JP2004013213A - Logical directory constituting method, logical tree display method, logical tree display condition setting method, and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that when there are many objects of detection, it is not easy to detect a target through file retrieval by a file retrieving tool without storing a period of file generation, a use application kind, a file name, a physical directory name, a folder name, etc. <P>SOLUTION: Feature components of a file to be retrieved are previously extracted by monitoring a use history and actions of a user, a metadata list for constituting a logical directory is generated, and file retrieval under the logical directory can be performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of partitioning and reorganizing a physical directory into logical directories for files on a computer, and more particularly, to creating and using a logical directory (map) according to a user's usage history and actions. About the method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the use of personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as PCs) has been rapidly increasing, and this tendency has become particularly remarkable with an increase in the number of users using e-mail and World Wide Web (WWW or Web). In addition, with the progress of hardware, the capacity of storage devices such as hard disks has increased, and the number of files that can be managed by one PC has become enormous. Under such circumstances, in order to find a desired file from an enormous number of files, the user searches his / her memory in the physical directory or executes a file search process. This file search process is performed using a search tool based on factors such as the file name, the type of application used, and the physical directory.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the file search by the file search tool, partial or full-text search is simply performed by keyword, and since the search result is a simple matching list, the meaning of the target to be actually searched is not performed. Search results are often useless. In addition, in order to search for the related file, it is necessary to perform a keyword search again, and it is not unusual for the user to have great difficulty. These problems are due to the structure of the search space, and can be found due to the inherent flaws in the conventional file storage method, search method, and search organization scheme.
[0004]
Furthermore, unless the user remembers the time of file creation, application type used, file name, physical directory name, folder name, etc., based on search engine results, if there are many such There is a problem that it is not easy to get to.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention solves the above problems by providing the following method.
[0006]
A logical directory configuration method for configuring a logical directory from a physical directory composed of one or more files stored in storage means of a computer, wherein the user detects an action performed by a user of the computer on the file. An action detection step, a keyword search step of performing a keyword search on the file when an action on the file is detected in the user action detection step, and a keyword search result based on the keyword search step. A metadata file configuration step of configuring a metadata file of the file; and the metadata file and the file configured in the metadata file configuration step, based on the configuration of the physical directory. And a logical directory structure steps constituting the logical directory and centralized.
[0007]
Here, the action detected in the user action detecting step may include at least one of file operations of saving, changing, deleting, and sending an e-mail of the file. The user action detecting step may detect the action when at least one of file saving, changing, deleting, and sending an e-mail is completed.
[0008]
Further, the keyword search step includes a user keyword management step of managing a user keyword database that stores the keywords, and a full-text search step of performing a full-text search of the file for the keywords stored in the user keyword database. A table updating step of updating a keyword access table storing usage history information of the keyword configured in the user keyword database based on a full-text search result in the full-text search step; and A table configuration step of generating keyword weight information for the keyword to configure a keyword data table in the user keyword database. Here, the keyword weight information may include at least one of a frequency of use of the keyword, a time of use, and a bias of the frequency of use in the full-text search process.
[0009]
The metadata file includes a related keyword related to the file and file weight information about the file, and the user action monitoring step includes a file operation related information extracting step of extracting information related to the file operation. In this case, the metadata file may further include the file operation related information. The file weight information may include information indicating the number of detections of the related keyword in the file, information indicating the file name of the file and the number of detections of the related keyword in a newly input portion, or the user action detecting step. May include time information when the action is detected.
[0010]
Further, in another aspect of the present invention, a data related to a predetermined keyword is associated with data stored in a logical directory based on a physical directory including one or more files stored in a storage unit of a computer. A logical tree display method of displaying the file in a logical tree on a display unit, wherein the keyword is selected in a keyword selecting step of selecting the keyword, a display form setting step of setting a display form of the logical tree, and the keyword selecting step. A data extraction step of extracting data for displaying a logical tree from the data stored in the logical directory based on the keyword set in the display mode setting step and the display mode set in the display mode setting step; Based on the extracted data for displaying the logical tree, And a display step of displaying a logical tree corresponding to the display mode.
[0011]
Here, the keyword selecting step includes a keyword selection receiving step of receiving a keyword selection input from a user of the computer, and the display form setting step receives a designation of a display form designated by the user. A designation receiving step, wherein the data extraction step executes a calculation of a similar point function based on a designation input from the user received in the display form designation receiving step, and a similar point function in the calculation step. And a logical tree information generating step of generating logical tree information based on the operation result of the logical tree information. The display step may display the logical tree information as a logical tree.
[0012]
Further, the logical tree information generating step includes, for the generated logical tree information based on the designation input from the user, at least one of the number of tree layers, the number of tree links, and the number of files displayed in the tree. A tree narrowing step may be provided. Further, the logical directory may be a logical directory configured by the above-described logical directory configuration method.
[0013]
Further, the calculating step may calculate the similar point function based on the keyword weight information and the file weight information.
