[Design] File Management

[Neal L. Lester]

The things a PIM usually manages, activities, projects, e-mails all have files associated with them.  File management (attachment management) has been a weakness of every PIM I've ever used.  Really, a PIM should take on the role of file manager ala Raskin's The Humane Interface.

What are some key features for PIM file management:

Simple Version Control.

All files (and previous versions) should be stored in one place.  References to a file (even in e-mail attachments) should be short-cuts to the one original file, not copies of the original file.  Creating a copy should require some extra effort by the user.  This would not only save tremendously on storage resources, but would end many a confusion over which version you are using.

Simple backup which captures both the PIM data and associated files (attachments).