File management has many meanings. To a computer user, locating and loading files and launching the appropriate program is everything. The migration through the root-directory, then through many folders to the very end of the file system to load the file should be eliminated. But you can’t obtain these objectives using the standard methods.

Most electronic document management systems solve a particular problem of managing, finding and tracking documents. File management systems create, enter, change, query and produce reports on one file at a time. All of these types of systems require the user to act upon files, put them in a relational database for many users to access from many locations.

ACS has developed a user-friendly File Management System that accumulates all the files on a computer, via a user selected path, throws away the folders and displays all of the files by extension on one screen! The selectable paths enable the user to gather filenames from numerous possible locations in one pass—literally from any source connected to their computer or through a LAN.

Once the user-selected path has been established, the computer finds the files along the selected branch(s) of the entire file system, ranging from data bases to thumb drives. Nothing is destroyed, changed, created or entered—it simply collects all the designated filenames! The filenames are then sorted and organized by extension type. An extension list shows only those extensions that one or more files were found within the selected path. The number of filenames range from 1 to tens of thousands of filenames.

The filename collecting phase of the program varies, depending on the number of files and the speed of the computer—perhaps a few seconds to a minute. There are four identical columns on one screen. Any column can be populated with filenames related with any type of extension in the extension list. Each column can display 40 filenames at a time with hundreds to thousands of filenames hidden behind the column, accessible faster than stroking the Up/Down arrow keys on the focused column. In the Sort By window, any of 10 ways can be selected; size, last modified, alphabetically, etc. to display the filenames accordingly.

Traditionally the user creates files and save them in a folder on their computer wherever they choose. This is what we all have been doing for decades. In fact, the user could put all of the files in one folder—it no longer matters. Let’s face it. When we create folders past a depth of five levels, they become unmanageable and we have problems finding the files. You see, with the program created and patented by ACS locates the filenames, not the files. The files stay where they were put in the first place—they never move.

Our coins and paper money are designed to look uniquely different for a good reason. Once the dresser drawer becomes too hard to open we dump the contents on a table and start sorting the money into piles. Thanks to banks, they provide a computerize machine to sort, count and package our money for us. It saves a lot of time. With a similar analogy, that is why ACS created a program to locate all the filenames in your computer, identify each filename extension and place them into visible piles. There is no regard of the starting place or contents of the file. With a double-click, you can launch any of your 160 visible files and associated programs. This saves us time!

That is what makes this approach and thinking save significant amounts of time. In fact, you save time every occasion you load a document, view a picture, play a video or listen to music. The computer does all the work as it should be and you simply click the mouse or stroke a key. Clicking on the filename will open the appropriate application program and load the file—an authentic, fast and time-saving program for every computer user.