[0014]
In still another aspect of the present invention, the file associated with a predetermined keyword using data stored in a logical directory based on a physical directory made up of one or more files stored in a storage means of a computer. A logical tree display condition setting method for displaying a logical tree on a display unit, wherein a keyword setting receiving step of receiving the setting input of the keyword, the number of display files and the degree of association between the keyword and the display file, A display mode designating step of designating a display mode of the tree by setting at least one of them.
[0015]
The above object is also achieved by providing an information processing apparatus capable of executing the above method, a computer program for causing a computer to execute the method, and a computer readable information storage medium storing the computer program. Needless to say.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a user terminal 100 corresponding to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0017]
In accordance with a program read from a program stored in the ROM 102, the RAM 103, or the internal storage device 104 or the external storage device (105), the CPU 101 includes a user terminal 100 via a system bus including a logical directory configuration process described later. It controls the overall operation. The ROM 102 stores a control program for the CPU 101 and the like. The RAM 103 temporarily stores programs and image data, and operates the user terminal 100 at high speed.
[0018]
The internal storage device 104 stores an operating system, various application programs, image data such as display objects, and the like. The internal storage device 104 stores a user keyword database and a metadata database according to the present invention. Further, in addition to software for logical directory configuration processing in the present embodiment, an application program (for example, a word processor, a spreadsheet program, an e-mail program, etc.) executed on the user terminal 100 is stored. It also stores a file group from which text data can be extracted or from which full-text search or partial search can be performed, which is the basis of the logical directory configuration process.
[0019]
The operation unit 105 controls a keyboard and a mouse (not shown) as means for inputting instructions from a user. Commands and operations for the user terminal 100 are usually performed using a keyboard or a mouse of the operation unit 105.
[0020]
The display unit 106 performs various displays for the user. For example, when performing a logical tree display described later on the user terminal 100, a setting screen or the like as shown in FIG. 6 is first displayed on the display unit 106 to prompt the user to input. In displaying the logical tree itself, for example, a screen shown in FIG. 7 is provided to the user.
[0021]
The communication unit 107 connects to a network (not shown) (for example, a LAN or the Internet), connects to an Internet provider through a communication line, and communicates data and image information with a partner communication device. A known method is used for connection to a network or a communication line, and will not be described in detail.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, the user terminal 100 shown in FIG. 1 extracts a characteristic component of a file to be searched in advance to generate metafile data, and performs a logical directory configuration process of configuring a logical directory based on the metafile data. Execute. The logical directory is configured by the logical directory configuration agent operating automatically or manually in the background of the OS operating environment. The logical directory configuration agent generates a metadata file for configuring the logical directory according to the usage history and the action of the user. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a multi-level map of the directory is created using the metadata file stored in the logical directory, and all of the contents, keywords, file relevance (topology), and relevance are visually provided. You.
[0023]
The logical directory configuration processing according to the present embodiment can be executed in an operating environment that handles files from which text data can be extracted or from which full-text search and partial search can be performed. Therefore, for example, not only a word processor such as Microsoft (registered trademark) Office (registered trademark), a spreadsheet file, but also individual mails in a mail system, a history when referring to a web page, and the like are stored in a logical directory. It goes without saying that it is included in the components.
[0024]
In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the OS operating on the user terminal 100 shown in FIG. 1 is Microsoft Windows (registered trademark). However, the use of Windows (registered trademark) as the OS is for the purpose of describing the present embodiment, and the OS for carrying out the present invention is not limited to Windows (registered trademark), and is not limited to Windows (registered trademark). It is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented even when an OS other than (registered trademark) (MacOS, UNIX (registered trademark), Linux, or the like of Macintosh (registered trademark)) is applied.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the logical directory configuration agent according to the present embodiment. In the present invention, a logical directory is a directory configured by sorting and reorganizing the association between a group of files stored in a physical directory and a predetermined keyword based on a user's use history and actions. In a logical directory, each file is related by a characteristic component that the file has. The storage location of each file in the physical directory may be taken into account in the process of configuring the logical directory.
[0026]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a user action monitoring engine that monitors user actions. Reference numeral 202 denotes a metafile configuration engine for executing a keyword search of a target file by using a notification from the user action monitoring engine 201 as a trigger. A user keyword management engine 203 manages a user keyword database 204. Further, the user keyword database 204 may include a keyword access table 204a and a keyword data table 204b.
[0027]
Reference numeral 205 denotes a full-text search engine for allowing the user keyword management engine 203 to detect a keyword. Reference numeral 206 denotes a physical directory management engine for unifying the physical directory of the target file and the metadata file, configuring the metadata database 207, and managing the metadata database 207. Reference numeral 207 denotes a metadata database managed by the physical directory management engine 206, and includes a keyword recording table 207a and a file recording table 207b. Reference numeral 208 denotes a logical tree display engine for creating and displaying a logical tree based on a metadata file or the like stored in the metadata database 207.
