JP2000267912A - File management device and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage past working states by a local holder so that the operation of a latest file is not interrupted by them. SOLUTION: When file operation followed by a change in a file stored in a working holder 1 is executed, an invisible file recording means 2 in the file management device converts an unchanged file into an invisible file and stores the invisible file in the holder 1. A management means 3 corresponding to invisible files sets up the name of the original file converted into the invisible file as an access name and manages correspondence relation between the invisible file and the access name. When an access request to a past file included in the working holder 1 is inputted by specifying the name of the file, a file selection means 4 extracts the invisible file having the name of the specified file as an access name from information managed by the means 3 and selects the extracted invisible file as the file to be accessed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a file management apparatus, and more particularly, to a file management apparatus for managing files using electronic folders.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, most of intellectual activities including creation and editing of documents are performed on personal computers. In addition, it has become possible to distribute and share created documents by connecting personal computers to each other via a network.

[0003] When performing advanced intellectual activities such as creation of a survey report and creation of a patent specification, it is necessary to handle a plurality of different types of files such as text, drawings, and graphs. The electronic folder is a device that enables a plurality of files necessary for one operation to be handled collectively as described above. For example, an OS (Operating System) such as Microsoft Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) is used. Explorer provided as a basic function of) is also one of the electronic folders.

[0004] When performing advanced intellectual activities, they may be performed for a period of several days to several weeks or more. At this time, various information is updated on the electronic file performing the same operation. This includes adding files,
This includes updating related to a set of files handled by the electronic folder, such as deleting and renaming, and updating file contents by editing sentences and figures. During such a work period or after the work is over, check the past work state,
It often happens that it is necessary to reuse the files used in that.

[0005] Therefore, it is possible to manage the temporal change of a set of files referred to during work, restore the state at a past point, and reuse the files referred to there. The invention has been made. JP 1
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 0-31660, means for holding information necessary for work, such as a folder, is called a workspace, and a history of changes in the state of the workspace is recorded and managed in chronological order. Allows you to restore your work.

According to the prior art, a document management unit that manages the version of a large document,
The work state can be recorded without squeezing the storage capacity by being configured separately in the time series management unit of the workspace that refers to it. Such a configuration is particularly effective in a case where a shared document database referred to by a plurality of users is referred to from each workspace.

[0007]

The capacity of a personal computer has been greatly improved, and a large number of documents can be managed even with a portable computer. In such a situation, it is more convenient to manage a set of necessary documents in a local folder than to refer to documents in the network one by one.

[0008] However, when the conventional technique is applied to a local folder, it becomes a problem where the past documents are managed. Despite the increased storage capacity of portable computers, there is no room to keep track of all past documents. Therefore, when the data amount increases, operations such as moving to a medium having a lower unit price are required. At this time, if the past documents are stored in a folder different from the latest folder, it is necessary for a person to take action when moving the document, which increases the labor of the operator. Conversely, if they are stored in the same file, even unnecessary files are always displayed, which hinders the operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a file management apparatus capable of managing past work states in a local folder so as not to hinder the operation of the latest file. With the goal.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a file management apparatus for managing files using an electronic folder, a file operation involving a change of a file stored in a work folder is performed. An invisible file recording unit that converts the file before the change into an invisible file that is not displayed on the file reference screen in the work folder and saves the file in the work folder; and an invisible file saved by the invisible file recording unit. A file name before file conversion is used as a call name, an invisible file correspondence management unit that manages the correspondence between the invisible file and the call name, and a file name are specified, and the past file that exists in the work folder is specified. When a file access request is input, the invisible file correspondence management means A file management unit that extracts an invisible file having the name of the specified file as a calling name from the information to be managed and selects the extracted invisible file as an access target. Provided.

