For-your-information events

• US 10,013,676 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2016
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Los, David J., Joshi, Neel, Tischhauser, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Anil N
• Application Number:
  US15/002,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20160140511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 715764
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment

Abstract

A for-your-information event can be received in a computer system. The for-your-information event can include an event time field that indicates a scheduled time for the for-your-information event. The computer system may not automatically block the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on a calendar in response to receiving the for-your-information event. User input indicating that the for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event can be received. In response to the user input, the computer system can convert the for-your-information event to a regular event. Converting the for-your information event can include automatically including the scheduled time of the for-your-information event as a scheduled time for the converted regular event. Also in response to the user input, the computer system can automatically block the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on the calendar.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor cause at least one processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving a plurality of for-your-information events in the computer system, the for-your-information events each including an event time field that indicates a scheduled time for the for-your-information event, the computer system refraining from automatically blocking the scheduled times of the for-your-information events on a main calendar in response to receiving the for-your-information events and recognizing that the for-your-information events are a for-your-information type of event, with the for-your-information type of event being a type of calendar event;

receiving a regular event in the computer system, the received regular event including a time field that indicates a scheduled time for the received regular event;

the computer system automatically blocking the scheduled time for the received regular event on the main calendar in response to receiving the received regular event and recognizing that the regular event is a regular type of event;

displaying a representation of the received regular event in a main calendar display region for the main calendar, the main calendar display region comprising a plurality of representations of regular events;

displaying representations of the for-your-information events in a secondary display region, the secondary display region comprising a plurality of representations of the for-your-information events, the main calendar display region and the secondary display region being displayed at the same time, while scheduled times for the for-your-information events are not blocked on the main calendar; and

displaying a user interface control that is configured to be selected by user input to convert a selected for-your-information event to a converted regular event and to block a scheduled time of the selected for-your-information event on the main calendar for the converted regular event.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the for-your-information events in the computer system is part of receiving a calendar of for-your-information events as a calendar over a computer network, wherein the calendar of for-your-information events comprises the plurality of for-your-information events, and the calendar of for-your-information events is designated as a for-your-information calendar separate from the main calendar in the computer system.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise:

receiving additional events in the computer system, the additional events each including a time field that indicates a time for the additional event;

for each of the additional events, determining, via the computer system, whether the additional event is a regular event or a for-your-information event, the determination comprising identifying one or more of the additional events as being one or more regular events and identifying one or more of the additional events as being one or more for-your-information events;

in response to the identifying of one or more of the additional events as being the one or more regular events, the computer system automatically blocking time on the main calendar for the one or more regular events; and

in response to the identifying of one or more of the additional events as being the one or more for-your-information events, the computer system refraining from automatically blocking time on the main calendar for the one or more for-your-information events.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise sharing the main calendar, wherein sharing the main calendar comprises sharing the received regular event, and wherein sharing the main calendar does not comprise sharing the for-your-information events.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise:

receiving user input indicating that the selected for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event; and

in response to the user input indicating that the selected for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event, the computer system converting the selected for-your-information event to a regular event and blocking time on the main calendar for the converted regular event, wherein the user input comprises user input selecting the user interface control for the selected for-your-information event.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a specific for-your-information event of the for-your-information events comprises a reminder setting, the reminder setting being set to provide a reminder of the specific for-your-information event, and wherein the acts further comprise providing a reminder of the specific for-your-information event in response to the reminder setting while time is not blocked on the main calendar for the specific for-your-information event.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts are performed at least in part by hardware logic.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a for-your-information event in a computer system for a receiving user profile, the for-your-information event further including an event time field that indicates a scheduled time for the for-your-information event, the computer system being configured to refrain from automatically blocking the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on a main calendar for the receiving user profile in response to receiving the for-your-information event and recognizing that the for-your-information event is a for-your-information type of event, with the for-your-information type of event being a type of calendar event;

displaying a main calendar display region for the main calendar, the main calendar display region comprising a plurality of representations of regular events;

displaying a representation of the for-your-information event along with one or more representations of one or more other for-your-information events in a secondary display region, the secondary display region comprising a plurality of representations of the for-your-information events, and the main calendar display region and the secondary display region being displayed at the same time, while scheduled times for the for-your-information event and the one or more other for-your-information events are not blocked on the main calendar;

receiving user input indicating that the for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event; and

in response to the user input, the computer system converting the for-your-information event to a regular event, converting the for-your-information event comprising automatically including the scheduled time of the for-your-information event as a scheduled time for the converted regular event; and

in response to the user input, automatically blocking the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on the main calendar.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the receiving of the for-your-information event comprises receiving the for-your-information event as an invite from a sending user profile, with the for-your-information event including an indication of the sending user profile and an indication of the receiving user profile.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the user input is a single user input action.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the computer system displaying a representation of the for-your-information event prior to receiving the user input, with the representation of the for-your-information event comprising a control for converting the for-your-information event to a regular event, and wherein the user input selects the control for converting the for-your-information event to a regular event.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises displaying a representation of the for-your-information event in a first display region but not in a second display region prior to converting the for-your-information event to the converted regular event, and displaying a representation of the converted regular event in the second display region after receiving the user input.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first display region and the second display region are both display regions of a user interface for the computer system.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an additional regular event in the computer system, the additional regular event including a time field having a scheduled time; and

in response to receiving the additional regular event, automatically blocking the scheduled time of the additional regular event on the main calendar.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the for-your-information event comprises a reminder setting, the reminder setting being set to provide a reminder of the for-your-information event.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a reminder of the for-your-information event in response to the reminder setting while time is not blocked on the main calendar for the for-your-information event.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises sharing the main calendar before the converting of the for-your-information event to a regular event, wherein sharing the main calendar comprises sharing the regular events, and wherein sharing the main calendar does not comprise sharing the for-your-information event.

18. A computer system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor cause at least one processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving a for-your-information event in the computer system, the for-your-information event including an event time field that indicates a scheduled time for the for-your-information event, the computer system not automatically blocking the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on a main calendar in response to receiving the for-your-information event and recognizing that the for-your-information event is a for-your-information type of event, with the for-your-information type of event being a type of calendar event;

receiving a regular event in the computer system, the regular event including a time field that indicates a scheduled time for the regular event;

the computer system automatically blocking the scheduled time for the regular event on the main calendar in response to receiving the regular event;

displaying a representation of the received regular event in a main calendar display region for the main calendar, the main calendar display region comprising a plurality of representations of regular events;

displaying a representation of the for-your-information event in a secondary display region, the secondary display region comprising a plurality of representations of for-your-information events including the for-your-information event, and the main calendar display region and the secondary display region being displayed at the same time;

displaying a user interface control associated with the for-your-information event;

receiving user input indicating that the for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event, the user input selecting the user interface control; and

in response to the user input indicating that the for-your-information event is to be converted to a regular event, the computer system converting the for-your-information event to a regular event and blocking the scheduled time of the for-your-information event on the main calendar for the converted regular event.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the acts further comprise providing a reminder of the for-your-information event in response to a reminder setting for the for-your-information event while the for-your-information event is stored as a for-your-information event in the computer system and while the scheduled time for the for-your-information event is not blocked on the main calendar.

20. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the receiving of the for-your-information event comprising receiving the for-your-information event over a computer network for a receiving user profile, wherein the receiving the for-your-information event comprises receiving the for-your-information event as an invite from a sending user profile, and wherein the for-your-information event includes an indication of the sending user profile and an indication of the receiving user profile.