Patent ID: 6741996
Filing Date: 2004-05-25
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for hierarchically organizing files of a selected type that are stored in a storage accessed by a computing device, said storage including a plurality of other different types of files, to enable a user to efficiently access desired files from among the files of the selected type in the storage, comprising the steps of:(a) scanning the storage with the computing device to identify any content folders in which files of the selected type are included; (b) creating a separate collection hierarchy on the storage, based upon the content folders that were identified, each content folder being represented as a collection in the collection hierarchy, and each collection in the collection hierarchy being associated with a folder path that indicates where the collection is located in the storage; (c) including selected empty folders in the collection hierarchy that do not include any files of the selected type, but which may include any of the other different types of files, said empty folders being selected by applying a sibling rule and being included in the collection hierarchy to delineate branches in the collection hierarchy that are essential to distinguish between branches in the folder paths associated with the collections, in order to locate the collections; and (d) importing files of the selected type that are included in each collection into the collection hierarchy for efficient access by a user, said collection hierarchy differing from a general directory structure that includes folders for all types of files in the storage, by being flattened to include only the selected empty folders and the folders identified by scanning as including files of the selected type.