According to such a file management device, when an operation involving a change of a file is performed from within the work folder, the file before change is converted into an invisible file by the invisible file recording means and stored in the work folder. You. When the invisible file is saved, the invisible file correspondence management unit sets the name of the file before conversion of the saved invisible file as a call name, and manages the correspondence between the name of the invisible file and the call name. In such a state, when an access request to the past file is input, the file selecting means 4 selects, from the information managed by the invisible file correspondence manager, the invisible file having the specified name as the calling name. The extracted and invisible files are selected as access targets.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention. The file management device of the present invention includes an invisible file recording unit 2, an invisible file correspondence management unit 3, and a file selection unit 4. Invisible file recording means 2
When a file operation involving a change of a file in the work folder 1 is performed, the file 1a before the change is converted into an invisible file 1c which is not displayed on the file reference screen in the work folder 1, and To save. The invisible file correspondence management unit 3 uses the name of the file before conversion of the invisible file 1c stored by the invisible file recording unit 2 as a call name, and manages the correspondence between the invisible file and the call name. When the file selection means 4 designates the name of the file and receives an access request to a past file existing in the work folder 1, the file selection means 4 designates the file from the information managed by the invisible file correspondence management means 3. An invisible file having the name of the extracted file as a call name is extracted, and the extracted invisible file is selected as an access target.

According to such a file management device, when an operation involving a change of the file 1a is performed from within the work folder 1, the file 1a to be changed is converted into the invisible file 1c by the invisible file recording means 2, It is stored in the work folder 1. For example, when the content of the file 1a named “Doc α” is edited, a file 1b having the same file name but different content is generated. When the file 1b is overwritten and saved, the work folder 1
File 1a having the same contents as file 1a so that the contents of file 1a stored in
c is generated. When the invisible file 1c is saved,
The invisible file correspondence management unit 3 uses the name “Doc α” of the file before conversion of the invisible file 1 c stored by the invisible file recording unit 2 as a call name, and sets the name of the invisible file “~ Docα $ 1” and the call name “Doc
α ”is managed. At this time, the invisible file 1c is managed in association with information on the date and time when the file was saved. Thereby, even when there are a plurality of invisible files with the same call name, it is possible to determine which invisible file to select based on the information on the storage date and time.

In this state, when the name of the file 1a “Doc α” is designated and an access request to the past file 1a existing in the work folder 1 is input, the file selecting means 4 From the information managed by the invisible file correspondence management means 3, the name of the invisible file "~ Docα $ 1" having the calling name of the specified file "Doc α" is extracted. In the example of the drawing, the date and time “t1” at which the invisible file 1c was saved is included in the access request, so that even if there is a plurality of pieces of information with the call name “Doc α”, the name of the invisible file 1c “ ~ D
ocα $ 1 ”can be specified. Then, the invisible file 1c having the extracted name “~ Docα $ 1” is selected as an access target.

As described above, according to the present invention, the work folder 1
Invisible file 1 for documents that were referenced in the past
By storing it in the work folder 1 as c, it becomes possible to manage information on the work folder 1 in a self-contained manner including the past history. If the information including the past history is managed in one folder, it is necessary to move the entire folder to another recording medium, and the management including the correspondence between the past file and the latest file can be performed at the moving destination. It is possible. That is, each time data is moved to another inexpensive recording medium, the user does not need to determine the correspondence between the latest file and the past file. In addition, since the past state is stored as an invisible file, when the work folder is referred to, only the latest file excluding the invisible file is displayed, and the work efficiency such as file operation does not deteriorate.

Next, an embodiment of the file management apparatus according to the present invention will be specifically described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. The file management device includes a storage management unit 10 that controls recording and accumulation of data, and a control unit 2 that executes a program that performs main processing of the present invention.
0, and an input / output unit 30 for interacting with the user.
In the present embodiment, it is configured on a general personal computer system. Of course, in addition to the above configuration, the server may be configured as a server client system via a network, and the storage management unit may be provided on the server side. May be provided.
Further, the partial elements included in the control unit may be further distributed on the network.

The storage management unit 10 has a function for recording and managing information relating to files and folders handled by the file management device. The substance of the data is recorded on a secondary storage such as a hard disk. The functions in the storage management unit 10 are divided into a file information management unit 11, a folder state management unit 12, and an invisible file correspondence management unit 13.

The file information management unit 11 manages file information such as various data and applications. As in a file management system of a general OS, individual files are managed as leaves having a hierarchical directory structure. File access is performed by file name. The contents of a certain directory become a folder. Here, a folder in which the user operates a file or the like is referred to as a work folder.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the file structure held in the work folder. As shown in the figure, the file structure 11a of the work folder holds a folder status management table with a file name of "~ history" and an invisible file correspondence management table with a file name of "~ names". Further, a file to be actually operated is held. Files starting with the tilde symbol "~" are invisible files, and the others are files displayed as the latest state. That is, the file management system of the file management device recognizes that all files having names starting with “「 ”are invisible files. There are other methods for designating an invisible file, such as adding an invisible attribute or storing the file in an invisible folder. However, any method may be used. In addition, the number after “＄” in the invisible file indicates the version number of the file.

