Patent attributes
In one embodiment, a network-bound request for a multi-media file is intercepted to determine whether the file is located locally on a user computer. If the file is located on the user computer, it is retrieved. If the file is unavailable locally, the file is retrieved from a network-accessible location. In another embodiment, a file locator is configured to intercept network-bound requests for multi-media files and determine whether the files are available locally using a list that includes local file directories where files may be stored. When a user retrieves a file from a network and saves it in a directory, if the list does not include the directory, the list is updated to include the directory. If the file locator cannot find the file locally, the user is prompted to select a directory where the file is stored, and the list updated to include the directory.
