Tagging related files in a document management system

• US 6,266,682 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1998
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Paradise IP LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: LaMarca, Anthony G., Dourish, James P., Edwards, Warren K., Salisbury, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Application Number:
  US09/144,032
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 707/501, 707/203, 707/5, 707/513, 707/3, 707/516, 713/1
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A document management system is provided which organizes, stores and retrieves documents according to properties attached to the documents. Applications which function based on hierarchical path names communicate to the document management system through a translator. A tag is inserted into the path of a document to identify the document and represent a dynamic collection. The same tag is inserted into the path of files which support the document so that the supporting files are related to the document by the path tag. In this manner, the document management system identifies and locates all documents which are related to each other based on the tag. Thus, an application is provided with all related files even though the application may not know where the files are actually stored or retrieved from.

Claims

1. A method of managing a first document having a location file path and file name, and having a path tag inserted in the file path of the first document, where a second document is related to the first document, the method comprising the steps of:

associating the path tag with the first document as a property which identifies the first document;

associating the path tag with the second document as a property representing a relationship to the first document;

requesting retrieval of the first document by an application based on the file path and the file name of the first document, the application being unaware of the path tag associated to the first document;

extracting the path tag from the file path of the first document;

locating the second document based on the path tag; and

,

providing, to the application, access to the second document, the application being unaware of the location of the second document.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the path tag is a unique document identifier.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the first document and second document are stored in different locations and a single query retrieves both the first and second documents based on the path tag.

4. In a system where an application stores and retrieves a document based on a file path and a file name, and stores and retrieves supporting files of the document based on the file path, a method of generating a dynamic collection of related documents and files, including the document and the supporting files comprising the steps of:

inserting a path tag in the file path of the document, the path tag being a unique identifier of the document; and

,

generating at least one supporting file for the document and associating the path tag to a supporting file;

extracting the path tag from the file path of the document;

locating the supporting file based on the path tag; and

,

providing to an application access to the supporting file, where the application is unaware of a location of the supporting file.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the document and the supporting file are stored in different locations and a single query based on the path tag locates and retrieves both the document and the supporting file.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the path tag is associated to the supporting file by inserting the path tag in a file path of the supporting file.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6 wherein the file path of the supporting file is different from the file path of the document except for the path tag.

8. A method of launching an application on a document, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the document for processing with the application, the document including a file path and a path tag which identifies the document;

extracting the file path and path tag;

launching the application on the document based on the extracted path tag; and

locating and retrieving, based on the path tag, the document and at least one supporting file for the document, the supporting file including the path tag where the application is unaware of a location of the supporting file.

9. The method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the path tag is a unique identifier inserted into the file path.

10. The method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the file path of the document is different from a file path of the supporting file.

11. The method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the locating includes generating a single query which requests at least one file having the same path tag associated thereto.