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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. In a computer-based document management system, a method for maintaining
a collection of electronic documents comprising the steps of:
creating a clipped document data structure and an associated storage file;
generating a link between the clipped document data structure and each of a
plurality of electronic component documents stored in memory, wherein each
of the plurality of electronic component documents have an associated
storage file;
storing a link between the clipped document data structure and each of the
storage files associated with the plurality of electronic component
documents in the storage file associated with the compound document data
structure; and
maintaining a sequential order in which each of the plurality of electronic
component documents are linked to the clipped document data structure.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a link between the
compound document data structure and each of the plurality of electronic
component documents comprises the step of:
generating a link between the compound document data structure and each of
the plurality of electronic component documents regardless of document
type or document format.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of generating a link between
the compound document data structure and each of the plurality of
electronic component documents regardless of document type or document
format comprises the step of:
linking the compound document data structure with a STG file for each of
the plurality of electronic component documents.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
manipulating the compound document data structure as a single collection of
electronic documents.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of manipulating the compound
document data structure as a single collection of electronic documents
comprises the step of:
electronically transmitting a copy of each of the plurality of electronic
component documents to an electronic address such that the plurality of
electronic component documents appear at the electronic address as a
single collection of electronic documents.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
manipulating the compound document data structure as a collection of
individual electronic documents.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of manipulating the compound
document data structure comprises the step of:
accessing each of the plurality of electronic component documents
individually.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of manipulating the compound
document data structure comprises the step of:
electronically searching each electronic component document individually
for a document attribute.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the document attribute is a key word or
phrase.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the document attribute is a document
author.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the document attribute is a document
title.
12. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of manipulating the compound
document data structure comprises the step of:
electronically indexing each electronic component document individually.
13. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of manipulating the compound
document data structure comprises the step of:
electronically categorizing each electronic component document
individually.
14. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an electronic
document management program which executes the steps of:
generating a clipped document data structure and an associated storage
file;
linking each of a plurality of electronic component documents, stored in
memory, to the clipped document data structure, regardless of document
type and document format, wherein each of the plurality of electronic
component documents have an associated storage file;
storing a link between the clipped document data structure and each of the
storage files associated with the plurality of electronic component
documents in the storage file associated with the compound document data
structure;
maintaining the sequential order in which each of the plurality of
component documents were linked to the clipped document data structure;
and
displaying a computer generated representation of the clipped document data
structure.
15. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said executable step of displaying a computer generated
representation of the compound document data structure comprises the
executable steps of:
displaying a representation of each of the plurality of electronic
component documents; and
simultaneously displaying a selected one of the plurality of electronic
component documents.
16. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 15,
wherein said program further comprises the executable step of:
advancing forward or advancing backward through the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents.
17. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 15,
wherein the representation of each of the plurality of electronic
component documents is thumbnail.
18. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 15,
wherein the representation of each of the plurality of electronic
component documents is an icon.
19. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said program further comprises the executable steps of:
selecting the computer generated representation of the compound document
data structure; and
manipulating the compound document data structure, including the plurality
of electronic component documents, as a single collection of electronic
documents.
20. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 19,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the compound document data
structure, including the plurality of electronic component documents, as a
single collection of electronic documents comprises the executable step
of:
e-mailing the compound document data structure to an e-mail address,
wherein the plurality of electronic component documents appears at the
e-mail address as a single collection of electronic documents.
21. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said program further comprises the executable steps of:
selecting the computer generated representation of the compound document
data structure; and
manipulating a selected one of the plurality of electronic component
documents.
22. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
accessing the selected one of the plurality of electronic component
documents individually.
23. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
electronically searching the selected one of the plurality of electronic
component documents individually for a document attribute.
24. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 23,
wherein the document attribute is a key word or phrase.
25. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 23,
wherein the document attribute is a document author.
26. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 23,
wherein the document attribute is a document title.
27. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
electronically indexing the selected one of the plurality of electronic
component documents individually.
28. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
electronically categorizing the selected one of the plurality of electronic
component documents individually.
29. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
deleting the selected one of the plurality of electronic documents from the
compound document data structure.
30. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 21,
wherein said executable step of manipulating the selected one of the
plurality of electronic component documents comprises the executable step
of:
editing the selected one of the plurality of electronic component
documents.
31. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said executable step of generating the compound document data
structure comprises the executable steps of:
dragging a display representation of a first electronic document; and
dropping the display representation of the first electronic document onto a
display representation of a second document.
32. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 31,
wherein said executable step of displaying a computer generated
representation of the compound document data structure comprises the
executable step of:
replacing the display representation of the second electronic document with
the computer generated representation of the compound document data
structure.
33. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said executable step of generating the compound document data
structure comprises the executable steps of:
dragging a display representation of an electronic document; and
dropping the display representation of the electronic document onto a
display representation of an existing compound document data structure.
34. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said executable step of generating the compound document data
structure comprises the executable steps of:
dragging a display representation of an existing compound document data
structure; and
dropping the display representation of the existing compound document data
structure onto a display representation of an electronic document.
35. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein said executable step of generating the compound document data
structure comprises the executable steps of:
dragging a display representation of a first existing compound document
data structure; and
dropping the display representation of the first existing compound document
data structure onto a display representation of a second existing compound
document data structure.
36. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage file associated with the
compound document data structure contains only a file name of the compound
document data structure and the links to each of the storage files
associated with the plurality of electronic component documents.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein each of the storage files associated
with the plurality of electronic component documents includes a file name
field, a memory location field, a bit map representation field and a text
field.
38. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 14,
wherein the storage file associated with the compound document data
structure contains only a file name of the compound document data
structure and the links to each of the storage files associated with the
plurality of electronic component documents.
39. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 38,
wherein each of the storage files associated with the plurality of
electronic component documents includes a file name field, a memory
location field, a bit map representation field and a text field. |
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Claims  |
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Description  |
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BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to computer-based document management
systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a
computer-based document management system that has the capability of
importing, organizing, browsing, searching and viewing paper-based
documents and electronic documents of any type or format.
In today's business environment, most businesses, from small businesses to
large corporate entities, organize and maintain a tremendous amount of
information, particularly information in the form of paper-based documents
and electronic documents. The task of organizing and maintaining such a
large number of documents, as well as document types, can, and typically
is, a time consuming and costly matter.
In response, the computer industry, particularly the computer software
industry, offers a number of computer application programs designed to
help mitigate this problem. Some of these computer application programs
work in conjunction with optical scanners to automatically import
paper-based documents into the host computer. Other application programs
are directed more specifically at providing electronic file management
services for existing electronic documents. Some of the more advanced
computer application programs attempt to integrate a number of different
capabilities into a single application program. Among the capabilities
that some of the more advanced programs provide are automated document
importing, storage, manipulation, retrieval, indexing, archiving,
exporting and document annotation. Included among these more advanced
application programs are PageKeeper by Caere Inc., PaperPort by Visioneer,
and PAGIS by Xerox.
Despite the many features already offered by the various software products
currently on the market, there is still a tremendous need to provide a
more efficient product. This is especially true regarding the way in which
these existing computer application programs combine and manipulate
collections of related electronic documents, wherein each electronic
document may exhibit a different file type or file format. For example, a
user may wish to maintain a group of related documents, such as a number
of documents pertaining to a particular business meeting. The various
documents may include such items as spreadsheets, notes, minutes, letters,
and miscellaneous graphical presentations, wherein each document may have
been created by a different person using any one of a number of different
software tools. In addition, the user may wish to compile this group of
documents and send it to each of the meeting attendees. Depending on the
number of documents being compiled, this task could prove to be quite
formidable and extremely time consuming even with the programs currently
available. Therefore, the ability to quickly and efficiently group
documents of any type and/or format, and, if desired, distribute them
without sacrificing the individuality of each document, would be
desirable.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a method for managing documents in a
computer-based system. The present invention provides a number of
improvements over prior methods, particularly, the way in which the
present invention allows a user to combine, view, and manipulate a
collection of documents.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a way to
combine any number of electronic documents into a stack of documents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a way to view
and/or manipulate a stack of documents as a single collection of
documents.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a way to
view and/or manipulate a stack of electronic documents as a single
collection of documents without relinquishing the individuality of those
documents, such that each document can be individually accessed.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the foregoing and
other objects are achieved by a method for maintaining a collection of
electronic documents. The method includes steps for creating a compound
document data structure; generating a link between the compound document
data structure and each of a plurality of electronic component documents
stored in memory; and maintaining a sequential order in which each of the
plurality of electronic component documents are linked to the compound
document data structure.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing
and other objects are achieved by a method, similar to the one described
above, wherein the method further includes the step of displaying a
computer generated representation of the compound document data structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reading
the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1A is a diagram of a general purpose computer which could be used to
implement the present invention;
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating some of the features and utilities
employed by the present invention;
FIG. 2A is an exemplary representation of an STG file associated with a
document;
FIG. 2B is an exemplary representation of an STG file associated with a
clipped document;
FIG. 3 depicts the hierarchical organization of an exemplary document
collection in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a screen display of the user interface associated with the change
notification utility;
FIG. 5 is a screen display of a first scanner preferences user interface;
FIG. 6 is a screen display of a second scanner preferences user interface;
FIG. 7 is a screen display of a third scanner preferences user interface;
FIG. 8 is a screen display of a fourth scanner preferences user interface;
FIG. 9 is a screen display of the scanner control interface;
FIG. 10 is a screen display of a first Browser utility user interface;
FIG. 11 is a screen display of a second Browser utility user interface;
FIG. 12 is a screen display of the second Browser utility user interface
with a customizable application toolbar;
FIG. 13 is a screen display of a third Browser utility user interface
containing icons representing transitional documents;
FIG. 14 illustrates the user interface for conducting a basic document
search;
FIG. 15 illustrates the user interface for conducting an advanced document
search;
FIG. 16 is a screen display of the document viewing utility user interface;
FIGS. 17A-D illustrate a drag and drop operation in conjunction with the
creation of a clipped document;
FIG. 18 is a screen display of the file helper user interface;
FIG. 19 is a screen display of a secondary file helper utility user
interface;
FIG. 20 is a screen display of the directory monitor user interface;
FIG. 21 is a screen display of the task manager user interface; and
FIG. 22 is a screen display of the system task bar illustrating the task
manager icon.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention involves a system and/or method for managing
electronic documents in a general purpose computer, such as the general
purpose computer 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A. The present invention further
includes a system and/or method for importing electronic documents and
electronic representations of paper-based documents from any number of
different sources. For example, the present invention is capable of
importing electronic representations of paper-based documents from a
scanner 105, word processing documents from an internal memory such as a
RAM (not shown) or an external memory 115 (e.g., a hard drive), e-mail
from an internet connection 120, or a document containing graphical image
data from a server 125 supporting a local-area network, to which the
general purpose computer 100 is connected. Once a document has been
imported, the present invention employs a system and/or method for
automatically categorizing, indexing, browsing, viewing and otherwise
manipulating the document, along with each of the other documents
contained in what is herein referred to as the document collection. As one
skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the present invention can be
implemented in software, using standard programming methods and techniques
which are well known in the art.
The present invention employs a number of core features 150 as well as a
number of document management utilities as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The
core features 150 refer to certain attributes or characteristics that the
present invention employs and/or executes in the background to support the
various document management utilities. For the purpose of simplicity, the
following description of the present invention is divided into the various
core features 150 and document management utilities. The order in which
each invention feature and/or utility is presented herein below is not
intended to limit the present invention in any way. Rather, the scope of
the invention is given by the appended claims.
Data Storage (STG) Files
The first core feature 150 of the present invention is a unique data
storage (STG) structure referred to herein as an STG file. The present
invention maintains an STG file for each document in the document
collection. A new STG file is created for each new document, and an
existing STG file may be updated if the corresponding document is
modified.
Each STG file contains a number of standardized data fields. This provides
a way to maintain various attribute data and other information for a given
document in a common, standardized format regardless of the document's
type (e.g., text document versus image document) or the document's format
(e.g., JPEG versus HTML). In a preferred embodiment, all STG files are
stored in a common disk directory.
FIG. 2A represents an exemplary STG file 200 along with some of the data
fields that may be contained therein. For example, STG file 200 may
include a data field 205 which contains a file name, e.g., "001.STG", to
identify the corresponding STG file 200. The STG file 200 may also include
a data field 210 and a data field 215 which reflects the memory location
of the corresponding document and a bit map defining a representative
thumbnail respectively. The STG file 200 may also contain a data field 220
which reflects the raw text associated with the corresponding document.
The raw text data is primarily used for indexing purposes. Indexing is
described in greater detail below. In addition, the STG file 200 is likely
to contain a number of other data fields (not shown) for such attributes
as document author, publishing date, word count, annotations, and/or key
words if the document belongs to a particular category. Categories and
categorization of documents are also explained in detail below. If the
document corresponding to the STG file is an image document, data fields
may be included for such attributes as image type (e.g., color, black and
white, or gray scale), image dimension, and/or image meta-text with text
positioning information.
An STG file also exists for each clipped document stored by general purpose
computer 100. A clipped document is a special type of compound document
data structure. Typically, a clipped document incorporates a number of
related or component documents in a particular document order similar to
attaching a number of physical documents together with a paper clip. When
a clipped document is created, an STG file is generated. Unlike STG files
associated with individual documents, an STG file associated with a
clipped document includes a data field having its own file name, e.g.,
"002.STG" and a number of additional data fields which contain the
identity of the STG files corresponding to the component documents. FIG.
