WO2004107151A1 - Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers - Google Patents

Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004107151A1
WO2004107151A1 PCT/US2003/015610 US0315610W WO2004107151A1 WO 2004107151 A1 WO2004107151 A1 WO 2004107151A1 US 0315610 W US0315610 W US 0315610W WO 2004107151 A1 WO2004107151 A1 WO 2004107151A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
items
display
user
providing
virtual address
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2003/015610
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Jason F. Moore
David G. De Vorchik
Nathaniel H. Ballou
Richard M. Banks
Chris J. Guzak
Patrice L. Miner
David J. Sheldon
James B. Kurtz
Judson C. Hally
Tyler K. Beam
Original Assignee
Microsoft Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to EP03728994A priority Critical patent/EP1629367A4/fr
Priority to IL16216303A priority patent/IL162163A0/xx
Priority to MXPA04006410A priority patent/MXPA04006410A/es
Priority to KR1020047010366A priority patent/KR100991027B1/ko
Application filed by Microsoft Corporation filed Critical Microsoft Corporation
Priority to CA2469163A priority patent/CA2469163C/fr
Priority to CN038018713A priority patent/CN1613047B/zh
Priority to JP2004569434A priority patent/JP4378292B2/ja
Priority to AU2003233558A priority patent/AU2003233558B8/en
Priority to BR0306693-2A priority patent/BR0306693A/pt
Priority to PCT/US2003/015610 priority patent/WO2004107151A1/fr
Priority to HR20040440A priority patent/HRP20040440A2/hr
Priority to IL162163A priority patent/IL162163A/en
Priority to NO20042743A priority patent/NO20042743L/no
Publication of WO2004107151A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004107151A1/fr
Priority to RU2009130955/08A priority patent/RU2009130955A/ru

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/10—File systems; File servers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/10—File systems; File servers
    • G06F16/16—File or folder operations, e.g. details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems
    • G06F16/168—Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/10—File systems; File servers
    • G06F16/14—Details of searching files based on file metadata
    • G06F16/148—File search processing
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
    • G06F16/907—Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to file systems, and more particularly, to a file system shell.
  • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Present computer file systems have a number of undesirable limitations.
  • One limitation is that users are generally unable to control the structure that they are shown. In other words, when folders are organized, a user must choose a structure, and that structure is then difficult to change.
  • a “music" folder a user may choose to organize the music files in an artist/album format, wherein all of the album folders for each artist are grouped into that particular artist's folder, and all of the songs on a particular album are grouped into that album's folder.
  • the artist/album format is not conducive to playing a type of music (e.g., playing two jazz songs from two different artists), or for playing a selection of albums from different artists.
  • a user may have a large number of files which are difficult to organize. Some users implement a rigid sense of placement for the files, and thus create strict hierarchies for them. The management of such files become increasingly complex and difficult as the number of available documents grows, making search and retrieval also difficult. This problem is further exacerbated when additional files are utilized from other locations, such as shared files, etc.
  • Users also have to deal with files being in different locations, such as on different devices, on other PCs, or online. For example, users can select to listen to their music on the computer (as may be accessible to a music program) or can go online and listen to music from Web sites, however there is a strict division between these two sources.
  • Sharing and publishing files is often hard to do, and it may often be even more difficult to retrieve such a file from someone who makes it available. Users typically have to memorize or map the various sites and names that they need for finding files on a network.
  • Name spaces may vary, which can cause confusion to the user as to what is "correct.” This is particularly true on a network where there are different naming conventions, limitations, and so on. For example, certain operating systems may require short names with no spaces in order for them to be visible.
  • Programs also often save files to their own directory or other name spaces, which can make it difficult for users to find their way back to the files.
  • Programs often have default directories and places they save documents.
  • a user often has to search through their hard disk and make guesses about where a file is stored.
  • Related items are also often stored in separate places.
  • Related files that a user has may be stored on different parts of the hard disk, etc. This problem becomes more common with the developments of digital media services that have multiple content types (e.g., pictures, music, video).
  • a conventional graphical interface control As users navigate within a file system on a computer, a conventional graphical interface control, referred to as an address bar, shows the users where they are in the file system hierarchy.
  • the conventional address bar shows the current location in terms of the file system's hierarchical structure of folders, subfolders, and files. Altering the user's location displayed in the conventional address bar is typically performed in one of two manners. The first is to manually edit the address in the address bar. Manually editing the address in the address bar permits a user to relocate to any number of locations in the file system hierarchy, but requires the user to have specific information regarding the organization of the file system on the computer, i.e., a specific file system location.
  • the second method involves using external navigation tools which, when manipulated, update the address bar to reflect the new address or location. While bypassing the manual edit of the address in the address bar, manipulating external navigation tools still requires the user to have specific information concerning the organization of the file system and traverse the hierarchical structure.
  • conventional address bars cannot reference files or data stored among multiple file system locations, such as folders or drives, due to a one-to-one relationship between the address in the address bar and a specific location in the file system hierarchy.
  • the prior art lacks an address bar that allows users to specify addresses that display files stored among multiple file system locations.
  • the prior art further lacks an address bar that also permits users to easily modify the address of the address bar without manually editing the address, or requiring specific knowledge concerning the organization of the underlying file system.
  • an address bar that presents alternative selections of files to the user from which the user may select to navigate to those selections of files. Such an address bar could also selectively present a conventional address bar interface to the user enabling the user to interact with the address bar according to previous experience according to user preferences.
  • file systems Another issue with file systems is related to the identification of items stored on a computer.
  • the need to readily identify items stored in a computing environment such as a personal computer (PC) is dramatically increasing as more individuals utilize computers in their daily routines and as the type of stored information varies between pictures, music, documents, etc.
  • Documents and media are typically stored on computers in a hierarchical fashion and are organized with files of information or media stored within folders.
  • File system browsers enable users to navigate through the file system and locate and open files and folders.
  • Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS® EXPLORERTM is an operating system utility which enables users to browse the file system.
  • Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS® XP operating system includes an image browser for use in the My Pictures folder.
  • the My Pictures folder is endowed with special features which enable users to view pictures as photos, not just as document icons.
  • My Picture's image browsing features include the ability to view thumbnail-size and large versions of photos, rotate photos that are sideways, and create a slide show. A user can also view a photo's details, such as its dimensions, the date and time it was taken, and the name of the camera that took it.
  • the preview control area in the My Picture's folder contains an enlarged preview image of a user-selected image, iterator buttons to assist a user in iterating through a series of pictures and controls for rotating pictures in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. While the image browsing features in WINDOWS® XP have advanced the state of the art by alleviating the need to invoke an application program to view and manipulate pictures, users still cannot enter and edit metadata associated with the pictures.
  • a system and method utilizing virtual folders is provided.
  • the virtual folders expose regular files and folders (also known as directories) to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk.
  • the system is able to take a property that is stored in title database and represent it as a container that is like a folder. Since users are already familiar with working with folders, by presenting the virtual folders in a similar manner, users can adapt to the new system more quickly.
  • the virtual folders are provided according to a method that is utilized in a computer system having a display and a memory for storing the items.
  • a metadata property is selected.
  • the system searches for items that have the selected metadata property, and a virtual folder display object is provided that represents the collection of items that have the metadata property.
  • the system includes a folder processor that obtains queries, from a user and a relational database for storing information about the items.
  • the folder processor first obtains a query from a user and passes the query to the relational database.
  • the relational database provides results back to the folder processor, and based on the results from the relational database, the folder processor provides the results to the user as virtual folders.
  • the results that are provided back to the folder processor include database rows and columns.
  • the database rows and columns are converted by the folder processor into an enumerator structure, which is then used to populate the display with the resulting virtual folders.
  • users are able to work with the virtual folders through direct manipulation.
  • the mechanisms that are provided for manipulating the virtual folders are similar to those that are currently used for manipulating conventional physical folders (e.g., clicking and dragging, copying, pasting, etc.).
  • the method for performing the direct manipulation of the virtual folders is provided in a computer system having a display and a memory for storing the items.
  • groups of items are represented as virtual folders.
  • defined actions are provided that can be performed for direct manipulation of the virtual folders, wherein when a defined action is performed, the virtual folder is manipulated as directed by the defined action.
  • An example of a defined action would be clicking and dragging a virtual folder.
  • the action of clicking and dragging a first virtual folder to a second virtual folder performs the function of copying the items from the first virtual folder to the second virtual folder.
  • the copying of items to a virtual folder may involve adding or otherwise altering selected metadata properties that are associated with the items.
  • filters are provided for manipulating the virtual folders.
  • the filters are essentially tools for narrowing down a set of items.
  • the filters are dynamically generated based on the properties of the separate items. For example, for a set of items, the filter mechanism may review the properties, and if the items generally have "authors" as a property, the filter can provide a list of the authors. Then by clicking on a particular author, the items that don't have the author disappear. This allows the user to narrow the contents.
  • a method for filtering items is provided in a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items with metadata properties.
  • Display objects are provided on the display that each represent one or more items.
  • the metadata properties of the items that are represented by the display objects are evaluated.
  • a filter term is provided on the display that corresponds to a metadata property that is shared by a plurality of the items, wherein the selection of the filter term causes the items that are represented on the display to be reduced to those items that share the specified metadata property.
  • a plurality of items are represented on the display, and a filter term is dynamically generated based on the metadata properties of the items.
  • the filter term When the filter term is selected, it reduces the items that are represented on the display to those that have the metadata property that corresponds to the filter term.
  • a plurality of items are represented on the display, and a filter area is provided in which a user can enter a filter term.
  • a filter term is entered by the user, the items that are represented on the display are reduced to those that contain the filter term.
  • additional items may be filtered as each new character is added to the filter term.
  • a back button which may be used to back through a filtering process. For example, after a user has entered a filter term, the user may wish to return to the set of items that were represented on the display before the filter term was applied.
  • the back button allows the user to back up to the desired point in the filter navigation.
  • quick links are provided.
  • quick links are a set of predefined links (e.g., located on the left side of the display) that can be clicked on to generate useful views of the sets of items. These can be predefined by the program, or set by a user. For example, clicking on "all authors” could return a view stacked by authors. "All documents” may return a flat view of all the documents ' across all of the storage areas. Users can also create their own quick links. For example, a user might filter down to all of the documents that they modified in January 2003, and then could save that as a quick link.
  • a method for providing quick links is implemented in a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items.
  • a user first navigates to a view of a desired collection of items.
  • a quick link that corresponds to the desired collection of items is saved and is provided with a name.
  • the name of the quick link is presented on the display such that by clicking on the quick link a user can return to the view of the desired collection of items.
  • libraries are provided. Libraries consist of large groups of usable types of files that can be associated together. For example, photos may be one library, music may be another, and documents may be another.
  • the libraries provide tools and activities that are related to the particular types of items. For example, in the photo library, there are tools and filters that relate to manipulating photos, such as for creating slide shows or sharing pictures.
  • a method for creating libraries is provided in a computer system with a display and a memory for storing items.
  • the method begins by creating a library to contain items with one or more specified metadata properties. Then, items with the one or more specified metadata properties are automatically grouped into the library. Tools are also provided for manipulating the items of the library.
  • a wide scope of files or items may be available.
  • the system is able to represent files/items from multiple physical locations (e.g., different hard drives, different computers, different network locations, etc.) so that to a user all the items appear to be from one location.
  • a user can be presented with all of their music files on a single screen, and manipulate the files all from one view, even though the files may be physically stored on different hard drives, different computers, or different network locations.
  • a scope is utilized in a method for displaying items in a computer system having a display.
  • the method involves defining a scope of the physical memory locations from wliich items are to be drawn, the scope comprising the present computer memory and at least one other physical location.
  • a query is received, in response to the query items are drawn from the physical locations as defined in the scope, and the items that are drawn from the query are then presented in a view on the display.
  • the at least one other physical location may be another computer, a location on a network, or an external storage device.
  • the view on the display can be switched to a physical folder view which indicates the physical locations where the items are physically stored.
  • non-file items may be represented in the virtual folders.
  • files that are stored in memory are located in a physical store.
  • the virtual folders can be made to include items that are not currently represented in the physical store. Examples of non-file items are e-mails, and contacts.
  • a method for presenting non- file items is implemented in a computer system with a display and a memory for storing items.
  • the method includes providing a database that allows both non-file items and file items to be searched by a query. Once a query is received, both non-file items and file items that match the query are drawn, and the items that match the query are then presented on the display.
  • a relational database is provided that includes selected information about file items, and which may hold certain non-file items • in their entireties.
  • a virtual address bar for selecting content stored on a computer file system comprises a plurality of segments. Each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting content stored on the computer file system. Collectively, the corresponding filters of each segment in the virtual address bar represent a virtual address for selecting content stored on a computer file system.
  • Each segment is an interactive segment that can respond to user interactions to modify the virtual address of the virtual address bar. Selecting a segment in the virtual address bar causes those segments subsequent to the selected segment to be removed from the virtual address bar. Alternatively selecting a segment in the virtual address bar causes a list of selectable peer filters to be displayed to the user. The peer filters are peers to the alternatively selected segment's corresponding filter. Selecting one of the peer filters causes the alternatively selected segment to replace its corresponding filter with the selected peer filter. Additionally, those segments subsequent to the alternatively selected filter segment are removed from the virtual address bar.