[0028]
The function of each block (201 to 208) in FIG. 2 will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for displaying a logical tree in the present embodiment. In step S301, the user action monitoring engine 201 monitors a system API that controls file I / O and the like, and notifies the metafile configuration engine 202 of the action each time. The monitoring target actions include file saving (new or overwriting), modification, deletion, mail transmission (new or transfer), deletion, Web browsing, and the like. Therefore, when the user performs an action such as creating a new document or forwarding the received mail to another person, the user action monitoring engine 201 notifies the metafile configuration engine 202 of the fact that the action has been performed. . Note that the action means that a predetermined operation has been completed. For example, when a new document is created, the document creation operation is not the action itself monitored by the user action monitoring engine. That is, at the stage when the user saves the created document and ends, for example, it is recognized that the action of “save new file” is performed, and the fact is notified to the metafile configuration engine 202.
[0030]
An example of API monitoring will be described further. The user action monitoring engine 201 can collect file operation information by trapping an operation on a file using a predetermined function of the OS or the file system. Here, the predetermined function of the OS or the like includes, for example, a function called a re-analysis point function of NTFS 5.0 or 5.1 used in Windows (registered trademark) 2000 / XP (registered trademark). By using this function, it is possible to collect file operation information such as the full path name of the operated file, the file creation date, the file last update date, and the number of accesses (counting the number of opens to obtain data).
[0031]
Next, in S302, the metafile configuration engine 202 executes a keyword search for the target file, triggered by a notification from the user action monitoring engine 201. Further, in S303, a word that has been matched with the user keyword database 204 of the user keyword management engine 203 is extracted as metadata, and the keyword and information serving as the weight of the target file are configured as a metadata file. Here, the information serving as the weight of the file includes, for example, the title of the file, the number of keywords included in the text, and the like. The notification from the user action monitoring engine 201 includes file operation information. Based on the file operation information, the type of process executed by the user (new creation, overwrite, transfer, reference, attachment), file creation The date and time, the type of the executed application, and the like are extracted and configured as a metadata file. The metadata file thus configured is transmitted to the physical directory management engine 206.
[0032]
The metadata generated in S303 is attribute information related to the target file and an attribute that can be found in the relationship between the target file and the keyword (the keyword having the relationship with the target file is called a related keyword). Information is included. The metadata file may be considered as an aggregate of metadata. The data format of the metadata file is not particularly limited, and it goes without saying that a data format that can be used in a predetermined operating environment can be arbitrarily used.
[0033]
Data transmitted from the metafile configuration engine 202 to the physical directory management engine 206 corresponds to data stored in a keyword recording table 207a and a file recording table 207b described later. At this time, in order to increase the weight of the keyword in the title portion of the file or the mail or in the new retouched portion of the file, a predetermined variable is multiplied or the new retouched portion is determined by the difference between the keyword of the original file and the keyword of the new file. You can also.
[0034]
Here, the user keyword management engine 203 stores 1 to n keywords (n is determined by a user or a system restriction) in the user keyword database 204. The user keyword database 204 may include a keyword access table 204a and a keyword data table 204b described later. The keyword stored in the keyword database 204 may be determined by the user specifying an arbitrary keyword, or n keywords that are considered to be frequently used are set as defaults, and the frequency of subsequent use is set. It may be changed according to.
[0035]
The contents stored in the keyword database 204 can be changed depending on the capacity of a storage medium such as a hard disk for storing the keyword database 204. When the capacity is small, a predetermined calculation result is stored for weights such as frequency of use. When the capacity is large, all the periods of actual use may be stored, and the frequency of use and the weight of the use period may be obtained by calculation.
[0036]
The user keyword management engine 203 includes a general term dictionary, and the keywords stored in the keyword database 204 are words extracted from the general term dictionary based on the frequency of use or the like. The user can exclude registration of an inappropriate term as a keyword in the keyword database 204. This is to prevent the efficiency of association from being reduced when a keyword such as “file” or “mail” that is likely to be included in many files is used as a keyword.
[0037]
In the present embodiment, a full-text search engine 205 is used for keyword detection by the user keyword management engine 203. Specifically, the OS can first determine the application corresponding to the type of each file by using the function of the GUI system. For example, in the case of Windows (registered trademark), it can be understood by inquiring the system that the extension "DOC" is a sentence of Microsoft Word (registered trademark). As described above, if the application can be determined, various information such as a text portion, a title, and a creator of the data can be acquired by using an API or the like of the application. A full-text search is performed on the obtained data by the full-text search engine 205, and necessary metadata can be created based on the hit keywords.
[0038]
Here, an example of the keyword access table 204a and the keyword data table 204b is shown with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A shows an example of the keyword access table 204a. The keyword access table 204a records the date and time when the occurrence of a predetermined keyword in a file to be searched is detected. For example, when five keywords 301 of “budget” are found in a file, “5” and the processing date and time 302 of the file are recorded as the number of detections 303. Since the keyword search is executed when the user completes an operation such as saving a file, the date and time when the appearance of a keyword is detected corresponds to the date and time when the file was processed (for example, saved, deleted, transmitted / received, transferred, etc.). . Further, the number of keywords entered in the keyword access table is n as described above.
