Apparatus and methods for locating data
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A search apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of user selectable search mode interfaces, including at least;
an email search mode interface having email-specific attribute search fields including at least a date field, a from field, and a sender field;
a file search mode interface having file-specific attribute search fields including at least a file name field, a file type field, a date field, a file size field, and a path field;
a favorites search mode interface used to search Web pages designated by a user as a favorite Web page;
a Web history search mode interface having a date field, a title field, a size field, and a search term field;
an email attachment search mode interface having a name field, a date field, a size field, and an extension field;
wherein each of the email search mode interface, the file search mode interface, the favorites search mode interface, the Web history search mode interface, and the email attachment search mode interface further comprises a list pane, used to display a list of search result items, and a view pane, used to display the contents of a selected search result item;
an index module configured to generate;
an email index;
a file index;
a Web page index; and
a search module configured to perform incremental searching of at least one of the email index, the file index, and the Web page index in response to the user entering characters into at least one search mode interface field.
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Abstract
The present invention provides for quick and efficient searches. In one embodiment, a search system, comprises an email search interface having at least a first email-specific attribute search field, a file search interface having at least a first file-specific attribute search field, a Web history search interface having at least a first Web-specific attribute search field, and an apparatus configured to perform incremental searching as the user enters characters into one or more attribute search fields.
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Citations
90 Claims
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1. A search apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of user selectable search mode interfaces, including at least;
an email search mode interface having email-specific attribute search fields including at least a date field, a from field, and a sender field;
a file search mode interface having file-specific attribute search fields including at least a file name field, a file type field, a date field, a file size field, and a path field;
a favorites search mode interface used to search Web pages designated by a user as a favorite Web page;
a Web history search mode interface having a date field, a title field, a size field, and a search term field;
an email attachment search mode interface having a name field, a date field, a size field, and an extension field;
wherein each of the email search mode interface, the file search mode interface, the favorites search mode interface, the Web history search mode interface, and the email attachment search mode interface further comprises a list pane, used to display a list of search result items, and a view pane, used to display the contents of a selected search result item;
an index module configured to generate;
an email index;
a file index;
a Web page index; and
a search module configured to perform incremental searching of at least one of the email index, the file index, and the Web page index in response to the user entering characters into at least one search mode interface field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A search apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of user selectable search mode interfaces having attribute fields, including at least;
an email search mode interface having email-specific attribute search fields;
a file search mode interface having file-specific attribute search fields;
a Web history search mode interface having Web page-specific attribute search fields;
an email attachment search mode interface having email attachment-specific attribute search fields;
an index module configured to generate at least a first index, including one or more indexes of email, files, and Web pages; and
a search module configured to perform incremental searching of the first index as the user enters characters into at least a first attribute search field. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A search system, comprising:
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an email search interface having at least a first email-specific attribute search field;
a file search interface having at least a first file-specific attribute search field; and
an apparatus configured to perform incremental searching as the user enters characters into the attribute search fields. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method of locating information, comprising:
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receiving a first search character in a first attribute search field;
immediately providing first search results in response to receiving the first search character;
receiving a second character in the first attribute search field;
immediately providing second search results, narrower than the first search results in response to receiving the second search character, wherein the second search results includes entries corresponding to documents having at least a first character string including the first and second characters;
receiving a third search character in a second attribute search field;
immediately providing third search results narrower than the second search results in response to receiving the third search character;
receiving a fourth character in the second attribute search field; and
immediately providing fourth search results, narrower than the third search results in response to receiving the fourth search character, wherein the fourth search results includes entries corresponding to documents associated with at least a first character string including the first and second characters and a second character string including the third and fourth characters. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A search system, comprising:
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a first target search interface including;
a plurality of target-specific attribute search fields that are displayed at the same time;
a view area;
a list area; and
an apparatus configured to perform incremental searching as the user enters characters into one or more of the target-specific attribute search fields and to provide a list of search results in the list area and content information in the view area. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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Specification