Method and system for creating a place type to be used as a template for other places

• US 20040070609A1
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Estrada, Julio
• Granted Patent: US 6,996,780 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Collaboration space object model provides for a place consisting of rooms created by users interacting with a client browser. A skin (i.e., theme) may be used as template for creating places. PlaceBots (i.e., agents) provide for accessing, processing and managing data in a place. HTML may be dragged and dropped into a place, where it is parsed and corresponding place fields created. MS Excel or Word documents may be dragged and dropped into a place, which creates a corresponding form, and users may create new documents using that form. A place type comprising a template of an entire place, or collaboration space, may be used to create new places. Changes made to a place may be reported, subject to security controls, by selecting what'"'"'s new. Task fields are provided allowing web browser creation of forms for work flow. Place enabled objects are provided for synchronous communications. A quick browse feature provides a simplified format for browser windows based on selection of HTML links. MS Office documents may launched within a place for in place editing and importing the resulting document into the place.

Claims

1. A method for creating a place in collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

creating a first place; and

saving said first place as a place type template from which other places may be created in said collaboration space.

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

responsive to a user selecting a create a collaboration space place action from a browser user interface, displaying a list of custom place types;

receiving from said user a name of a custom place type from said list, together with a name for a new place, user name and password; and

responsive to verification of said user as authorized by user name and password, creating a new place from said custom place type.

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

organizing said collaboration space according to an object model selectively including place, room, folder, page, member, form, field, place type, room type, skin, and placebot objects.

4. The method of claim 3, said place type being implemented as a directory within said room type.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

manipulating functionality provided by said place type template to customize said collaboration space by integrating external technology.

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

granting authority to an authorized user to access said place type and create a new place from said place type; and

responsive to a request from said authorized user, modifying said new place.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

responsive to creation of said place type template from said first place, using said place type template as a custom place type for creating said other places having the format, look and feel of said first place.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

including membership, forms, placebots and skins defining a collaboration space place within said place type.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of:

responsive to a user what'"'"'s new request, displaying at said browser changes made to said place type.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of:

updating said other place created using said place type when said place type is modified.

11. A method for creating a place in collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

creating a first place;

saving said first place as a place type template from which other places may be created in said collaboration space; and

responsive to place manager selection;

selectively preventing changes to look and feel of said other place by not presenting decorate options in said place type;

selectively displaying a description of said place type;

creating said new place from said place type template;

displaying source information for said place type template, including name and address of collaboration space place on which said place type is based;

selectively hide or redisplay names and descriptions of place types in said list of available place types;

selectively update new places created using said place type when said place type changes; and

selectively copying said place type from a server on which said place type was created to another server.

12. A collaboration space system comprising:

a first place;

a place type template created from said first place creating other places within said collaboration space.

13. The system of claim 12, said collaboration space being organized according to an object model selectively including place, room, folder, page, member, form, field, place type, room type, skin, and placebot objects.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a browser for manipulating functionality provided by said place type template.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a browser for manipulating functionality provided by said place type template to customize said collaboration space by integrating external technology.

16. The system of claim 13, said place type template being a directory containing all rooms comprising said place type template.

17. The system of claim 16, said place type template including membership, forms, placebots and skins.

18. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for creating a place in collaboration space, said method steps comprising:

creating a first place; and

saving said first place as a place type template from which other places may be created in said collaboration space.

19. The program storage device of claim 18, said method steps further comprising:

responsive to a user selecting a create a collaboration space place action from a browser user interface, displaying a list of custom place types;

receiving from said user a name of a custom place type from said list, together with a name for a new place, user name and password; and

responsive to verification of said user as authorized by user name and password, creating a new place from said custom place type.

20. A computer program product or computer program element for creating a place in collaboration space by creating a first place;

and saving said first place as a place type template from which other places may be created in said collaboration space.