JP2006018662A - File management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a file management system capable of reducing workload when a user merges folders. <P>SOLUTION: The file management system for managing files and directories stored in a storage apparatus is provided with a means for merging two or more folders, a means for comparing a plurality of files at a binary level when there are files with same name in a folder to be merged and their file sizes are the same, and a function for renaming at marge processing when they are determined not to be the same at the binary level after comparison. A manual renaming technique at the renaming processing and an automatic renaming technique are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to software for managing files.

  In recent years, with the increase in the storage area of storage media, users have come to manage a large number of files such as text data, image data, and moving image data. In managing files, a method of managing by a folder is generally used in a PC.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of folder management.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a folder on the desktop, and an example is given in which the user manages various data under this folder. Consider a case where there is a picture data folder called “Pictures” in the subfolder 101 as shown in 102. Assume that there are folders with dates 104 and 105 under the folder “Australia” 103. At this time, since 104 and 105 are photographs taken in Sydney, if the user wants to combine them into one folder “Sydney”, the user creates a new folder “Sydney” and changes the contents of the folders 104 and 105 to Perform the transfer work.

  Or, the folder name of either 104 or 105 may be renamed as “Sydney” and moved from the unrenamed folder. In this way, when a user tries to combine (merge) files in a plurality of folders into one folder, the user copies (or moves) the files in the individual folders and moves them to the merge destination folder. The flowchart is shown in FIG. All operations in the flowchart are manual operations. When the above process is performed manually, when a file with the same name is found, the user must actually open the file and determine whether or not they are exactly the same.

JP 2003-016770 A

  When management is performed for each folder, there are cases where two or more folders are desired to be combined (merged) as described above, or folders 103 and lower in FIG. 1 are desired to be combined into one folder. In addition, there is a case where only the folder “Australia” 103 is unnecessary, and the folder structure in the subfolder 103 remains unchanged and the folder 106 is desired to be moved. In short, it is a case where it is desired to delete only the folder without changing the data in the designated folder.

  At this time, the user copies the files in the folder that disappears after merging to the destination folder to be grouped, and copies the files to the destination folder. This work is not so burdensome for the user when there are few folders to be collected, but it becomes a very heavy burden for the user when there are many folders to be collected. For example, when 100 folders are merged, 100 steps of work are required. Also, if there are files with the same file name, the user needs to actually open and check whether the files are exactly the same.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a file management system capable of reducing a work load when a user performs folder merging.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a merge button is attached as indicated by 301 in FIG. By clicking this button, a plurality of folders are merged into one folder. When a plurality of folders are selected, merging is performed while keeping the folder structure as it is. If only one is selected, all subfolders under that folder are merged.

  If there is a file with the same name, it is determined whether the files match completely. If they match completely, they are combined into one. If the file names are the same but different files, a dialog is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 to give the user an arbitrary name. In addition to the above method, a function for automatically converting the file name may be used. When it is desired to delete only the folder while keeping the data in the folder as it is, it is slightly different from the other processes. Therefore, a menu “Delete folder only” is created as shown in 302 and executed from there.

  According to the present invention, it is possible for a user to combine a plurality of folders into one by one procedure without performing a plurality of procedures when merging folders. In addition, in the case of the same file name, it is possible to merge without actually checking whether the files are exactly the same.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce a work load when a user performs folder merging. In particular, when there are a large number of folders, for example, when trying to merge 100 folders, the user has to copy the file to the merge destination 100 times in the conventional method, but this can be done only once. become able to.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of a personal computer system which is a platform on which the present invention can be implemented.

  In FIG. 5, 501 is a computer system main body, 502 is a display for displaying data, 503 is a mouse which is a typical pointing device, and 504 is a keyboard.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image data management system including software and hardware.

  In FIG. 6, 601 is hardware, 602 is an operating system (OS) operating on the hardware 601, and 603 is application software operating on the OS 602. Of course, blocks included in the hardware 601 and the OS 602 are included as structural requirements, but blocks that are not directly necessary for describing the embodiment of the present invention are not shown. As an example of such a block (not shown), a hardware includes a CPU, a memory, and an OS such as a memory management system.

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 607 denotes a hard disk for physically storing files and data, and 614 denotes a file system constituting the OS, which has a function that allows application software to input and output files without being aware of the hardware. . Reference numeral 611 denotes a disk IO interface for the file system 614 to read / write the hard disk 607. Reference numeral 613 denotes a drawing management system constituting the OS, which has a function that allows application software to perform drawing without being aware of hardware. Reference numeral 610 denotes a video interface for the drawing system 613 to draw on the display 502. Reference numeral 612 denotes an input device management system constituting the OS, which has a function that allows application software to receive user input without being aware of hardware. Reference numeral 608 denotes a keyboard interface for the input device management system 612 to receive input from the keyboard 504, and mouse interface 609 is a mouse interface to enable the input device management system 612 to receive input from the mouse 503.

  First, a process when the [Merge] button 301 is clicked in a state where a plurality of folders are selected will be described.

  When a plurality of folders are selected and the 301 [Merge] button in FIG. 3 is clicked, the dialog in FIG. 7 is displayed, and the folder name after merging is set. Here, the method of specifying the folder name after merging is adopted, but a method of specifying any existing folder as the folder name after merging may be used. Processing starts after clicking the [Merge] button. The flow of processing is as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  801 displays the merge setting dialog shown in FIG. Step 802 loops the selected folder, and step 803 loops the number of files in the folder being processed. Reference numeral 804 denotes a check for checking whether a file / folder having the same name exists in the merge destination folder. If there is no file / folder with the same name, the process proceeds to 805, and if it exists, the process proceeds to 807. First, the processing from 807 will be described.

