System and method for filtering and organizing items based on common elements
First Claim
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1. In a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items with metadata properties, a method of refining the filtering of items, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of display objects on the display that each represent one or more items, wherein the plurality of display objects is populated using a first enumerator structure and wherein display objects in the plurality can be directly manipulated;
filtering the items represented by the display objects based on a filter term;
modifying the display objects that are provided on the display so as to represent the items that have the metadata property that corresponds to the filter term in response to the filtering of the items, wherein one or more of the modified display objects comprises a virtual folder populated by a second enumerator structure;
providing additional filtering functions on the display; and
in response to the modifying of the display objects, modifying the additional filtering functions provided on the display corresponding to metadata properties of the filtered items that are represented on the display.
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Abstract
A system and method for filtering and organizing items from computer memories based on common elements is provided. Filters are provided for manipulating the items. The filters are essentially tools for narrowing down a set of items. The filters can be dynamically generated based on the properties of the separate items. The system utilizes virtual folders. The virtual folders expose regular files and folders to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. In a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items with metadata properties, a method of refining the filtering of items, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of display objects on the display that each represent one or more items, wherein the plurality of display objects is populated using a first enumerator structure and wherein display objects in the plurality can be directly manipulated; filtering the items represented by the display objects based on a filter term; modifying the display objects that are provided on the display so as to represent the items that have the metadata property that corresponds to the filter term in response to the filtering of the items, wherein one or more of the modified display objects comprises a virtual folder populated by a second enumerator structure; providing additional filtering functions on the display; and in response to the modifying of the display objects, modifying the additional filtering functions provided on the display corresponding to metadata properties of the filtered items that are represented on the display. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. In a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items with metadata properties, a method of refining the filtering of items, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of display objects on the display that each represent one or more items, wherein the display objects of the plurality are capable of direct manipulation and wherein the plurality of display objects is populated using a first enumerator structure; filtering the items represented by the display objects based on a filter term; modifying the display objects that are provided on the display so as to represent the items that have the metadata property that corresponds to the filter term in response to the filtering of the items, wherein one or more of the modified display objects comprises a virtual folder populated by a second enumerator structure and wherein the filtered items that are represented by the modified display objects on the display are stored in different physical locations comprising a present computer and a different computer; providing additional filtering functions on the display; and in response to the modifying of the display objects, modifying the additional filtering functions provided on the display according to the filtered items that are represented on the display. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. In a computer system having a display and a memory for storing items with metadata properties, a method of refining the filtering of items, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of display objects on the display that each represent one or more items and that can be directly manipulatedm wherein the plurality of display objects is populated using a first enumerator structure; filtering the items represented by the display objects based on a filter term; modifying the display objects that are provided on the display so as to represent the items that have the metadata property that corresponds to the filter term in response to the filtering of the items, wherein the filtered items that are represented by the modified display objects on the display comprise both file items and non-file items and wherein one or more of the modified display objects comprises a virtual folder populated by a second enumerator structure; providing additional filtering functions on the display; and in response to the modifying of the display objects, modifying the additional filtering functions provided on the display corresponding to metadata associated with the filtered items that are represented on the display. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification