SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF SEARCH RESULTS IN MULTIPLE RELATED HISTOGRAMS

• US 20080301106A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wattenberg, Martin M., Newbold, David L., Bolin, Michael, Oral, Tolga
• Granted Patent: US 8,484,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A system and method are provided for enabling a user to search for documents that the user has previously viewed on its local machine. The system includes three main components: the desktop integration module, the index module, and the graphical user interface module. The desktop integration module is an application which monitors documents with which the user interacts for predetermined events, and obtains content data and metadata from the monitored documents. The index module indexes the content data and metadata received from the desktop integration module. The graphical user interface module then permits a user to utilize the desktop integration module and index module by allowing a user to search for a document.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A computer implemented method of providing a histogram displaying lone or more documents that a user has previously accessed comprising:

receiving a search query to perform a search of an index of one or more documents that a user has previously accessed, said search query including one or more keywords; and

presenting, to the user, a chronological histogram characterizing one or more documents matching said search query, wherein said chronological histogram includes;

a first axis providing a timeline for displaying a date when said one or more matching documents were accessed; and

a second axis providing more than one variable characterizing said one or more matching documents.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said second axis provides two variables characterizing said one or more matching documents, wherein said two variables are a relevance variable indicating relevance of said one or more matching documents to the search query, and a duration variable indicating an amount of time that the user has spent accessing said one or more matching documents.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said histogram displays a date and a time for each of the one or more documents said user has previously accessed and an amount of time that the user has spent accessing each of said one or more documents.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said index includes parameters determined from metadata and content data associated with documents being monitored for predetermined events while they are accessed by the user, thereby enabling the documents to be searched later.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein said metadata includes at least the following:

date and time a document was created, opened, closed, modified, or accessed;

amount of time spent on a document;

number of times a document has been viewed or accessed;

or whether or not a document was printed or emailed.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein said content data includes at least the following:

words found in a document;

keywords stored with a document;

title of a document;

author of a document;

document type;

or document size.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein said predetermined events include at least one of:

opening a document;

closing a document;

printing a document;

or emailing a document.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more matching documents are accessed by the user multiple times, and the method further comprising:

for each matching document, determining, for each access, an amount of time the user spent accessing the matching document, and calculating a total amount of time the user spent accessing the matching document by combining the determined amount of time for each access.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the first axis provides a timeline that indicates a time interval in which said one or more matching documents were accessed.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the first axis provides a timeline that chronologically indicates an order in which said one or more matching documents were accessed.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprising:

receiving input from the user specifying a date range associated with the timeline of the first axis; and

presenting, to the user, the chronological histogram characterizing the one or more matching documents that the user previously accessed within the specified date range.

22. A computer implemented system of providing a histogram displaying one or more documents that a user has previously accessed comprising:

means for receiving a search query to perform a search of an index of one or more documents that a user has previously accessed, said search query including one or more keywords; and

means for presenting, to the user, a chronological histogram characterizing one or more documents matching said search query, wherein said chronological histogram includes;

a first axis providing a timeline for displaying a date when said one or more matching documents were accessed; and

a second axis providing more than one variable characterizing said one or more matching documents.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said second axis provides two variables characterizing said one or more matching documents, wherein said two variables are a relevance variable indicating relevance of said one or more matching documents, and a duration variable indicating an amount of time that the user has spent accessing said one or more matching documents.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said histogram displays a data and a time for each one or more documents said user has previously accessed and an amount of time that the user has spent accessing each of said one or more matching documents.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein said index includes parameters determined from metadata and content data associated with documents being monitored for predetermined events while they are accessed by the user, thereby enabling the documents to be searched later.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said metadata includes at least the following:

date and time a document was created, opened, closed, modified, or accessed;

amount of time spend on document;

number of times a document has been viewed or accessed;

or whether or not a document was printed or emailed.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein said content data includes at least the following:

words found in a document;

keywords stored with a document;

title of a document;

author of a document;

document type;

or document size.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein said predetermined events include at least one of:

opening a document;

closing a document;

printing a document;

or emailing a document.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the first axis provides a timeline that indicates a time interval in which said one or more matching documents were accessed.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the first axis provides a timeline that chronologically indicates an order in which said one or more matching documents were accessed.

31. The system of claim 22, wherein the system further comprising:

means for receiving in put from the user specifying a date range associated with the timeline of the first axis; and

means for presenting, to the user, the chronological histogram characterizing the one or more matching documents that the user previously accessed within the specified date range.