Abstract: A method and apparatus to automatically organize computer files or web pages into meaning categories, to acquire new computer files or web pages, and to maintain the resulting organization in hierarchical directory tree structure. The method allows a user to provide a large number of unorganized files or an initial directory. The method partitions the unorganized files into hierarchically arranged categories that form an initial directory or allows a user to provide the initial directory. The method creates a description to summarize the contents of each of the categories in the directory. The method uses the descriptions in a classification step that assigns a newly given computer file to one of the categories. When the number of files in a category exceeds a user predefined limit, the method partitions some of the files into additional categories.