Contact card

• US 20040122683A1
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Perlow, Jonathan D., van Dok, Cornelis K., Park, Vivien, Grossman, Joel K., Blagsvedt, Sean O., McKelvey, Michelle D., Israeli, Gilad
• Granted Patent: US 7,370,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

An interface for enabling a user to quickly access contact information and contact-centric tasks is displayed when an appropriate request for a contact card associated with a contact is received. The contact card displays contact information corresponding with the contact as well as contact-centric tasks that may be engaged in between the client computing system and the computing system of the contact. The list of contact-centric tasks is organized according to predetermined criteria, such as whether the contact-centric task is associated with an application that has provided contact information to the client computing system and whether the contact is a member of a group utilizing a contact-centric task. The contact card may also include an object comprising a type-in line for launching communication with the contact.

Claims

1. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a contact card user interface that is configured to display contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, a method for displaying contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request at the computing system for a contact card user interface;

a step for displaying the contact card user interface at the display device upon receiving the request for the contact card user interface, the contact card user interface including;

contact information associated with a contact; and

a filtered list of contact-centric tasks that are associated with the contact, wherein the filtered list is filtered according to a predetermined criteria, and wherein each of the listed contact-centric tasks comprises an object that can be selected to engage in an activity with the contact.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information includes one or more of a name, an email address, an address, a telephone number, a facsimile number, a network status, online presence status, and an image associated with a contact.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information includes a name, an email address, a telephone number, and a network status associated with the contact.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, further including the act of displaying a launch object that can be used to send messages to the contact.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the launch object includes a type-in line that can be used to receive text and attachments that are to be sent to the contact.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the displayed contact-centric tasks is displayed by the contact card interface in one of two different sections.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein one of the two different sections includes a pinned task section where the user places preferred contact-centric tasks.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein a second one of the two different sections includes a most frequently used task section where new contact-centric tasks are listed prior to being placed in the pinned task section.

9. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the contact-centric tasks are owned and controlled by a hosting application.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether contact information has been provided to the computing system by one or more applications associated with one or more contact-centric tasks.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether the contact is a member of a group associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is configured to be customized by a user with the contact card interface, such that the user can modify the manner and order in which the contact-centric tasks are listed by the contact card interface.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, further including the act of displaying one or more objects that can be used to access additional contact information about the contact.

14. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact-centric tasks include one or more of email tasks, file sharing tasks, audio/visual tasks, instant messaging tasks, and telephony tasks.

15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact-centric tasks include one or more tasks added by a third party application.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein selection of one or more of the contact-centric tasks launches one or more applications associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact card user interface comprises a light-weight user interface that is hosted by a third-party application.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the contact card user interface is configured to not interfere with the third-party application.

19. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information can be dynamically edited.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the contact information is dynamically edited when the contact card user interface queries one or more remote directories for updated contact information and displays the updated contact information from the one or more remote directories.

21. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a contact card user interface that is configured to display contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, a method for displaying contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request at the computing system for a contact card user interface;

an act of identifying one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by the computing system;

an act of identifying one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by a contact computing system;

an act of filtering one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by both the computing system and the contact computing system based upon a predetermined criteria;

displaying the filtered list of contact-centric tasks at the display device; and

an act of displaying contact information associated with the contact.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the contact information includes one or more of a name, an email address, an address, a telephone number, a facsimile number, an online presence status, and an image associated with a contact.

23. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the contact information includes a name, an email address, a telephone number, and an online presence status associated with the contact.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, further including the act of displaying one or more objects that can be used to access additional contact information about the contact.

25. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the contact-centric tasks include one or more of email tasks, file sharing tasks, audio/visual tasks, instant messaging tasks, and telephony tasks.

26. A method as recited in claim 21, further including the act of displaying a launch object that can be used to receive text input that is to be sent to the contact and to send the text input to the contact.

27. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether contact information has been provided to the computing system by one or more applications associated with one or more contact-centric tasks.

28. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether the contact is a member of a group associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

29. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered by an application that is hosting the contact card.

30. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is configured to be customized by a user with the contact card interface, such that the user can modify the manner and order in which the contact-centric tasks are listed by the contact card interface.

31. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is at least partially displayed in two different sections that include:

a pinned task section where the user places preferred contact-centric tasks, and

a most frequently used task section where new contact-centric tasks are listed prior to being placed in the pinned task section.

32. A method as recited in claim 31, further including an act of displaying an object for accessing additional contact-centric tasks that are not displayed in the pinned tasks section and the most-frequently used task section.

33. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein selection of one or more of the contact-centric tasks launches one or more applications associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

34. A computer program product for a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a contact card user interface that is configured to display contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer executable instructions for implementing a method for displaying contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request at the computing system for a contact card user interface;

an act of identifying one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by the computing system;

an act of identifying one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by a contact computing system;

an act of filtering one or more contact-centric tasks that are enabled by both the computing system and the contact computing system based on a predetermined criteria;

displaying the filtered list of contact-centric tasks at the display device;

an act of displaying a launch object that can be used to receive and send messages to the contact; and

an act of displaying contact information associated with the contact at the display device, the contact information including one or more of a name, a phone number, an email address, a status, and an image.

35. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include system memory.

36. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the contact information includes one or more of a name, an email address, an address, a telephone number, a facsimile number, a network status, and an image associated with a contact.

37. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the contact information includes a name, an email address, a telephone number, and a network status associated with the contact.

38. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the contact-centric tasks include one or more of email tasks, file sharing tasks, audio/visual tasks, instant messaging tasks, and telephony tasks.

39. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, further including the act of displaying a launch object that can be used to receive text input that is to be sent to the contact and to send the text input to the contact.

40. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether contact information has been provided to the computing system by one or more applications associated with one or more contact-centric tasks.

41. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein the filtered list of contact-centric tasks is filtered based at least in part upon a determination as to whether the contact is a member of a group associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

42. A computer program product as recited in claim 34, wherein selection of one or more of the contact-centric tasks launches one or more applications associated with the one or more contact-centric tasks.

43. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a contact card user interface that is configured to display contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, a method for displaying contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the method comprising acts for:

receiving a request at the computing system for a contact card user interface; and

displaying the contact card user interface at the display device upon receiving the request for the contact card user interface, the contact card user interface including;

contact information associated with a contact; and

a filtered list of contact-centric tasks that are associated with the contact, wherein the filtered list is filtered according to a predetermined criteria, and wherein each of the listed contact-centric tasks comprises an object that can be selected to engage in an activity with the contact.

44. A method as recited in claim 43, wherein third party applications control at least one contact-centric task listed in the filtered list of contact-centric tasks.

45. A method as recited in claim 43, wherein the contact card is displayed as a fly out user interface.

46. A method as recited in claim 43, wherein the contact information can be edited by the user in-line.

47. A computer program product for a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a contact card user interface that is configured to display contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer executable instructions for implementing a method for displaying contact information and contact-centric tasks at the display device, the method comprising acts for:

receiving a request at the computing system for a contact card user interface; and

displaying the contact card user interface at the display device upon receiving the request for the contact card user interface, the contact card user interface including;

contact information associated with a contact; and

a filtered list of contact-centric tasks that are associated with the contact, wherein the filtered list is filtered according to a predetermined criteria, and wherein each of the listed contact-centric tasks comprises an object that can be selected to engage in an activity with the contact.