Patent ID: 8145580

Claim:
A data management apparatus for managing data elements using a plurality of metadata elements, the data management apparatus comprising: an organization unit configured to organize a folder system having a tree structure by repeating a classification operation in accordance with the number of metadata elements, the classification operation including classifying and storing the data elements into a plurality of folders in accordance with classification conditions on the basis of each of the plurality of metadata elements, and further classifying and storing data elements in each of the folders into a plurality of folders on the basis of a metadata element different from the metadata element associated with the folder; a reorganization unit configured to reorganize the organized folder system having a tree structure by deleting, when a classification result based on a given one of the metadata elements is present in a given folder of the folders in the organized folder system and is not present in other folders having a same parent folder as the given folder and arranged in the same layer as that of the given folder, the parent folder and sub-folders of the parent folder, wherein the sub-folders include the given folder and are arranged in one or more layers lower than a layer of the parent folder; and an assignment unit configured to assign a classification condition used for the given folder to an upper-layer folder arranged in a layer higher than the layer of the parent folder deleted by the reorganization unit.