s14), the CPU 13 creates a replacement destination folder (link destination folder) in the RAM drive 161 (s15). The location of the link destination folder to be created may be automatically determined by the application (for example, D: \ Vlink \ I-O DATA), but is specified by the user (including the folder name). You may do it.

  Here, the link destination folder is created as a virtual link dedicated folder in NTFS. NTFS is equipped with a virtual link function called the junction function. When the link source folder specified by this virtual link dedicated folder is accessed, the link destination folder (D drive) is actually accessed. However, on the OS, it can appear to be accessing the link source folder (C drive).

  However, the NTFS junction function is provided as an API, and in order to be set by the user, conventionally, the user must create a program or operate on a command basis with existing software. In this embodiment, since a dedicated application (in this example, a RAM drive setting utility) provides window-based operation using the API, the user can use the NTFS junction function with a simple operation. It has become.

  However, the NTFS junction function has a specification that cannot specify an existing folder as a link source (limited to a newly created folder). Therefore, the CPU 13 of the present embodiment performs the following operation.

  In FIG. 2, the CPU 13 copies the contents of the link source folder designated by the user to the created link destination folder (s16). Thereafter, the link source folder is renamed (s17). Renaming the link source folder is equivalent to deleting this link source folder and backing it up. The backed up link source folder is stored in the HDD in case the link destination folder of the RAM drive cannot be accessed due to power interruption or the like.

  Therefore, the CPU 13 sets a virtual link having the same name as the link source folder from the link destination folder (s18). That is, a virtual new folder is created using the folder before being renamed as the link source. The virtual link set in this way is registered in the management list stored in the HDD (s19), and the virtual link setting operation ends.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 31 when a new virtual link is directly created from each folder. In Windows Explorer (registered trademark) Explorer and the like, when the user right-clicks the mouse, a “menu” is displayed. However, when the program of this embodiment is installed, a new item (for example, “virtual link is newly added” is displayed in this “menu”. Item “Create” is added. When the user right-clicks the mouse and selects the item “Create a new virtual link” (s51), the CPU 13 uses the folder path (for example, C: \ Program File \ I-O DATA) at the point of the right-click. Create a new folder. At this time, the CPU 13 displays a dialog requesting input of a folder name (s52). When the user inputs a folder name in the dialog and executes it, the CPU 13 creates a link destination folder with the entered folder name as a link destination, and creates a virtual link of the entered folder name in the folder path that is right-clicked ( s53). The CPU 13 confirms whether or not the creation of the virtual link is successful (s54). If it is successful, the CPU 13 terminates the operation. See). As a result, a link source folder for virtually accessing the link destination folder can be created.

  Next, FIG. 5A shows an example of the management list. Thus, the management list is stored as a table in which the link source folder and the link destination folder are associated with each other. For example, for the virtual link No1, the link destination folder is described as “D: \ Vlink \ I-O DATA”, and the location of the link source folder is described as “C: \ Program Files \ I-O DATA”. . For the virtual link No2, the link destination folder is described as “D: \ Vlink \ Documents”, and the location of the link source folder is described as “C: \ Users \ UserA \ Documents”. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, when displaying the RAM drive setting screen, the CPU 13 reads the management list and displays the set virtual link in the screen called “virtual link setting”. By displaying, the user can easily confirm which folder is a virtual link.

  As a result, the link source folder in the HDD designated by the user is virtually linked to the link destination folder in the RAM drive. That is, on the OS, it is not known that the actual access destination of the link source folder is replaced with the link destination folder, and thereafter, the link source folder is accessed at a RAM drive access speed much higher than that of the HDD. Become.

  For this reason, for example, an arbitrary folder in the HDD in which the application is installed can be replaced with a RAM drive by a simple operation, and it is not known from the OS that the accessed drive has been replaced. You can easily speed up the operation of the application without any other operations such as changing the settings.

  Note that the backup process using the above-described rename is not essential. When the PC is turned off, the RAM drive setting application saves the contents of the RAM drive in the HDD (for example, backs up as one image data), and this image data is next started when the PC is started up. This is because if the operation for restoring the contents of the RAM drive is executed, the data in the folder is less likely to be lost. However, since the contents of the RAM drive may be lost due to a sudden power interruption and the link destination folder cannot be accessed, it is preferable to perform a backup process. If you can no longer access the linked folder, create the linked folder again, rename it, and copy the contents of the backed up folder. Alternatively, a folder that is temporarily renamed and backed up may be changed to a virtual link destination.

