Utilizing virtual folders

Abstract

A system and method utilizing 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. The virtual folders contain collections of items. The system includes a folder processor that obtains queries from a user and a relational database for storing information about the items. The folder processor first obtains a query from a user and passes the query to the relational database. The relational database provides results back to the folder processor, and based on the results from the relational database, the folder processor provides the results to the user as virtual folders. Users are able to work with the virtual folders through direct manipulation (e.g., clicking and dragging, copying, pasting, etc.).

1 . A method of exposing items having associated metadata properties, the method comprising:
 receiving a first metadata property that describes at least a portion of file items including a first file item stored in a first physical location and a second file item stored in a second physical location;   within a database, searching for one or more items that have the first metadata property, the database storing metadata properties of a plurality of file items each of which is stored within one of a plurality of physical memory locations and storing a plurality of non-file items;   obtaining the one or more items that have the selected first metadata property, wherein file items are obtained from the corresponding physical memory location at which the file item is stored and non-file items are obtained from the database at which the non-file items are stored; and   providing within a file system user interface a first virtual folder that represents the one or more items that have the first metadata property, the first virtual folder exposing the first file item and the second file item despite physical locations of the first and second file items.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a user can simultaneously manipulate the one or more items having the first metadata property by manipulating the first virtual folder, and wherein manipulating the first virtual folder comprises clicking and dragging, copying, or pasting the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein clicking and dragging can be used to copy the one or more items from the first virtual folder to a second virtual folder, and when items are copied a selected metadata property of the second virtual folder is automatically added to each of the items copied from the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of virtual folders are provided on a display, each virtual folder representing a collection of items that have a selected metadata property. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an addition of the first metadata property to a third item also causes the third item to be added to the first virtual folder that is based on the selected first metadata property. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a filter is provided on a display that can be selected by a user to filter items based on a metadata property specified by the filter, said filter displayed concurrently with the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a quick link is provided on a display that can be selected by a user to view a specified collection of items. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second physical locations comprise a present computer and at least one of a different computer, a location on a network, and an external storage device. 
     
     
         9 . A method of exposing items, the items having associated metadata properties, the method comprising:
 referencing a first metadata property that describes file items stored within a plurality of physical memory locations and non-file items stored within a database, the database storing metadata properties of the file items stored within the plurality of physical memory locations;   searching in the database for one or more file items and one or more non-file items that have the selected first metadata property utilizing a computing process;   obtaining the one or more file items and the one or more non-file items that have the selected first metadata property, wherein each of the one or more file items is obtained from a physical memory location at which the file item is stored and each of the one or more non-file items is obtained from the database at which the non-file item is stored; and   providing within a file system user interface a first virtual folder that represents a collection of the one or more file items and the one or more non-file items that have the first metadata property, wherein the first virtual folder exposes the one or more file items and the one or more non-file items having the first metadata property despite physical locations of the items.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising receiving an indication from a user, via a link, to toggle from the first virtual folder to a physical file representation. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first virtual folder is represented as a stack. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a second metadata property is selected to create a second virtual folder within the first virtual folder, the one or more file items and the one or more non-file items that are in the first virtual folder being further searched to determine if they have the second metadata property, the second virtual folder representing a collection of the file items and non-file items within the first virtual folder that have the second metadata property. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a user can make changes to the one or more file items and the one or more non-file items through direct manipulation of the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the searching is based on a decision to change a pivot of a virtual folder view. 
     
     
         15 . A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a computer-implemented method of exposing items having associated metadata properties, the method comprising:
 referencing a first metadata property, wherein the first metadata property describes one or more file items, each of the one or more file items comprising a file or a folder including a first file item stored in a first physical location and a second file item stored in a second physical location;   searching for items, within a database, that have the first metadata property, the database storing metadata properties of the one or more file items that are stored within one or more physical memory locations and storing non-file items;   drawing the items that have the first metadata property, wherein file items are drawn from the corresponding physical memory location at which the file item is stored and non-file items are drawn from the database at which the non-file items are stored; and   providing a first virtual folder that represents a collection of items that have the first metadata property, the first virtual folder displaying the items despite physical locations of the items.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising creating a second virtual folder within the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising implementing direct manipulation of the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein a user can simultaneously manipulate the collection of items by manipulating the first virtual folder, and wherein manipulating the first virtual folder comprises clicking and dragging, copying, or pasting the first virtual folder. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second physical locations comprise a present computer and at least one of a different computer, a location on a network, and an external storage device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein referencing the first metadata property comprises referencing the first metadata property automatically selected based on default information corresponding to the user of the computer system.