Configurable access to a document's revision history

• US 10,642,940 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Fay, Jonathan Edgar, Standefer, III, Robert Earl, Mullins, Christopher Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Thanh-Ha
• Application Number:
  US15/017,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20170228393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,551 Days
• Field of Search: 707608
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/219 Managing data history or versioning querying versioned data G06F16/2474; querying temporal data G06F16/2477
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2329 using versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A facility for providing configurable access to a document'"'"'s history is described. The facility receives input specifying one or more revisions to a document. The facility causes to be stored a representation of at least a portion of the revisions. When the facility receives a request to materialize the document for a particular entity, the facility materializes the document in a manner that includes any of the represented revisions only if the entity is among an authorized class of entities.

Claims

1. A method in a computing system, comprising:

receiving a first request to materialize a portion of a document for a first entity;

retrieving stored revisions for the document, the stored revisions representing a state of the document at a plurality of points in time in a history of the document;

determining, based on a first set of access permissions associated with the first entity, a first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the first entity;

in response to the first request, materializing the portion of the document with user-selectable options for displaying the portion of the document as the document existed at the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document;

receiving a second request to materialize the portion of the document for a second entity;

determining, based on a second set of access permissions associated with the second entity, a second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the second entity, the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the second entity being different from the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the first entity based on a difference between the first set of access permissions associated with the first entity and the second set of access permissions associated with the second entity; and

in response to the second request, materializing the portion of the document with user-selectable options for displaying the portion of the document as the document existed at the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity is a user.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity is a group of users.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity is a computing system operating on behalf of one or more users.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises displaying a view of the portion of the document that visually indicates, in a static manner, at least a portion of the revisions.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises displaying a view of the portion of the document that visually indicates at least a portion of the revisions via redlining.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises permitting a user corresponding to the first entity to navigate, via the user selectable options, between a pair of states of the portion of the document each corresponding to a different time, between which at least a portion of the revisions occur.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the materialized portion of the document to be displayed.

9. A computer system comprising:

a processor; and

one or more memories collectively having contents that, when executed by the processor;

(a) receive from an authorized user first input identifying at least a portion of a document;

(b) receive from the authorized user second input identifying a first group of one or more users;

(c) receive from the authorized user third input specifying a first subset of a plurality of points in time in a revision history of the at least a portion of a document accessible to a first user among the first group of one or more users, wherein accessing the revision history includes accessing stored revisions representing a state of the at least a portion of a document as the at least a portion of a document existed at the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the revision history of the at least a portion of a document;

(d) store for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input and the first group of one or more users identified by the second input a representation of the third input;

(e) receive from the authorized user fourth input identifying a second group of one or more users;

(f) receive from the authorized user fifth input specifying a second subset of a plurality of points in time in a revision history of the at least a portion of a document accessible to a second user among the second group of one or more users, wherein accessing the revision history includes accessing stored revisions representing a state of the at least a portion of a document as the at least a portion of a document existed at the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the revision history of the at least a portion of a document;

(g) store for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input and the second group of one or more users identified by the fourth input a representation of the fifth input;

(h) in response to receiving a first request from a first requesting user included in the first group of one or more users to access revision history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input, materialize the at least a portion of a document with user-selectable options for displaying the at least a portion of the document as the document existed at the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document based on the stored representation of the third input; and

(i) in response to receiving a second request from a second requesting user included in the second group of one or more users to access revision history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input, materialize the at least a portion of a document with user-selectable options for displaying the at least a portion of the document as the document existed at the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document based on the stored representation of the fifth input, the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document being different from the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document based on a difference between access permissions associated with the first group of one or more users and the second group of one or more users.

10. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input specifies whether the first subset of a plurality of points in time in revision history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the first group of one or more users identified by the second input can access is limited to points in time connected to document events occurring for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input.

11. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input (1) specifies that revision history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the first group of one or more users identified by the second input can access is limited to the first subset of a plurality of points in time in revision history connected to document events occurring for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input, and (2) specifies a type of document event in connection with which revision history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the first group of one or more users identified by the second input.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having contents configured to cause a computing system to:

receive input from an authorized user identifying a portion of a document and a first entity not comprising the authorized user;

retrieve a first set of document history access permissions that apply to the portion of the document and the first entity identified by the received input;

determine, based on the first set of document history access permissions, a first subset of a plurality of points in time in a history of the portion of the document accessible to the authorized user;

materialize the portion of the document with user-selectable options for displaying the portion of the document as the portion of the document existed at the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document;

cause the materialized portion of the document to be displayed to the authorized user;

receive input from the authorized user identifying the portion of the document and a second entity not comprising the authorized user;

retrieve a second set of document history access permissions that apply to the portion of the document and the second entity identified by the received input;

determine, based on the second set of document history access permissions, a second subset of a plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the authorized user;

materialize the portion of the document with user-selectable options for displaying the document as the portion of the document existed at the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the portion of the document, the second subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of the document accessible to the second entity being different from the first subset of the plurality of points in time in the history of document accessible to the first entity based on a difference between the first set of document history access permissions associated with the first entity and the second set of document history access permissions associated with the second entity; and

cause the materialized portion of the document to be displayed to the authorized user.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the first entity is a user other than the authorized user.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the first entity is a category of users.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the contents are further configured to cause a computing system to receive a user-selectable option that identifies a point in time of the first subset of the plurality of points in time, and display the document as the document existed at the point in time associated with the received user-selectable option.