[0039]
Next, FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of the keyword data table 204b in which the frequency and the timing of the keyword are recorded. Since the use history of n keywords is stored in the keyword access table shown in FIG. 4A as described above, the median of use time within a certain period (time 405), the certain The number of times each keyword is detected during the period (use frequency 406) and the average number of times each keyword is detected for one file (use frequency bias 407) are extracted as table entry data. For example, taking "budget" as a keyword as an example, the usage frequency is 25, the bias of the usage frequency is 5, and the timing is 2002/4/1. Here, the certain period can be arbitrarily determined, for example, 1 day, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and the like. Further, the user may arbitrarily set the period.
[0040]
As described above, since the keyword data table 204b is updated at regular intervals, the contents of the keyword database 204 are sorted at any time according to the weight given to the keyword. Therefore, with reference to FIG. 8, the flow of processing for updating the keyword data table 204b in response to a user action will be described again.
[0041]
First, in step S801, the user action is monitored by the user action monitoring engine 201, and the presence or absence of the user action is determined. If there is an action such as overwriting and saving, the process advances to step S802, and the metafile configuration engine 202 executes a keyword search for the target file. The keyword access table 204a is updated based on the result of the keyword search. Next, it is determined whether the fixed period set in S804, that is, the update period has elapsed. If it is determined that the update period has not elapsed, the process does not proceed to S805, but returns to the user action monitoring process in S801. On the other hand, if it is determined that the update period has elapsed, the process advances to step S805 to update the contents of the keyword data table 204b based on the contents of the keyword access table 204a within the certain period.
[0042]
In the flowchart of FIG. 8, for the sake of simplicity, the update period is determined in S804 following the update of the keyword access table 204a in S803. However, the process of determining whether the update period has elapsed is always performed in the background. It may be executed. In that case, the keyword data table 204b can be updated irrespective of the presence or absence of a user action and the update of the keyword access table 204a.
[0043]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the use frequency bias 407 is stored in the keyword data table 204b together with the use frequency 406, so that the number of files detected in each file is small, but the number of files used by chance is detected in many files. It is possible to make an adjustment so that the weight of keywords detected in a larger number in one file is higher than that of keywords whose frequency is higher. When the above-mentioned time 405 is obtained, for example, a simple average of the date and time when a predetermined keyword is detected within a certain period may be obtained. Furthermore, a coordinate system may be considered in which the vertical axis represents the number of detected keywords and the horizontal axis represents the date and time. In this coordinate system, the median and the deviation may be obtained based on the area obtained from the date and time and the number of detections. In addition, it is needless to say that a method for obtaining the timing as the median of the usage timing in a certain period is applicable.
[0044]
Returning to the description of FIG. 3, in S304, the physical directory management engine 206 unifies the physical directory of the target file and the metadata file created or updated by the metafile configuration engine 202, and configures the metadata database 207. In addition, it manages it. Here, unification means that the metadata file is associated with the target file in the physical directory (more specifically, see FIG. 5). This clarifies where the metadata file is associated with which file stored in the physical directory. In addition, it records the case where a file is deleted in the physical directory or records a simple movement in the physical directory, and updates the contents of the metadata database 207 (for data related to the physical directory) as needed.
[0045]
As described above, the logical directory is stored in the metadata database 207, but the file data itself is not stored in the metadata database 207 itself. That is, the metadata database 207 stores information necessary for configuring a logical directory for a file whose main body is stored in a physical directory.
[0046]
The metadata database 207 stores information related to file operations such as new creation, overwriting, changing the name, saving, and deleting. Also, information related to a keyword detected in a predetermined file is stored.
[0047]
Therefore, an example of the keyword recording table 207a and the file recording table 207b stored in the metadata database 207 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows an example of the keyword history table 207a. The keyword record table 207a is a table for storing information about keywords detected in a predetermined search target file, and a table corresponding to the number of keywords detected for each file is generated. C in Fig. 5a: {Business plan} 2002 budget. Focusing on the file “doc”, when the keyword is “budget”, the number of times the keyword is detected in the file name (Ct 503) is 1, the number of appearances of the keyword in the newly written part of the text (Cn 504) is 3, and the original The number of appearances of keywords in the file (Cb505) is stored as 1.
[0048]
In the metadata database 207, it is necessary to store the file name in association with the physical directory, so the keyword record table 207a stores the file name including the path name in the physical directory. In the keyword record table 207a of FIG. 5A, three types of entry items are listed for one keyword. However, these items are merely examples, and the number of times a keyword is detected in a template (Ctemp1) and the like are also shown. It may be set as an item, or an item (Ctemp2) representing the weight of the template itself may be set. For example, in the latter case, the file using the template “budget report” naturally has a high relevance to the keyword “budget”. Therefore, for a file using the template of the "budget report", the value of the item of Ctemp2 may be particularly increased. In addition, it goes without saying that items for associating a keyword with a file can be arbitrarily set.
