Patent Document ID: 7546546
Application ID: 11210924

Base Claim:
1. In a computer system having a display and an operating system, a method for providing a plurality of concurrent computer desktops or desktop metaphors, the method comprising: the operating system presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop representation of the plurality of desktops at the display wherein each desktop comprises a file directory and an associated GUI, the desktop representation comprising a representation of a first desktop and a representation of a second desktop; responsive to the operating system enabling the first desktop as a default enabled desktop, the operating system directing user GUI access to a first file directory of the enabled first desktop, wherein the first file directory is based on a first desktop folder associated with the first desktop; responsive to the first desktop being the default enabled desktop, the operating system presenting the first desktop graphical user interface (GUI) as a displayed desktop; responsive to a first user GUI action, creating a user defined second file directory based on a first sub-folder of the first desktop folder; making the first sub-folder a second desktop folder of the second desktop; responsive to a user GUI second desktop enabling action enabling the second desktop as the default enabled desktop, the operating system directing user GUI access to the second file directory defined by the second desktop folder of the enabled second desktop, wherein the user GUI access comprises default file open and file save dialogs of application programs; responsive to the second desktop being the default enabled desktop, the operating system presenting the second desktop GUI as the displayed desktop; and responsive to the second desktop being the default enabled desktop, the operating system denying user GUI access to files other than files of the second file directory.

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Claim 15:
15. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: responsive to a second user GUI action, creating a user defined third file directory based on a second sub-folder of the first desktop folder, the second sub-folder being a different sub-folder than the first sub-folder; making the second sub-folder the third desktop folder; responsive to a user GUI action comprising selecting the second sub-folder of the first desktop folder as a third desktop folder, the operating system creating a third desktop, wherein the third desktop comprises the third desktop folder; responsive to a user GUI third desktop enabling action enabling the third desktop as the default enabled desktop; and responsive a desktop being the enabled desktop the method comprising a) and b): a) the operating system directing user GUI access to the file directory defined by the desktop folder associated with the enabled desktop; and b) the operating system denying user GUI access to files other than files of the third file directory defined by the desktop folder associated with the enabled desktop.