2B shows an exemplary STG file 250 that is associated with a clipped
document. As illustrated, STG file 250 links the clipped document with
four component documents, wherein the STG files that correspond with the
four component documents are identified by their file names as follows:
100.STG, 101.STG, 211.STG and 084.STG. Clipped documents are described in
greater detail below.
Aside from creating an STG file for each new document and each new clipped
document, an existing STG file may be updated if the corresponding
document or clipped document is edited or modified in some way. For
example, if a user modifies an existing word processing document, upon
saving the modified version of the document, the corresponding STG file is
updated, if necessary, particularly the text data field 120.
Organization of the Document Collection
In a preferred embodiment, the document collection is organized into a
hierarchy of files, clipped documents, and electronic folders, wherein
electronic folders may, in turn, contain additional files, clipped
documents and nested folders. The data that defines how the hierarchy of
files, clipped documents and electronic folders are organized with respect
to each other is maintained in a compound data structure referred to
herein as the document collection organization (DCO) file.
The DCO file is the second core feature described herein, and it contains,
in essence, all of the information necessary to resurrect or reconstruct
the document collection hierarchy, which takes on the appearance of an
organizational "tree" 300, as illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, the DCO
file contains the information necessary to establish that folder F.sub.1
contains two nested folders F.sub.2 and F.sub.3. In addition, this
exemplary DCO file contains the information necessary to establish that
there are a number of documents D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3 and D.sub.4
directly associated with folder F.sub.1 ; that there are two documents
D.sub.3 and D.sub.4 directly associated with folder F.sub.2 ; that there
are two documents D.sub.5 and D.sub.6, as well as a nested folder F.sub.4
associated with folder F.sub.3 ; and that folder F.sub.4 contains a
document D.sub.4 and a clipped document S.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, each user, in a
multiple-user environment, has the ability to create a user profile for a
local terminal or workstation. The user profile, in essence, defines a
"local" version of the primary document collection and the document
collection hierarchy, which are, in turn, defined by the various STG files
and the DCO file respectively, as described above. The user profile may
define the local document collection such that it includes all of, or a
portion of, the documents in the primary document collection. The user
profile may also define the local document collection such that it
reflects a different document collection hierarchy than the one defined by
the DCO file for the primary document collection.
This is accomplished, in part, by maintaining a local STG file for each
document in the local document collection. In addition, a local version of
the DCO file is maintained, which defines the hierarchy of the documents
in the local document collection. Although a user can, of course, alter
the content of an existing document in the primary document collection by
manipulating the document locally, and hence, the content of the STG file
associated with that document, the user profile cannot alter the document
collection hierarchy defined by the DCO file for the primary document
collection.
Visual Document Storage
The present invention also employs a virtual document storage scheme.
Virtual document storage is the third core feature described herein.
FIG. 3 illustrates the concept of this virtual document storage feature. It
will be recognized that document D.sub.4 appears in several folders within
the organizational hierarchy 300. First, it is associated with folder
F.sub.1. Next, it is associated with folder F.sub.2. Finally, it is
associated with folder F.sub.4. However, in accordance with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention, this does not mean that three copies
of document D.sub.4 are stored in the DCO file. On the contrary, the
content of document D.sub.4, as with each and every document in the
document collection, is stored in its entirety in but one memory location,
and the DCO file links folders F.sub.1, F.sub.2 and F.sub.4 to the one
copy of document D.sub.4 by providing a pointer from each folder F.sub.1,
F.sub.2 and F.sub.4 to the STG file 310 associated with the document
D.sub.4.
The virtual document storage feature saves memory space, it simplifies the
task of updating files, and it guarantees document integrity by
maintaining but one version of a given document, as one skilled in the art
will readily understand. For example, if a user modifies an existing
document, such as document D.sub.4, the modifications are reflected in the
affected data fields in the corresponding STG file 310. Consequently,
these modifications are reflected whenever the user, at a later time,
accesses the document D.sub.4 through folder F.sub.1, F.sub.2 or F.sub.4.
Indexing and Retrieving
In addition to the core features 150 described above, the present invention
employs a number of document management utilities. The first of these
utilities is the indexing and retrieving utility 157, the focus of which
is an index and retrieval engine. The index and retrieval engine, among
other things, maintains an indexing database comprising an index or list
of each document in the document collection and a cross-reference between
each document in the document collection and various key terms and/or
document attributes that are stored for each document in the corresponding
STG file. The indexing database, in turn, is primarily used to support the
document search function, which is described in greater detail below.
Briefly, however, the present invention employs a search engine which has
the ability to compare the information in the indexing database with one
or more user-supplied search terms or attributes. Documents whose indexing
information match the user-supplied search terms or attributes are then
identified and/or retrieved.