[0049]
Next, FIG. 5B shows an example of the file recording table 207b. The file recording table 207b is a table that stores attribute information such as the type of an executed action and an application for a predetermined file.
[0050]
More specifically, with reference to FIG. 5B, the file name 506 is C: {business plan} 2001 budget. In the case of a file called "doc", if the file is created on May 20, 2002 as the creation date and time 507, the executed action 508 is 2, and the application type 509 is Word of Microsoft Corporation, C: \ program \ word. exe and author name 510 are stored as $ naka * ro. The action is given an identification number corresponding to each action, for example, new creation: 1, overwrite: 2, transfer: 3, reference: 4, attachment: 5, etc., and the file record table 207b has the corresponding identification number. The identification number is stored. The type of action taken by the user will be reflected in the weight of the file itself. For example, an action performed by the user, for example, saving a new document or overwriting an existing document, is heavier than an action performed on the user, for example, receiving or forwarding mail. The creation date is based on file operation information generated by the user action monitoring engine 201 and transmitted via the metafile configuration engine 202.
[0051]
In addition, one file record table 207b is generated for each physical file (in the above case, C: {business plan} 2001 budget.doc). The author name data is valid only in applications that can extract the author name.
[0052]
Next, in S305, it is determined whether or not there is a logical tree display instruction from the user. The process up to S304 (in the present embodiment, a process referred to as a logical directory configuration process) may be, for example, a process operating in the background on the user terminal 100, or may be manually activated and executed by the user. May be performed. In the case of processing executed in the background, when the user starts the user terminal 100, the logical directory configuration processing becomes a resident processing, and the metadata database 207 is updated and logically updated while the user performs document creation and mail transmission / reception. The directory will be configured. Then, upon receiving a logical tree display instruction from the user, the logical tree display system 208 creates and displays a logical tree based on the metadata file in S306.
[0053]
Hereinafter, the details of the logical tree display processing in S306 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is an example of a screen display for a user to input a predetermined condition for displaying a logical tree. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the processing of the logical tree display method. In the mode shown in FIG. 6, the input contents are determined by clicking the OK button. Therefore, the processing corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 9 may be executed after the input content is determined, but the processing of FIG. 9 corresponding to the input location in FIG. 6 will be described in parallel below for easy understanding.
[0054]
First, in step S901, a keyword designation input from a user is received. At this time, the screen 600 of FIG. 6 is displayed on the display unit 106, and an input from the user to the keyword instruction 601 through the keyboard or the mouse of the operation unit 105 corresponds to the keyword designation input. In the keyword designation input, it is possible to select the keyword to be displayed in descending order of weight (601a), or to designate the keyword by directly inputting the keyword that the user wants to search into the box 601c (601b). Note that the keyword received in S901 corresponds to any one of a plurality of keywords stored in the keyword database.
[0055]
Next, in S902, a search keyword is determined in accordance with the designation input from the user. When the user directly inputs a keyword into the box 601c, the keyword is set as a search keyword. On the other hand, when the display 601a is selected in the order of the keyword weight in the keyword designation 601, among the n keywords stored in the keyword data table 204b, a keyword having a high use frequency or a keyword having a new use time is regarded as having a high weight. The logical directory is searched from the keyword having the higher weight.
[0056]
In the present invention, the updating process of the keyword data table 204b is mainly performed in the background, and a keyword having a high weight can be said to be a keyword that frequently appears in a file recently processed by the user. In addition, since the keyword that frequently appears is automatically selected according to the occupation of the user, the purpose of use, and the like by the updating process of the keyword data table 204b, if the keyword frequently appears, it is necessary to search for the latest keyword. The file can be read. When a search is to be performed using a keyword other than the frequently-used keyword or a combination of a plurality of keywords, the user may select the keyword designation 601b and input a predetermined keyword.
[0057]
Next, in S903, a tree display form designation from the user is received. The user can specify a tree display form on a screen 602 in a screen 600 in FIG. The tree display can select either a two-dimensional format 603a or a three-dimensional format 602b as the display format 603. It is also possible to set the number of links when the user is displayed in a tree (604), to set the number of displayed files (604a), or to set the degree of association with the keyword arbitrarily. Can be specified (604b).
[0058]
Otherwise, the link tree depth can be set at 605. Even if the user sets the number of links by specifying the number of files in 604a, if many files with low relevance are detected, only important unnecessary files are displayed while the tree depth is increased. Will be. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the display of unnecessary files by setting the link tree depth 605. In this way, it is possible to adopt a method of not displaying links exceeding the number specified by the user, but by notifying that there are links that are not displayed, the user can manage the screen with a detail level that is easy for the user to grasp Is also possible.
[0059]
Further, for the keyword similarity function described later, which one of the similarity and quantity is regarded as important can also be determined by the cursor position (606a). Here, “quality” means the weight of the keyword itself, and “quantity” means the number of times the keyword has been searched in the target file.
