Methods and systems for managing data

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a selection of one or more files, wherein each file has a corresponding file type, wherein each file type specifies a set of one or more search attributes, and wherein each file is associated with a metadata object;

receiving a command to perform a search using the selection of one or more files;

identifying a corresponding file type for each file in the selection of one or more files;

determining one or more sets of search attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files;

identifying one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files, wherein each metadata object includes a persistent file identifier that remains the same when the associated file is modified, and wherein each metadata object includes metadata;

using the determined search attributes to select a portion of metadata from each metadata object, wherein the selection is from the identified one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files;

extracting the selected portions of metadata

generating a search query using the extracted portions of metadata;

performing a search using the search query; and

displaying results of the search.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining an order of attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files; and

ranking the results of the search using the order of attributes.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the order of attributes is predefined.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the order of attributes is modifiable.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection of one or more files includes files having a plurality of file types, and wherein the search query includes portions of metadata from files of each type.

6. A system, comprising:

one or more processors;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, including:

receiving a selection of one or more files, wherein each file has a corresponding file type, wherein each file type specifies a set of one or more search attributes, and wherein each file is associated with a metadata object;

receiving a command to perform a search using the selection of one or more files;

identifying a corresponding file type for each file in the selection of one or more files;

determining one or more sets of search attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files;

identifying one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files, wherein each metadata object includes a persistent file identifier that remains the same when the associated file is modified, and wherein each metadata object includes metadata;

using the determined search attributes to select a portion of metadata from each metadata object, wherein the selection is from the identified one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files;

extracting the selected portions of metadata; generating a search query using the extracted portions of metadata;

performing a search using the search query; and

displaying results of the search.

7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, including:

determining an order of attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files; and

ranking the results of the search using the order of attributes.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the order of attributes is predefined.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the order of attributes is modifiable.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the selection of one or more files includes files having a plurality of file types, and wherein the search query includes portions of metadata from files of each type.

11. A computer-program product, tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a selection of one or more files, wherein each file has a corresponding file type, wherein each file type specifies a set of one or more search attributes, and wherein each file is associated with a metadata object;

receive a command to perform a search using the selection of one or more files;

identify a corresponding file type for each file in the selection of one or more files;

determine one or more sets of search attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files;

identify one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files, wherein each metadata object includes a persistent file identifier that remains the same when the associated file is modified, and wherein each metadata object includes metadata;

use the determined search attributes to select a portion of metadata from each metadata object, wherein the selection is from the identified one or more metadata objects associated with the selection of one or more files;

extract the selected portions of metadata;

generate a search query using the extracted portions of metadata;

perform a search using the search query; and

display results of the search.

12. The computer-program product of claim 11 , further comprising instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

determine an order of attributes for each identified file type in the selection of one or more files; and

rank the results of the search using the order of attributes.

13. The computer-program product of claim 12 , wherein the order of attributes is predefined.

14. The computer-program product of claim 12 , wherein the order of attributes is modifiable.

15. The computer-program product of claim 11 , wherein the selection of one or more files includes files having a plurality of file types, and wherein the search query includes portions of metadata from files of each type.