Technique for automatically associating desktop data items

• US 20030204536A1
• Filed: 05/27/2003
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Bowman, Mic, Adams, Robert, Keskar, Dhananjay V., Sanvitale, Dean J.
• Application Number:
  US10/445,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20030204536A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method of automatically associating data items residing in diverse applications, including, but not limited to: file system explorer, outlook, email and Web Browser applications that are executable in a host computer system with a data item selected by a user from one of the diverse application, said method comprising: monitoring incoming data items from the diverse applications; creating and maintaining meta-data which stores data items in a compact form, by associating incoming data items from the diverse applications with previously created meta-data of related data items and creating new meta-data for incoming data items not related to items contained in previously created meta-data; locating and displaying data items related to a data item selected by a user upon a command by said user; and updating the meta-data for the displayed data items in response to a user command.

Claims

1. A method of automatically associating data items residing in diverse applications, including, but not limited to:

file system explorer, outlook, email and Web Browser applications that are executable in a host computer system with a data item selected by a user from one of the diverse application, said method comprising;

monitoring incoming data items from the diverse applications;

creating and maintaining meta-data which stores data items in a compact form, by associating incoming data items from the diverse applications with previously created meta-data of related data items and creating new meta-data for incoming data items not related to items contained in previously created meta-data;

locating and displaying data items related to a data item selected by a user upon a command by said user; and

updating the meta-data for the displayed data items in response to a user command.

2. The method as claimed claim 1, wherein said monitoring incoming data items comprises monitoring additions and deletions of files in a user file system.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the data items monitored indicates one of a file, an email, and a mail item such as a task, a note, contact information and a web page.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data items monitored indicate web browser navigation and page downloads.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said creating and maintaining meta-data about monitored data items comprises searching a database to locate at least one data item which is related to an incoming data item based on a predetermined criterion, said predetermined criterion comprising assigning a normalized relevance score for each monitored data item based on each data item'"'"'s relevance and including said monitored data item having a relevance score greater than a predetermined threshold in an association group containing said at least one data item.

6. An apparatus for automatically associating desktop data items residing in diverse applications, including, but not limited to:

file system explorer, outlook, email and Web Browser applications that are executable in a host computer system, with a data item selected by a user from one of the diverse application, said apparatus comprising;

a data monitor to monitor incoming data items from the diverse applications;

a data manager, interfacing with said data monitor, to create and maintain meta-data which stores data items in a compact form, by associating incoming data items from said data monitor with previously created meta-data of related data items and creating new meta-data for incoming data items not related to items contained in previously created meta-data;

a display and a user interface, interfacing with said data manager, to locate and display data items related to a data item selected by a user upon a command by the user; and

an association handler, interfacing with said user interface and data manager, to update the meta-data for the displayed data items in response to a user command from said user interface.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data monitor includes a file system monitor to monitor additions and deletions of files in a user file system.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data monitor includes a mail client monitor to monitor at least one of a user'"'"'s email, files, tasks, appointments, and contacts.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the data monitor includes a web page monitor to monitor web browser navigation and page downloads.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a first mechanism to retrieve and rank documents relevant to a query and a second mechanism to automatically find and organize data items similar to example items, said first mechanism and said second mechanism being disposed between said data manager and association handler and said second mechanism interfacing with said display, said first and second mechanism searching a database to locate at least one data item which is related to an incoming data item based on a predetermined criterion, said predetermined criterion comprising assigning a normalized relevance score for each monitored data item based on each data item'"'"'s relevance and including said monitored data item having a relevance score greater than a predetermined threshold in an association group containing said at least one data item.

11. A storage medium to store a program that can be integrated into an operating system or plugged-in another program in a host computer system for automatically associating desktop data items residing in diverse applications, including, but not limited to:

file system explorer, outlook, email and Web Browser applications running in the host computer system with a data item selected by a user from one of the diverse application that, when executed by the host computer system, resulting in the following;

monitoring incoming data items from the diverse applications;

creating and maintaining meta-data which stores data items in a compact form, by associating incoming data items with previously created meta-data of related data items and creating new meta-data for incoming data items not related to data items contained in previously created meta-data;

locating and displaying data items related to a data item selected by a user upon a command by said user; and

updating the meta-data for the displayed data items in response to a user command.

12. The storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein said monitoring incoming data items comprises monitoring additions and deletions of files in a user file system.

13. The storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the data items monitored indicates one of a file, an email, and a mail item such as a task, a note, contact information and a web page.

14. The storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein the data items monitored include web browser navigation and page downloads.

15. The storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein said creating and maintaining meta-data which stores data items in a compact form comprises searching a database to locate at least one data item which is related to an incoming data item based on a predetermined criterion, said predetermined criterion comprising assigning a normalized relevance score for each monitored data item based on each data item'"'"'s relevance and including said monitored data item having a relevance score greater than a predetermined threshold in an association group containing said at least one data item.