Seamless windows functionality to remote desktop sessions regarding z-order

• US 20060230156A1
• Filed: 04/06/2006
• Published: 10/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericom Software Ltd. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericom Software Ltd. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Heyman, Eran, Shilo, Dror, Shappir, Dan
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,837 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

In a client-server system, a server-node application runs a user session and a remote presentation protocol communicates between the client node and the server node. The server node stores a remote virtual desktop including remote windows of the user session. The client node displays multiple local windows of applications running locally on the client node and further displays one or more windows of the remote virtual desktop. The one or more windows are clipped to produce a clipped region so that the remote windows are displayed therein to appear as the local windows. The local windows are enumerated according to z-order from back to front and an area of each local window which overlaps the clipped region is subtracted from the clipped region so that the local windows show through the area.

Claims

1. In a client-server system, a method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a server-node application running a user session, wherein a remote presentation protocol communicates between a client node and said server node, wherein said server node stores a remote virtual desktop including a plurality of remote windows of said user session;

(b) displaying on said client node a plurality of local windows of applications running locally on said client node and displaying in at least one window said remote virtual desk-top; and

(c) clipping at least a portion of said at least one window, thereby producing a clipped region, so that said remote windows are displayed therein to appear as said local windows.

2. The method, according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(d) enumerating over said local windows and subtracting from said clipped region an area of each said local window overlapping said clipped region, whereby said local windows show through said area.

3. The method, according to claim 2, wherein said enumerating is performed according to z-order from back to front.

4. The method, according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

(e) providing at least one local stub window for at least one of said remote windows; and

(f) setting a z-order index of said at least one local stub window to match a z-order index of said at least one remote window.

5. The method, according to claim 2, wherein one of said local windows is a stub window, wherein said stub window is associated with one of the remote windows, further comprising the step of:

(e) adding to said clipped region the area of said one associated remote window.

6. The method, according to claim 5, wherein an owned remote window is owned by said one associated remote window, further comprising the step of:

(f) adding to said clipped region the area of said owned remote window.

7. The method, according to claim 2, wherein said enumerating is performed as an atomic operation, further comprising the step of:

(e) copying a plurality of respective handles of the local windows into a data structure.

8. The method, according to claim 2, further comprising the step of:

(e) recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating upon intercepting local window events.

9. The method, according to claim 2, further comprising the step of:

(e) sending a notification from said server-node application of an event regarding one of said remote windows;

(f) upon said receiving said notification, recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating.

10. The method, according to claim 9, wherein said notification regards one of said remote windows being a topmost remote window, further comprising the step of

(g) making said at least one window topmost.

11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method in a client-server system wherein the client server system includes a server node application running a user session, wherein a remote presentation protocol communicates between a client node and said server node, wherein said server node stores a remote virtual desktop including a plurality of remote windows of said user session, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying on said client node a plurality of local windows of applications running locally on said client node and displaying as at least one window said remote virtual desktop;

(b) clipping at least a portion of said at least one window, thereby producing a clipped region, so that said remote windows are displayed therein to appear as said local windows; and

(c) enumerating over said local windows and subtracting from said clipped region an area of each said local window overlapping said clipped region.

12. A client-server system comprising:

(a) a server-node application component, installed on a server node, runs a user session, wherein a remote presentation protocol communicates between a client node and said server node, wherein said server node stores a remote virtual desktop including a plurality of remote windows of said user session; and

(b) a client-node application component which runs on said client node and displays a plurality of local windows of applications running locally on said client node and displays at least one window of said remote virtual desktop,

wherein a portion of said at least one window is clipped, thereby producing a clipped region, so that said at least one Window is appear as said local windows, wherein said client-node application component enumerates over said local windows and subtracts from said clipped region an area of each said local window overlapping said clipped region.

13. The system, according to claim 12, wherein said remote presentation protocol is Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

14. The system, according to claim 12, wherein said server node is Microsoft Terminal Server.

15. The system, according to claim 12, wherein said server-node application component transmits status information to said client node application component, wherein said status information is related to at least one of said remote windows running in said user session.