  • Segments may be added to the virtual address bar according to external user actions. Segments are added at the end of the segments in the virtual address bar. Any segments that conflict with an added segment are removed. An existing segment in the virtual address bar conflicts with the added segment when the existing segment is mutually exclusive to the added segment. An existing segment in the virtual address bar also conflicts with the added segment when the existing segment is broader or narrower in scope than the added segment.
  • a shell browser which includes a window and an edit control.
  • the window displays a group of items and also displays metadata values associated with one or more of the displayed items.
  • the edit control permits user modification of at least a portion of the metadata values displayed in the window.
  • a graphical user, interface is embodied on a computer-readable medium and is executable on a computer.
  • the graphical user interface includes a first screen area which displays a set of items in a shell browser and a second screen area which displays metadata associated with one or more of the displayed items.
  • the graphical user interface also presents the user with means within the shell browser for modifying the displayed metadata.
  • a user to modify metadata within a shell browser.
  • One such method includes displaying a plurality of items, receiving a first input from the user representing a selection of at least one displayed item, displaying metadata associated with the .selected item(s) and providing an edit control for user modification of the displayed metadata.
  • Another such method includes displaying a welcome pane and metadata associated with the welcome pane and providing an edit control for user modification of the displayed metadata.
  • a data structure containing metadata associated with one or more items is displayed in a shell browser.
  • the data structure which is stored on one or more computer-readable media, includes a field containing user modifiable metadata associated with the one or more displayed items, and the user modifiable metadata contained in the data structure is also displayed in the shell browser.
  • a shell browser which includes a default previewer and an extensibility mechanism.
  • the default previewer provides a standard level of functionality for multiple item types.
  • the extensibility mechanism enables functionality beyond the standard level provided by the default previewer for one or more of the item types.
  • a shell browser which includes a first previewer and a second previewer.
  • the first previewer provides a standard level of functionality for multiple item types
  • the second previewer provides an alternative or extended level of functionality for one or more of the multiple item types.
  • the shell browser is configured to selectively deploy either the first previewer or the second previewer for the one or more item types.
  • a graphical user interface for a shell browser which supports multiple item types is provided.
  • the graphical user interface includes a first screen area for displaying a set of items in the shell browser and means for selecting a previewer for the displayed items from a plurality of available previewers.
  • a computer-implemented method for selecting a previewer in a shell browser which supports multiple item types.
  • the method includes providing a plurality of previewers in the shell browser for a particular item type and selecting one of the previewers for the particular item type.
  • the method then associates the selected previewer with the particular item type.
  • a computer-implemented method for enabling the use of third party previewers in a shell browser which supports multiple item types.
  • the method includes providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the multiple item types and providing an extensibility mechanism which enables a third party to develop an alternative previewer for at least one of the multiple item types.
  • a data structure is provided which contains information indicative of a plurality of previewers in a shell browser.
  • the data structure which is stored on one or more computer-readable media, includes a first field containing information indicative of a default previewer which supports multiple item types.
  • a second field contains information indicative of an alternative previewer for a first item type
  • a third field contains information indicative of whether to invoke the default previewer or the alternative previewer when items of the first item type are displayed in the shell browser.
  • a similar set of basic UI features is provided for different types of libraries, such as a document library, a photo library, and a music library.
  • This set of basic UI features may include features such as filtering, creating new categories, editing the metadata of the items, altering the pivots, etc.
  • the similar set of basic UI features for the libraries allows a user to process and organize different types of items using attributes and features they are already familiar with.
  • FIGURE 1 is a block diagram of a general purpose computer system suitable for implementing the present invention
  • FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a virtual folder system in accordance with the present invention
  • FIGURE 3 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine by which a user provides a query that draws back selected files and folders;
  • FIGURE 4 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine by which virtual folders are constructed and displayed on the screen in accordance with either a default query or a query from the user;
  • FIGURE 5 is a tree diagram of a folder structure in accordance with a physical folder arrangement on a hard drive;
  • FIGURE 6 is a tree diagram of a virtual folder structure
  • FIGURE 7 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 6, wherein the clients stack is further filtered by contracts and year;
  • FIGURE 8 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 7, wherein the contracts of the clients stack are further filtered by year;
  • FIGURE 9 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 6, wherein the contracts stack is further filtered by clients and year, of which the clients are still further filtered by year;
  • FIGURE 10 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing the stacks of a document library;
  • FIGURE 11 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing the documents in the ABC Corp. stack of FIGURE 10;
  • FIGURE 12 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in wliich a stacking function is selected for the documents of FIGURE 11 ;
  • FIGURE 13 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a "stack by author" parameter is selected for the stacking function of FIGURE 12;
  • FIGURE 14 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the files of FIGURE 13 have been stacked by author;
  • FIGURE 15 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a stacking function is selected and a "stack by category" option is further selected for restacking the files of FIGURE 14;
  • FIGURE 16 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the files of FIGURE 14 have been restacked by category;
  • FIGURE 17 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a quick link for showing physical folders is selected
  • FIGURE 18 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the physical folders are shown which contain the files of the virtual folder stacks of FIGURE 17;
  • FIGURE 19 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine by which a user can directly manipulate virtual folders
  • FIGURE 20 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a new "West Coast" stack has been added to the stacks of FIGURE 10;
  • FIGURE 21 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which direct manipulation is used for copying the files from the "ABC Corp.” stack to the "West Coast” stack of FIGURE 20;
  • FIGURE 22 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for the system dynamically generating new filter terms
  • FIGURE 23 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for the system filtering items based on the selection of a filter term
  • FIGURE 24 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display .in which the stacks of FIGURE 10 have been filtered by the term "AB";
  • FIGURE 25 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the stacks of
  • FIGURE 10 have been filtered by the term "ABC";
  • FIGURE 26 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the filter term "year 2002" is selected for the stacks of FIGURE 10;
  • FIGURE 27 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the stacks of FIGURE 10 have been filtered by the "year 2002" and the further selection of the filter term "month”;
  • FIGURE 28 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a list is presented for selecting a month for filtering
  • FIGURE 29 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display wherein the. stacks of FIGURE 10 have been further filtered by the month of January, and further showing a filter term of "day";
  • FIGURE 30 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for creating a new quick link
  • FIGURE 31 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display for creating a new quick link called "January Work” based on the filtering of FIGURE 29;
  • FIGURE 32 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a quick link of "All Authors" is selected;
  • FIGURE 33 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a list of all of the authors of FIGURE 32 is presented;
  • FIGURE 34 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which "Author 1" has been selected from the list of FIGURE 33 and all of the Author l's documents are shown;
  • FIGURE 35 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for creating a new library
  • FIGURE 36 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a collection of various available libraries are shown;
  • FIGURE 37 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for defining the scope of a virtual folder collection
  • FIGURE 38 is a block diagram illustrative of the various sources which may form the scope of a virtual folder collection
  • FIGURE 39 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine for including non-file items in a virtual folder collection
  • FIGURE 40 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing various non-file items included in a virtual folder
  • FIGURE 41 is a pictorial diagram of an exemplary networked computer environment suitable for implementing the present invention
  • FIGURE 42 is a pictorial diagram illustrating an exemplary file viewer having a conventional address bar associated with displaying files in a computer file system, as found in the prior art
  • FIGURE 43 is a pictorial diagram illustrating an exemplary file viewer for displaying files in a computer file system in accordance with a virtual address in a virtual address bar formed in accordance with the present invention
  • FIGURE 44A is a pictorial diagram of the exemplary file viewer of FIGURE 5 illustrating selecting a segment of the virtual address in the virtual address bar to navigate in the file system;
  • FIGURE 44B is a pictorial diagram of the exemplary file viewer of FIGURE 45 A illustrating the results of selecting a segment of the virtual address in the virtual address bar;
  • FIGURES 45A-45D are pictorial diagrams illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a segment of a virtual address in a virtual address bar
  • FIGURES 46A-46D are pictorial diagrams illustrating adding additional filters to a virtual address in a virtual address bar
  • FIGURES 47A and 47B are pictorial diagrams illustrating an exemplary virtual address bar displaying a virtual address where the virtual address exceeds the virtual address bar's display capacity;
  • FIGURE 48A is a pictorial diagram illustrating an exemplary virtual address bar having a virtual address with filters referencing both virtual and actual locations in a file system;
  • FIGURE 48B is a pictorial diagram illustrating the exemplary virtual address bar of FIGURE 48 A as configured to display a conventional address bar;
  • FIGURE 49 is a flow diagram illustrative of an alternate filter selection routine for selecting alternate filters in a virtual address bar
  • FIGURE 50 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary, add filter routine for adding a filter to a virtual address in a virtual, address bar;
  • FIGURE 51 A is a block diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface for a shell browser having an edit control in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 5 IB is a block diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface for a shell browser having one or more edit controls in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 52 is a schematic diagram of a welcome pane in a shell browser
  • FIGURE 53 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane in a shell browser
  • FIGURE 54 is a schematic diagram of the selected pane of FIGURE 53 including a context menu enabling a user to modify metadata in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 55 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for enabling a user to modify metadata displayed in a welcome pane within a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 56 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for enabling a user to modify metadata displayed in a selected pane within a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 57 is a block diagram of a data structure containing user modifiable metadata associated with an item displayed in a shell browser
  • FIGURE 58 is a schematic diagram of a prior art graphical user interface for browsing pictures stored in a folder within a shell browser environment which is used for viewing other non-pictorial files and folders;
  • FIGURE 59 is a block diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface for a shell browser
  • FIGURE 60 is a schematic diagram of a welcome pane in a shell browser
  • FIGURE 61 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane in a shell browser
  • FIGURE 62 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane in a shell browser with extended controls in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 63 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane similar to FIGURE 61 but including a context menu enabling a user to select a previewer in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 64A is a flow diagram illustrating a method for enabling a user to select a previewer in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 64B is a flow diagram illustrating a method for enabling the system to select a previewer in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 65 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for enabling the use of third party previewers in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGURE 66 is a block diagram of a data structure containing information indicative of multiple previewers in a shell browser.
  • the present invention is directed to a file system shell which incorporates a number of desirable features.
  • the shell provides users with the ability to view and manipulate files and other items that are stored on a computer.
  • the following description first provides a summary of the features that are shown in the FIGURES 1-66, and then provides a detailed discussion.
  • FIGURES 1-9 are generally directed to an overall system for virtual folders.
  • Virtual folders provide a method for allowing a conventional user interface to expose regular files and folders (also known as directories) to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk.
  • FIGURES 10-18 are generally directed to stacks, which are related to the ability of the virtual folders to take any property that is stored in the database and represent it as a container that is like a folder.
  • FIGURES 19-21 are generally directed to direct manipulation of virtual folders, which relates to providing mechanisms for manipulating virtual folders that are similar to the mechanisms currently used for manipulating standard folders (e.g., copying, pasting, clicking and dragging, etc.).
  • FIGURES 22-29 are generally directed to filters, which provide a set of tools for narrowing down a set of files/items.
  • FIGURES 30-34 are generally directed to quick links, which are a set of predefined links that can be clicked on to generate useful views of sets of files/items.
  • FIGURES 35-36 are generally directed to libraries, which are related to the concept that groups of usable types of files can be associated together, and that tools and activities that are related to the particular types of items can be provided.
  • FIGURES 37-38 are generally directed to scope which is related to the concept of being able to acquire files/items from multiple physical locations (e.g., different hard drives, different computers, from a computer in a network location, etc.) so that to the user all the files/items are presented with the same convenience as if they were being provided from one location.
  • FIGURES 39-40 are generally directed to non-file items, which can be included in the database along with files, and which can include items such as emails and contacts.
  • FIGURES 41-50 are generally directed to a virtual address bar which comprises a plurality of segments, each segment corresponding to a filter for selecting content.
  • FIGURES 51-57 are generally directed to a shell browser, with which users can readily identify an item based on the metadata associated with that item.
  • FIGURES 58-66 are generally directed to extending the functionality of an object previewer in a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing multiple item types. The following description provides a detailed discussion of each of these aspects of the invention
  • FIGURES 1-9 are generally directed to a system for implementing virtual folders.
  • Virtual folders utilize the same or similar .user interfaces that are currently used for file systems.
  • the virtual folders expose regular files and folders (also known as directories) to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk.
  • Location- independent views are created which allow users to manipulate their files and folders utilizing similar controls as those presently used for managing file systems. In general, this means that users can organize and rearrange their files based on inherent properties in the files themselves, instead of the managing and organization being done as a separate part of the system.
  • the virtual folders may represent files or items from different physical locations, such as from multiple disk drives within the same computer, between multiple computers, or different network locations, such that one view of files or items can expose files or items sitting at different physical locations.
  • the different items or files need only be connected via an IP network in order to be included.
  • the virtual folder modeling is also able to be used for traditionally non-file entities.
  • An application of this is to have a set of user interfaces similar to files and folders (that is, objects and containers) to show traditionally non-file entities.
  • One example of such non-file entities would be e-mails, while another would be contact information from a contact database.
  • virtual folders provide for a location-independent, metadata-based view system that works regardless of whether the data being shown is from files or non-file entities.