  When a file / folder with the same name exists, the operation differs depending on the existing file / folder. If the same name is a folder, renaming processing is performed at 808. Here, “_2” is automatically added. It is also possible to have the user manually enter a name. If the file with the same name is a file and the file size is the same, it is determined in 809 whether or not they are the same at the binary data level. If they are different, the dialog shown in FIG. If they are exactly the same, delete the file. If the above processing is performed, a file / folder with the same name does not exist in the merge destination, and copying is performed in 805 to the merge destination folder. When all files / folders have been moved, the target folder is deleted. When all the selected folders have been processed, the dialog shown in FIG. 9 is displayed and the merge process is terminated.

  Next, processing when one folder is selected and the merge button is clicked will be described. A flowchart is shown in FIG.

  When a single folder is selected and the 301 [Merge] button in FIG. 3 is clicked, the dialog in FIG. 7 is displayed, and the folder name after merging is set. Reference numeral 1002 indicates that processing is started from the lowest folder in the selected folder tree and the processing is continued until the current folder is returned. This means that the merge processing is performed in order from the lowest folder in the folder tree from the merge designated folder, and the merge ends when there are no more folders below the merge designated folder. Here, the procedure of merging in order from the lowest folder is shown, but the method of merging sequentially from the folder one layer below the current folder and stopping the processing when there are no more folders below the current folder But it ’s okay. However, in the case of the method described later, there are cases where the processing speed decreases, so the above method is desirable.

  In step 1003, a loop is performed for the number of files in the folder being processed. A check 1004 checks whether a file with the same name exists in the merge destination folder. If a file with the same name does not exist, the process proceeds to 1005, and if it exists, the process proceeds to 1007. First, the processing of 1007 will be described.

  If a file with the same name exists and is the same up to the binary data level, the dialog shown in FIG. 4 is displayed to prompt renaming. When the above processing is performed, a file with the same name does not exist in the merge destination, and in 1005, copying is performed to the merge destination folder. After moving all files, delete the target folder. When the processing of 1002 is finished, the dialog of FIG. 9 is displayed and the merge processing is finished.

  Note that when a plurality of folders are selected by combining the two processes and the 301 [Merge] button in FIG. 3 is clicked, all the folders may be merged together. As a processing procedure, the flow chat of FIG. 9 may be executed after the flowchart of FIG. In the switching process, the setting dialog in FIG. 12 is displayed so that switching can be performed at an arbitrary timing.

  Finally, a process when one folder is selected and the menu 302 in FIG. 3 is selected will be described. In this case, the flowchart of the process is as shown in FIG.

  Reference is made to the folder selected in 1101. A loop is performed as many times as the number of folders selected in 1102 + the number of files. In step 1103, it is checked whether a file / folder having the same name exists in the merge destination folder (ie, the parent folder of the selected folder). A check 1103 checks whether a file / folder with the same name exists in the merge destination folder. If a file / folder with the same name does not exist, the process proceeds to 1104, and if it exists, the process proceeds to 1105.

  First, the processing of 1105 will be described.

  When a file / folder with the same name exists, the operation differs depending on the existing file / folder. If the same name is a folder, a rename process is performed in 1108. Here, “_2” is automatically added. It is also possible to have the user manually enter a name. If the file with the same name is a file and the file size is the same, it is determined in 1107 whether or not they are the same at the binary data level. If they are different, the dialog shown in FIG. 4 is displayed to prompt the rename. If they are exactly the same, delete the file. If the above processing is performed, a file / folder with the same name does not exist in the merge destination, and therefore, in 1104, copying is performed to the merge destination folder. When the above processing is performed on all files / folders, the process ends.

It is a figure which shows an example of folder management. It is a flowchart at the time of a user merging a folder. It is a figure which shows a problem-solving application. It is a figure which shows the dialog displayed when the file of the same name is found. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a personal computer. It is a figure which shows the system configuration example in this invention. It is a figure which shows the dialog of merge destination designation | designated. It is a flowchart at the time of performing a merge process after selecting a plurality of folders. It is a figure which shows a merge completion notification dialog. It is a flowchart at the time of performing a merge process after a single folder selection. It is a flowchart in the case of deleting only a folder. It is a figure which shows the setting dialog of a margin process.

Explanation of symbols

501 Computer system body 502 Display 503 Mouse 504 Keyboard 601 Hardware 602 Operating system (OS)
603 Application software 607 Hard disk 611 Disk IO interface 614 File system

Claims (3)

In a file management system that manages files and directories stored in a storage device,
A means for merging two or more folders, a means for comparing a plurality of files at the binary level, and a binary level after completion of the comparison when there is a file with the same name in the merge target folder at the time of the processing and the file size is the same. A file management system having a function of renaming at the time of merge processing when it is determined that they are not identical.   2. The file management system according to claim 1, further comprising a method of manually renaming and a method of automatically renaming during renaming processing.   The method according to claim 1, wherein when performing the merge processing, the processing method can be switched in a process until the merge processing is executed, and the user can switch a plurality of processing methods at an arbitrary timing. File management system.

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