Returning to FIG. 2, the folder status management unit 12
The state at each time point presented to the user as the contents of the folder is recorded as a folder state management table. As the state of the folder, a set of file names presented to the user is recorded. In the present embodiment, "~ history"
A folder state management table is held in the work folder as an invisible file having a file name of. By storing the folder status management table as an invisible file, it is possible to manage the history of the folder status without making the user aware of the existence of the folder status management table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the folder status management table. Folder status management table 12
The “a” has columns of “status ID”, “recording date”, and “file”. “Status ID” is an identifier for a record indicating the status of the folder at a certain point in time. “Recording date and time” is the date and time when the state of the folder was recorded. “File” is a file name of a file (excluding an invisible file) existing in the folder when the state is saved.

Returning to FIG. 2, invisible file correspondence management unit 1
Reference numeral 3 records, as an invisible file correspondence management table, a relationship between a call name of a file referred to from a past folder state and a storage name in which the file is stored as an invisible file. In the present embodiment, the invisible file correspondence management table is held in the work folder as the invisible file “~ names”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the invisible file correspondence management table. The invisible file correspondence management table 13a is provided with columns of “date and time”, “call name”, and “storage name”. "Date" is the date and time when the file deletion process was performed. "Invocation name"
This is the name for calling the invisible file, and the file name before the execution of the deletion process is used. “Saved name” is a file name when saved as an invisible file.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the control unit 20 has a function of executing a program for performing an operation necessary for the present invention. Specifically, the CPU (Central Processing Uni
t) is realized by executing a predetermined program.

The latest status update unit 21 updates the latest status of the folder managed by the file information management unit 11 in accordance with a file operation instruction from the user. The user proceeds with the work by creating or updating a document on a work folder for managing a set of necessary files. The latest state stored in the work folder is a set of related files including invisible files.

The file selection unit 22 selects a file corresponding to the displayed file name from the work folders managed by the file information management unit 11 in accordance with a file selection reference instruction from the user. When selecting a file from the current state of the work folder, the file with the corresponding name is selected from the work folders managed by the file information management unit 11. However, when a file is selected from the screen displaying the status of the past folder, it is not always correct to select the file from the file information management unit 11 using the displayed file name as it is. Absent. That is, if the name is changed or the contents of the file are swapped,
Files that were referenced in the past cannot be retrieved correctly. Therefore, based on the folder status management table 12a managed by the folder status management unit 12, it is determined which status in the past the file is requested,
Further, based on the relationship held in the invisible file correspondence management table 13a managed by the file invisible file correspondence management unit 13, the name of the corresponding file is specified. Then, the corresponding file in the work folder managed by the file information management unit 11 is selected based on the specified file name. The selected file is passed to the file content display section 35.

The status recording unit 23 records the status of the folder presented to the user in the folder status management unit 12 in response to an operation from the user. In the present embodiment, this operation is automatically performed when an operation that causes a change in the status in the work folder by the latest status update unit 21, for example, an operation such as file generation, deletion, or name change.

The status selecting section 24 is a folder status indicating section 3
In response to the request from the server 1, the folder status management table 12a managed by the folder status management unit 12 is accessed to obtain information on the date and time when the status was saved. The acquired information is passed to the folder state instruction unit 31. Further, according to the folder state selection instruction information from the folder state instruction unit 31,
Select the status of the work folder to be displayed on the screen. The state of the work folder includes a latest state and a past state. When the latest state is selected, a set of files other than the invisible files in the work folder is acquired from the file information management unit 11, and the set of files is set as the state of the work folder. When a past state is selected, a past state that matches the instruction from the user is selected from the state of the work folder recorded in the folder state management unit.

When the type of operation is to delete, move, save, or rename a file, the invisible file recording unit 25
As a result of the operation, a file that cannot be referred to is recorded as an invisible file in a work folder managed by the file information management unit 11. Also, the correspondence between the call name at the time of reference and the invisible file is stored in the invisible file correspondence management unit 1.
3 and record the information.

The input / output unit 30 is used for inputting / outputting various information related to a workspace by input / output devices such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and a user interface such as a window system which controls basic operations by the input / output devices. Things. The input / output unit 30 includes a folder state instruction unit 31, a folder display unit 32, a file operation instruction unit 33, a file reference instruction unit 34, and a file content display unit 35.