  • these aspects allow more flexibility in terms of letting users manipulate their files and data, using both common user interface techniques (drag and drop, double-click, etc.) as well as leveraging the rich integration of various data types.
  • FIGURE 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the virtual folders, and any of the other aspects of the present invention that are described herein, may be implemented.
  • program modules include routines, programs, characters, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
  • the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
  • 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.
  • program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
  • an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional personal computer 20, including a processing unit 21, system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory 22 to the processing unit 21.
  • the system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.
  • the system memory includes read-only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25.
  • ROM read-only memory
  • RAM random access memory
  • BIOS basic input/output system
  • the personal computer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from or writing to a hard disk 39, a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31, such as a CD-ROM or other optical media.
  • 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 drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the personal computer 20.
  • exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk 39, a removable magnetic disk 29, and a removable optical disk 31, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.
  • a number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk 39, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37 and program data 38.
  • a user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and pointing device 42.
  • Other input devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus 23, but may also be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB).
  • a display in the form of a monitor 47 is also connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video card or adapter 48.
  • One or more speakers 57 may also be connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as an audio adapter 56.
  • personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as printers.
  • the personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more personal computers, such as a remote computer 49.
  • the remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the personal computer 20.
  • the logical connections depicted in FIGURE 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52.
  • LAN local area network
  • WAN wide area network
  • the personal computer 20 When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 is cormected to the local area network 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network 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.
  • program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 20 or portions thereof may be stored in the 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 may be used.
  • the present invention utilizes virtual folders wliich make it easier for users to perform basic tasks around file manipulation and folder navigation (browsing) and to provide higher level storage capabilities which can be leveraged in new features.
  • the virtual folders expose files and items to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk.
  • FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a virtual folder system 200 in accordance with the present invention.
  • the virtual folders allow a user to change the "pivot" which controls the way the data is viewed.
  • a user could view their music as a flat list of all the songs, which can be grouped by album.
  • the user could switch the view to show only the genres or artists or years, etc.
  • the user can tailor the view to see only the objects suited to the task at hand. This allows an improved browsing experience that negates the need for further navigation through folders (both down and back up).
  • the same lessons and capabilities apply to modeling other data-types not stored as files. Contacts, for example, can be exposed to the user in this way, giving them familiar interface capabilities, as well as richer infrastructure for manipulating them than is provided by a flat address book.
  • the virtual folder system 200 includes a folder processor 210, a relational database 230, a virtual folder descriptions database 232, an other shell folders component 234, a folder handler's component 236, and a shell browser and view component 240.
  • 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 about all files in the system. It also stores some items, like contacts (i.e., non-file items), entirely. In general, it stores metadata about the types of files and items that it contains.
  • the relational database 230 receives SQL queries from the query builder 220.
  • the relational database 230 also sends SQL rowsets to the rowset parser component 218, with one row per item column, columns being the item properties.
  • the virtual folder descriptions database 232 includes the virtual folder descriptions.
  • the virtual folder descriptions database 232 sends data to the query builder component 220, including a list of types to display in the folder, the initial filter, and the physical locations to show results from (the scopes).
  • the folder processor 210 delegates to existing shell folders " from many types of items, including all files, for handlers or properties.
  • the other shell folders component 234 sends properties from other folders to the property factory 224.
  • the other shell folders component also sends handlers to the handler factory 214.
  • the folder handlers component 236 provides code behavior for the items that exist only in the database, like contacts. This is what allows non-file items to behave akin to files.
  • the folder handlers component 236 sends handlers to the handler factory 214.
  • the folder processor 210 directly implements certain handlers based on the properties of the items.
  • the native handling code component 212 sends handlers to the handler factory 214.
  • virtual folders have to provide a set of handlers (context menu, icon, thumbnail, infotip, . . .) for their items. For most of these (infotip, data object, " drag-drop handler, background context menu . . .) the virtual folder provides a common (native) handler for all the types it holds. However there are others which the author of the type has to provide (context menu on the item itself, writable property store, . . .). The default handler can also be overridden. Virtual folders reuse this for files and allow non-file items do the same.
  • the handler factory 214 takes ID lists and produces code behaviors that provide context menus, icons, etc.
  • the folder processor 210 may use native handlers, external handlers, or delegate to other shell folders to get handlers, as described above with respect to the native handling code component 212, the other shell folders component 234, and the folder handlers component 236.
  • the handler factory component 214 sends handlers to the shell browser in view 240, as requested by the view.
  • the handler factory component 214 sends a property handler to the property writer 216.
  • the property writer 216 converts user intentions such as cut, copy, and paste into property rights to the file or item.
  • a shell browser and view component 240 sends data to the property writer 216, including direct manipulation (cut/copy/paste) or editing of metadata.
  • direct manipulation such as cut/copy/paste
  • operations such as move and copy (drag-drop) become an edit on those properties. For example, moving a document, in a view stacked by author, from Author 1 to Author 2, means changing the author.
  • the property writer component 216 implements this function.
  • the rowset parser 218 takes database rowsets and stores all item properties into a shell ID list structure.
  • a rowset takes the piecewise definition of the virtual folder and builds a SQL string which can then be issued to the database.
  • the rowset parser component 218 sends ID lists to the enumerator component 222.
  • the rowset parser component 218 also receives data from the relational database 230, including SQL rowsets, with one row per item, the columns being item properties.
  • the query builder component 220 builds SQL queries.
  • the query builder component 220 receives data from the enumerator component 222, including new filters from the navigation.
  • the query builder component 220 also receives data from the virtual folder descriptions database 232, including a list of the types to display in the folder, the initial filter, and the physical location to show results from (the scopes).
  • the query builder component 220 sends the SQL queries to the relational database 230.
  • the query builder component 220 includes a set of rows (in other words a table).- This is what running the query yields.
  • the rowset parser component 218 takes each row and using the column names transforms the row into an ID list.
  • An ID list is a well-known shell structure which is used to reference items in a namespace. Doing this allows virtual folders to be just like any other namespace to the rest of the shell. Also caching this data helps keep database access, which can be costly, to a minimum.
  • the enumerator component 222 operates in response to a navigation to a virtual folder. As described above, the enumerator component 222 receives ID lists from the rowset parser component 218, and sends new filters from the navigation to the query builder component 220. The enumerator 222 also sends data to the shell browser and view component 240, including ID lists that are returned to be inserted into the view after a navigation.
  • the property factory component 224 takes ID lists and property identifiers and returns values for those properties.
  • the property factory component 224 receives data from the handler factory component 214 including the property handler. As described above, the property factory component 224 also receives data from the other shell folders component 234, including properties from other folders.
  • the property factory component 224 also sends data to the shell browser and view component 240, including item properties, as requested by the view.
  • the shell browser and view component 240 displays the contents of a folder in a window, and handles all the user interaction with the displayed files or items, such as clicking, dragging, and navigating. Thus, the shell browser and view component 240 receives the user actions. The shell browser and view component 240 also gets the data regarding the code behaviors that it needs from the folder, in this case the folder processor 210.
  • FIGURE 3 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 300 by which a user provides a query that draws back selected items.
  • the folder processor gets a query from the user.
  • the folder processor passes the query to the relational database.
  • the relational database provides the results back to the folder processor.
  • the folder processor provides the results to the user in the form of virtual folders and items.
  • FIGURE 4 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 320 by which virtual folders are constructed and displayed on the screen in accordance with either a default query or a query from the user.
  • a default query is used. This default query is taken from the registry. For example, the default query for a music library could be to show all the songs grouped by album.
  • the folder processor constructs a query object for this query, and then passes this query to the relational database.
  • the relational database generates the results of the query and passes these back to the folder processor as database rows and columns.
  • the folder processor takes these results and converts them from the rows and columns of data into an enumerator structure, wliich is used by the folder view to populate the screen with the resulting virtual folders and items for the user to interact upon.
  • a user decides whether to change the view (by issuing a different query or "pivot"). For example, a user could issue a "show all artists" pivot. If the user does want to change the view, then the routine returns to block 324 where the folder processor passes this new query to the relational database, and receives back new rows and columns of results, and constructs a new enumerator structure. The process then continues as described above, as the folder view clears and updates, using the enumerator to draw the "artist" objects to the screen.
  • album objects are provided that represent containers that users can navigate into. For example, double-clicking the "Beatles” albums will navigate the view to see all of the Beatles' songs.
  • the folder processor issues the "show all Beatles' songs” query to the relational database, which hands back the rows and columns of data for those songs.
  • the folder processor creates an enumerator of all these songs, which then get drawn to the screen.
  • the user can also choose the view at any point while browsing virtual folders. From the above example, after narrowing down to just show Beatles songs, a user can change the view to only show the songs as albums.
  • the process of changing the view of items into another representation is called "stacking". This is because the items are conceptually arranged into "stacks" based on that representation.
  • the songs are rearranged into stacks for each of the various albums. Users can then navigate into one of these stacks, only seeing the songs from that particular album. Again, the user can rearrange the view of these remaining songs into stacks based on a property (e.g., a rating, for example). If the rating property were selected, the songs from that Beatles album would be shown in stacks for a one-, two-, or a three-star rating.
  • a property e.g., a rating, for example
  • the results of each query depend on which physical locations are included in the scope.
  • the scope may be made to include only the folders in the user's "my documents" folder.
  • the scope could include all folders on the computer, or even all folders on multiple network connected computers.
  • the user is able to view and change the scope through a scope property sheet.
  • the scope property sheet could be exposed by right-clicking on the virtual folder and choosing "properties.” The user could add new folders to the scope, or remove folders that were previously added.
  • Virtual folders allow knowledge workers to easily switch between viewing documents by file type, project, case number, author, etc. Since knowledge workers each tend to have a different method for organizing documents, virtual folders can be used to accommodate these different preferences.
  • FIGURE 5 is a tree diagram of a folder structure in accordance with a physical folder arrangement on a hard drive.
  • This physical folder arrangement is based on the traditional implementation of folders, which may be based on NTFS or other existing file systems.
  • Such folders are referred to as physical folders because their structuring is based on the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk. As will be described in more detail below, this is in contrast to virtual folders, which create location- independent, views that allow users to manipulate files and folders in ways that are similar to those currently used for manipulating physical folders.
  • a folder 400 is a "my documents" folder.
  • the folder 400 includes folders 410, 420, and 430, corresponding to Clients 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
  • each of the folders 410, 420, and 430 contain a folder 411, 421, and 431, respectively, which each correspond to the contracts for the selected client.
  • each of the folders 411, 421, and 431 contains a folder 412, 422, and 432, respectively, each corresponding to the year 2001.
  • each of the folders 411, 421, and 431 also contains a folder 413, 423, and 433, respectively, each corresponding to the year 2002.
  • FIGURE 6 is a tree diagram of a virtual folder structure.
  • virtual folders create location-independent views that allow users to manipulate their files and folders in convenient ways.
  • the virtual folders are represented as stacks.
  • a virtual folder 500 is an "all items" folder.
  • the virtual folder 500 contains virtual folders 510, 520, and 530, corresponding to clients, contracts, and year, respectively.
  • this structure allows a user to access files according to a desired parameter.
  • FIGURE 7 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 6, wherein at a second level, the virtual folder 510 further includes virtual folders 511 and 512, which correspond to contracts and year, respectively. In other words, the clients stack of virtual folder 510 is further filtered by contracts and year. The process for determining which files and items are contained in each of the virtual folders will be described in more detail below.
  • FIGURE 8 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 7, wherein at a third level, the virtual folder 511 contains a virtual folder 513, which corresponds to a year. In other words, the contracts stack of virtual folder 511 is further filtered by year. While the virtual folder structure for the virtual folders 510, 511, and 513 have been structured according to clients, contracts, and year, it will be appreciated that the virtual folders allow for other structuring sequences to occur, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGURE 9.
  • FIGURE 9 is a tree diagram of the virtual folder structure of FIGURE 6, wherein at a second level, the virtual folder 520 has been further filtered into virtual folders 521 and 522, corresponding to clients and year. At a third level, the virtual folder 521 has further been filtered to a virtual folder 523, corresponding to a year.
  • the contrast between the organizational structures of FIGURES 8 and 9 helps illustrate the flexibility of the virtual folder system. In other words, in a virtual folder system, a user is able to navigate the virtual folders according to desired parameters, as opposed to being dependent on the location-dependent views of a physical file structure such as that, illustrated in FIGURE 5.
  • FIGURE 10 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display 600 showing the stacks of a document library. As noted above, stacks can be used to represent a type of virtual folder. As will be described in more 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 an "all categories" quick link 610, on “all authors” quick link 611, a “January work” quick link 612, and a selection for displaying additional quick links 613.
  • quick links can be selected by a user to perform desired navigations of the virtual folders.
  • Quick links may be provided by the system, and some quick links may be created and saved by a user.
  • the filter elements include a "filter by" indicator 620, an entry blank 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.
  • the "filter by” indicator 620 directs a user to the fact that the items below can be used to filter the virtual folders or items.
  • the entry blank 621 provides an area in which a user can type a desired new filter term.
  • the "by date” indicator 622 directs a user to the fact that by selecting a date from the "year” selector 623, the virtual folders or items can be filtered by the selected year.
