Patent ID: 7275244

Claim:
A method for efficiently saving at least one of a plurality of electronic files to a computer coupled to a distributed computer network, each file having content and a file type, the computer being a server, comprising the steps of: applying a hash algorithm depending upon the file type of the file to the content of the file to calculate a hash value for each electronic file, wherein the hash value represents the content of the electronic file such that the hash value changes when the user modifies the content of the file and a combination of hash value and hash algorithm is associated with the file; and for each electronic file, determining if the electronic file is stored on the computer, if the electronic file is not stored on the computer, saving the electronic file to the computer, and if the electronic file is stored on the computer, determining whether the combination of the hash value and the hash algorithm associated with the electronic file are different from the combination of the hash value and the hash algorithm associated with the electronic file stored on the computer, and saving the electronic file to the computer when it is determined that the combinations of the hash value and the hash algorithm associated with the electronic files are different, wherein the electronic file is not saved to the computer when it is determined that the combinations of the hash value and the hash algorithm associated with the electronic files are not different.