[0060]
Further, a setting regarding weighting of a keyword for displaying a tree can be performed in 606b. For example, if you want to search for a file in which a given keyword is used in the title, you can adjust the weight level of the keyword to the "title" position, and if you want to search for a file in which many keywords are found in the text, Should be set to "entire file". In the level meter display 606b of FIG. 6, one of “title”, “new part”, and “entire file” is selected. However, this is only shown as a display mode. When "Title" is selected, the weight of "Title" may be changed from that of "Title", or the weight other than "Title" may be completely ignored.
[0061]
When the process in S903 ends, the process proceeds to S904, where a weight variable is determined. The weight variables include a weight variable of the keyword itself related to the frequency of use of the keyword and a weight variable related to the number of detected keywords in the target file. If the user inputs only a single keyword (for example, only “budget”) in the box 601c in the keyword specification 601, the weight variable of the keyword itself is not required for further processing. However, when the user inputs a plurality of keywords (for example, “budget or reserve or estimate”) in the box 601c, or when the display 601a is selected in the order of keyword weight, the priority between the plurality of keywords is changed. The weight variable of the keyword itself is used for the determination.
[0062]
The weight variable specifically relates to a variable representing the weight of the keyword itself such as the use frequency stored in the keyword data table 204b, the bias of the use frequency, and the time, or a predetermined keyword stored in the file record table 207b. And a weight variable indicating the relationship between the target file and keywords such as Ct, Cn, and Cb.
[0063]
The element for determining the variable is the setting content in the tree display form 602. For example, if “quality” is selected as the weight type 606a, a variable representing the weight of the keyword itself is determined as a weight variable, and if “quantity” is selected, Ct or the like relating to the number of detected keywords in the target file is weighted. Determined as a variable. If “title” is selected in the keyword weight 606b, Ct is determined as a weight variable, and the other Cn and Cb have lower weights than Ct.
[0064]
Here, depending on the setting of the weight type 606a, one of the weight variables of the quality and the quantity may be adopted, and the other that is not adopted may be discarded. However, according to the setting level of the weight type 606a, it is possible to further divide the file by weighting the quality and the quantity. For example, even if the number of detected keywords is the same when the weight type 606a is set on the side that emphasizes the amount, the larger the weight is, by referring to the quality of the keyword, that is, the weight of the keyword, in the final case Will be displayed at the top.
[0065]
In the weighting variable in S904, not only the variable used for calculating the similarity point function is determined but also a plurality of variables may be further weighted based on the input contents specified by the user. For example, taking the number of detected keywords in the target file (the variables Ct, Cn and Cb are present) as an example, it is assumed that “title” is selected by the user inputting the keyword weight 606b. In this case, the selected weight Ct can be multiplied by a predetermined coefficient (for example, k) to make the weight higher than the other weights (Cn, Cb).
[0066]
Next, in S905, a similar point function is calculated using the variables determined in S904. The similarity point function is a function for calculating a reference value for ranking a plurality of files stored in the physical directory based on the relevance with a predetermined keyword. Equivalent to.
Give priority to keyword weight (1) Keyword similarity function
Give priority to keyword quantity (2) Keyword similarity function
Give priority to user action timing (3) Timing similar function
[0067]
If the similar point function is expressed as f (x) as a function of the variable x, the variable x corresponds to the various weight variables determined in S904. That is, the variable x is exemplified as a variable representing a plurality of variables, and the similar point function is not limited to a function of a single variable. Further, although the aspects of the variables listed here are described corresponding to the present embodiment, they are merely examples, and the variables representing the weight and amount of the keyword can be arbitrarily selected and used. Needless to say.
[0068]
Furthermore, the similar point function may be calculated including a physical directory similar function that uses information relating to the position of the physical directory in which the target file is stored as a variable. This physical directory similarity function is a function for determining the similarity of the target file according to the storage location of the file in the physical directory when there are a plurality of target files.
[0069]
For example, if the physical paths of files A, B, and C are respectively C: \ usr \ local \ bin \ A. txt, C: {usr local local temp} B. txt C: {doc} temp {C. In the case of txt, file A and file B are files located under C: \ usr \ local and having commonality with the physical directory, while file C is a file located in a completely different physical directory. In this case, files A and B have a high degree of similarity, and files A, B and C have a low degree of similarity. Accordingly, in the logical tree display described later, the files A and B are displayed adjacent to each other to show the relevance, while the file C is displayed separately from the files A and B, so that the physical relevance is low. Can also be displayed. Further, it goes without saying that the concept of the physical directory similar function can be applied to not only a local network but also a network such as a LAN or the Internet.
[0070]
Subsequently, tree information is generated in S906. The tree information can be generated by using a known information processing technique except that the calculated value of the similar point function is used. For example, a plurality of thresholds for determining the hierarchy are prepared, and the files are grouped according to the value of the similar point function to determine the hierarchy. Furthermore, it can be generated by forming a link between the files constituting the hierarchy according to the similarity of the files. The similarity of the file may be based on a calculated value of the physical directory similar function, or may be determined based on an application to be used, an author name, a creation time, and the like. The above-mentioned hierarchy corresponds to the hierarchy when a similar tree is displayed.