  • the "pick an author” selector 624 allows a user to filter according to a specific author.
  • the "pick a category” selector 625 allows a user to filter according to a selected category.
  • the "more filters” selector 626 allows a user to pull up additional filters on the display.
  • the activity selectors include a "create a new category” selector 630, "activity" selectors 631 and 632, and a “more activities” selector 633.
  • the activities that are presented may be for generally desirable functions, or may more specifically be directed to activities useful for the type of virtual folders that are currently being displayed.
  • the "create a new category" selector 630 can be selected by the user to create a new category which will be represented by a new stack.
  • the activity selectors 631 and 632 may be more specifically directed to the type of folders or items that are being displayed.
  • the present display is of a document library, for which the "activity" selectors 631 and 632 may be directed to activities specifically tailored for documents, such as editing or creating attachments. If the present library had been a photo library, the "activity" selector 631 and 632 could be for activities specifically directed to photos, such as forming photo albums or sharing photos with other users.
  • the information and control elements include information lines 640 and 641, a control line 642, a backspace control 643, and information lines 644 and 645.
  • the information lines 640 and 641 provide information as to the current navigation of the virtual folders or items. In the present example, the information line 640 indicates that the current navigation is to a document library, while the information line 641 indicates the more complete navigation, showing that the document library is within the storage area.
  • the control line 642 provides a number of standard controls, and the backspace button 643 allows a user to back up through a navigation.
  • the information line 644 provides numerical information about the contents of the present navigation. In the present example, the information line 644 indicates that there are 41 items which take up 100 MB in the stacks of the document library.
  • the information line 645 is available to provide additional information, such as additional information about a file that is selected.
  • the stacks of the document library include 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 on top of each of the stacks indicate how many items are in each stack.
  • the "ABC Corp.” stack 651 is shown to include 8 items.
  • the total number of items of the stacks adds up to the number of items indicated in the information line 644, which as described above is 41 in the present example.
  • a selection box SB is provided which can be utilized by a user to select a desired item.
  • the selection of the "ABC Corp.” stack 651 yields a view of the items of that stack, as will be described below with respect to FIGURE 11.
  • FIGURE 11 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing the items in the
  • the "ABC Corp.” stack 651 of FIGURE 10 It should be noted that the information lines 640 and 641 now indicate that the present navigation is showing the "ABC Corp.” stack.
  • the "ABC Corp.” stack 651 is shown to include 8 documents 751-758, corresponding to documents 1-8, respectively.
  • the information line 644 corresppndingly indicates that there are 8 items which take up 20 MB of memory.
  • Documents of FIGURE 11 may be further arranged into stacks within the ABC Corp. stack. In other words, within the virtual folder represented by the ABC Corp. stack 651, additional virtual folders may be organized to hold the documents, as will be described below with respect to FIGURES 12-16.
  • FIGURE 12 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a stacking function is selected for the documents of FIGURE 11.
  • 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, a "copy” selection 767, an "undo” selection 768, a "new” selection 769, and a “properties” selection 770.
  • the selection box SB is shown to be around the "stacks" selection 763.
  • FIGURE 13 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a "stack by author" parameter is selected for the stacking function of FIGURE 12.
  • a box 780 is displayed which presents various stacking options.
  • the stacking options include 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 shown to be around the "stack by author” option 783.
  • FIGURE 14 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the files of
  • FIGURE 13 have been stacked by author.
  • stacks 791 and 792 correspond to authors Bob and Lisa, respectively.
  • the Bob stack 791 includes two items, while the Lisa stack 792 includes five items.
  • the item 758 (corresponding to document 8) did not have an author, and so is not included in an "author" stack.
  • the stacks 791 and 792 illustrate that stacks may be organized at multiple levels, such as within the "ABC Corp.” stack 651.
  • the virtual folders may be formed at multiple levels, such as the "Lisa" stack 792 being within the "ABC Corp.” stack 651 which is within the document library.
  • FIGURE 15 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a "stack by category” option is further selected for restacking the files of FIGURE 14. As shown in FIGURE 15, the selection box SB is around the "stack by category” option 782. Since some of the items are already stacked in the stacks 791 and 792, the selection of the "stack by category” option 782 will restack the items, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGURE 16.
  • FIGURE 16 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the files of
  • FIGURE 14 are restacked by category.
  • the stacks 793 and 794 correspond to the "XYZ Corp.” and "marketing reports" categories, respectively.
  • the items 751 and 752, corresponding to documents 1 and 2 were not designated for any additional categories, and thus did not fall into any of the other category stacks.
  • FIGURE 17 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in wliich a quick link for physical folders is selected.
  • the selection box SB is shown to be around the "all folders" quick link 616.
  • the "all folders" quick link 616 provides for switching to a view of physical folders.
  • FIGURE 18 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing physical folders.
  • the physical folders that are shown contain the files of the virtual folder stacks of FIGURE 17. In other words, the items contained within the stacks 651-655 of FIGURE 17 are also contained in certain physical folders in the system.
  • FIGURE 18 These are shown in FIGURE 18 as a "My Documents” folder 851 that is located on the present computer, a “Desktop” folder 852 that is located on the present computer, a “Foo” folder 853 that is located on the hard drive C:, a “My Files” folder 854 that is located on a server, an “External Drive” folder 855 that is located on an external drive, a “My Documents” folder 856 that is located on another computer, and a "Desktop” folder 857 that is located on another computer.
  • FIGURE 18 a user is able to switch from the virtual files representation of FIGURE 17 to the physical file representation of FIGURE 18. This allows a user to toggle between virtual file representations and physical file representations, depending on which is desired for a current task.
  • the different locations of the physical folders 851-857 also illustrate that the scope of the virtual file system may be relatively broad, as will be described in more detail below.
  • FIGURE 19 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 880 by which a user can directly manipulate virtual folders.
  • the. mechanisms that are provided for manipulating the virtual folders are similar to those that are currently used for manipulating regular folders (e.g., clicking and dragging, copying, pasting, etc.).
  • the system provides defined actions that the user can perform for direct manipulation of the virtual folders that are represented as display objects.
  • the user performs a defined action. As noted above, one example of this might be a user clicking and dragging a virtual folder to copy its contents to another virtual folder.
  • the virtual folder and/or contents are manipulated as directed by the action performed by the user.
  • FIGURE 20 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a new West Coast stack 656 has been added to the stacks of FIGURE 10.
  • the West Coast stack 656 was formed by a user creating a new category of "West Coast.” Upon its initial creation, the new West Coast stack 656 would be empty and have zero items. In the embodiment of FIGURE 20, two items have been added to the West Coast stack 656.
  • One method for adding items to a stack is to select a particular item, and either modify or add additional categories to the category metadata for the item, such as adding the category "West Coast" to two items as was done in the embodiment of FIGURE 20.
  • This process illustrates that the category data is a metadata property for an item that is a type of ad-hoc property.
  • a property of this type does not have any implicit meaning, and can be assigned an arbitrary value by the user.
  • the category "property” can have any value whereas the "author” property should be the name of a person.
  • items may also be clicked and dragged to be copied from other stacks to the West Coast stack 656 (in which case the categories of the items are automatically updated to include "West Coast”).
  • FIGURE 20 shows that the selection box SB is around the ABC Corp. stack 651, in preparation for its contents being copied.
  • FIGURE 21 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which direct manipulation is used for copying the files from the ABC Corp. stack 651 to the West Coast stack 656.
  • the user selected the ABC Corp. stack 651, and then as shown in FIGURE 21 the user has clicked and dragged the stack to be copied to the West Coast stack 656.
  • the West Coast stack 656 which had two items in FIGURE 20, is now shown to include a total often items, including the additional eight items from the ABC Corp. stack 651.
  • the items from the ABC Corp. stack 651 were copied to the West Coast stack 656, this was accomplished by modifying the category descriptions of the eight items to also include the "West Coast" category in addition to including the original "ABC Corp.” category. This illustrates one type of direct manipulation that may be performed.
  • Another example of direct manipulation is right clicking an item and selecting delete.
  • a deleting function when a deleting function is selected by a user, the user is queried whether the item should be deleted all together, or simply removed from the present virtual folder. If the item is just to be removed from a present virtual folder category stack as noted above, this can be accomplished by removing the desired category from the metadata for the item. In other words, if one of the items that had been copied from the ABC Corp. stack 651 to the West Coast stack 656 was then to be removed from the West Coast stack 656, this could be accomplished by modifying the category data for the particular file to no longer include the "West Coast" category.
  • FIGURE 22 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 900 for the system dynamically generating new filter terms.
  • Filter terms are utilized for manipulating the virtual folders.
  • the filtering terms are essentially utilized as a set of tools for narrowing down a set of items.
  • filters consist of metadata categories and their values (presented to the user in the user interface as clickable links or drop-down menus). The user clicks on a' filter term in order to filter down the current results set of items on the display.
  • FIGURE 22 illustrates how filters may be dynamically generated. As shown in FIGURE 22, at a block 902, the properties (from the metadata) of the items in a collection on the present display are reviewed.
  • proposed filter terms are dynamically generated based on common properties of the items.
  • the proposed filter terms are presented to the user for possible selection for filtering items.
  • the system may review the properties of a set of items, and if the items- generally have "Authors" as a property, the filter can provide a list of the authors to filter by. Then, by clicking on a particular Author, the items that don't have that Author are removed from the set on the display. This filtering process provides the user with a mechanism for narrowing the set of items on the display.
  • FIGURE 23 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 920 for the system filtering items based on the selection of a filter term.
  • the user either enters a new filter term or else selects one of the filter terms that have been presented by the system.
  • the filter terms may be dynamically generated by the system, or they may be preset.
  • the items from the collection on the display are evaluated with regard to whether their selected properties match the filter term. For example, if the filter term is for items that were authored by "Bob," then the items are evaluated in accordance with whether their author property includes "Bob".
  • the items for which the selected properties do not match the filter term are removed from the collection on the display.
  • FIGURES 24-29 generally illustrate how the filtering process appears on the screen display.
  • the filtering may generally operate according to the following process. After the user clicks on a filter value, the items outside the filter range are animated off the screen. The animation is generally designed to make it obvious that items are being removed and that no new items are being added.
  • the back button 643 may be selected by a user so as to undo the filter operations.
  • a navigation stack is created which contains the sequential filter actions, which is utilized to undo each of the filter actions when the back button 643 is selected.
  • the information areas 640 and 641 are updated to indicate the current filter value.
  • a user is provided an option for saving a new quick link to the current filter navigation, as will be described in more detail below with respect to FIGURE 30.
  • the filter controls may be updated to be appropriate for the items remaining in the view.
  • FIGURE 24 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the stacks of FIGURE 10 have been filtered by the term "AB".
  • the term "AB" has been typed by a user.
  • the information lines 640 and 641 indicate that the items in the display are now those that have been filtered by the term "AB”.
  • the ABC Corp. stack 651 still contains eight items
  • the Backups stack 652 now contains three items
  • the XYZ Corp. stack 654 also contains three items.
  • the information line 644 thus indicates that there are a total of 14 items, taking up a total of 35 MB of memory.
  • FIGURE 25 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the stacks of FIGURE 10 have been filtered by the term "ABC".
  • the filter term "AB" of FIGURE 24 the user has simply typed the additional letter “C” to make the total filter term "ABC”.
  • the information lines 640 and 641 now indicate that the items on the display are those that contain the term "ABC”.
  • the ABC Corp. stack 651 is still shown to contain eight items, while the Backups stack 652 now contains only two items.
  • the XYZ Corp. stack 654 has disappeared because none of its contents matched the "ABC" filter.
  • the information line 644 now indicates that there are a total of 10 items in the stacks on the display, which take up a total of 25 MB of memory.
  • FIGURES 24 and 25 thus provide examples of how a user may enter new filter terms, and how those filter terms are then used to filter the items that are shown on the display.
  • the back button 643 may be utilized by a user to back through the filtering process. As described above with respect to FIGURE 10, the back button 643 allows a user to back up through a navigation. With regard to the examples of FIGURES 24 and 25, after filtering by the term "ABC" in FIGURE 25, a user could select the back button 643 so as to back up one step of the filtering process, which would return to the state of FIGURE 24. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the back button 643 may clear out the entire filter term, and may thus return to the state before that filtering occurred. In this case, by pressing the back button 643 in FIGURE 25, a user would return to the state of FIGURE 10.
  • an additional means is provided for a user to back up in or otherwise modify the filtering navigation.
  • This additional means involves allowing the user to directly access and modify the information line 641, which correspondingly changes the filter navigation.
  • the user can remove one or more of the applied filters, or modify the values for any of the applied filters.
  • a timer may also be utilized in conjunction with a user typing in filter terms such as those shown in FIGURE 24 and 25.
  • the timer is used to monitor for a pause in the typing by the user. After a selected interval of no typing, the filter is applied.
  • the filter is applied. For example, in the state of FIGURE 24, a user has typed the filter term "AB”, with no significant time lag between the "A” and the "B.” After typing the term “AB”, the user pauses, thus producing the state shown in FIGURE 24, where the filter term "AB” is applied. Sometime later, the user adds the letter “C” to complete the filter term "ABC”, and then pauses again, at which point the filter term "ABC” is applied as illustrated in FIGURE 25.
