Metadata editing control

• US 7,421,438 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2004
• Issued: 09/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Lili, Turski, Andrzej, Wong, Lyon K. F., MacLaurin, Matthew B, Miner, Patrice L, Van Dok, Cornelis K
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mobin; Hasanul
• Application Number:
  US10/950,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A metadata management architecture. The architecture includes a property component that lists one or more properties related to a file, and a viewing component that present files having one or more of the related properties. A synchronization component provides immediate synchronization between property editing fields of the property component and a view in the property-based browser component, providing both instantaneous feedback on property changes and an ability to manipulate properties graphically. Thus, a change in the property pane is immediately reflected in the view component, and a change in the view component is immediately reflected in the property pane.

Claims

1. A system having computer executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storage medium that when executed on one or more processors facilitates metadata management, comprising:

a property component that facilitates access to one or more property items, the one or more property items comprising at least one property item with custom user configured setting and at least one property item with a default setting;

a viewing component that presents the one or more property items;

a synchronization component that synchronizes communication between the property component and the viewing component to facilitate the instantaneous update of changes between the property component and the viewing component;

wherein when a user has both a property pane and a browser window open, a change made to the property pane is automatically reflected immediately to the browser window, and a change made in the browser window is automatically reflected immediately in the property pane; and

wherein a Save Ghost feature provides a Ghost that is used as a visual depiction of a file being saved and upon a user selecting the Ghost and placing the Ghost on a cluster of files in the view window having a common value for a particular property, the common value for the particular property will be applied to the file represented by the Ghost.

2. The system of claim 1 is associated with a query-oriented file system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewing component presents the property item as a grouping according to that property item.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the access to the property item is read-only.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the property item is selected for presentation by the property component based upon the user'"'"'s stored profile.

6. A computer that employs the system of claim 1.

7. A server that employs the system of claim 1.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an artificial intelligence (AI) component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the property component facilitates creation of multiple files having identical names and user-assigned properties.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the property component facilitates creation of a file that is associated with a globally unique identifier (GUID) and a fixed property.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the property component facilitates assignment of one or more of the property items to a document, and retrieval of the document based on the one or more properties.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the property component facilitates creation of multiple files having identical names and different versions.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the browser facilitates viewing of files that are clustered by a user selected one or more of the property items.

14. A system having computer executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storage medium that when executed on one or more processors facilitates metadata management, comprising:

a property component that facilitates access by a user to a property item;

a browsing component that provides a view of files associated with the property item; and

a synchronization component that synchronizes user operations between the property component and the browsing component, wherein upon the user specifying a value for the property item via the property component is processed to instantaneously change the view of the browsing component to display files that have the user specified value for the property item, and user selection of a file cluster via the browsing component causes the property component to instantaneously present property items associated with the selected file cluster, wherein the file cluster comprises one or more files that have a common value for one or more property items; and

a Save Ghost component that provides a Ghost that is used as a visual depiction of a file being saved and upon a user selecting the Ghost and placing the Ghost on a cluster of files in the view window having a common value for a particular property, the common value for the particular property will be applied to the file represented by the Ghost.

15. The system of claim 14 is associated with a query-oriented file system.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein access to the property item is via a property pane, and the property pane and the view are presented in one window of a user interface.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein user selection of the property item causes the view to present files in clusters based upon each cluster containing a common value for the selected property item.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein user selection of a different property item automatically causes the browsing component to present files in clusters based upon each cluster containing a common value for the selected different property item.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the view includes a clustered view of clustered objects, and each cluster is associated with a different property item.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the view includes a clustered view, and user selection of one file cluster of the clustered view based on a variable property automatically activates visually a corresponding property editing field in the property component for the one or more common property items for the one file cluster.

21. A method of managing metadata in a query-based file system, the method comprising:

accessing a property of a file system object via a property pane, the property associated with object metadata;

presenting a view window of other objects associated with the property;

instantaneously updating the property pane according to a browsing operation in the view window, and instantaneously updating the view window according to a property operation performed in the property pane;

displaying results of the property operation, wherein when a user has both the property pane and the view window open, a change made to the property pane is automatically reflected immediately to the view window, and a change made in the view window is automatically reflected immediately in the property pane; and

a Save Ghost operation, wherein a Ghost is used as a visual depiction of a file being saved and upon a user selecting the Ghost and placing the Ghost on a cluster of files in the view window having a common value for a particular property, the common value for the particular property will be applied to the file represented by the Ghost.

22. The method of claim 21, the other objects selected for presentation include the property and at least one other property that is common to the other objects.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising the acts of:

presenting a tree of property clusters in the view window;

browsing one of the property clusters; and

automatically displaying in the property pane a property associated with the browsed property cluster.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising the acts of:

presenting a tree of property clusters in the view window;

browsing two or more the property clusters; and

automatically displaying in the property pane properties associated with the two or more browsed property clusters.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising pinning a scope of objects presented in the view window according to a user selected value for the property.

26. The method of claim 25, the act of pinning is applied only to groups of storage favorites that share the same values of one or more properties.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the acts of:

switching to a view window of the storage favorites; and

in response thereto, visually activating in the property pane a plurality of the properties affected by the act of switching.

28. A method of managing metadata in a query-based file system, the method comprising:

presenting one or more properties of an object in a property pane, the one or more properties associated with object metadata;

presenting a view window with the property pane, the view window facilitates viewing other objects associated with the one or more properties;

instantaneously updating the property pane according to a browsing operation in the view window, and instantaneously updating the view window according to a property operation performed in the property pane;

displaying results of the property operation, wherein when a user has both the property pane and the view window open, a change made to the property pane is automatically reflected immediately to the view window, and a change made in the view window is automatically reflected immediately in the property pane; and

wherein a Save Ghost attribute provides a Ghost that is used as a visual depiction of a file being saved and upon a user selecting the Ghost and placing the Ghost on a cluster of files in the view window having a common value for a particular property, the common value for the particular property will be applied to the file represented by the Ghost.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the acts of:

presenting a tree of property clusters in the view window;

browsing one of the property clusters; and

automatically displaying in the property pane the one or more properties associated with the browsed property cluster.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising the acts of:

displaying a clustered view in the view window; and

facilitating editing of the one or more properties in the property pane when the act of displaying is based on a variable property.

31. The method of claim 28, further comprising

displaying a clustered view in the view window;

and

prohibiting editing of the one or more properties in the property pane when the act of displaying is based on a fixed property.

32. The method of claim 28, further comprising locking a value of the one or more properties.

33. The method of claim 28, further comprising pinning a query without locking a value of the one or more properties.