Patent ID: 8055637

Claim:
A method, for browsing measurement data comprising: utilizing a computer to perform: storing a first plurality of data files in an enterprise system, wherein each data file of the first plurality of data files comprises measurement data and meta-data associated with the measurement data, wherein the meta-data describes characteristics of the measurement data, wherein the meta-data comprises a hierarchical data model including a file/root level, a group/type/setup level, and a signal/channel/trace level; creating an index for the first plurality of data files according to the meta-data comprised in the first plurality of data files, wherein creating the index comprises a plug-in associated with a file type of each data file retrieving meta-data from each data file; receiving user input selecting at least one first data file of the first plurality of data files; and retrieving and displaying meta-data from the index corresponding to the at least one first data file in response to the user input, wherein the at least one first data file is not opened during said retrieving and displaying.