  • the navigation state is updated, and the filter term in the filter area 621 is made to be empty again.
  • other filter controls may be updated based on the selection of certain filter terms.
  • FIGURE 26 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which the system provided filter term "year 2002" is selected.
  • the year selections 623 include the years 2000, 2001, or 2002.
  • the selection box SB is shown to be around the year 2002, indicating that the user is selecting that as the desired filter term.
  • FIGURE 27 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in wliich the filter term "2002" has been applied. Also shown is the further selection of the "pick a month" selector 623A. As shown in FIGURE 27, after applying the filter term "2002", the number of items in the stacks have been reduced. More specifically, the ABC Corp. stack 651 now contains six items, the Backups stack 652 now contains eight items, the Business Plans stack 653 now contains three items, and the XYZ Corp. stack 654 now contains five items.
  • the information line 644 now indicates a total of 22 items, taking up a total of 50 MB of memory.
  • the information lines 640 and 641 now indicate that the items shown on the display are those that have been filtered to contain the filter term "2002".
  • FIGURE 28 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a list is presented for selecting a month for filtering.
  • a box 950 is provided which includes the list of the months.
  • the box 950 has been provided on the display due to the user selecting the "pick a month" selector 623A.
  • the selection box SB is shown to be around the month of January.
  • FIGURE 29 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display wherein the stacks of FIGURE 28 have been further filtered by the month of January, and further showing a filter term of "day".
  • the information lines 640 and 641 now indicate that the items on the display are those that have been filtered by the term "January”.
  • the Backups stack 652 is now shown to contain two items, while the Business Plans stack 653 is also shown to contain two items.
  • the information line 644 indicates that there are a total of four items on the display, which take up a total of 10 MB of memory.
  • a "pick by day" selector 623B is provided, should the user wish to further filter the results to a specific day.
  • filter terms may be presented by the system, or typed by a user. Once a filter term is selected, the remaining filter terms that are presented may be updated (e.g., after the year "2002" is selected in FIGURE 26, in FIGURE 27 the options for selecting a year are no longer presented and instead a "pick a month” option is provided).
  • the back button 643 may be selected by a user to back through the filtering process. For example, after the month of "January” has been selected in FIGURE 29, the user may select the back button 643 to back up the filtering process to the year "2002", as illustrated in FIGURE 27.
  • the filter menu may also include a "stack by" function, which would work similarly to the stack by function described above with respect to FIGURES 15 and 16.
  • a "file type” filter could have choices for "Excel”, “PowerPoint”, “Word”, and also "Stack by file type”. Choosing the "stack by" function changes the view to show stacks for the various file types.
  • the filters may be configured to apply to different properties of the files or items.
  • the filters may be classified according to different types, such as: alphabet index; discrete values; dates; and numerical ranges.
  • Example properties for the alphabet index may include file name, author, artist, contact friendly name, owner, document author, document title, document subject, and description.
  • Example properties for the discrete values may include location, file type (application name), genre, track, decade (for music), rating (for music), bit rate, protected, document category, document page count, document comments, camera model, dimensions, product name, product version, image X, image Y, and document created time.
  • Example properties for the dates may include last accessed, last modified, created on, taken on (for pictures).
  • An example property for the numerical range may be file size.
  • FIGURES 24-29 allow users to reduce a list of items to find a particular item that is of interest.
  • a user could narrow a current list of documents to only show Microsoft Word files, authored by a particular person and edited in the last week. This functionality allows a user to find a particular item in a list of many, and helps the user avoid having to manually scan each item in the list.
  • FIGURE 30 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 940 for creating a new quick link.
  • quick links are predefined links that can be clicked on by a user to create user selected views of the sets of items.
  • a quick, link may be thought of as a type of pivot.
  • Quick links provide a mechanism for retrieving a virtual folder. Clicking a quick link can take a user to a desired folder (in the same way that clicking a "favorites" may take a user to a Web site.
  • the quick links can be predefined by the system, or can be set by a user. For example, clicking on "all authors” could return a view stacked by authors. Clicking on "all documents” may return a flat view for. all of the documents for all of the storage areas. Users can also create their own quick links.
  • a user makes a selection on the display to indicate that a new quick link should be formed from the present filter term or navigation.
  • the user provides a new name for the new quick link.
  • the new quick link is saved and the new quick link name is provided in the quick link section on the display.
  • FIGURE 31 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display for creating a new quick link called "January Work" based on the filtering of FIGURE 29.
  • the stacks have been filtered by the month of January.
  • the user has indicated that the filtering of FIGURE 29 should be saved as a new quick link, and has named the new quick link "January work”.
  • the new January work quick link 612 is shown in the quick links section of the display.
  • the user is generally provided with an option such as "save this collection as a quick link”.
  • FIGURE 32 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a quick link of "All Authors" is selected. As shown in FIGURE 32, the selection box SB is shown around the All Authors selection 611. Other examples of collections that might be accessible by quick links include “all authors”, “recent documents”, “all documents I've shared”, “all documents I've authored”, “all documents not authored by me”, “desktop”, and "all types”.
  • FIGURE 33 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a list of all of the authors of the items of FIGURE 32 is presented.
  • an information line 950 is provided, which indicates columns for showing the name of an item, the author, the modified date, the type, the size, and the location of an item.
  • a list of Authors 951-954 are shown, corresponding to Authors 1-4, respectively.
  • FIGURE 34 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which "Author 1" has been selected from the list of FIGURE 33.
  • the Author l's documents include documents 951 A and 95 IB, corresponding to documents 1 and 2, respectively.
  • the document 951 A is shown to have been authored by Author 1, was modified on 11 July, 2001, is a Microsoft Excel file, takes up 282 Kb of memory, and was obtained from the location Wserverl ⁇ folder2.
  • the document 95 IB is shown to have been authored by Author 1, was modified on 22 December, 2002, is a Microsoft Word file, takes up 206 kilobytes of memory, and is physically stored in the location My DocumentsYfolderl.
  • the locations of the documents 951 A and 95 IB also illustrate that the virtual folders of the present invention may contain items from different physical locations, as will be described in more detail below.
  • FIGURE 35 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 960 for creating a new library.
  • a library is the documents library described above with reference to FIGURE 10.
  • libraries consist of large groups of usable types of files that can be associated together.
  • photos may be one library, music may be another, and documents may be another.
  • Libraries may provide tools and activities that are related to the particular types of items.
  • a new library is created which is to include items with selected characteristics.
  • the selected items are grouped into the library.
  • the tools and/or activities related to the selected characteristics of the items or to other desired functions are provided.
  • FIGURE 36 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display in which a collection of available libraries are shown.
  • the libraries include a documents library 971, a photos and video library 972, a music library 973, a messages library 974, a contacts library 975, and a TV and movies library 976, as well as an all items library 977.
  • the all items library 977 is shown to include 275 items, which is the total number of items from all of the other libraries combined.
  • the information line 644 indicates a total of 275 items, which take up a total of 700 MB of memory.
  • the documents library 971 is the library that was described above with respect to FIGURE 10.
  • FIGURE 37 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 990 for defining the scope of a virtual folder collection.
  • a virtual folder system is able to represent items from multiple physical locations (e.g., different hard drives, different computers, different networks locations, etc.) so that to a user, all of the items are readily accessible. For example, a user can be presented with music files from multiple physical locations on a single display, and manipulate the files all at once.
  • FIGURE 38 is a block diagram illustrative of the various sources which may form the scope of a virtual folder collection.
  • the system 1000 may include a present computer 1010, an additional computer 1020, external and removable storage 1030, and locations on a network 1040.
  • the overall scope 1001 is described as including all of the physical locations from wliich a user's items are drawn to create collections.
  • FIGURE 34 showing different documents coming from a server and a My Documents folder on a present computer
  • FIGURE 18 showing physical folders that are physically stored in multiple locations.
  • FIGURE 39 is a flow diagram illustrative of a routine 1080 for including non-file items in a virtual folder collection.
  • Non-file items are contrasted with file items that are typically located in a physical file storage. Examples of non-file items would be things like e-mails, or contacts.
  • a database is utilized to include non-file items along with file items that may be searched by a query.
  • both non-file items and file items are drawn to match the query.
  • both the non-file items and the file items that matched the query are presented on the display.
  • FIGURE 40 is a diagram illustrative of a screen display showing various non-file items. As shown in FIGURE 40, the items have been filtered to those that include "John". The items are shown to include a contact item 1101, an e-mail item 1102, and document items 1103 and 1104. The contact item 1101 and e-mail item 1102 are non-file items. The present system allows such non-file items to be included with regular file items, such that they can be organized and manipulated as desired by a user. As was described above with respect to FIGURE 2, such non-file items may be contained entirely within the . relational database 230, which otherwise includes information about the properties of files.
  • FIGURES 41-50 are diagrams related to a virtual address bar that corresponds to the information line 641 of FIGURE 10 and which is formed in accordance with the present invention.
  • the virtual address bar comprises a plurality of segments, and each segment corresponds to a filter for selecting content.
  • the corresponding filters of each segment represent a virtual address for selecting content.
  • FIGURE 41 is a block diagram of an exemplary networked computing environment 1200 suitable for operating the virtual address bar, or any of the other aspects of the present invention described herein.
  • the exemplary networked computing environment 1200 includes a computing device 1202, such as the personal computer described in regard to FIGURE 1, for interacting with a user, and upon which the user may view files stored either locally or remotely to the computing device. While the following discussion describes the present invention in relation to a personal computer, it should be understood that the computing device 1202 includes many types of physical devices including, but not limited to mini- and mainframe computers, PDAs, tablet computers, and other devices capable of interacting with a user and displaying files and content stored on the computing device and elsewhere.
  • the exemplary networked computing environment 1200 may also include one or more remote servers, such as server 1204, that stores files accessible to the computing device 1202, and connected to the computing device via a communications network, such as the Internet 1206, as shown in FIGURE 41.
  • the computing device 1202 may also be connected to other information sources storing files or other content, such as a remote database 1208.
  • a remote database 1208 storing files or other content
  • files and information stored on both the remote server 1204 and the remote database 1208, as well as on local storage devices such as hard disk drive (FIGURE 1) may be accessible to, and displayable on, the computing device 1202 as part of an integrated file system on the computing device.
  • remote server 1204 and remote database 1208 are presented in FIGURE.41, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that this particular configuration is for illustrative purposes only, and should not be construed as limiting upon, the present invention.
  • FIGURE 42 illustrates an exemplary file viewer 1300 having a conventional address bar 1302 associated with displaying files in a computer file system, as found in the prior art.
  • a file viewer is a view or window on a display device, such as display device (FIGURE 1), for displaying files or other content to a user.
  • a file viewer may be a window corresponding to an executable program specifically for displaying files to a user.
  • a file viewer may be a view within an open or close dialog box on an executable program that must save or retrieve data from a storage device connected locally or remotely to the computer system. It should be noted that the above examples of a file viewer are illustrative, and should not be construed as limiting upon the present invention.
  • An address in the conventional address bar 1302 corresponds to a specific location in a file system.
  • a user in order to edit the address displayed in the conventional address bar 1302, a user must modify the address according to specific knowledge of the file system. Alternatively, a user may select an entry in a tree view 1304 to navigate to an alternative location.
  • Those skilled in the art will recognize that other controls external to the address bar 1302 may also be available that are not shown in the exemplary file view 1300. While the address displayed in the conventional address bar 1302 corresponds to a specific location in a file system, related files distributed among multiple folders in the file system cannot be displayed in conjunction with the conventional address bar 1302.
  • FIGURE 43 illustrates an exemplary file viewer 1400 having a virtual address bar 1402 associated with displaying files in a computer file system.
  • the virtual address bar 1402 corresponds to the information line 641 of FIGURE 10.
  • the virtual address bar 1402, having a virtual address 1404 is configured to display similar information to that displayed by the conventional address 1304 of the prior art file viewer 1300 of FIGURE 42.
  • a virtual address also referred to as a virtual path, references files stored in a computer file system according to selection criteria.
  • the virtual address's selection criteria may reference files stored in a specific location in the file system hierarchy. However, in contrast to a conventional address, the virtual address's selection criteria may also reference files irrespective of their specific file system location. Thus, a virtual address may reference files stored in multiple locations in a computer file system. As shown in FIGURE 43, the file viewer 1400, according to the virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402, is able to display additional files, such as files 1406 and 1408, not found in the file viewer 1300 of FIGURE 42. Additionally, the virtual address bar 1402 may also be utilized to display content other than files in a computer file system. For example, the virtual address bar 1402 may be used to reference content including system devices, system services, or Internet locations.
  • FIGURE 44 A illustrates manipulating a segment of the virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402 in order to navigate in a computer file system.
  • Each virtual address bar such as virtual address bar 1402 is comprised of one or more interactive segments, such as segments 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508.
  • Each segment in a virtual address bar corresponds to a predetermined filter, or selection criteria, on all of the available content or files accessible to a computer file system.
  • the filters of all of the segments in a virtual address bar 1402 represent the virtual address bar's virtual address.
  • the first segment in a virtual address bar, such as segment 1502 is referred to as a root segment, or root filter.