  Next, when the user presses the “delete” button on the junction setting screen shown in FIG. 5B (the flowchart s20 in FIG. 2), the CPU 13 displays a confirmation screen (dialog) (s20). If the user presses a confirmation OK button (not shown) (s21), the CPU 13 deletes the virtual link (s22). As a result, the virtual link source folder is deleted. Then, the CPU 13 restores the link source folder (s23). That is, the process of re-creating the folder with the original name in the original location is performed. Thereafter, the CPU 13 copies the contents of the link destination folder to the restored link source folder (s24), and deletes the renamed backup (s25). Finally, the link destination folder in the RAM drive is deleted (s26), and the deletion process is performed from the management list (s27). Thereby, the replacement of the folder is restored to the original state.

  If neither the create button nor the delete button is pressed on the junction setting screen, and the “cancel” button is pressed, the operation ends (s28). In this way, all operations such as copying, renaming, and restoring folders are automatically performed on the application side, so the user can easily perform any operation by simply specifying the folder to be replaced or the folder to be restored. A virtual link can be set.

  Next, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the link addition error. This operation is performed when an error occurs in the virtual link setting operation shown in s13 to s19 in FIG. 2 or when an error occurs when creating the virtual link in FIG. 4 (determining that an error has occurred in the process of s54). If you do).

  First, the CPU 13 confirms the file management system (s31). That is, it is confirmed whether the file management system is compatible with a virtual link (for example, NTFS) or not (for example, FAT). If the file management system does not support virtual links, an error message such as “Cannot be used unless the link source drive is in NTFS format” is displayed, and the operation ends (s32).

  If the file management system is compatible with the virtual link, the CPU 13 confirms more detailed error contents (s33). That is, it is confirmed whether the capacity of the drive for creating the link destination folder (RAM drive in the above example) is insufficient or whether the link source folder could not be renamed. If the capacity of the drive that creates the link destination folder is insufficient, "Copying is not possible because the capacity of the RAM drive is insufficient. Increase the capacity of the RAM drive or delete unnecessary files." Error message and countermeasure display are performed (s34).

  On the other hand, if the link source folder cannot be renamed, the CPU 13 restarts the PC and creates a virtual link after the restart (s35). The fact that the link source folder cannot be renamed means that the OS or application is accessing (opening a file) data in the folder. Accordingly, an operation may be performed in which “Please close the file” is displayed, a dialog is displayed, and the virtual link is created again. However, since there are cases where the OS opens a file, such as a system folder, it is preferable to restart.

  Note that creation of virtual links after rebooting is set so that it is executed with the highest priority (executed during rebooting), and before the OS reads the system folder, various files are closed as much as possible. It is desirable to do in the state. In this case, even a folder that cannot normally be replaced can be virtually linked to the RAM drive.

  Thereafter, the CPU 13 confirms whether or not the virtual link has been created (s36). If the virtual link has been created, the operation is terminated. If the virtual link could not be created, a report message to that effect is displayed. (S37).

  Next, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the link deletion error. This operation is performed when an error occurs in the virtual link deletion operation shown in s22 to s27 in FIG.

  First, the CPU 13 confirms detailed error contents (s41). That is, it is confirmed whether the capacity of the drive for creating the link source folder (HDD in the above example) is insufficient or whether the link destination folder could not be deleted. If the capacity of the drive that creates the link source folder is insufficient, an error message such as “The HDD capacity is insufficient and cannot be copied. Increase the free capacity of the HDD.” And a countermeasure display are displayed (s42 ).

  On the other hand, when the link destination folder cannot be deleted, the CPU 13 displays a countermeasure message such as “Please close the file” (s43). Thereafter, the CPU 13 checks whether or not the file is closed (s44). If the file is closed, the virtual link is deleted (s45), and the operation ends. On the other hand, if the virtual link cannot be deleted, a report message to that effect is displayed (s46), and the operation ends.

  Next, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a link correction flow. For example, this is an operation when the virtual link is deleted by unintended work such as user's carelessness regardless of the program. This operation is automatically executed when the PC is started, for example.

