Patent ID: 7720869

Claim:
A method in a data processing system of searching electronic files on a recordable storage medium of the data processing system; the method comprising: providing electronic files into more than one hierarchical file structure in the data processing system, wherein each of the electronic files is identified by a filename in a directory or subdirectory of a file directory tree structure forming a first hierarchical file structure, and each of the electronic files is automatically organized by a data processor into a second hierarchical file structure according to a user-defined metalabel that is assigned to the each of the electronic files in addition to the filename, wherein the second hierarchical file structure comprises a Patricia trie and organizing the electronic files into the second hierarchical file structure comprises: locating or creating a node in the trie that is identified with each metalabel of the electronic files; associating the filename of each of the electronic files to a corresponding metalabel in the trie; linking the metalabel of a first electronic file to a matching metalabel assigned to a second electronic file; and linking a second metalabel of the first electronic file to a matching second metalabel, wherein the matching second metalabel is assigned to at least one of the second electronic file or a third electronic file; receiving a query from a user; searching the second hierarchical file structure as a function of the query; and returning to the user an electronic file having a metalabel matching the query.