Adaptive indexing technique for use with electronic objects

• US 7,305,402 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2001
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Hiroyuki, Hind, John R., Salahshour, Abdolreza
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, ISAAC M
• Application Number:
  US09/973,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20030069900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,246 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 715/515, 7155011-510, 715526-529, 715530-541, 715/513, 715/514
• US Class Current: 707/812
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/915 Image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for organizing and viewing electronic objects (such as incoming electronic mail messages, documents, and so forth) according to relationships among the objects. Objects may be organized according to user-selectable, node-specific criteria. These criteria may be dynamically learned, based upon a particular user'"'"'s behavior, using the disclosed techniques.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for indicating criteria for organizing electronic objects, comprising steps of:

detecting, by a user input monitor, that a user has swiped across an element of a rendered representation of an electronic object in a particular manner;

comparing the particular manner of the swiping, responsive to the detecting, to previously-defined settings that specify what manner of swiping indicates that the user is dynamically identifying a user-defined organizing criterion; and

storing, if the comparing step determines that the particular manner is consistent with the defined settings, the swiped-across element in a repository of criteria, from which the stored element can subsequently be selected for inclusion in a pattern to be matched against electronic objects for programmatically organizing the electronic objects.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling the user to configure the defined settings.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises repeatedly swiping across a word, a phrase, or one or more contiguous characters in the rendered representation, and wherein the storing step stores the swiped-across word, phrase, or one or more contiguous characters as the stored element.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the words the phrase, or the characters is/are rendered from a test document.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the word, the phrase, or the characters is/are rendered from an e-mail message.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the particular manner further comprises swiping across a portion of an image in the rendered representation; and

the storing step stores the swiped-across image portion as the element and further; and

comprising the steps of;

including the stored image portion in a particular pattern to be matched against electronic objects; and

using the particular pattern for programmatically organizing the electronic objects, further comprising the steps of;

evaluating content of each of the electronic objects with respect to the particular pattern; and

including each of the compared objects in a category to which the particular pattern corresponds if the evaluating step determines that the content matches the particular pattern, including the image portion included therein.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detected swiping further comprises swiping across one or more words, phrases, or characters in the rendered representation as the element.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detected swiping further comprises swiping across a portion of one or more images in the rendered representation as the element.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of building one or more rules, each rule specifying a pattern that comprises at least one organizing criteria to be matched against electronic objects for programmatically organizing the electronic objects, wherein the stored element is used as one of the organizing criteria in at least one of the rules.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises the user swiping across the element by moving a mouse device across the element at least twice.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises the user swiping across the element by moving a light pen device across the element at least twice.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises the user swiping across the element by moving his or her finger at least twice across the element, wherein the element is rendered on a plasma panel device.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises the user swiping across the element using an audio mechanism by speaking commands in the wanner specified in the previously-defined setting.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular manner further comprises the user swiping across the element using a video mechanism by passing his or her eyes repeatedly over the element.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the settings specify that the element of the rendered representation must be swiped across multiple times to indicate the identification.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing step further comprises adding the swiped-across element to organizing criteria of an index, thereby causing the index to become adaptive to the user swiping.

17. A system for indicating criteria for organizing electronic objects, comprising:

a processor,

means for detecting, by a user input monitor of the processor, that a user has swiped across an element of a rendered representation of an electronic object in a particular manner;

means for comparing, by the processor, the particular manner of the swiping, responsive to the means for detecting, to previously-defined settings that specify what manner of swiping indicates that the user is dynamically identifying a user-defined organizing criterion;

means for storing, if the means for comparing determines that the particular manner is consistent with the defined settings, the swiped element in a repository of criteria usable by the processor for programmatically organizing electronic objects; and

means for enabling the stored element to be subsequently selected as an organizing criterion for use in a rule, wherein the rule can subsequently be used for programmatically organizing the electronic objects.

18. A computer program product for indicating criteria for organizing electronic objects, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to:

detect, by a user input monitor, that a user has swiped across an element of a rendered representation of an electronic object in a particular manner;

compare the particular manner of responsive to the detection, to previously-defined settings that specify what manner of swiping indicates that the user is dynamically identifying a user-defined criterion;

store, if the comparison determines that the particular manner is consistent with the defined settings, the swiped element in a repository of criteria usable for programmatically organizing electronic objects; and

enable the stored element to be used as an organizing criterion in a rule, wherein the rule can subsequently be used for programmatically organizing the electronic objects.