The folder status instructing section 31 is provided by the status selecting section 2
4 to obtain the information for selecting the past state of the folder via the state selection unit 24. In particular,
Get information about the date and time when the state was saved. And
The state of the folder at a specific point in time is indicated as the state to be displayed on the screen by inputting date and time information from the user.

The folder display section 32 displays the latest state or the past state of the folder based on the state information sent from the state selection section 24. The file operation instruction unit 33 acquires an operation instruction for a file displayed on the folder display unit 32 from a user. The user
Instruct the operation by selecting a menu such as deleting, moving, or renaming a file. The contents of the instruction are passed to the latest state updating unit 21.

The file reference instructing section 34 acquires an instruction from the user to refer to and edit the contents of the file displayed on the folder display section 32. Users can use menus such as double-clicking, opening, and editing with the mouse.
You can enter instructions to view the contents of the file. The file reference instructing unit 34 transmits the contents of the instruction from the user to the file selecting unit 22.

The file content display section 35 has a function of displaying or editing files handled in the work folder. Then, when the file is transferred from the file selection unit 22, the contents of the file are displayed on the screen of the display device. However, in the case of a file selected from the state of the past folder, the file is displayed with the attribute of “display only”. When displayed with this attribute, the displayed content cannot be edited.

Next, the processing performed by the system having such a configuration will be described. First, a procedure in which the user operates the folder and various types of information are recorded will be described.
Until a folder status display request at a specific point in time is input from the folder status instructing unit 31, the status selecting unit 24 acquires the latest folder status from the file information management unit 11 and passes it to the folder display unit 32. Folder display section 32
Displays the status of the received folder on the screen of the display device. On the displayed screen, files (excluding invisible files) in the folder are displayed. The user uses the file reference instructing unit 34 to input an instruction such as reference to the displayed file. The input instruction is transmitted to the control unit 20.
Is received by the file selection unit 22 of. The file selection unit 22 stores the specified file in the file information management unit 11
, And passes the contents of the file to the file contents display section 35. The file content display unit 35 displays the content of the received file on the screen of the display device.

Then, when it becomes necessary to operate the file,
The user inputs a file operation instruction through the file operation instruction unit 33. The input file operation instruction is received by the latest status update unit 21 in the control unit 20. The latest state update unit 21 operates a file in a work folder managed by the file information management unit 11 according to a file operation instruction. Thereby, the state of the work folder changes.
Then, the state recording unit 23 sends the folder state before the change to the folder state management unit 12. Folder status management unit 1
2 registers the folder status presented to the user before the folder status change in the folder status management table 12a.

If the file operation includes a deletion process, the invisible file recording unit 25 stores the file before the change as an invisible file in a work folder managed by the file information management unit 11. that time,
A different name is given to the invisible file than the name of the original file. The file name of the invisible file is obtained by adding a symbol “〜” before the original file name and adding a version number after the symbol. Note that file operations involving file deletion include file deletion, file movement, and file name change. File move is
Normal file operation does not involve deletion processing,
In the present embodiment, when the file disappears from the work folder, it is treated as a file deletion process. Similarly, changing the name of a file is treated as a file operation involving file deletion processing because the file with the original name disappears from the folder. After storing the invisible file in the work folder, the invisible file recording unit 25 registers necessary information in the invisible file correspondence management table of the invisible file correspondence management unit 13.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the file deletion process. This is the invisible file recording unit 2
5 is the processing performed. [S1] The target file name is obtained from the file operation request, and the file name is set in a variable “F0”. [S2] Information on the date and time when the file operation request was issued is obtained from the clock function in the system, and the information on the date and time is set in a variable "D". [S3] It is determined whether or not invisible files generated from files with the same name are in the same folder. If there is an invisible file generated from the file with the same name, the process proceeds to step S4, and if there is no such invisible file, the process proceeds to step S6. [S4] The latest version number of the invisible file generated from the same file as the operation target file is obtained, and the number is set to a variable "V". [S5] A value “V + 1” obtained by adding 1 to the version number set in the variable “V” is newly set in the variable “V”. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S7. [S6] The variable "V" representing the version number is set to 1. [S7] A new file having a file name with an invisible symbol (~) added before the file name of the file to be operated and a version number ($ + variable "V") added after the file name is generated. . Here, the generated file name is set to a variable “F1”. [S8] The contents of the argument file are copied to the invisible file “F1” generated in step S7. [S9] The invisible file correspondence management unit 13 is requested to add new data (D, F0, F1). Upon receiving this request, the invisible file correspondence management unit 13 stores the date and time “D” and the call name “F” in the invisible file correspondence management table 13a.
0 "and a new record with the storage name" F1 ".

In this way, every time the user performs a file operation and changes the folder status, the past folder status is recorded, and if a file is deleted, the file before deletion is invisible. Saved as a file.

Next, a case will be described in which a user accesses a file deleted in the past by referring to the state of a past folder. In order to refer to the past folder status, the user first specifies a date and time when the past folder status was saved using the folder status instructing unit 31 and inputs a folder status display request. Then, the state selection unit 24 inquires the folder state management unit 12 of information on the state of the folder stored at the designated date and time.
The folder status management unit 12 returns the file name included in the corresponding data in the folder status management table 12a to the status selection unit 24 in response to the request. The state selection unit 24 passes the received file name to the folder display unit 32. The folder display unit 32 displays folder information including the file having the received file name on the screen of the display device.

The user designates a desired file from the screen showing the state of the past folder by using the file reference instructing section 34. Then, the file name of the specified file and the state I of the state of the folder displayed at that time are displayed.
D is passed to the file selection unit 22. The file selection unit 22 determines the folder status management unit 1 based on the status ID.
2 to obtain the date and time when the state of the folder was saved. Then, based on the date and time when the state of the folder was saved and the file name of the designated file, the designated file is identified by referring to the invisible file correspondence management table 13a managed by the invisible file correspondence management unit 13. . Further, the content of the specified file is displayed in the file content display section 3.
Pass to 5. The file content display unit 35 displays the content of the received file on the screen of the display device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the file access process. This process is a process performed by the file selection unit 22. [S11] The target file name is obtained from the file reference request and set to the variable “F”. [S12] The folder status management unit 12 based on the status ID
With reference to the folder status management table 12a managed by
Gets the status recording date and time. The acquired recording date and time is set in a variable “D”. [S13] The invisible file correspondence management table 13a managed by the invisible file correspondence management unit 13 searches for the call name "F" after the recording date "D". [S14] It is determined whether or not the same call name exists in the invisible file correspondence management table 13a. If the same call name exists, the process proceeds to step S5; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S6. [S15] The storage name of the data having the same call name and stored at the oldest date and time is acquired and set to the variable “S”. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17. [S16] The file name “F” of the target file is set to the variable “S”. [S17] The file having the storage name "S" is extracted from the file structure of the work folder managed by the file information management unit 11.

By performing such a process, it is possible to refer to the contents of the past file only by specifying the past folder state in the display screen. By the way, according to the present invention, a file used in the past on the workspace can be easily used. Therefore, a specific example of the work on the workspace will be described below. In the following description of FIG. 8 to FIG. 11, files displayed with the same names in a series of screens are denoted by the same reference numerals, but the contents of the files correspond to the files in the file structure. Determined by the relationship. Therefore,
Even if the same sign is assigned in the situation where the screen transitions,
It does not indicate that the contents of the file are the same.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing specific examples of work in a work folder using a work space. [A] to [G] in these figures show the transition of the state of the workspace 40 due to the work being performed. In this example, a change in work on a folder “work X” for performing a certain work is shown.

First, [A] in FIG. 8 shows the state of the workspace 40 before performing a file operation.
Before the user performs work on the folder, the workspace 40 contains two files “Doc A” and “Doc B”.
1, 42 are displayed. In the file structure 11a, in addition to these files, files of "~ history" and "~ names" are held. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation.

In such a state, at time t1, "Do
The file named "c C" is the add operation "add"
Doc C "" (Add File).
[B] shows the result of the execution of the add operation. By executing the add operation,
A “Doc C” file 43 is added in the workspace 40. A “Doc C” file is also added to the file structure 11a. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation.

At time t2, the file 42 named "Doc B" is deleted by a remove operation "remove" Doc B "" (delete file). [C] is remove
Indicates the result of performing the operation. remove
Due to the execution of the operation, the file 42 of “Doc B” has been deleted. In the file structure 11a, a file named "~ Doc B $ 1" having the content of "Doc B" is added. "~" Indicates an invisible file. “$ 1” indicates that it is version 1 in the file of the same name. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation. At time t3, “Doc
A file named "A" is rename operation "ren
"Doc X" by ame "Doc A""DocX""(rename)
[D] indicates the result of executing the rename operation. By executing the rename operation, the file 44 of “Doc X” is displayed instead of “Doc A”. "Doc X" is included in the file structure 11a.
At the same time, a file named "~ Doc A $ 1" with the contents of "Doc A" is added. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation.

Here, the description moves to FIG. At time t4, the file 43 named "Doc C" is saved in the state at that time by the save operation "save" Doc C "" (save file).

[E] shows the result of the execution of the save operation. Even if the save operation is executed, the display content in the workspace 40 does not change. On the other hand, in the file structure 11a, "~ Doc C $
1 "file has been added. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation.

At time t5, “Doc” in the state at time t1
A file 42 named "B" is a copy operation "c
opy t1: Added by "Doc B" (copy of file). [F] shows the result of executing the copy operation of “Doc B”. By executing the copy operation, the file 42 of “Doc B” existing in the state of [A] (immediately before time t1) is added to the workspace 40. In the file structure 11a, a file of "Doc B" having the same content as "~ Doc B $ 1" is added. This state is recorded just before performing the next operation.

At time t6, “Doc” in the state at time t2
The file 43 named "C" is a copy operation "c
opy t2: "Doc C". [G] is "Do
c shows the result of the copy operation executed. Even if the copy operation is executed, the display content in the workspace 40 does not change. However, the file structure 11a has the contents before the replacement by the previous operation.
"C $ 2" file has been added. This state is the latest display state of the work folder presented to the user.

By performing the above-described file operations, the folder state management table 12a and the invisible file correspondence management table 13a become as shown in FIGS.
In this state, referring to the file 43 of “Doc C”,
The content immediately before time t2 is shown.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the state of the work folder is always saved every time a file in the work folder is operated, so that the past state can be reproduced on the workspace. If the past state is reproduced, it becomes easy to access the file at an arbitrary time in the past. Such an example is shown below.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams showing a user interface of a workspace in which past states can be referred to. [A] to [F] in the figure show examples of the workspace 50 in which a folder state can be selected. The inside of the workspace 50 is divided into two screens 51 and 52 on the left and right. The screen 51 on the left is a screen for selecting and instructing a folder state, and the screen 52 on the right is a screen displaying a selected area. . Date data (t1, t) for indicating a selectable state is displayed on the state selection instruction screen 51.
2,. . . ), And a marker “◆” indicating which state is selected is displayed.

[A] shows that the state at the time t1 is selected, and [D] shows that the state at the time t2 is selected. [B]
In [C], [E], and [F], a marker is displayed at the bottom. This indicates that the latest state currently being edited is displayed. When displaying the latest status, the user can freely change the contents of the folder.

Further, the user can display a desired past state by designating date data corresponding to the state to be displayed with a pointing device. At this time, the contents of the displayed folder can be referenced but cannot be changed.

Here, [A] → [B] →
The operation performed in the state transition of [C] will be described.
In [A], the state at the past time t1 is displayed in a state where the state is stored until the time t4. In this state, the two files 52a and 52 of “Doc A” and “Doc B”
2b is displayed. Therefore, the file 52b of “Doc B” at that time is copied from the state at the past time t1 (an operation of taking it into another storage area such as a clipboard), and the state returns to the latest state. Workspace 5
0 changes to the state of [B].

[B] shows the latest state after time t4. In this state, two files 52d and 52c of "Doc X" and "Doc C" are displayed. Therefore,
At time t5, the “Doc B” file 52b is pasted (operation for registering information held in a storage area such as a clipboard in a specified location). When such an operation is performed, the state of the folder is changed by the paste operation, and the state before that is stored as the state immediately before time t5. As a result, the workspace 50 transitions to the state [C].

[C] represents the latest state after time t5. In this state, the date data at time t5 is additionally displayed on the left screen 51. Also, on the screen 52,
The file 52b of “DocB” is displayed.

In this example, the state recording process is automatically performed at the time of change, but may be configured to be performed by a user's instruction. Next, operations performed in the state transition of [D] → [E] → [F] shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

In [D], the state at the past time t2 is displayed while the state is stored until the time t5. Here, the “Doc C” file 52c at that time is copied from the state at the past time t2, and the state returns to the latest state. As a result, the state transits to the state [E].

