File handling device, and a recording medium storing a file handling program

• US 6,393,429 B1
• Filed: 01/13/1999
• Issued: 05/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Takahashi, Osamu, Yagi, Takao
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARDO, THUY N
• Application Number:
  US09/229,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059288A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 345/356, 345/346, 345/348, 345/467, 345/357, 345/358, 707/4, 707/100, 707/102, 707/104, 705/14, 705/513
• US Class Current: 707/795
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/918 Location
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A file handling device designed to improve the efficiency of file selection in a GUI environment. When a menu is opened with a file, a folder or an icon selected in a file menu, a file selection screen, a folder tree menu or a file browser or with an icon on the desktop selected, file menu item creation/display unit, file selection screen item creation/display means, folder tree item creation/display unit and file/icon menu item creation/display unit read out data set by means of environment setting unit and stored in settings storing unit, as well as history data stored in history storing unit, and additionally display the read data in the menu or the like. At the time of drag-and-drop operation, drop list window creation/display unit reads out the set data and the history data and displays a list of the read data in a drop list window.

Claims

1. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

environment setting means for setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

setting storing means for storing contents of settings set by said environment setting means;

history storing means for storing a history of opened files/folders;

file menu item creation/display means for displaying, in a file menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

file selection screen item creation/display means for displaying, in a file selection screen, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

folder tree item creation/display means for displaying, in a folder tree menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

drop list window creation/display means, responsive to a drag operation, for creating and displaying a drop list window showing, as target files/folders of a drop operation, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means; and

file/icon menu item creation/display means for displaying, in a menu when the menu is opened upon a file/folder being selected in a file browser or an icon being selected on the desktop, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means.

2. The file handling device according to claim 1, wherein said file menu item creation/display means includes file menu item creating means, responsive to an operation to open the file menu, for acquiring items of recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and items of files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means and creating file menu items, and file menu control means for displaying the file menu while adding thereto the file menu items created by said file menu item creating means.

3. The file handling device according to claim 2, wherein said file selection screen item creation/display means includes file selection screen item creating means, responsive to an operation to select an item “

Open”

in the file menu, for acquiring the items of recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the items of files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means and creating file selection screen items, and file selection screen control means for displaying the file selection screen while adding thereto the file selection screen items created by said file selection screen item creating means.

4. The file handling device according to claim 3, wherein said file selection screen item creating means switches a current folder to a selected folder in response to an operation to select a folder item added by said file menu item creating means in the file menu displayed by said file menu control means, and switches the current folder to a standard folder in response to an operation to select the item “

Open”

in the file menu.

5. The file handling device according to claim 3, wherein said file selection screen control means has an “

Open and Add File”

button whereby a file selected in the file selection screen is opened while being added to a file list in said history storing means as a recently accessed file, an “

Open and Add Folder”

button whereby a file selected in the file selection screen is opened while a folder containing the selected file is added to a folder list in said history storing means as a recently accessed folder, and an “

Open and Add File and Folder”

button whereby a file selected in the file selection screen is opened while the selected file and a folder containing the selected file are added to the file list and the folder list, respectively, of said history storing means as recently accessed file and folder.

6. The file handling device according to claim 3, wherein said folder tree item creation/display means includes folder tree item creating means, responsive to a depression of a “

Browse”

button in the file selection screen displayed by said file selection screen control means, for acquiring the items of recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the items of files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means and creating folder tree items, and folder tree screen control means for displaying a folder tree screen while adding thereto the folder tree items created by said folder tree item creating means.

7. The file handling device according to claim 1, wherein said file/icon menu item creation/display means includes file/icon menu item creating means, responsive to an operation to display a menu in a situation where a file/folder displayed in the file browser is selected or an icon on the desktop is selected, for acquiring items of recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and items of files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means and creating file/icon menu items, and file/icon menu control means for additionally displaying, in a file/icon menu, the file/icon menu items created by said file/icon menu item creating means.

8. The file handling device according to claim 7, wherein said file/icon menu item creating means acquires items of recently accessed files from said history storing means and items of files set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means to create file/icon menu items if a file selected in the file browser or a file represented by an icon selected on the desktop is an application file.

9. The file handling device according to claim 7, wherein said file/icon menu item creating means acquires items of recently accessed folders from said history storing means and items of application files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means to create file/icon menu items if a file selected in the file browser or a file represented by an icon selected on the desktop is a data file.

10. The file handling device according to claim 7, wherein said file/icon menu item creating means acquires items of recently accessed folders from said history storing means and items of folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means to create file/icon menu items if a folder is selected in the file browser.

11. The file handling device according to claim 1, wherein said history storing means stores a history of files/folders opened by said file menu item creation/display means, said file selection screen item creation/display means or said folder tree item creation/display means within a range set by means of said environment setting means with respect to numbers of files/folders to be recorded, by removing history data on an oldest file/folder if the opened file/folder is not included in the files/folders already stored.

