Centralized alert and notifications repository, manager, and viewer

• US 20040061716A1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Daniel W. Crevier, Dennis T. Cheung, Omar H. Shahine, Sai Wing Yeung
• Inventors: Shahine, Omar H., Crevier, Daniel W., Yeung, Sai Wing, Cheung, Dennis T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,523,397 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/710
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A central notifications manager user interface is employed for presenting and managing notifications and alerts received from a plurality of different sources in a consistent and uniform format. The different sources can include one or more business productivity programs, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, or email/personal information manager software application, as well a messaging service that produces alerts transmitted over the Internet. The user can selectively enable the display of pop-up reminders to notify the user when a task becomes due, and can selectively display an entire list of notifications and alerts that are active, enabling the user to manage (i.e., edit) the notifications and alerts within the source application. Pop-up display of notifications is automatically disabled during a presentation to avoid undesired display interruptions.

Claims

1. A method for centrally coordinating and presenting notifications and alerts to a user of a computing device in a uniform and consistent format, where said notifications and alerts can originate from any of a plurality of different sources, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a central notification manager user interface on the computing device of the user for use in handling the notifications and alerts;

(b) automatically responding to each notification and each alert originating from any of the plurality of different sources, where the plurality of different sources are substantially independent of each other;

(c) for each notification or alert, employing the central notification manager for providing an indication of the notification or alert to the user in the uniform and consistent format; and

(d) enabling the user to view information regarding notifications and alerts that have been produced and are still active, using the central notification manager user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing at least a portion of the notifications and alerts in memory for access by the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different sources include at least one business productivity software application.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the notifications and alerts that are stored comprise at least one of:

(a) a follow-up event associated with a file produced using said at least one business productivity software application;

(b) a task to be performed at a specific date and time; and

(c) a reminder for the user of a specific date and time that has been selected by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of automatically blocking notifications and alerts from being displayed to the user while a presentation software application is executing on the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one source of the notifications and alerts comprises a messaging service that is coupled to the computing device over a network, further comprising the step of receiving the notifications and alerts over the network from another site.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling the user to selectively enable display of notifications and alerts by the central notification manager user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) counting the notifications and alerts that have been detected and are still active to produce a count;

(b) decrementing the count when in response to one of;

(i) expiration of one of a notification and an alert; and

(ii) deletion of one of a notification and an alert by the user; and

(c) displaying the count to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of automatically starting the central notification manager user interface when it is needed to display a notification or an alert to the user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling the user to defer a notifications or an alert for a selected snooze time interval after the notifications or alert has been displayed to the user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of indicating a status of notifications and alerts that are associated with at least one of a specific date and a specific time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the status specifies whether said one of the specific date and the specific time has already passed.

13. A memory medium storing machine instructions for implementing the steps of claim 1.

14. A system for centrally coordinating and presenting notifications and alerts to a user in a uniform and consistent format, where said notifications and alerts can originate from any of a plurality of different sources, comprising:

(a) a display;

(b) a user input device;

(c) a memory in which machine instructions are stored;

(d) a processor coupled to the display, the user input device, and the memory, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including;

(i) providing a central notification manager user interface that is visible on the display;

(ii) automatically responding to each notification and alert on the computing device, originating from any of the plurality of different sources, where the plurality of different sources are substantially independent of each other;

(iii) for each notification or alert, employing the central notification manage user interface for providing an indication of the notification or alert on the display, in the uniform and consistent format; and

(iv) enabling a user to view information regarding the notifications and alerts that have been produced and are still active, using the central notification manager user interface, the display, and the user input device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to store at least a portion of the notifications and alerts in the memory.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of different sources include at least one business productivity software application that is executed by the processor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the notifications and alerts stored in the memory comprise at least one of:

(a) a follow-up event associated with a file produced using said at least one business productivity software application;

(b) a task to be performed at a specific date and time; and

(c) a reminder for the user of a specific date and time that has been selected by the user.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to automatically block notifications and alerts from being displayed on the display while a presentation software application is being executed by the processor.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising a network interface that is adapted to couple the processor to a network, wherein at least one source of the notifications and alerts comprises a messaging service that is coupled to the processor through the network interface, and wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to receive the notifications and alerts over the network from another site.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to enable a user to selectively disable display of notifications and alerts on the display with the central notification manager user interface.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to:

(a) count the notifications and alerts that have been detected and are still active, producing a count;

(b) decrement the count in response to one of;

(i) an expiration of one of a notification and an alert; and

(ii) deletion of one of a notification and an alert by a user; and

(c) display the count to a user on the display.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to automatically start the central notification manager user interface when needed to display a notification or an alert to the user.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to enable a user to defer one of the notifications and the alerts for a selected snooze time interval after said one of the notifications and the alerts has been displayed.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the machine instructions further cause the processor to indicate a status of notifications and alerts that are associated with at least one of a specific date and a specific time.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the status specifies whether said one of the specific date and the specific time has already passed.