[0071]
The tree information generation process is different depending on whether the user selects the two-dimensional format 603a or the three-dimensional format 603b for the tree display format 603. For example, if the two-dimensional format is selected, the distances from the origin are calculated using the calculated values of the point functions (1) and (2) as coordinate values on the vertical and horizontal axes, respectively. To form a link. In the case of simply displaying a plane without using the two-dimensional coordinate system (as shown in FIG. 7A), the calculated values of (1) to (3) are summed based on a predetermined calculation result, and Hierarchization and link formation may be performed based on the magnitude of the total value. On the other hand, when the three-dimensional format 603b is selected, the method of the two-dimensional coordinate system may be three-dimensionally developed based on the calculation results from (1) to (3).
[0072]
Next, in S907, the number of layers is narrowed down for the tree information generated in S906. The number of layers is narrowed down based on the number of layers set by the user at the link tree depth 605. If the user does not set the link tree depth 605, the default value may be set to display up to three levels, for example, or the number of levels may be determined based on other display-designated elements. good.
[0073]
Next, in S908, the tree information is further narrowed down by the number of links. This narrowing is performed based on the setting content of the related link number setting 604 by the user for the number of links between the files. When the user specifies the number of files in 604a, the number of links corresponding to the number of files is narrowed down. When the relevance is specified in the relevance specification 604b, the calculation result of the similarity point function is set to a predetermined value. Are specified, and the number of links corresponding to the number of files is narrowed down.
[0074]
Since the tree information to be displayed on the display unit 106 is generated by the above-described narrowing down, the tree information is converted into display information and displayed on the display unit 106 in S909. At this time, information for notifying the existence of a file located outside the displayed link, that is, a file not directly displayed on the display unit, may be displayed on the display unit 106. The user clicks the OK button as a display trigger.
[0075]
FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams showing an example of the display in S909. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a display when files related to the keyword “budget” are displayed in a plane. Here, the keyword “budget” is shown in the center 701, and circles drawn by dotted lines 702, 703, and 704 from the center to the periphery are lines indicating the hierarchy, and the files A and B existing on the dotted lines are The file is most related to the keyword budget, and then the file A ′, the file B ′, the file A ″, and the file C are weakly related in this order. Thus, the distance from the center 701 to the file reflects the calculated value of the similar point function. Note that the dotted lines 702, 703, and 704 are exemplarily described to indicate the boundaries of the hierarchy, and the dotted lines may or may not be displayed on the display unit 106.
[0076]
FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an example of a case where the similar point functions (1) to (3) are displayed in a three-dimensional space with three axes each.
[0077]
In such a display mode, the user can directly open the file by moving the cursor to a file required by the user from the displayed file group and performing a predetermined operation such as double-clicking. This is possible because the file is stored in the file record table 207b of the metadata database 207 in association with the physical directory 506 and the application type 509.
[0078]
Although the logical directory configuration process in the present embodiment has been described as being executed in the user terminal 100, if there are a plurality of client terminals connected to a network such as a LAN or the Internet, the server side may be used. The above-described logical directory configuration processing may be executed to generate a metadata file, and each client terminal may display this in a logical tree.
[0079]
The above processing (for example, processing according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 8 in the above embodiment) is stored as a program in a storage medium such as a CD-R, a ROM, a DVD-ROM, and an MO, and stored in this storage medium. By causing the computer to read (install or copy) the program, the computer can perform the above processing. Therefore, it is clear that this storage medium also falls within the scope of the present invention.
[0080]
Further, the embodiments of the present invention described above have been described only for describing the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention to the above description. Further, those skilled in the technical field of information processing using a computer may easily change, modify, or replace the equivalents of the above-described embodiments with equivalents in order to achieve the object of the present invention. It is obvious that the invention obtained as a result is also an invention itself belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.