12. The file handling device according to claim 1, wherein said environment setting means includes display item setting means for setting items to be displayed as menu items, and drag-and-drop setting means for setting a display format, display position and display conditions for the drop list window which is displayed during drag-and-drop operation.

13. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop, comprising:

environment setting means for setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising user-specified files/folders and recently accessed files/folders;

settings storing means for storing contents of settings set by said environment setting means;

history storing means for storing a history of opened files/folders;

file menu item creation/display means for displaying, in a file menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

file selection screen item creation/display means for displaying, in a file selection screen, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

folder tree item creating/display means for displaying, in a folder tree menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means;

drop list window creation/display means, responsive to a drag operation, for creating and displaying a drop list window showing, as target files/folders of a drop operation, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means; and

file/icon menu item creation/display means for displaying, in a menu when the menu is opened upon a file/folder being selected in a file browser or an icon being selected on the desktop, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history making means and the user-specified files/folders stored in said settings storing means,

wherein said drop list window creation/display means includes drop list window display item creating means, responsive to start of a drag operation of a selected file/folder, for acquiring items of recently accessed folders from said history storing means and items of files/folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means and creating drop list window display items, drop list window display position calculating means for calculating a position where the drop list window is to be displayed, based on a starting position of the drag operation in accordance with display conditions set by means of said environment setting means, and drop list window control means for displaying the drop list window showing the drop list window display items created by said drop list window display item creating means, at the display position calculated by said drop list window display position calculating means as a foreground window.

14. The file handling device according to claim 13, wherein said drop list window display item creating means acquires items of recently accessed folders from said history storing means and items of application files and folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means if a dragged object is at least one data file, and acquires items of recently accessed folders from said history storing means and items of folders set by means of said environment setting means from said settings storing means if the dragged object is not at least one data file.

15. A computer-readable recording medium storing a file handling program for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop, the program comprising:

environment setting means for setting, storing, and updating items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed file/folders;

settings storing means for storing contents of settings set by said environment setting means;

history storing means for storing a history of opened files/folders;

file menu item creation/display means, responsive to an operation to display a file menu, for acquiring the recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and user-specified files/folders from said settings storing means, and displaying the acquired files/folders in the file menu;

file selection screen item creation/display means, responsive to an operation to select an item “

Open”

in the file menu, for acquiring the recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders from said settings storing means and displaying the acquired file/folders in a file selection screen;

folder tree item creation/display means, responsive to a depression of a “

Browse”

button in the file selection screen, for acquiring the recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders from said settings storing means and displaying the acquired files/folders in a folder tree menu;

drop list window creation/display means, responsive to a start of a drag operation, for creating and displaying a drop list window showing, as target files/folders of a drop operation, the recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders from said settings storing means; and

file/icon menu item creation/display means, responsive to an operation to display a menu when a file/folder is selected in a file browser or an icon on a desktop is selected, for acquiring the recently accessed files/folders from said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders from said settings storing means and displaying the acquired file/folders in the menu.

16. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

an environment setting unit setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

a setting storing unit storing contents of settings set by the environment setting means;

a history storing unit storing a history of opened files/folders; and

a file menu item creation/display unit displaying, in a file menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in the history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in the settings storing means.

17. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

an environment setting unit setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

a setting storing unit storing contents of settings set by the environment setting means;

a history storing unit storing a history of opened files/folders; and

a file selection screen item creation/display unit displaying, in a file selection screen, the recently accessed files/folders stored in the history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in the settings storing means.

18. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

an environment setting unit setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

a setting storing unit storing contents of settings set by the environment setting means;

a history storing unit storing a history of opened files/folders; and

a folder tree item creation/display unit displaying, in a folder tree menu, the recently accessed files/folders stored in said history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in the settings storing means.

19. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

an environment setting unit setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

a setting storing unit storing contents of settings set by the environment setting means;

a history storing unit storing a history of opened files/folders; and

a drop list window creation/display unit, responsive to a drag operation, creating and displaying a drop list window showing, as target files/folders of a drop operation, the recently accessed files/folders stored in the history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in the settings storing means.

20. A file handling device for handling a file/folder in an application and in a file browser, and for handling an icon on a desktop comprising:

an environment setting unit setting items to be displayed as menu items, the items comprising a pre-selected number of user-specified files/folders and a pre-selected number of most recently accessed files/folders;

a setting storing unit storing contents of settings set by the environment setting means;

a history storing unit storing a history of opened files/folders; and

a file/icon menu item creation/display unit displaying, in a menu when the menu is opened upon a file/folder being selected in a file browser or an icon being selected on the desktop, the recently accessed files/folders stored in the history storing means and the user-specified files/folders stored in the settings storing means.