Patent ID: 7574445

Claim:
In a computer system including a processor and memory that uses a tree structure for organizing data, each node of the tree structure being definable by a path, a method for creating a selection representation of selected items in the tree structure, the method comprising: retrieving a tree structure that reflects a file system from at least one memory or storage; displaying a graphical user interface that interacts with the file system to present the data in the tree structure to reflect the hierarchy of the data in the file system and receiving input from a user of at least one of: positive selections from a user of various items in the tree structure for performing a predetermined function on the positively selected items: or positive unselections from a user of various items in the tree structure for excluding from performing a predetermined function on the positively unselected items; analyzing a parent node of the tree structure to determine whether more than half but less than all of children nodes of the parent node are positively selected or implicitly inclusively selected; categorizing the parent node as an inclusive selection if more than half but less than all of children nodes of the parent node are positively selected or implicitly inclusively selected; including a path of the parent node in the selection representation with an “include” modifier if the parent node is an inclusive selection; analyzing a first child node of the parent node to determine if the first child node is a different selection type than the parent node; including a path of the first child node in the selection representation with an “exclude” modifier if the first child node is a different selection type than the parent node; displaying the selection representation of the parent node and the first child node of the parent node based on the modifiers of the parent node and the first child node of the parent node; and storing the selection representation in the memory.