System and method for organizing, managing, and manipulating desktop objects with an activity-oriented user interface

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within an information handling system comprising a general purpose computer having access to storage for computer files, such files comprising (a) executable application programs that generate various kinds of application type files and (b) application type files, the computer providing a computing environment via a user interface comprising an input responsive to user commands and a display capable of presenting the computer files in a general folder structure including one or more activity folders, the method comprising:

• automatically identifying a particular communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types;
• automatically storing each of the files of the particular communication as separate files in one and the same activity folder;
• and
• automatically generating code for associating said separate files of the particular communication with each other;
• thereby automatically allowing the separate files of the particular communication to be manipulated by user commands as independent files from said activity folder regardless of the application type.

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within an information handling system comprising a general purpose computer having access to storage for computer files, such files comprising (a) executable application programs that generate various kinds of application type files and (b) application type files, the computer providing a computing environment via a user interface comprising an input responsive to user commands and a display capable of presenting the computer files in a general folder structure, the method comprising:

• automatically identifying a communication including one or more files of one or more application file types, wherein said application file types include email messages and other file types;
• automatically storing each of these files of the communication as separate files in the general folder structure;
• and
• automatically generating code for associating the separated files as related to a single communication,
• wherein the general folder structure contains all applications available to the user on the computer,
• thereby automatically allowing the separated but associated files of the communication to be manipulated by user commands as independent files within the general folder structure regardless of the application type.

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within a general purpose computer having access to storage for computer files, such files comprising (a) executable application programs that generate various kinds of application type files and (b) application type files, the computer providing a computing environment via a user interface comprising an input responsive to user commands and a display capable of presenting the computer files in a general folder structure, comprising:

• storing and manipulating in response to user commands different kinds of application type files within said general folder structure, said general folder structure having one or more activity folders into which any new file created with any application accessible to the user's computing environment can be saved into any of said activity folders;
• sending and receiving communication files from and to said general folder structure, wherein a communication file comprises one or more application type files;
• and
• automatically associating the individual application type files comprising a communication with each other;
• and manipulating, in response to user commands, computer files within the activity folders, thereby allowing a user to group and organize subjectively related files of various application types within any of said activity folders, including grouping files which are associated with communications together with files which are not associated with communications within any of said activity folders.

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within an information handling system wherein computer files are presented in a general folder structure including one or more activity folders, the method comprising:

• automatically identifying a particular communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types;
• automatically storing each of the files of the particular communication as separate files in one and the same activity folder;
• and
• automatically generating code for associating said separate files of the particular communication with each other;
• thereby automatically allowing the separate files of the particular communication to be manipulated as independent files from said activity folder regardless of the application type;
• wherein the communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types is identified as an email communication file and related attachments to the email communication file;
• further comprising:
• transferring the email communication and related attachments to and from a host and manipulating data included in the email communication and related attachments;
• the transfer including
• determining whether the one or more files of the communication is a record in a standardized file format;
• if the one or more files of the communication is a record in the standardized format, presenting the record in an ordered manner;
• and
• determining whether the one or more files of the communication is a record in a predetermined format and permitting input from a user to assign the related attachments to an activity folder, wherein the activity folder comprises related attachments regardless of application type and the activity folder is one of the following:
• a user-defined folder, a system-defined folder, a program-defined folder;
• and further comprising:
• receiving a communication;
• if the communication is a record in the standardized format, determining whether the communication comprises one or more files;
• determining whether a first resulting one or more files of the communication is text;
• if the first resulting one or more files of the communication is text, adding the contents of the first resulting one or more files of the communication as a sticker to all the other resulting files of the communication;
• and
• deleting the first resulting one or more files of the communication from the inbox.

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within an information handling system wherein computer files are presented in a general folder structure including one or more activity folders, the method comprising:

• automatically identifying a particular communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types;
• automatically storing each of the files of the particular communication as separate files in one and the same activity folder;
• and
• automatically generating code for associating said separate files of the particular communication with each other;
• thereby automatically allowing the separate files of the particular communication to be manipulated as independent files from said activity folder regardless of the application type;
• wherein the communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types is identified as an email communication file and related attachments to the email communication file;
• further comprising:
• transferring the email communication and related attachments to and from a host and manipulating data included in the email communication and related attachments;
• the transfer including
• determining whether the one or more files of the communication is a record in a standardized file format;
• if the one or more files of the communication is a record in the standardized format, presenting the record in an ordered manner;
• and
• determining whether the one or more files of the communication is a record in a predetermined format and permitting input from a user to assign the related attachments to an activity folder, wherein the activity folder comprises related attachments regardless of application type and the activity folder is one of the following:
• a user-defined folder, a system-defined folder, a program-defined folder;
• and further comprising receiving a communication;
• if the communication is a record in the standardized format, determining whether the communication includes files which are not one of the one or more files of the communication;
• if the message includes which are not one of the one or more files of the communication;
• determining a form of encoding for the one or more files of the communication;
• and
• decoding the one or more files of the communication according to the form of encoding.

A method for displaying and manipulating computer files within an information handling system wherein computer files are presented in a general folder structure including one or more activity folders, the method comprising:

• automatically identifying a particular communication comprising one or more files of one or more application types;
• automatically storing each of the files of the particular communication as separate files in one and the same activity folder;
• and
• automatically generating code for associating said separate files of the particular communication with each other;
• thereby automatically allowing the separate files of the particular communication to be manipulated as independent files from said activity folder regardless of the application type;
• and
• further comprising:
• identifying one or more files of one or more application types not associated with a communication;
• and
• storing the identified files in the particular activity folder as separate files that can be manipulated from the activity folder regardless of application type.