Patent ID: 8010886

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for intelligently presenting a view of a set of file representations that corresponds to a set of files, in which the set of files includes different file types, the method capable of being performed by a computing device that has access to one or more memory components storing the set of files, and the method comprising: providing a plurality of layout patterns that can be used to present the set of file representations in the view, (1) wherein each layout pattern is defined by an arrangement of a set of placeholders, (2) wherein each placeholder of the set of placeholders is capable of presenting a property of a file type, (3) wherein each placeholder is to be populated based on the file type, and (4) wherein the arrangement is based on the file type, such that at least some arrangements associated with some file types are different than other arrangements associated with other file types; determining the respective file types of the set of files; and for each file, (1) determining a layout pattern based on a type of the each file, and (2) populating each placeholder in the determined layout pattern with properties based on the type of the each file, thereby producing a set of populated layout patterns; and presenting the set of file representations consistent with the populated layout patterns, wherein the properties presented in the populated layout patterns are a function of the type of the each file being represented.