Calendar repair assistant

• US 10,176,462 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Feliberti, Vanessa C., Don, Cliff M., Ghyara, Firdosh R., Hakami, Sina, Leibmann, Matthias, Mendes, Roberto Ribeiro Da Fonseca, Tischhauser, Paul David
• Primary Examiner(s): Chou, Alan S
• Application Number:
  US14/948,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078412A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/235 Update request formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment

Abstract

Calendar repair may be provided. Calendar events, such as appointments and meetings, may be created and copied to a plurality of attendee calendars. A first copy of the event may be compared to a second copy of the event, and an event property of the second event may be updated to match a corresponding event property of the first event.

Claims

1. A method for providing electronic calendar repair, the method comprising:

receiving a calendar event from an organizer computer that is associated with an organizer, the calendar event including a plurality of event properties comprising details about the calendar event;

storing the calendar event on a first calendar associated with the organizer;

copying the calendar event to a second calendar associated with an attendee;

after a period of time, performing a comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties;

determining that a first different event property is critical and a second different event property is non-critical, wherein the first different event property is one of;

a start time, a date, a location and a corrupted event property;

updating the first different event property in the second calendar with a corresponding event property from the first calendar; and

allowing the second different event property in the second calendar to remain out-of-sync from the first calendar.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a master copy of the calendar event on a server separate from the first calendar and the second calendar.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein updating the first different event property in the second calendar includes updating the first different event property in the second calendar using the master copy of the calendar event on the server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the calendar event includes additional information that one of the organizer or a particular attendee designated as private, and wherein the additional information is only viewable by the organizer or the particular attendee that designated the additional information as private.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein performing the comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties excludes the additional information that the organizer or the particular attendee designates as private.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first different event property includes the calendar event being absent from the second calendar for the attendee.

7. A system for providing electronic calendar repair, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

receive a calendar event, from an organizer computer, that is associated with an organizer, the calendar event including a plurality of event properties comprising details about the calendar event;

store the calendar event on a first calendar associated with the organizer;

copy the calendar event to a second calendar associated with an attendee;

after a period of time, perform a comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties;

determining that a first different event property is critical and a second different event property is non-critical, wherein the first different event property is one of;

a start time, a date, a location and a corrupted event property; and

updating the first different event property in the second calendar with a corresponding event property from the first calendar.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising the processing unit operative to:

store a master copy of the calendar event on a server separate from the first calendar and the second calendar; and

wherein updating the first different event property in the second calendar includes updating the first different event property in the second calendar using the master copy of the calendar event on the server.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the calendar event includes additional information that one of the organizer or a particular attendee designated as private, the additional information being only viewable by the organizer or the particular attendee that designated the additional information as private.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein performing the comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties excludes the additional information that the organizer or the particular attendee designates as private.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the first different event property includes the calendar event being absent from the second calendar for the attendee.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising the processing unit operative to:

allow the second different event property in the second calendar to remain out-of-sync from the first calendar.

13. A computer-readable storage device which stores a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for providing electronic calendar repair, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receiving a calendar event, from an organizer computer, associated with an organizer, the calendar event including a plurality of event properties comprising details about the calendar event;

storing the calendar event on a first calendar associated with the organizer;

copying the calendar event to a second calendar associated with an attendee;

after a period of time, performing a comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties;

determining that a first different event property is critical and a second different event property is non-critical, wherein the first different event property is one of;

a start time, a date, a location and a corrupted event property; and

updating the first different event property in the second calendar with a corresponding event property from the first calendar.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the calendar event includes additional information that one of the organizer or a particular attendee designated as private, the additional information being only viewable by the organizer or the particular attendee that designated the additional information as private.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein performing the comparison of the calendar event on the first calendar with the calendar event on the second calendar to identify one or more different event properties excludes any additional information that the organizer or the particular attendee designates as private.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, the method executed by the set of instructions further comprising:

storing a master copy of the calendar event on a server separate from the first calendar and the second calendar.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein updating the first different event property in the second calendar includes updating the first different event property in the second calendar using the master copy of the calendar event on the server.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the first different event property includes the calendar event being absent from the second calendar for the attendee.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, the method executed by the set of instructions further comprising:

allowing the second different event property in the second calendar to remain out-of-sync from the first calendar.