  • the root segment represents the broadest category of content available for selection by the virtual address bar 1402.
  • segment 1502 "Files" would likely represent a filter that references all files accessible the computer file system.
  • a root segment may 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.
  • numerous other alternative root filters may be utilized by the present invention.
  • the above described examples are given for illustrative purposes, and should not be construed as limiting upon the present invention.
  • the labels displayed for each segment, such as "Files" on the root segment 1502 are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting upon the present invention.
  • a label displayed on a segment is user configurable.
  • Each additional segment in a virtual address bar 1402, such as segments 1504, 1506, and 1508, represent additional filters to be applied when selecting and displaying files or content in a file viewer 1400.
  • root segment 1502 "Files” references all files available to the computer system.
  • Segment 1504 "Document Library” filters the files selected by the root segment 1502, by selecting those files that were generated as documents by the user, such as through a word processor, spreadsheet, or some other document generating application.
  • Segment 1506 "Word Documents” filters the files selected by segment 1504 according to those documents that were generated using a word processor, such as Microsoft Corporation's Word application.
  • segment 1508 "Author A” filters the word processing documents selected by segment 1506 according to whether they were authored by "Author A.”
  • content selected according to the virtual address represented in the virtual address bar 1402 must satisfy the filters corresponding to all of the segments in the virtual address bar.
  • Segments in the virtual address bar 1402 are generally ordered from those filters that are most inclusive, to those filters that are least inclusive. For example, as previously discussed, segment 1502 "Files” is the broadest and most inclusive. Segments 1506 “Word Documents” and segment 1508 "Author A” are less inclusive.
  • the virtual address bar 1402 illustrates the ordering of segments from left to right, and, for purposes of the present discussion, segments 1504, 1506, and 1508 are subsequent to the root segment 1502.
  • segments 1504, 1506, and 1508 are subsequent to the root segment 1502.
  • other orientations are possible, such as a top-down arrangement, without departing from the scope of the invention.
  • the orientation from left to right should be viewed as illustrative, and not construed as limiting on the present invention.
  • segments in a virtual address bar 1402 do not necessarily correspond to specific locations in a computer file system, such as folders, drives, and directories.
  • segment 1504 "Document Library" may reference files or content distributed on multiple servers, drives, or folders/directories.
  • certain segments in a virtual address bar 1402 may reference specific locations with a computer file system hierarchy.
  • each segment in a virtual address bar 1402 represents an actionable, interactive user interface element.
  • a segment in a virtual address bar 1402 is responsive to user selection, monitors whether a cursor is located over the segment for a specific period of time, and may be removed from the virtual address bar by a dragging user interaction.
  • a user may place a cursor 1510 over a segment in the virtual address bar 1402, such as segment 1504 "Document Library,” to select, or click, on that segment in order to navigate to that level, i.e., truncate the virtual address at that segment, as described in regard to FIGURE 44B.
  • FIGURE 44B illustrates the results of selecting a segment 1504 in the virtual address bar 1402.
  • the user By clicking on the segment 1504 in the virtual address bar 1402, the user is indicating a desire to navigate to that level in the virtual address. In effect, the user is trimming off those filters subsequent to the selected segment. For example, by clicking on segment 1504 "Document Library" (FIGURE 44A), the resulting virtual address 1404 no longer contains segments 1506 "Word Documents" and 1508 "Author A” (FIGURE 44A). Additionally, because the user has navigated to a less restrictive set of filters, the resulting virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402 is more inclusive.
  • a peer filter is an alternative filter that may be selected and applied to a given segment in the virtual address bar.
  • peer filters for segment 1506 "Word Documents" may include filters such as "Excel Documents," “Journals,” and the like. Other types of filters, including specific file system locations, hardware devices, or computer services, may also be applied to a given segment in the virtual address bar.
  • Peer filters may or may not be logically related to a given segment's current filter.
  • Each segment in a virtual address bar may have peer filters.
  • FIGURES 45A-45D are pictorial diagrams illustrating selecting a peer filter associated with a segment of virtual address in a virtual address bar 1600.
  • virtual address bar 1600 has a virtual address comprising multiple segments, segments 1602-1608.
  • a user In order to select a peer filter for a given interactive segment in a virtual address bar 1600, a user must make an alternative selection, or alternative manipulation, of that interactive segment. One way to make an alternative selection is to right click on a given segment.
  • FIGURE 45A To illustrate alternatively selecting a segment, with reference to FIGURE 45A, a user first places the cursor 1610 over segment 1604 "Document Library" for a predetermined amount of time, i.e., hovers over the segment, to select that segment.
  • FIGURE 45B demonstrates the results of alternatively selecting segment 1604 "Document Library” in the virtual address bar 1600.
  • a peer filter view 1612 is displayed including peer filters corresponding to the selected segment. It should be understood that the peer filters presented in the peer filter view 1612 are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be construed as limiting upon the present invention.
  • the user positions the cursor 1610 over one of the filters presented in the peer filter view 1612, such as peer filter 1614, and selects the peer filter.
  • the previously selected segment 1604 (FIGURE 45 A) is replaced with a new segment 1616 representing the selected alternative peer filter 1614.
  • segments 1606 "Journals” and 1608 "All Documents in 2002" are removed from the virtual address bar 1600 in FIGURE 45D.
  • Segments may be added to a virtual address in a virtual address bar through various user interactions at the end of the existing segments.
  • a user may manipulate an actionable control associated with a particular filter found on a window, or file viewer with the virtual address bar. For example, with reference to the file viewer 1400 of FIGURE 43, a user may click on the actionable control 1412 "2003" to add a corresponding filter to the virtual address 1404 in the virtual address bar 1402. Alternatively (not shown), a user may manually enter in a known filter at the end of the virtual address by typing the filter's name. Numerous other ways of adding a filter to a virtual address exist, all of which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention. Thus, it should be understood that the above examples are for illustration purposes, and should not be construed as limiting upon the present invention.
  • a process is undertaken to ensure that the newly added filter does not conflict with any filters currently existing as part of the virtual address. If the newly added filter conflicts with an existing filter, the existing filter is removed.
  • a newly added filter conflicts with an existing filter in a virtual address if the newly added filter varies from the breadth of the existing filter, being either more or less broad than the existing filter. Additionally, a newly added filter conflicts with an existing filter if the newly added filter is mutually exclusive to the existing filter. However, a newly added filter that is equivalent to an existing filter is not added because it has no effect.
  • FIGURES 46A-46D are pictorial diagrams illustrating adding filters to a virtual address 1702 in a virtual address bar 1700, and removing conflicting existing filters.
  • FIGURE 46 A illustrates an exemplary virtual address 1702 displayed in a virtual address bar 1700.
  • a new filter represented by segment 1706 "2002"
  • segment 1706 "2002" is added to the virtual address 1702.
  • new filters are added to the end of the virtual address, as indicated by placing segment 1706 "2002" at the end of the - segments in the virtual address bar 1700 of FIGURE 46B.
  • the process undertaken for adding segment 1706 "2002” determines that the added filter does not conflict with any current filters in the virtual address 1702. Thus, no existing filters are removed from the virtual address 1702.
  • FIGURE 46C illustrates another filter added to the virtual address 1702, represented by segment 1708 "Author A.”
  • the process undertaken for adding this new filter determines that the new filter, "Author A,” would conflict with the filter represented by segment 1704 "Author A-F” because the new filter, "Author A,” is narrower than the existing filter. Accordingly, segment 1704 "Author A-F” is removed from the virtual address bar 1700, and segment 1708 "Author A” is added to the end of the segments in the virtual address bar.
  • FIGURE 46D illustrates the results of adding segment 1710 "2003" to the virtual address bar 1700 of FIGURE 46C. Filters in a virtual address 1702 are restrictive, not cumulative. Each filter further restricts the selected content.
  • FIGURES 47A and 47B illustrate an exemplary virtual address bar 1800 displaying a virtual address where the virtual address exceeds the virtual address bar's display capacity. As shown in FIGURES 47A and 47B, scroll icons 1802 and 1804 indicate the direction the virtual address bar 1800 may scroll in order to display the previously undisplayed portions of the virtual address.
  • FIGURE 48A is a block diagram illustrating a virtual address bar 1900 having segments referencing both virtual and actual locations in a file system.
  • a virtual address in a virtual address bar 1900 may contain segments referencing specific locations within a computer file system hierarchy, and also contain segments referencing virtual, or logical, locations within a computer file system. Files or content referenced by a virtual segment may be distributed among many physical locations.
  • a virtual address bar 1900 may contain segments referencing physical locations and segments referencing virtual locations.
  • virtual address bar 1900 includes segment 1902 "Local Disk (C:)” referring to files or content contained in a specific area in the computer file system, in particular drive "C.”
  • segment 1904 "Case Files” of itself refers to files or content stored in multiple folders in the computer file system hierarchy associated with case files.
  • segment 1904 "Case Files” references only those case files found on local drive “C.”
  • segment 1906 "Contains 'Fax'" further filters the files on local disk C: and associated with the case files according to whether they contain the word "Fax.”
  • a virtual address bar 1900 may be configured to function as a conventional address bar.
  • the virtual address bar 1900 switches from displaying segments representing a virtual address, to functioning as a conventional address bar displaying a conventional address 1910, as shown in FIGURE 48B.
  • the conventional address 1910 in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIGURE 48B approximates the virtual address displayed in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIGURE 48 A.
  • those filters in the virtual address bar 1900 of FIGURE 48A that do not correspond to physical locations in a computer file system cannot be displayed and are removed from the conventional address 1910.
  • segment 1904 "Case Files" and segment 1906 "Contains 'Fax'" are not part of the conventional address 1910 (FIGURE 48B).
  • a virtual address bar 1900 functioning as a conventional address bar, to function normally as a virtual address bar, the user must so indicate in a manner other than clicking on the empty area of the bar.
  • a virtual address bar When configured to function as a conventional address bar, a virtual address bar must permit the user to click in the empty area for address editing purposes. Clicking in the empty area of a conventional address bar places an editing cursor at the end of the address/path for editing purposes.
  • a user to reconfigure the virtual address to again function in its normal manner as described above, a user must press a predefined key or key sequence, such as the Esc or Tab key, or by place the focus on another area of a window or view by clicking on another area of the window or view.
  • a predefined key or key sequence such as the Esc or Tab key
  • FIGURE 49 is a flow diagram illustrative of a peer filter selection routine 2000 for selecting a peer filter for an identified segment in a. virtual address bar.
  • the routine 2000 detects a peer filter selection activation. Activating the peer filter selection process is described in above in regard to FIGURES 45A-45D.
  • the segment for which the peer filter selection has been requested is identified.
  • the peer filters for the identified segment are determined from a predetermined list of peer filters.
  • the peer filters are displayed to the user.
  • the user's peer filter selection from peer filters displayed is obtained.
  • the virtual address is truncated by removing the identified segment from the virtual address bar, and any additional segments that follow the identified segment.
  • FIGURE 50 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary add filter routine 2100 for adding a filter to a virtual address in a virtual address bar.
  • the exemplary routine 2100 obtains the filter to be added to the virtual address.
  • filters may be added to the virtual address according to user actions external to the virtual address bar, or alternatively, may be directly added to the virtual address bar by typing in the name of a predefined filter.
  • a new filter may conflict with an existing filter by substantially narrowing or broadening the scope of the existing filter.
  • a new filter may conflict with an existing filter because a new filter is mutually exclusive to an existing filter. If, at decision block 2104, the new filter conflicts with an existing filter, at block 2106, the existing filter is removed from the virtual address. Alternatively, at 2104, if the new filter does not conflict with an existing filter or, after removing the existing conflicting filter in block 2106, at block 2108, the new filter is added at the end of the virtual address. Thereafter, the exemplary routine 2100 terminates.
  • FIGURES 51-57 are diagrams related to a system and method in accordance with another aspect of the invention that provides an improved user experience within a shell browser. More specifically, a system and method are provided by which users can more readily identify an item based on the metadata associated with that item.
  • a window 2200 represents a screen-size display area for a graphical user interface of a shell browser.
  • the window 2200 contains a preview pane area 2202 and a view area 2204.
  • the preview pane 2202 may include a preview control 2206, a user interface (UI) or edit control 2208, and a task control 2210.
  • the preview control 2206 will provide the user with an image or other visual display of the item being previewed (e.g., a selected file).
  • the preview control 2206 may also present the user with controls such as iterator buttons which allow the user to shift the focus from one item to the next by clicking a mouse button.
  • Metadata corresponding to one or more items and/or metadata corresponding to the item container may be displayed in a variety of locations within the window 2200.
  • the edit control and metadata may be co-located within edit control area 2208 so that the edit control area not only includes a display of key properties of the previewed item but also presents the user with the option of making edits to the metadata.
  • the task control 2210 contains tasks relevant to the namespace and/or the selection.
  • shell item name refers to the property which is used for purposes of sorting and displaying the item within the shell browser.
  • one unique aspect of the present invention is the ability of a user to edit metadata within a shell browser.
  • the present invention contemplates the presence of optional features within the window 2200.
  • the preview control 2206 and the task control 2210 are not essential features for purposes of the present invention.
