Patent ID: 7512661

Claim:
A method for mounting email addresses in a file system, comprising: installing a shell extension in an operating system attached to a file system, the shell extension enabling one or more email virtual folders to appear within a view of the file system in the operating system; creating an email virtual folder on the file system, wherein the email virtual folder is a virtual folder configured to reference files stored elsewhere within the file system and wherein the email virtual folder is associated with an email address; adding one or more files existing on the file system to the email virtual folder; storing references to the one or more files existing on the file system within the email virtual folder responsive to the one or more files being added to the email virtual folder; sending an email to the email address associated with the email virtual folder via the shell extension responsive to the one or more files being added to the email virtual folder, the email containing the one or more files added to the email virtual folder; wherein the references to the one or more files stored within the file system and added to the email virtual folder appear within the view of the file system when the email virtual folder is accessed within the operating system.