Patent ID: 6480851
Filing Date: 2002-11-12
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
In a computer system that includes data containers in which a plurality of items are stored for access and viewing by a plurality of different users, and wherein the various items stored in a given data container are restricted in terms of access by differing levels of security that may be set for each such item, a method of tracking summary data about the items stored in a container in a manner which permits only that summary data to be displayed to a given user that corresponds to the given user's security level, the method comprising steps for:storing a plurality of data items having item level security settings in a data container of the computer system, at least some of the data items having differing levels of security settings; for each data container, keeping a running total of an aggregate property of all the data items that correspond to the same security setting; and when a particular user accesses the data container, displaying only the aggregate property for those data items that have the same security setting for which the particular user has viewing rights.