Patent ID: 7617225

Claim:
A machine implemented method of managing data, the method comprising: capturing metadata for a plurality of files created by a plurality of different software applications which execute on a data processing system, wherein the type of information in metadata for files of a first software application differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second software application; receiving a search input for performing a single search through the metadata and content of the plurality of files stored on a user's data processing system, wherein the metadata is stored separately from at least some of the content of the plurality of files and wherein the metadata and the content are stored on the user's data processing system; performing, by the user's data processing system, the single search through the metadata of a subset of the plurality of files and through the content of the subset of the plurality of files, wherein the metadata of the subset of the plurality of the files is stored separately from the content of the subset of the plurality of files; saving, by the user's data processing system, the search input and associating a folder with the search input.