Abstract: A set of elements, such as, for example, a path, a directory list, a playlist, and a listing of information associated with a file or a song, may be truncated so that a partial set may be generated and displayed. The truncation may be performed in an intelligent manner to produce a meaningful truncated portion. Such a partial set may be beneficial when the space allotted for display of the set is small to begin with or is reduced. In one implementation, a display size of a set is compared with a size of a display area. A data element is selected based on the comparison, and a display space size is determined for the selected data element. A truncated, yet meaningful, portion is determined for the selected data element, the portion fitting within the display space size.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating composite icon images for a foreground icon and background icon is disclosed. An icon reference tag is used to retrieve icon image data and icon mask data for each icon. Once the data is retrieved, logical operations are performed to generate composite icon image data and composite icon mask data. A custom icon badge is disclosed which can be generated and employed on base icons. Also, an icon override mechanism is described which allows replacement of a particular icon for a particular application or document with another icon.

Abstract: A locking scheme is provided to arbitrate thread access to file system objects. This locking scheme allows multiple threads simultaneous access to file system objects for certain concurrently compatible operations, while forbidding concurrently incompatible operations. Separate types of locks are provided for hierarchical relationships between objects and the contents (e.g., data) of the objects themselves.