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Methods and systems for managing dataRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Database And File Management Or Data Structures, Database Or File AccessingMethods and systems for managing data description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20050289107, Methods and systems for managing data. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/877,584, filed on Jun. 25, 2004. This application also claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/643,087 filed on Jan. 7, 2005, which provisional application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; this application claims the benefit of the provisional's filing date under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e). This present application hereby claims the benefit of these earlier filing dates under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Modern data processing systems, such as general purpose computer systems, allow the users of such systems to create a variety of different types of data files. For example, a typical user of a data processing system may create text files with a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or may create an image file with an image processing program such as Adobe's PhotoShop. Numerous other types of files are capable of being created or modified, edited, and otherwise used by one or more users for a typical data processing system. The large number of the different types of files that can be created or modified can present a challenge to a typical user who is seeking to find a particular file which has been created. [0003] Modern data processing systems often include a file management system which allows a user to place files in various directories or subdirectories (e.g. folders) and allows a user to give the file a name. Further, these file management systems often allow a user to find a file by searching for the file's name, or the date of creation, or the date of modification, or the type of file. An example of such a file management system is the Finder program which operates on Macintosh computers from Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Another example of a file management system program is the Windows Explorer program which operates on the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Both the Finder program and the Windows Explorer program include a find command which allows a user to search for files by various criteria including a file name or a date of creation or a date of modification or the type of file. However, this search capability searches through information which is the same for each file, regardless of the type of file. Thus, for example, the searchable data for a Microsoft Word file is the same as the searchable data for an Adobe PhotoShop file, and this data typically includes the file name, the type of file, the date of creation, the date of last modification, the size of the file and certain other parameters which may be maintained for the file by the file management system. [0004] Certain presently existing application programs allow a user to maintain data about a particular file. This data about a particular file may be considered metadata because it is data about other data. This metadata for a particular file may include information about the author of a file, a summary of the document, and various other types of information. A program such as Microsoft Word may automatically create some of this data when a user creates a file and the user may add additional data or edit the data by selecting the "property sheet" from a menu selection in Microsoft Word. The property sheets in Microsoft Word allow a user to create metadata for a particular file or document. However, in existing systems, a user is not able to search for metadata across a variety of different applications using one search request from the user. Furthermore, existing systems can perform one search for data files, but this search does not also include searching through metadata for those files. Also, certain systems include the capability of allowing a user to select a document and to cause the system to search for similar documents; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,101. SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION [0005] Methods for managing data in a data processing system and systems for managing data are described herein. [0006] In general, the methods and systems allow a user to specify a search by selecting one or more files having metadata and by specifying that the search is to be performed by using at least a portion of the metadata. [0007] According to one aspect of the inventions described herein, an exemplary method of processing data includes receiving a selection of at least one file having metadata stored in a metadata database, receiving a selection of a command to search using at least a portion of the metadata of the file, and searching through the metadata database using the at least a portion of the metadata. In one implementation of the method, the metadata database contains metadata from files of various types. The type of information in metadata for a first type of file, such as a word processing file, differs from the type of information in metadata for a second type of file, such as a picture file (e.g. a jpeg file). In this exemplary method, the metadata itself is used as a search query and the user may cause a search to occur by merely selecting the file and selecting a command to use the metadata from the file to perform the search. In certain embodiments the searching may use BOOLEAN logic to combine selected attributes or fields of the metadata (e.g. a Boolean OR operator) among selected attributes or fields of the at least a portion of the metadata. In certain embodiments, a subset of selected attributes from metadata of a first type of file differ from a selected set of attributes of metadata of a second type of file, where each attributes which had been selected are used as search queries when the user desires to use the metadata of a file as a search query. [0008] In another aspect of the inventions described herein, an exemplary method of processing data includes performing a search through a metadata database using, as a query, metadata of at least one selected file, and ranking search results from the search based on a predefined order of attributes in metadata of the at least one selected file. In certain embodiments, this predefined order of attributes depends upon the type of file which is the at least one selected file. A first type of file will have a first predetermined order and a second type of file will have a second predetermined order which is different than the first predetermined order in at least certain embodiments. The metadata database will typically contain information (e.g. metadata) from different types of files, and the type of information in metadata for files of the first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of the second type. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. [0010] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a data processing system, which may be a general purpose computer system and which may operate in any of the various methods described herein. [0011] FIG. 2 shows a general example of one exemplary method of one aspect of the invention. [0012] FIG. 3A shows an example of the content of the particular type of metadata for a particular type of file. [0013] FIG. 3B shows another example of a particular type of metadata for another particular type of file. [0014] FIG. 4 shows an example of an architecture for managing metadata according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another exemplary method of the present invention. [0016] FIG. 6 shows an example of a storage format which utilizes a flat file format for metadata according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIGS. 7A-7E show a sequence of graphical user interfaces provided by one exemplary embodiment in order to allow searching of metadata and/or other data in a data processing system. [0018] FIGS. 8A and 8B show two examples of formats for displaying search results according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 9 shows another exemplary user interface of the present invention. [0020] FIG. 10 shows another exemplary user interface of the present invention. [0021] FIGS. 11A-11D show, in sequence, another exemplary user interface according to the present invention. Continue reading about Methods and systems for managing data... Full patent description for Methods and systems for managing data Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Methods and systems for managing data patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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