File retrieval apparatus and method with a hierarchical structured keyword format that includes corresponding attribute information for each keyword

摘要

A file retrieval apparatus and method for retrieving a desired file out of a plurality of files stored in a storage medium. Retrieval is made based on the files, information on correspondence between the files and keywords, and attribute information of the keywords, to find a file that corresponds to an input keyword. When displaying the retrieved results in form of a list, a file a user most desires is displayed at the top of the list, and keywords located at lower levels of hierarchical keywords are also displayed as retrieval objects.