Smarter File Manager

The Problem: I am disorganised and have vast quantities of files, emails, documents etc that lie around in heaps on my computer's desktop. I do have a hierarchy of folders into which I sometimes sort my stuff. However it is usually too much trouble. More often than not I find that a file should be put in more than one folder necessitating the creation of Shortcuts - giving me yet another reason not to bother.

The Solution?: Email spam filters use Bayesian classifiers to sort the mails you want to read from those you would rather not. My idea is to put the same technology into file managers. Just as spam filters can learn to classify mail into spam and non-spam, so file managers should be able to learn how to classify files into categories and sub-categories.

If I put a file in a particular folder the smart file manager is only allowed to keep it in that folder or move it to a descendant folder. This restriction is a learning opportunity for it to update its classifiers using the newly inserted file. In other words it adjusts its classifiers so that if the file had been inserted at the root of the file system then it would have been moved down to the folder into which it was actually inserted.

If, when browsing a directory, I see a misclassification I can easily correct it by cutting and pasting the file. The smart file manager again learns from this and readjusts its classifiers accordingly, improving its future classification capability.

After a bit of this kind of training I should be able to just drop the files at the root of the directory tree and the smart file manager will automatically classify them and place them in the correct directories. If it believes they should be placed into more than one directory then it will automatically generate shortcuts within those directories.

[Enhancement to idea based on [Freefall]'s comments]

1. I like the general idea that the system should just look like part of the filesystem and therefore be available to other applications.

2. As [Freefall] points out, this would cause problems as, under the current proposal, a file saved in one place might end up somewhere else. Although it must be in a descendent folder, I take the point that this would be confusing and inconvienient.

Therefore I would like to modify my idea slightly so that: 1. Files alway stay where you put them. 2. The system, instead of moving files to sub-folders just inserts shortcuts (links) in them.

The consequence of this is that the user has the option of looking for the file in the directory in which it was placed OR by looking in the most appropriate sub-folders.