The index and retrieval engine also continuously updates the indexing
database. For example, when a new document becomes part of the document
collection, an STG file is created for that document, as explained above.
In a preferred embodiment, the index and retrieval engine also creates a
new entry in the indexing database for the new document, cross-referenced
with key terms and other attributes extracted from the new document's STG
file.
In addition, the index and retrieval engine continuously monitors the
contents of existing STG files. If a document is modified, and if the
modification is reflected in the corresponding STG file, the index and
retrieval engine updates the indexing database accordingly.
Another related utility is the Universal Resource Locator (URL) indexing
module. Essentially, a URL is a World Wide Web site that furnishes
information regarding the location and, in some cases, the content of
particular Web sites and/or Web documents. The URL indexing module
provides the ability to index this information so that a user can more
effectively access a Web site or retrieve a particular web document as if
it were any other document stored in the document collection.
In the present invention, there are three exemplary embodiments for
implementing the URL indexing module. The first exemplary embodiment
involves auto-indexing "bookmarks". A bookmark is an entry in a list of
commonly used web sites. In accordance with this embodiment, an STG file
is created for each bookmark. The second exemplary embodiment involves
physically copying a URL into memory, and indexing information relating to
that URL. In this embodiment, an STG file is created for the URL. The
third exemplary embodiment involves viewing a particular document located
at or identified by a particular URL. Again, information relating to this
document may be indexed as with any document in the document collection.
Moreover, an STG file is created for the document, and the document can be
imported through the Browser utility, which is described below.
Categories and Categorization of Documents
The present invention also employs a categorization utility 159 that
provides different levels of automated assistance in organizing the
document collection. A category is a logical grouping of documents that
share some common attribute or attributes, sometimes referred to as
category criteria. For example, a category may consist of a number of
documents that share a common author, a number of documents that contain
at least a predefined number of words, a number of documents that contain
certain key words, or a number of documents that share a common concept. A
more specific example might be a category called "company press releases"
or a category called "all e-mails I've sent out". Categories can also be
defined hierarchically. In other words, a category may have a subcategory.
For example, "all e-mails I've sent out to my group" might be a
subcategory of "all e-mails I've sent out".
The categorization utility 159 implements a category by associating a
corresponding set of category criteria with a folder in the document
collection hierarchy; however, it will be recognized that not every folder
in the document collection hierarchy is associated with a category. For
example, in FIG. 3, folder F.sub.2 is associated with a category as
indicated by the symbol "*". However, folders F.sub.1, F.sub.3 and F.sub.4
are not associated with a category.
Folders that are associated with a category are, in general, referred to
herein as "smart" folders. They are referred to as smart folders because
the categorization utility 159 continuously searches through the STG file
directory, or a portion thereof, for documents that match the category
criteria associated with each smart folder. If a match is identified, the
categorization utility 159 generates a link between the smart folder and
the matching document, through the matching document's STG file, thus
creating the appearance that smart folders automatically collect matching
documents without user interaction.
As stated, the categorization utility 159 may only search a portion of the
STG directory for documents that match the category criteria of a given
smart folder. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the
categorization utility 159 limits its search of the STG directory to only
those STG files associated with documents that are linked to the smart
folder's parent folder. For example, in FIG. 3, F is a smart folder. In
accordance with this exemplary embodiment, the categorization utility 159
searches the STG files associated with F.sub.1, wherein F.sub.1 is the
parent folder of F.sub.2. Accordingly, the categorization utility 159 only
searches through the STG files associated with the documents D.sub.1,
D.sub.2, D.sub.3 and D.sub.4. At present, only the documents D.sub.3 and
D.sub.4 match the category criteria associated with the smart folder
F.sub.2.
Generating a link between a document and a smart folder may occur after an
STG file is created for a new document, or it may occur after an existing
STG file has been updated due to the modification of its corresponding
document, wherein the modification caused the document to meet the
category criteria of the smart folder. Similarly, if a document is
modified such that the modification causes the document to no longer meet
the category criteria of a particular smart folder, the link between that
document's STG file and the smart folder may be eliminated.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
categorization utility 159 categorizes documents under various smart
folders using one of three possible categorization methods: auto
categorization; semi-automatic categorization; or manual categorization.
With manual categorization, a document, through its corresponding STG file,
is linked with a particular category, hence a particular folder, when a
user physically "drags and drops" a display screen representation of the
document onto a display screen representation of the folder. As the
categorization utility 159 did not previously nor automatically categorize
the document with this folder, the folder is either not a smart folder or
it is an inactive smart folder, or the folder is an active smart folder,
but the | | |