Methods, systems and computer program products for performing document-inclusion operations over a network

• US 20030163515A1
• Filed: 02/25/2002
• Published: 08/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Foxford, Rex A., Loveland, Shawn Domenic
• Granted Patent: US 7,287,058 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages

Abstract

Performing operations over a low bandwidth and/or high cost networks, the operations requiring access to a document. Such operations may include sending/forwarding an e-mail with an attachment or printing/faxing a document over a network. A client, such as a mobile wireless device, sends an instruction to perform the operation to a server. The instruction identifies the document that is required to be accessed to complete the instruction, but does not include the document itself. The server then determines whether it has access to the required document. If the document is unavailable or an older version, the server requests the document from the client. The client then sends the document to the server so that the server may complete the operation requested by the document-inclusion instruction.

Claims

1. In a network environment that includes a client that is network connectable to a server over a wireless network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, a method for the client causing an operation to be performed on the document while potentially conserving the bandwidth of the wireless network, the method comprising the following:

an act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction to the server, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of the document, but not including the document itself;

an act of the client receiving an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server; and

an act of the client sending the document to the server so that the server may complete a document-inclusion operation corresponding to the document-inclusion instruction.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to send an electronic mail, the electronic mail having the identified document as an attachment.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to forward an electronic mail, the electronic mail having the identified document as an attachment.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instructions comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to send a meeting request, the meeting request having the identified document as a calendar item attachment.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to send a response to a meeting request, the response having the identified document as a calendar item attachment.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to fax a document to a particular address.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction comprises an act of the client sending an instruction to print a document at a particular printer.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of the client receiving an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server comprises the following:

an act of the client receiving an indication that a version of the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is not available at the server.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the act of the client sending the document to the server comprises the following:

an act of the client sending the version of the document to the server.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the act of the client sending the document to the server comprises the following:

an act of the client sending changes made between the version of the document that the server has access to and the version of the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction.

11. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a client that is network connectable to a server over a wireless network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, the computer program product for implementing a method for the client causing an operation to be performed on the document while potentially conserving the bandwidth of the wireless network, the computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media have stored thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of the document, but not including the document itself;

computer-executable instructions for detecting the receipt of an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server; and

computer-executable instructions for causing the document to be sent to the server so that the server may complete a document-inclusion operation corresponding to the document-inclusion instruction.

12. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the one or more computer-readable media comprise physical storage media.

13. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to send an electronic mail to be sent to the server, the electronic mail having the identified document as an attachment.

14. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to forward an electronic mail to be sent to the server, the electronic mail having the identified document as an attachment.

15. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to send a meeting request to be sent to the server, the meeting request having the identified document as a calendar item attachment.

16. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to send a response to a meeting request to be sent to the server, the response having the identified document as a calendar item attachment.

17. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to fax a document to a particular address to be sent to the server.

18. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing an instruction to print a document at a particular printer to be sent to the server.

19. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions for detecting the receipt of an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for detecting the receipt of an indication that a version of the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is not available at the server.

20. A computer program product in accordance with claim 19, wherein the computer-executable instructions for causing the document to be sent to the server comprise the following:

computer-executable instructions for causing the version of the document to be sent to the server.

21. In a network environment that includes a client that is “

network connectable”

to a server over a wireless network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, a method for the client causing an operation to be performed on the document while potentially conserving the bandwidth of the wireless network, the method comprising the following;

an act of the client sending a document-inclusion instruction to the server, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of the document, but not including the document itself; and

a step for ensuring that a document-inclusion operation corresponding to the document-inclusion instruction is performed so as to conserve the network bandwidth of the wireless network.

22. A method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the step for ensuring comprises the following:

an act of the client receiving an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server; and

an act of the client sending the document to the server so that the server may complete a document-inclusion operation corresponding to the document-inclusion instruction.

23. In a network environment that includes a client that is network connectable to a server over a wireless network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, a method for the server allowing the client to cause an operation to be performed on behalf of the user of the client while potentially conserving the bandwidth of the wireless network, the method comprising the following:

an act of the server receiving a document-inclusion instruction, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of a document, but not including the document itself;

an act of the server determining that the server does not have access to the document other than from the client over the wireless network;

an act of the server causing the document to be sent to the server from the client over the wireless network; and

an act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the accessed document.

24. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the access document comprises the following:

an act of sending an electronic mail with the document as an attachment.

25. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the access document comprises the following:

an act of forwarding an electronic mail with the document as an attachment.

26. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the access document comprises the following:

an act of sending a meeting request with the document as a calendar item attachment.

27. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the access document comprises the following:

an act of sending a response to a meeting request with the document as a calendar item attachment.

28. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the accessed document comprises the following:

an act of faxing the document.

29. A method in accordance with claim 23, wherein the act of the server executing the document-inclusion instruction using the accessed document comprises the following:

an act of printing the document.

30. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a client that is network connectable to a server over a wireless network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, the computer program product for implementing a method for the server allowing the client to cause an operation to be performed on behalf of the user of the client while potentially conserving the bandwidth of the wireless network, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon the following:

computer-executable instructions for detecting the receipt of a document-inclusion instruction, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of a document, but not including the document itself;

computer-executable instructions for determining that the server does not have access to the document other than from the client over the wireless network;

computer-executable instructions for causing the document to be sent to the server from the client over the wireless network; and

computer-executable instructions for executing the document-inclusion instruction using the accessed document.

31. A computer program product in accordance with claim 30, wherein the one or more computer-readable media are physical storage media.

32. A network comprising:

a mobile wireless device; and

a server computer system that is network connectable to the mobile wireless device over a wireless network;

the mobile wireless device comprising;

a local store containing at least a document;

a networking module configured to send and receive communications over the wireless network to and from at least the server computer system; and

a processing module configured to cause a document-inclusion instruction to be sent to the server using the networking module, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of the document, but not including the document itself, the processing module further configured to detect, using the networking module, the receipt of an indication that the document identified in the document-inclusion instruction is unavailable to the server, the processing module also configured to thereafter cause the document to be sent to the server so that the server may complete a document-inclusion operation corresponding to the document-inclusion instruction.

33. A network comprising:

a mobile wireless device; and

a server computer system that is network connectable to the mobile wireless device over a wireless network, the server computer system comprising;

a local store that does not contain a particular document;

a networking module configured to send and receive communications over the wireless network to and from at least the mobile wireless device; and

a processing module configured to detect, using the networking module, the receipt of a document-inclusion instruction from the mobile wireless device, the document-inclusion instruction including an identification of a document, but not including the document itself, the processing module further configured to determine that the server does not have access to the document other than from the client over the wireless network, the processing module further configured to thereafter cause the document to be sent to the server from the client over the wireless network, and to execute the document-inclusion instruction using the accessed document.

34. In a network environment that includes a client that is network connectable to a server over a network, the server configured to perform operations on documents on behalf of the user of the client, a method for the client sending an e-mail with an attachment using the server, the method comprising the following:

an act of the client sending an e-mail to the server, the e-mail including an identification of a document that is to be included in the e-mail as an attachment, the e-mail not including the attachment itself;

an act of the client receiving an indication that the document identified in the e-mail is unavailable to the server; and

an act of the client sending the document to the server so that the server may attachment the document to the e-mail.