[E] represents the latest state after time t5. In this state, "Doc B", "Doc C", "Doc
"X" are displayed. Here, at time t6, “Doc C” file 4
Paste 3 Then, the state transits to the state of [F].

[F] represents the latest state after time t6. At the time of the pasting operation, since the state at t6 is saved, the date data at time t6 is additionally displayed on the left screen 51. Originally, the file 52c of “Doc C” was included in the folder, but as a result of this operation, the file 52c of “Doc C” of the old version has been replaced.

As described above, if the state of the past folder is reproduced on the workspace, the work using the file deleted in the past becomes easy. As described above, according to the present invention, by storing the change information of the past state and the document referred to in the past as an invisible file in the electronic folder, all the information including the temporal change of one electronic folder is obtained. Can be managed in a self-contained manner. This makes it possible to refer to and use past work states without losing the convenience that operations such as movement and deletion can be performed freely.

The above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing contents of the functions that the file management device should have are described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the above processing is realized by the computer by executing this program on the computer. Is done. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device and a semiconductor memory. In order to distribute the program to the market, the program is stored and distributed in a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) or a floppy (registered trademark) disk, or a computer connected via a network. It can also be stored in a storage device and transferred to another computer via a network. When the program is executed by the computer, the program is stored in a hard disk device or the like in the computer, and is loaded into the main memory and executed.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, by storing a document previously referenced in the work folder as an invisible file in the work folder, information on the work folder including the past history can be stored in the work folder. Complete management is possible. As a result, if the entire folder is moved to another recording medium, the management including the past file can be similarly performed at the destination. Moreover, since the past state is stored as an invisible file, when the work folder is referred to, only the latest file excluding the invisible file is displayed, and the work efficiency such as file operation does not deteriorate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a file structure held in a work folder.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of a folder status management table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure of an invisible file correspondence management table.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a file deletion process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a file access process.

FIG. 8 is a first diagram showing a specific example of work in a work folder using a workspace.

FIG. 9 is a second diagram showing a specific example of work in a work folder using a workspace.

FIG. 10 is a first diagram showing a user interface of a workspace in which past states can be referred to.

FIG. 11 is a second diagram illustrating a user interface of a workspace in which a past state can be referred to.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Working folder 1a, 1b file 1c Invisible file 2 Invisible file recording means 3 Invisible file correspondence management means 4 File selection means

Claims (4)

[Claims] In a file management apparatus for managing files by an electronic folder, when a file operation involving a change of a file stored in a work folder is performed, a file before change is referred to as a file in the work folder. An invisible file recording unit that converts the file into an invisible file that is not displayed on the screen and saves the file in the work folder; a file name before conversion of the invisible file saved by the invisible file recording unit is used as a call name, An invisible file correspondence managing means for managing a correspondence relationship between the invisible file and a call name. When an access request to a past file existing in the work folder is input by specifying a file name, the invisible file correspondence From the information managed by the management means, specify the name of the specified file A file selection unit for extracting an invisible file as a call name and selecting the extracted invisible file as an access target. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the file selecting unit is configured to store the invisible file having the specified file name as a calling name in the work folder with the specified name if the invisible file is not managed by the folder state managing unit. 2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein a file to be accessed is selected as an access target. 3. The invisible file correspondence management means manages the correspondence between the invisible file and the call name in association with the time at which the invisible file was saved, and the file selection means manages the past date and time. Receives an access request specifying a file name and saves at the oldest date and time after the specified date and time if multiple invisible files with the specified name as the calling name are registered in the folder status management means 2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein the invisible file selected is selected as a display target. 4. When a file operation involving a change of a file stored in a work folder is performed on a computer-readable recording medium storing a file management program for managing a file by an electronic folder, Invisible file recording means for converting the file into an invisible file that is not displayed on the file reference screen in the work folder, and saving the file in the work folder, before the conversion of the invisible file saved by the invisible file recording means Invisible file correspondence management means for managing the correspondence between the invisible file and the invocation name, using the name of the file as the invocation name, and specifying the name of the file so that an access request to a past file existing in the work folder is issued. When entered, the invisible file correspondence management File selecting means for extracting an invisible file having a designated file name as a call name from information managed by the column, and selecting the extracted invisible file as an access target, and causing the computer to function as A computer-readable recording medium recording a file management program.