Managing and collaborating with digital content using a dynamic user interface

• US 20060123347A1
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hewitt, Joe, Bishop, Marlon
• Granted Patent: US 7,689,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/748
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

A universal digital content system provides a dynamic user interface having a viewing area, an action menu area, and an organizing area. A user can create, organize, send, receive, access, collaborate with and otherwise manage digital content through a single user interface. The universal digital content system provides multiple ways of viewing and organizing all of the digital content accessible through the dynamic user interface. In addition, a user can create a collaboration session with one or more contacts using one or more digital content files.

Claims

1. A system allowing a user to send and receive electronic messages in more than one messaging format without switching from one application to another application, the system comprising:

a user interface configured to allow a user to manage electronic messages;

at least two electronic messaging modules, the at least two electronic messaging modules being accessed through the user interface so that a user is not required to access different applications to manage electronic messages; and

at least two electronic messaging applications communicating with the at least two electronic messaging modules.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least two electronic messaging modules comprises at least two of:

an instant messaging module;

an email messaging module;

a text messaging module;

a voice messaging module; and

a collaboration module.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the voice messaging module communicates with a translator module to convert audio messages to text format and vice versa.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a user profile module for allowing a user to configure when incoming messages should be delivered silently in another messaging format.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein the user profile module allows a user to configure when to receive urgent message from specified senders.

6. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the collaboration module uses the instant messaging module for an urgent messaging mode and the email messaging module for a silent messaging mode.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the collaboration module tracks links made between at least two digital content files.

8. In a system accessing digital content files created in one or more applications, a method for organizing these digital content files based on one or more categories, the digital content file being accessible without switching from one application to another application, the method comprising:

storing one or more digital content files in at least one storage device such that the one or more digital content files can be sorted according to one or more categories;

presenting a single user interface through which a user can specify the sort category to view one or more digital content files;

receiving a selection from the user through the single user interface to access one or more digital content files; and

initiating one or more applications to allow the user to view the selected one or more digital content files.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more digital content files are sorted based on at least of:

the author of the digital content file;

the date of creation of the digital content file;

the date of receiving the digital content file;

the date of sending the digital content file;

the subject of the digital content file;

the application type of the digital content file; and

the conversation corresponding to the digital content file;

10. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising receiving a selection from a user to identify all of the conversations occurring around a particular digital content file.

11. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

monitoring an instant messaging session;

analyzing the instant messaging session for periods of inactivity;

when a period of inactivity is identified, creating an instant messaging period based from the beginning of the instant messaging session to the beginning of the period of inactivity; and

storing the instant messaging period so that the user can view an instant messaging session.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein a conversation comprises one or more digital content files electronically linked together.

13. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more digital content files comprises at least one of an instant messaging file, an email messaging file, a test messaging file, a voice messaging file, a word processing file, an image file, an audio file, a movie file, or combinations thereof.

14. In a network system, a method for allowing collaboration on a digital content file, the method comprising:

selecting a referenced file;

creating a collaboration file comprising one or more dynamic links to the referenced file, the one or more dynamic links referring to at least a portion of the referenced file; and

sending the collaboration file to one or more collaborators.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising receiving input into the collaboration file.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least a portion of the referenced file is digital content from the referenced file, and the one or more dynamic links displays in the collaboration file the digital content from the referenced file.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the one or more dynamic links is displayed as a hyperlink in the collaboration file.

18. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least a portion of the digital content file refers to the entire digital content file and the one or more dynamic link is displayed as a hyperlink in the collaboration file.

19. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein sending the collaboration file to one or more collaborators comprises storing the referenced file at a remote server and displaying the one or more dynamic links as hyperlinks in the collaboration file.

20. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising receiving edits to the referenced file.

21. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein sending the collaboration file to one or more collaborators comprises sending the collaboration file as at least one of an instant message, an email message, or a text message, or combinations thereof.

22. In a network system, a method for allowing collaboration on a digital content file, the method comprising:

receiving a collaboration file comprising one or more dynamic links to one or more referenced files, the one or more dynamic links referring to at least a portion of the referenced file;

accessing the collaboration file;

displaying the collaboration file so that one or more dynamic links can be selected by a collaborator;

receiving a selection to view one or more dynamic links;

displaying the portion of the referenced file to which the one or more dynamic links refers.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising receiving edits to the referenced file.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising receiving input into the collaboration file.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the at least a portion of the referenced file is digital content from the referenced file, and the one or more dynamic links displays in the collaboration file the digital content from the referenced file.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more dynamic links is displayed as a hyperlink in the collaboration file.

27. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the at least a portion of the digital content file refers to the entire digital content file and the one or more dynamic link is displayed as a hyperlink in the collaboration file.

28. The method as recited in claim 26, wherein displaying the portion of the referenced file to which the one or more dynamic links refers comprises accessing the referenced document stored from a remote server.

29. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein receiving a collaboration file comprises receiving the collaboration file as at least one of an instant message, an email message, or a text message, or combinations thereof.

30. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising:

selecting a second referenced file;

inserting the second referenced file into the collaboration file, wherein one or more dynamic links are displayed in the collaboration file to refer to at least a portion of the second referenced file; and

sending the collaboration file to one or more collaborators.