  First, the CPU 13 confirms whether or not the created virtual link actually stored in the management list exists (s71). If there is a virtual link stored in the management list, the operation ends. If there is no virtual link stored in the management list, the virtual link is recreated (s72). If there is no virtual link stored in the management list and there is no replacement folder, it is checked whether a rename backup folder exists (s73). If a backup exists, this backup folder is copied to the replacement destination folder (s74), and a virtual link is recreated (s72). If no backup exists, a report message is displayed (s75) and the operation is terminated.

  In the above example, the folder in the HDD 15 is virtually linked to the folder in the RAM drive 161. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the folder in the HDD 15 is a folder in the flash memory 17. (In this example, a flash memory is shown, but the same applies to an external HDD or the like).

  In this case, since the flash memory 17 is a non-volatile memory, the data in the folder can be held even after the PC is turned off. Therefore, if the folder in which various data originally read from the HDD 15 is stored at the time of OS startup is replaced with the flash memory 17, the OS startup can be speeded up.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, when an OS or various applications are installed in the SSD 18 that is a drive faster than the HDD 15, the folder in the SSD 18 can be virtually linked to the folder in the HDD 15. It is. A high-speed drive such as an SSD has a higher capacity unit price and a smaller capacity in comparison with the HDD, but when a folder storing data with a low access frequency is virtually linked to a folder in the HDD, the SSD Capacity can be secured while maintaining high speed.

  In this embodiment, NTFS in Windows (registered trademark) has been described, but the same applies to file systems in other OSs (for example, Linux).

1 ... PC
2 ... Display 11 ... Operation unit 12 ... Various input / output interfaces 13 ... CPU
14 ... Bus 15 ... HDD
16 ... RAM
17 ... Flash memory 18 ... SSD
161 ... RAM drive

Claims (9)

An information processing apparatus comprising a first storage unit, a second storage unit, and a control unit,
The controller is
An acceptance procedure for receiving an instruction to replace a folder in the first storage unit with the second storage unit;
A folder creation procedure for creating a replacement folder in the second storage means;
A copy procedure for copying the contents of the replacement source folder to the replacement destination folder;
A deletion procedure for deleting the replacement source folder from the first storage means;
A virtual link setting procedure that sets the virtual folder having the same name as the replacement source folder as the link destination and sets the virtual link to appear as if the replacement source folder is accessed when accessing the virtual link;
An information processing apparatus characterized by executing The controller is
Release acceptance procedure for accepting release of the virtual link;
A release procedure for releasing the virtual link;
A restoration procedure for restoring the replacement source folder and copying the contents of the replacement destination folder;
A link deletion procedure for deleting the replacement folder;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a process of backing up the replacement source folder in the deletion procedure.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the deletion procedure is a procedure of deleting the replacement source folder by renaming the replacement source folder and using the renamed folder as a backup.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit is a physical drive, and the second storage unit is a virtual drive.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a list saving procedure for saving a list indicating a link source and a link destination of the virtual link is executed. The control unit executes a confirmation procedure for confirming whether the link source and the link destination shown in the list exist,
If the virtual link indicated by the link source does not exist, execute the virtual link setting procedure again,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the replacement destination folder indicated by the link destination does not exist, a backup folder of the replacement source folder is copied to the replacement destination folder. The control unit receives a new folder creation instruction in a predetermined folder path in the first storage unit;
Display the folder name input screen, accept the folder name to create,
A procedure for creating the replacement folder in the second storage means with the received folder name;
A procedure for setting the virtual link as the folder name of the replacement source folder with the received folder name in the folder path that has received the creation instruction;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein A program executed by an information processing apparatus including a first storage unit and a second storage unit,
An acceptance procedure for receiving an instruction to replace a folder in the first storage unit with the second storage unit;
A folder creation procedure for creating a replacement folder in the second storage means;
A copy procedure for copying the contents of the replacement source folder to the replacement destination folder;
A deletion procedure for deleting the replacement source folder from the first storage means;
A virtual link setting procedure that sets the virtual folder having the same name as the replacement source folder as the link destination and sets the virtual link to appear as if the replacement source folder is accessed when accessing the virtual link;
A program characterized by having executed.

Images