[0081]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a logical directory can be configured by dividing and reorganizing a physical directory according to the use history and action of a user, and a search based on the logical directory can be performed. As a result, the keyword and the target to be searched are made meaningful, and the user can easily obtain a meaningful search result only by grasping the keyword related to the target, thereby improving the search processing efficiency. Is significantly improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a user terminal according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a logical directory configuration agent according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for displaying a logical tree according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a keyword access table according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a keyword data table corresponding to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a keyword recording table 207a according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a file recording table 207b according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an example of a screen display for a user to input a predetermined condition for displaying a logical tree according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7a is a diagram showing an example of a logical tree display according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an example of a logical tree display according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for updating the keyword data table 204b in response to a user action according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a logical tree display process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (22)

A logical directory configuration method for configuring a logical directory from a physical directory composed of one or more files stored in storage means of a computer, comprising:
A user action detection step of detecting an action performed by a user of the computer on the file;
A keyword search step of performing a keyword search on the file when an action on the file is detected in the user action detection step;
A metadata file configuration step of configuring a metadata file of the file based on a result of the keyword search in the keyword search step;
A logical directory configuration step of unifying the metadata file and the file configured in the metadata file configuration step based on the configuration of the physical directory to configure a logical directory. Configuration method. The logical directory configuration according to claim 1, wherein the actions detected in the user action detection step include at least one of file operations of saving, changing, deleting, and sending an e-mail of the file. Method. The logical directory according to claim 2, wherein the user action detection step detects the action when at least one of file operations of saving, changing, deleting, and sending an email of the file is completed. Configuration method. The keyword search step includes:
A user keyword management step of managing a user keyword database that stores the keywords,
4. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 1, further comprising: a full-text search step of performing a full-text search on the file for the keyword stored in the user keyword database. The keyword search step further includes:
A table updating step of updating a keyword access table storing usage history information of the keyword configured in the user keyword database based on a full-text search result in the full-text search step;
The logic according to claim 4, further comprising: generating keyword weight information for the keyword based on the content of the keyword data table, and configuring a keyword data table in the user keyword database. Directory configuration method. 6. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 5, wherein the keyword weight information includes at least one of use frequency, use time, and use frequency bias of the keyword in the full-text search process. 7. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 1, wherein the metadata file includes related keywords related to the file and file weight information about the file. The user action monitoring step comprises a file operation related information extraction step of extracting information related to the file operation,
The method according to claim 7, wherein the metadata file further includes the file operation related information. 9. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 7, wherein the file weight information includes information indicating the number of detections of the related keyword in the file. 9. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 7, wherein the file weight information includes information indicating a file name of the file and the number of detections of the related keyword in a newly input portion. 9. The logical directory configuration method according to claim 7, wherein the file weight information includes time information when the action is detected in the user action detection step. Logic for displaying a file related to a predetermined keyword on a display unit in a logical tree using data stored in a logical directory configured based on a physical directory including one or more files stored in a storage unit of a computer. A tree display method,
A keyword selection step of selecting the keyword;
A display mode setting step of setting a display mode of the logical tree;
A data extracting step of extracting data for displaying a logical tree from the data stored in the logical directory based on the keyword selected in the keyword selecting step and the display mode set in the display mode setting step When,
A display step of displaying a logical tree corresponding to the display form based on the data for displaying the logical tree extracted in the data extracting step. The keyword selecting step includes a keyword selection receiving step of receiving a keyword selection input from a user of the computer,
The display form setting step includes a display form designation receiving step of receiving a designation input of a display form designated by the user,
The data extraction step includes:
An operation step of executing an operation of a similarity point function based on the designation input from the user received in the display form designation accepting step;
A logical tree information generating step of generating logical tree information based on an operation result of the similar point function in the operation step,
13. The logical tree display method according to claim 12, wherein the display step displays the logical tree information in a logical tree. The logical tree information generating step includes:
A tree narrowing step of narrowing down at least one of the number of tree layers, the number of tree links, and the number of files displayed in the tree for the generated logical tree information based on the designation input from the user. The logical tree display method according to claim 13, wherein: The logical tree display method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the logical directory is a logical directory configured by the logical directory configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 11. . The method according to claim 15, wherein the calculating step calculates the similarity point function based on the keyword weight information and the file weight information. Displaying a file related to a predetermined keyword on a display unit in a logical tree using data stored in a logical directory based on a physical directory including one or more files stored in a storage unit of a computer. Logical tree display condition setting method,
A keyword setting receiving step of receiving the keyword setting input;
A display mode designating step of designating the display mode of the tree by setting at least one of the number of display files and the degree of association between the keyword and the display file. Setting method. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17. 19. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a computer program for executing the method according to claim 18. An information processing apparatus for constructing a logical directory from a physical directory composed of one or more files stored in a storage means,
User action detection means for detecting an action performed by a user of the computer on the file;
When an action on the file is detected by the user action detection means, a keyword search means for performing a keyword search on the file;
A metadata file configuration unit configured to configure a metadata file of the file based on a result of the keyword search in the keyword search unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a logical directory configuration unit configured to unify the metadata file and the file configured by the metadata file configuration unit based on a configuration of the physical directory to configure a logical directory. apparatus. An information processing apparatus for displaying a file related to a predetermined keyword on a display unit in a logical tree by using data stored in a logical directory configured based on a physical directory including one or more files stored in a storage unit And
Keyword selecting means for selecting the keyword;
Display mode setting means for setting a display mode of the logical tree;
Data extracting means for extracting data for displaying a logical tree from the data stored in the logical directory based on the keyword selected by the keyword selecting means and the display form set by the display form setting means. When,
A display unit for displaying a logical tree corresponding to the display form based on the data for displaying the logical tree extracted by the data extracting unit. Information for displaying a file related to a predetermined keyword on a display unit in a logical tree using data stored in a logical directory configured based on a physical directory including one or more files stored in a storage unit A processing device,
A keyword setting receiving means for receiving a setting input of the keyword,
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display mode specifying unit that specifies a display mode of the tree by setting at least one of the number of display files and the degree of association between the keyword and the display file.

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