System and method for locating documents a user has previously accessed

• US 20060031253A1
• Filed: 08/04/2004
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Newbold, David L., Bolin, Michael, Oral, Tolga
• Granted Patent: US 7,496,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A system and method are provided for enabling a user to search for documents that the user has previously viewed on its local machine. The system includes three main components: the desktop integration module, the index module, and the graphical user interface module. The desktop integration module is an application which monitors documents with which the user interacts for predetermined events, and obtains content data and metadata from the monitored documents. The index module indexes the content data and metadata received from the desktop integration module. The graphical user interface module then permits a user to utilize the desktop integration module and index module by allowing a user to search for a document.

Claims

1. A method of providing a personal search agent enabling a user to search for electronic documents that the user has previously accessed regardless of the location of the electronic documents, the method comprising:

monitoring one or more of a plurality electronic documents accessed by the user for one or more predetermined events;

creating an index for each of said monitored electronic documents, wherein said index is created by searching one or more browser caches and intercepting one or more calls to access one or more applications, and wherein an index entry may be created regardless of the location of said electronic documents; and

providing a graphical user interface enabling said user to enter one or more keywords to create a search query and wherein in response to receiving and executing said search query, presenting said search results as text and using one or more graphical displays.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined events include at least one or creating a document, opening a document, closing a document, saving a document, and printing a document, and wherein said intercepting one or more calls in performed in response to a detection of one or more of said predetermined events.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said one or more graphical displays includes a calendar providing indicia of said search results.

4. A system for enabling a user to search for documents that the user has previously accessed at a terminal device regardless of the location of the electronic documents, the system comprising:

a search agent enabling a user to input search criteria to be used for searching for one or more documents that have been previously accessed, said search agent further comprising;

a desktop integration module running as a background process for monitoring said one or more documents accessed by said user for predetermined events;

an indexing module, said indexing module receiving data regarding said predetermined events from said desktop integration module and creating an index by putting said data in a format that may be searched by said user; and

a graphical user interface module, said graphical user interface module enabling a user to search for one or more of said previously accessed files by entering keywords.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said desktop integration module further comprises:

a content data module for retrieving at least one of a document name, a document author, and one or more keywords from said one or more documents to be sent to said indexing module; and

a metadata module for retrieving one or more actions taken by said user to access said one or more documents to be sent to said indexing module.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein said predetermined events include at least one of creating a document, opening a document, closing a document, saving a document, and printing a document.

7. The system of claim 4 wherein said graphical user interface module presents to said user a graphical user interface, said graphical user interface comprising:

a search field for entering one or more keywords; and

a calendar for specifying one or more dates from which a search should be restricted.

8. A computer implemented system of providing a personal search agent enabling a user to efficiently search for electronic documents that the user has previously accessed regardless of the location of the electronic documents, the system comprising:

means for monitoring one or more of a plurality of electronic documents accessed by the user for one or more predetermined events;

means for creating an index for each of said monitored electronic documents, wherein said index is created by searching one or more browser caches and intercepting one or more calls to access one or more applications, and wherein an index entry may be created regardless of the location of said electronic documents; and

means for providing a graphical user interface enabling said user to enter one or more keywords to create a search query and wherein in response to receiving and executing said search query, means for presenting said search results as text and using one or more graphical displays.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said predetermined events include at least one or creating a document, opening a document, closing a document, saving a document, and printing a document, and wherein said intercepting one or more calls in performed in response to a detection of one or more of said predetermined events.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein said one or more graphical displays includes a calendar providing indicia of said search results.