  • other non-essential features which are not shown in FIGURE 51 A, such as a toolbar which includes iterator buttons or a show/hide button so the user can open/close the preview pane, are also within the scope of the present invention. Nevertheless, these and other optional features may assist the user in readily locating a particular item in the shell browser.
  • the view area 2204 provides a listview of one or more items 2212, such as file system files or folders.
  • listview refers to an enumeration or list of items within a container.
  • item and “shell item” are used interchangeably herein to refer to files, folders and other such containers, and other -non-file objects which can be represented in a listview. Examples of non-file objects may include, but would not be limited to, contacts, favorites and email messages.
  • shell browser and “file system browser” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a browser which allows a user to navigate through various namespaces including files and other non-file items.
  • the present invention contemplates many possible designs and layouts for the window 2200.
  • the preview pane 2202 is shown above the view area 2204 in FIGURE 51 A.
  • other layouts such as placing the preview pane 2202 and the view area 2204 side-by-side, are clearly within the scope of the present invention.
  • the location of the edit control 2208 is also independent of the location of the displayed metadata and independent of the location of any other controls.
  • view types for the items depicted in listview area 2204 such as details, slide show, f ⁇ mistrip, thumbnail, tiles, icons, etc.
  • FIGURE 5 IB is similar to FIGURE 51 A, except that the view area 2204 is replaced by a view area 2214 which displays the items 2212 in details mode.
  • the items 2212 are aligned in a column at the left-hand side of view area 2214, and one or more column headings 2216 form the top row of a set of columns containing metadata 2218 relating to the corresponding item located in the same row.
  • the present invention contemplates the ability of a user to explicitly change a metadata value to another value through instantiation of one or more edit controls 2208 anywhere within the window 2200.
  • an edit control may be provided within the preview pane 2202 and/or within the view area 2214.
  • an edit control which is not initially visible to a user may be provided within the view area 2214. Such a control can be instantiated, for example, when the user hovers over the metadata 2218 and then clicks on it to enter an editing mode.
  • a welcome pane 2300 in a shell browser.
  • a welcome pane is sometimes referred to as a "null select" pane because it represents a namespace or container as opposed to a selection.
  • a preview pane 2302 displays metadata 2304 and key tasks relating to the folder or shell library. If desired, the tasks may be separated into premiered tasks 2306 and other relevant tasks 2308.
  • the welcome pane 2300 also includes a view area 2310, in which multiple files or other items 2312 may be viewed.
  • the welcome pane metadata 2304 may include information such as properties of the container (e.g., MyPictures), in which case the metadata display may be static.
  • the welcome pane metadata 2304 may include information such as a sampling of metadata from each of the items within the container, in which case the metadata display may change frequently.
  • the metadata display may be limited to properties of one item at a time by cycling from one item to the next every 30 seconds.
  • FIGURE 53 is a schematic illustration of a selected pane 2400 in a shell browser.
  • a selected pane represents a selection by the user. If the user selects a container or folder, the selected pane need not be identical to the welcome pane for that container or folder.
  • the selected pane 2400 includes a preview pane 2402 which contains a preview control 2404, a metadata display 2406 and a tasks display 2408. Like the welcome pane 2300 (in FIGURE 52), the selected pane 2400 also includes a view area 2410, in which multiple files or other items 2412 may be viewed. In FIGURE 53, however, the user has selected one of the files. Consequently, the preview control 2404 displays a preview image of the selected file, the metadata display 2406 shows properties of the selected file, and the tasks display 2408 provides a menu of relevant tasks for operating on the selected file.
  • FIGURE 54 is a schematic representation of the selected pane of FIGURE 53 but which also includes a context menu 2500 to enable a user to modify metadata in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the context menu 2500 in FIGURE 54 presents the user with several options for changing the selected metadata.
  • the generic text shown in the menu 2500 is of course merely one example of the type of options which may be presented to a user for editing the displayed metadata.
  • a context menu can be provided in any window, including a welcome pane, to improve the user experience. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any number and variety of context menus could be supported by the present invention.
  • one means for enabling user modifications to displayed metadata within a shell browser is to provide a context menu such as editable metadata context menu 2500.
  • a user may summon the context menu, for example, by clicking on the corresponding text or obj ect in the preview pane.
  • the present invention contemplates means other than context menus for enabling user modifications to displayed metadata within a shell browser.
  • Another such means for is for the user to click on the metadata to enter an editing mode.
  • a user could enter an editing mode by hovering over the relevant text or object in the preview pane. Numerous alternative means are available and within the scope of the present invention.
  • FIGURE 55 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2600 for enabling a user to modify metadata displayed in a welcome pane within a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method 2600 includes displaying a welcome pane and metadata associated with the welcome pane at 2602. Then, at 2604, the method provides a control for user modification of the displayed metadata. When the user manipulates the control to modify the displayed metadata at 2606, the method then associates the modified metadata with the welcome pane at 2608 so that the modified metadata will be displayed the next time the welcome pane is displayed.
  • FIGURE 56 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2700 for enabling a user to modify metadata displayed in a selected pane within a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method 2700 first displays a number of items, such as items in a welcome pane or items in a selected container.
  • the method displays metadata associated with the selected item(s) at 2706.
  • the method provides a control for user modification of the displayed metadata.
  • the method associates the modified metadata with the selected item(s) at 2712 so that the modified metadata will be displayed the next time the selected item(s) is/are displayed.
  • the displayed metadata may include intersecting properties of the selected items, a union of properties, or perhaps a new property relevant to the selected items.
  • the displayed metadata may include a rotating sample of metadata from each of the selected items (e.g., cycling from one selected item's metadata to the next selected item's metadata every 30 seconds). It is possible for the display of metadata which would result from a selection of all of the items to be identical to the display of metadata which would result from a null select.
  • FIGURE 57 is a block diagram of a data structure 2800 containing user modifiable metadata associated with an item displayed in a shell browser.
  • the data structure 2800 includes a title field 2802 which indicates the name of the item. In the case of non-file items, the title field 2802 may contain the name of whatever property is used to . alphabetize that item in a listview.
  • the data structure 2800 includes a user editable properties field 2804 containing one or more properties associated with the displayed item, wherein the user editable properties are displayed in the shell browser with the displayed item.
  • the data structure 2800 may optionally include a read-only properties field 2806 which contains any read-only properties associated with the displayed item and worthy of display in the shell browser.
  • the data structure 2800 may optionally include an all properties field 2808, which contains a link or pointer to a location (e.g., a property page) which contains all of the properties or metadata associated with the displayed item.
  • the all properties field 2808 would not be necessary in the event that fields 2804 and 2806 contain all of the properties associated with the displayed item.
  • the data structure 2800 is stored on one or more computer-readable media, such as in a file system or shell, to provide rich storage views, and thus an improved user experience, within the shell browser.
  • the present invention enables a number of scenarios which were not possible with conventional shell browsers.
  • a student can manage her projects using the preview pane.
  • she can select those documents in her document library and enter the name of the document author and the name of the project into keyword fields using the edit control. Now the new documents will show up in her favorite view: "Documents Grouped by Keyword and Listed by Author.”
  • a second example of a new scenario enabled by the present invention involves an employee looking for materials for an upcoming ad campaign.
  • FIGURES 58-66 are diagrams related to. a system and method for extending the functionality of an object previewer in a shell browser configured to display a plurality of items representing multiple item types.
  • a shell browser is provided which includes a default previewer and an extensibility mechanism.
  • the default previewer provides a standard level of functionality for multiple item types.
  • the extensibility mechanism enables functionality beyond the standard level provided by the default previewer for one or more of the item types.
  • FIGURE 58 is a schematic diagram of a prior art graphical user interface for browsing pictures stored in a folder within a shell browser environment wliich is used for viewing other non-pictorial files and folders.
  • a computing environment such as a PC
  • FIGURE 58 illustrates a prior solution, a film strip view, which allows users to more readily view and identify the image associated with a given file within the graphical operating environment.
  • the goal of film strip view was to alleviate the need for other software programs when browsing a folder of pictures by providing a quick iterative process that allows a user to preview a sizeable image of one or more picture files within the folder.
  • FIGURE 58 relates to a system for browsing pictures stored in a folder, wherein a ⁇ series of folder pictures is presented as a single row of thumbnails within an environment that is utilized for viewing other non-pictorial files and folders (i.e., a shell browser).
  • FIGURE 58 is a diagram of a representative window on a user's screen. As shown, the window 3200 is divided into several areas including a header region, a task option, area 3206, a preview control area 3202, a caption or comment area and a filmsfrip area 3204.
  • the task option area 3206 contains a list of tasks that can be selected by a user in order to perform a wide variety, of operations relating to the management of files and folders, as well as other system choices. Some of these operations are specific to the pictures in the filmsfrip area 3204 and the preview control area 3202.
  • the preview control area 3202 is a space in which an enlarged preview image of a user selected picture will be displayed. This space can also contain navigational icons to assist a user in iterating through a series of pictures. Immediately below the preview control area is a caption or comment area that can be utilized to display a variety of textual information.
  • a film strip area 3204 provides a space to display a single row of thumbnail images PI, P2, P3, P4 of the picture files contained within a given folder. In addition, the film strip area 3204 also contains cursors to allow a user to scroll through a folder for the picture files. It should be noted that the filmsfrip area 3204 can contain and display thumbnail images in mixed orientation. For instance, as shown in FIGURE 58, PI, P2 and P4 are in landscape while P3 is in portrait.
  • a user can select any one of the thumbnail images, wliich will cause a larger preview image of the user thumbnail selection image to be displayed within the preview control area.
  • user selection of a thumbnail image will also allow the user to select and perform any one of the tasks listed in the task option area 3206, with respect to the selected image.
  • a first control button allows a user to quickly and successively preview an enlarged image of each of the thumbnail images within a given folder, by iterating in one direction. In other words, a user would not have to specifically "click" on each and every successive thumbnail image in order to preview the picture. Instead the user will merely click on the first control button repeatedly to move through the folder.
  • a second control button performs a similar iteration function but only in the opposite direction.
  • a window 3300 represents a screen-size display area for a graphical user interface of a general purpose shell browser.
  • the window 3300 contains a preview pane area 3302 and a view area 3304.
  • the preview pane 3302 may include a preview control 3306, an edit or metadata control 3308, and a task control 3310.
  • the preview control 3306 will provide the user with an image or other visual display of the item being previewed (e.g., a selected file).
  • the preview control 3306 may also present the user with controls such as iterator buttons which allow the user to shift the focus from one item to the next by clicking a mouse button.
  • the edit control 3308 not only includes a display of key properties of the previewed item, it also presents the user with a control for making edits to the metadata.
  • the task control 3310 contains tasks relevant to the namespace and/or the selection.
  • the present invention contemplates the presence of optional features within the window 3300.
  • the metadata control 3208 and the task control 3210 are not essential features for purposes of the present invention.
  • other non-essential features which are not shown in
  • FIGURE 59 such as a toolbar which includes iterator buttons or a show/hide button so the user can open/close the preview pane, are also within the scope of the present invention. Nevertheless, these and other optional features may assist the user in readily locating a particular item in the shell browser.
  • the view area 3304 provides a listview of one or more items 3312, such as file system files or folders.
  • the term “listview” refers to an enumeration or list of items within a container.
  • the terms “item” and “shell item” are used interchangeably herein to refer to files, folders and other such containers, and other non-file objects which can be represented in a listview.
  • shell item refers to an item in a shell library.
  • non-file objects may include, but would not be limited to, contacts, favorites and email messages.
  • shell browser and “file system browser” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a browser which allows a user to navigate through various namespaces including files and other non-file items.
  • the present invention contemplates many possible designs and layouts for the window 3300.
  • the preview, pane 3302 is shown above the view area 3304 in FIGURE 59.
  • other layouts such as placing the preview pane 3302 and the view area 3304 side-by-side, are clearly within the scope of the present invention.
  • views for the items depicted in view area 3304 such as details, slide show, filmsfrip, thumbnail, tiles, icons, etc.
  • a welcome pane 3400 in a shell browser.
  • a welcome pane is sometimes referred to as a "null select" pane because it represents a namespace or container as opposed to a selection.
  • a preview pane 3402 displays metadata 3404 and key tasks relating to the folder or shell library. If desired, the tasks may be separated into premiered tasks 3406 and other relevant tasks 3408.
  • the welcome pane 3400 also includes a view area 3410, in which multiple files or other items 3412 may be viewed.
  • the welcome pane metadata 3404 may include information such as properties of the container (e.g., MyPictures), in which case the metadata display may be static.
  • the welcome pane metadata 3404 may include information such as a sampling of metadata from each of the items within the container, in which case the metadata display may change frequently.
  • the metadata display may be limited to properties of one item at a time by cycling from one item to the next every 30 seconds.
  • FIGURE 61 is a schematic illustration of a selected pane 3500 in a shell browser.
  • a selected pane represents a selection by the user. If the user selects a container or folder, the selected pane need not be identical to the welcome pane for that container or folder.
  • the selected pane 3500 includes a preview pane 3502 which contains a preview control 3504, a metadata display 3506 and a tasks display 3508.
  • the selected pane 3500 also includes a view area 3510, in which multiple files or other items 3512 may be viewed.
  • the preview control 3504 displays a preview image of the selected file
  • the metadata display 3506 shows properties of the selected file
  • the tasks display 3508 provides a menu of relevant tasks for operating on the selected file.
  • FIGURE 62 is a schematic diagram of a selected pane similar to the selected pane of 3500 of FIGURE 61 but with extended controls in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the selected pane 3600 includes a preview pane 3602 which contains a preview control 3604 having extended controls 3614, a metadata display 3606 and a tasks display 3608.
  • the selected pane 3600 also includes a view area 3610, in which multiple files or other items 3612 may be viewed.
  • the user has selected one of the files 3612, so the preview control 3604 displays a preview image of the selected file, the metadata display 3606 shows properties of the selected file, and the tasks display 3608 provides a menu of relevant tasks for operating on the selected file.
  • the extended controls 3614 represent a level of functionality beyond what is typically available from a shell browser.
  • a default preview pane or preview control such as those shown in FIGURES 58 and 61, may simply display a preview image of a selected item. If the item is a word processing document or slide presentation, the default preview image may be the first page of the document or slide deck.
  • the functionality of the preview image to make it more interactive, a user can quite easily manipulate extended controls 3614 to page through the document or slide presentation. This enhanced level of functionality improves the user experience because it allows the user to more comprehensively browse the previewed item without opening it, which is particularly useful for files that are not readily identifiable based on the first page alone.
  • Extended controls 3614 can be made available to the user as part of an alternative previewer in a shell browser.
  • previewer can refer to a preview control or to the a preview pane which includes a preview control.
  • the present invention contemplates a shell browser which provides the user with a default previewer offering a standard level of functionality for multiple item types and one or more alternative previewers offering a different level of functionality for particular item types to enhance the user experience. Opening up the development of alternative previewers to independent software vendors (ISVs) and other third party developers adds value to the file browsing experience by showing relevant aspects of the file in an easily recognizable way.
  • ISVs independent software vendors
  • the present invention contemplates custom previewers for numerous file types and non-file item types including, 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.
  • the present invention enables a number of scenarios which were not possible with conventional shell browsers, some of wliich have been described above.
  • Third parties are allowed to describe and demonstrate their file types by providing code that can look inside the file type and provide a meaningful image that a user will understand.
  • Apple could implement a QuickTimeTM preview control, which would be displayed when the user selects a QuickTimeTM file in the shell browser.
  • This preview control could provide an alternative or extended level of functionality beyond the default previewer in the shell of an operating system, including functionality such. as showing the first five seconds of a QuickTimeTM movie and/or offering buttons and controls for the user to launch the QuickTimeTM player.
  • An alternative previewer for a music file could provide similar extended functionality. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the possibilities for extended functionality in an alternative previewer are unlimited.
  • FIGURE 63 is a schematic representation of a selected pane similar to FIGURE 61 but which, also includes a context menu 3714 to enable a user to modify metadata in a shell browser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the selected pane 3700 includes a preview pane 3702 which contains a preview confrol 3704, a metadata display 3706 and a task control 3708.
  • the selected pane 3700 also includes a view area 3710, in which multiple files or other items 3712 may be viewed.
  • the metadata control 3706 and the task control 3708 are not essential features.
  • the present invention contemplates the presence of these and/or other optional features • which may assist tlie user in readily locating a particular item in the shell browser or otherwise enhance the user experience.
  • the context menu 3714 in FIGURE 63 presents the user with several options, including the choice of selecting either the default previewer or an alternative previewer for the selected item.
  • the generic text shown in the menu 3714 is of course merely one example of the type of options which may be presented to a user for selecting a previewer.
  • a context menu can be provided in any window, including a welcome pane, to improve the user experience. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any number and variety of context menus could be supported by the present invention.
  • one means for enabling user selection of a previewer within a shell browser is to provide a context menu such as context menu 3714. A user may summon the context menu, for example, by clicking on the corresponding text or object in the preview pane.
  • the present invention contemplates means other than context menus for selecting a previewer for the displayed items from a plurality of available previewers within a shell browser. Another such means is for the user to click on the preview control to enter a selection mode. Similarly, the user may be prompted to select a previewer by right-clicking within the preview pane. By contrast, a user could enter a selection mode by hovering over relevant text or over a relevant object in the preview pane. Numerous alternative means are available and within the scope of the present invention.
  • FIGURE 64 A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 3.800 for enabling a user to select a previewer in a shell browser which supports multiple item types in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method 3800 provides a plurality of previewers in the shell browser at 3802.
  • the plurality of previewers may include a default previewer for multiple item types and one or more alternative previewers for particular item types. These alternative previewers may include installed applications developed by a third party.
  • the method 3800 presents the user with a choice of two or more previewers for a particular item type.
  • the prompt to select a previewer may be initiated by the shell browser (e.g., upon displaying a new item type) and/or by the user (e.g., by clicking on an object to display a context menu).
  • the method 3800 Upon receiving an input from the user at 3806 indicating a selection of one of the previewers for the particular item type, the method 3800 then associates the selected previewer with the particular item type at 3808.
  • the selected previewer will remain in use until tihe user selects a different one. However, if the selected previewer is an installed application, uninstalling the application will also terminate the use of the selected previewer.
  • FIGURE 64B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 3810 for automatically selecting a previewer in a shell browser which supports multiple item types in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method 3810 provides a plurality of previewers in the shell browser at 3812.
  • the plurality of previewers may include a default previewer for multiple item types and one or more alternative previewers for particular item types. These alternative previewers may include installed applications developed by a third party.
  • the system (as opposed to the user) automatically and transparently selects a default previewer from two or more available previewers for a particular item type.
  • the system may select a previewer in response to an event such as display of a new item type or the presence of an alternative previewer.
  • the system is configured to select a default previewer based on logical rules.
  • the system may decide at 3816 to override the rules and select a previewer that would not have been selected under the applicable rules. For example, if the rule is to select a newly available previewer over the current default previewer, an installed application may generally have the authority to change the default previewer to the previewer now available from the installed application. However, the shell browser, for example, may reserve the right to override the change proposed by the newly installed application. For instance, an override may be appropriate when the newly installed application cannot be authenticated as a proper owner of the item type in question.
  • a flow diagram illustrates a method 3900 for enabling the use of third party previewers in a shell browser which supports multiple item types in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method 3900 includes providing a shell browser having a default previewer for the multiple item types at 3902.
  • the method 3900 further includes providing an extensibility mechanism for ' third party development of an alternative previewer for at least one of the multiple item types at 3904.
  • the alternative previewer may be registered in the shell browser at 3906. In the case of an installed application, registration may occur substantially at the time of installation. For example, if the application is installed by an OEM, the alternative previewer may be registered before the user has acquired the computer. Alternatively, the user may install the application locally or remotely.
  • APIs application program interfaces
  • ISVs independent software vendors
  • other third party developers may develop alternative previewers.
  • APIs application program interfaces
  • the API provides data to the preview confrol: data representing the selected item(s) in the view and data representing the parent container of the items in the view.
  • the preview control operates on this data and provides a user interface through the API which is presented in the shell browser.
  • the user may provide input with keystrokes and mouse events which are passed by the shell browser to the preview control which can operate on those user input events.
  • keystrokes and mouse events which are passed by the shell browser to the preview control which can operate on those user input events.
  • the extensibility model may require that only one application that owns the item type selected may provide only one alternative previewer.
  • the number of available previewers may be limited to a default previewer and one alternative previewer to avoid a poor user experience in which multiple registered, extended previewers are in competition with one another.
  • another model would be to allow any application that can handle the selected item type to provide one additional previewer.
  • An alternative model would allow any running code to provide one additional previewer for any item type. It may also be desirable under certain circumstances to allow replacement or removal of the default previewer.
  • Many other models are possible and are contemplated by the present invention.
  • FIGURE 66 is a block diagram of a data structure 4000 which is stored on one or more computer-readable media and which contains information indicative of a plurality of previewers in a shell browser.
  • the data structure 4000 includes a default previewer field 4002 containing information indicative of a default previewer which supports multiple item types.
  • An alternative previewer field 4004 contains information indicative of an alternative previewer for a first item type.
  • Another alternative previewer field 4006 may contain information indicative of a second alternative previewer for the first item type, or it may contain information indicative of an alternative previewer for a second item type.
  • Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some cases there may only be one alternative previewer field, and in other cases there may be two or more alternative previewer fields.
  • the selected previewer field 4008 contains information indicative of whether to invoke the default previewer or an alternative previewer when items of a particular item type are displayed in the shell browser.
  • a. selected previewer field 4010 may contain information indicative of whether to invoke the default previewer or the alternative previewer when one or more items of the second item type are displayed in the shell browser.
  • the information contained in fields 4002, 4004 and/or 4006 may comprise the previewer code which is configured to run when a user selects an object of that type.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers mettant en place des dossiers virtuels (651-655) exposant des fichiers et des dossiers ordinaires à des utilisateurs selon diverses visualisations, en fonction de leurs métadonnées à la place de la structure physique réelle sous-jacente du système de fichiers. Des utilisateurs peuvent travailler avec les dossiers virtuels (651-655) par l'intermédiaire d'une manipulation directe. Des filtres (620-626) sont placés afin de restreindre les ensembles d'articles. Des liens rapides (610-613) génèrent des visualisations utiles des ensembles d'articles. Des bibliothèques (600) comprennent des groupes importants de types d'articles pouvant être utilisés et associés les uns avec les autres, conjointement à des fonctions et des outils relatifs aux articles. Une barre d'adresse virtuelle (1402) comprend une pluralité de segments correspondant individuellement à un filtre, aux fins de sélection du contenu. Un navigateur (2200) du programme 'shell' est prévu et permet aux utilisateurs d'identifier facilement un article en fonction des métadonnées associées à cet article. Un prévisualisateur d'objets (2202) dans un navigateur du programme 'shell' (2200) affiche une pluralité d'articles représentant plusieurs types d'articles.
PCT/US2003/015610 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers WO2004107151A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (14)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN038018713A CN1613047B (zh) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 文件系统外壳
MXPA04006410A MXPA04006410A (es) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Interprete de sistema de archivo.
KR1020047010366A KR100991027B1 (ko) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 파일 시스템 셸
AU2003233558A AU2003233558B8 (en) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 File system shell
CA2469163A CA2469163C (fr) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Coquille de systeme de fichiers
IL16216303A IL162163A0 (en) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 File system shell
JP2004569434A JP4378292B2 (ja) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 ファイルシステムシェル
EP03728994A EP1629367A4 (fr) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Programme shell d'un systeme de fichiers
BR0306693-2A BR0306693A (pt) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Cápsula de sistema de arquivos
PCT/US2003/015610 WO2004107151A1 (fr) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers
HR20040440A HRP20040440A2 (en) 2003-05-16 2004-05-18 File system shell
IL162163A IL162163A (en) 2003-05-16 2004-05-24 File system shell
NO20042743A NO20042743L (no) 2003-05-16 2004-06-29 Skall for filsystem
RU2009130955/08A RU2009130955A (ru) 2003-05-16 2009-08-13 Оболочка файловой системы

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2003/015610 WO2004107151A1 (fr) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004107151A1 true WO2004107151A1 (fr) 2004-12-09

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2003/015610 WO2004107151A1 (fr) 2003-05-16 2003-05-16 Programme « shell » d'un système de fichiers

Country Status (12)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1629367A4 (fr)
JP (1) JP4378292B2 (fr)
KR (1) KR100991027B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN1613047B (fr)
AU (1) AU2003233558B8 (fr)
BR (1) BR0306693A (fr)
CA (1) CA2469163C (fr)
IL (2) IL162163A0 (fr)
MX (1) MXPA04006410A (fr)
NO (1) NO20042743L (fr)
RU (1) RU2009130955A (fr)
WO (1) WO2004107151A1 (fr)

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US8707209B2 (en) 2004-04-29 2014-04-22 Microsoft Corporation Save preview representation of files being created
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US10489044B2 (en) 2005-07-13 2019-11-26 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Rich drag drop user interface
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JP2008077432A (ja) * 2006-09-21 2008-04-03 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc ファイルの管理方法および情報処理装置
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JP2013228964A (ja) * 2012-04-26 2013-11-07 Masatsugu Noda 情報管理装置並びに情報検索方法
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US10452850B2 (en) 2014-08-18 2019-10-22 International Business Machines Corporation Protected shell for risk validation

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1629367A1 (fr) 2006-03-01
CN1613047B (zh) 2011-05-04
AU2003233558B2 (en) 2009-12-10
AU2003233558B8 (en) 2010-01-21
JP4378292B2 (ja) 2009-12-02
CA2469163A1 (fr) 2004-11-16
CN1613047A (zh) 2005-05-04
AU2003233558A1 (en) 2005-01-21
KR100991027B1 (ko) 2010-10-29
BR0306693A (pt) 2005-02-09
IL162163A0 (en) 2005-11-20
NO20042743L (no) 2004-08-17
KR20060061734A (ko) 2006-06-08
JP2006526182A (ja) 2006-11-16
MXPA04006410A (es) 2005-02-14
RU2009130955A (ru) 2011-02-20
IL162163A (en) 2010-04-29
CA2469163C (fr) 2012-04-24
EP1629367A4 (fr) 2008-04-23

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