Patent ID: 8488178

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a processor; program storing means, coupled to the processor, for storing programs; an auxiliary storage, coupled to the processor, for storing data files for printing, a file attribution table having fields of a file path, a registration date of the file, a deletion date of the file, and a delete flag, and a saving period table having fields of a folder path and a saving period; control panel means, coupled to the processor, having display means and inputting means; and a communication interface coupled to the processor; wherein the programs comprises a file registration program, a file view program, and an automatic file deletion program, wherein the file registration program orders the processor: in response to receipt of a file registration instruction, a file, and a folder path through the communication interface, to add a record having a path of the file, a current date as a registration date of the file, a current date plus saving period of the corresponding record on the saving period table as the deletion date of the file, and a delete flag of a value indicating that the file has not been deleted to the file attribution table, to store the file into the folder of the auxiliary storage, and to create a thumbnail of a specified page of the file to store the thumbnail into the auxiliary storage, wherein the file view program orders the processor: in response to receipt of a view instruction from the inputting means or the communication interface, (a) to create a display data having file names, and registration dates, and deletion dates of respective records having a delete flag value indicating not having been deleted on in the file attribution table with respective thumbnails, and to provide the display data to the display means or through the communication interface to a host computer; and in response to receipt of a sort instruction and data indicating a sort item on the file attribution table and indicating either an ascending or descending order from the inputting means or through the communication interface, to sort records on the file attribution table, and to execute the processing of (a); and wherein the automatic file deletion program orders the processor to delete each file whose deletion date of corresponding record on the file attribution table is equal to a current date, and to change the value of the delete flag at this record into a value indicating having been deleted while keeping the corresponding file path in the file attribution table.