Methods and Systems for Providing, by a Remote Machine, Access to Functionality Associated with a Resource Executing on a Local Machine

• US 20090070405A1
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Mazzaferri, Richard James
• Granted Patent: US 8,046,403 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/544 Remote
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A method for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine includes receiving, by a remote agent executing on a remote machine, an identification of a shell extension associated with a resource provided by a local machine. The remote agent installs a proxy handler associated with the identified shell extension. The proxy handler receives a request for access to the shell extension and redirects the request to a shell extension invoker executing on the local machine.

Claims

1. In a networked computing system, a method for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a remote agent executing on a remote machine, an identification of a shell extension associated with a resource provided by a local machine;

(b) installing, by the remote agent, a proxy handler associated with the identified shell extension;

(c) receiving, by the proxy handler, a request for access to the shell extension; and

(d) redirecting, by the proxy handler, the request to a shell extension invoker executing on the local machine.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(e) receiving, by the proxy handler, a result of executing the shell extension on the local machine.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises receiving, by the proxy handler from a shell, the request for access to the shell extension.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises intercepting a request for an identification of a handler.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising responding to the request with an identification of the proxy handler associated with the identified shell extension.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising requesting, by a user of a remote desktop environment, access to the shell extension.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying, in a desktop environment generated by the remote machine, a received result of executing the shell extension on the local machine.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, by the proxy handler to the shell extension invoker, data associated with the request.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising registering, by the remote agent, the proxy handler with a registry on the remote machine.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying, by a local agent executing on the local machine, a shell extension associated with a resource provided by the local machine, wherein the shell extension is to be integrated into a desktop environment of the remote machine.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising publishing, by the local agent, the identified shell extension.

12. A networked computing system for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the system comprising:

a remote agent executing on a remote machine and receiving an identification of a shell extension associated with a resource provided by a local machine;

a shell extension invoker residing on the local machine and associated with the identified shell extension; and

a proxy handler, installed by the remote agent, associated with the identified shell extension, receiving a request for access to the shell extension, and redirecting the received request to the shell extension invoker.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the remote agent further comprises a file system filter driver intercepting a request for an identification of a handler and responding to the request with an identification of the proxy handler.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the remote agent further comprises a registry filter driver intercepting a request for an identification of a handler and responding to the request with an identification of the proxy handler.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver receiving a result of executing the shell extension on the local machine.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the remote agent further comprises means for integrating a display of the result into a desktop environment generated by the remote machine.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver transmitting, to the shell extension invoker, data associated with the request.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the remote agent further comprises means for registering the proxy handler with a registry on the remote machine.

19. The system of claim 12 further comprising a local agent executing on the local machine and identifying the shell extension associated with the resource provided by the local machine.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the local agent further comprises means for publishing the identified shell extension.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension providing additional functionality in a context menu.

22. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an icon handler associating a customized icon with the resource.

23. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension providing additional functionality in program execution.

24. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension additional functionality in icon overlay.

25. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension associating a thumbnail icon with the resource.

26. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension providing additional functionality in a menu identifying a drop target.

27. The system of claim 12, wherein the proxy handler further comprises an association with an identified shell extension providing a display of additional information associated with the resource.

28. In a networked computing system, a method for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a remote agent executing on a remote machine, information associated with a context menu handler associated with a resource provided by a local machine;

(b) installing, by the remote agent, a proxy handler associated with the context menu handler, responsive to the received information;

(c) modifying, by the remote agent, at least one registry entry on the remote machine, responsive to the received information;

(d) receiving, by a shell, a request for a display of a context menu, the request generated on the local machine;

(e) generating, by the shell on the remote machine, graphical data representing the requested context menu, responsive to at least one modified registry entry;

(f) transmitting, by the remote agent, to a local agent on the local machine, the generated graphical data; and

(g) integrating, by the local agent, the generated graphical data into a local display of a desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and to resources provided by the local machine.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

(h) receiving, by the proxy handler, from the shell, a request for execution of a command associated with the context menu associated with the resource provided by the local machine;

(i) redirecting, by the proxy handler, the request to a verb invoker executing on the local machine; and

(j) executing, by the verb invoker, the command.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising integrating, into a desktop environment of the remote machine, a result of executing the command on the local machine.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein step (a) further comprises receiving, by the remote agent, an identification of a context menu handler.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein step (b) further comprises installing, by the remote agent, a static verb proxy handler associated with the context menu handler, responsive to the received information.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein step (b) comprises intercepting a request for an identification of a handler.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein step (a) further comprises identifying, by the local agent executing on the local machine, a context menu item associated with a resource provided by the local machine.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein step (a) further comprises receiving, by the remote agent, an identification of the context menu item.

36. The method of claim 34 further comprising publishing, by the local agent, the identified context menu item.

37. The method of claim 28, wherein step (a) further comprises receiving, by the remote agent, an identification of a default action associated with a context menu.

38. In a networked computing system, a method for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a remote agent executing on a remote machine, information associated with a context menu handler associated with a resource provided by the local machine;

(b) installing, by the remote agent, a proxy handler associated with the context menu handler, responsive to the received information;

(c) receiving, by a shell on the remote machine, from the remote agent, a request for a display of a context menu;

(d) receiving, by the shell on the remote machine, from the proxy handler, data associated with the context menu;

(e) generating, by the shell on the remote machine, graphical data representing the requested context menu, responsive to the data associated with the context menu;

(f) transmitting, by the remote agent, to a local agent on the local machine, the generated graphical data; and

(g) integrating, by the local agent, the generated graphical data into a local display of a desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and to resources provided by the local machine.

39. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

(h) receiving, by the proxy handler, from the shell, a request for execution of a command associated with a context menu item in the context menu associated with the resource provided by the local machine;

(i) redirecting, by the proxy handler, the request to a verb invoker executing on the local machine; and

(j) executing, by the verb invoker, the command.

40. The method of claim 39 further comprising integrating, into a desktop environment of the remote machine, a result of executing the command on the local machine.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein step (b) further comprises installing, by the remote agent, a dynamic verb proxy handler associated with the context menu handler, responsive to the received information.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein step (d) further comprises receiving, by the remote agent, an identification of a context menu item.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein step (d) further comprises receiving, by the remote agent, an identification of a command associated with the context menu item.

44. A networked computing system for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the system comprising:

a remote agent executing on a remote machine, receiving information associated with a context menu handler associated with a resource provided by a local machine, and modifying at least one registry entry on the remote machine responsive to the received information;

a proxy handler associated with the context menu handler and installed by the remote agent;

a shell on the remote machine i) receiving from the remote agent, a request for a display of a context menu, the request generated on the local machine, ii) generating graphical data representing the requested context menu, responsive to the modified at least one registry entry; and

a local agent on the local machine receiving, from the remote agent, the generated graphical data and integrating the generated graphical data into a local display of a desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and resources provided by the local machine.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a static verb proxy handler installed by the remote agent and associated with the context menu handler.

46. The system of claim 44 further comprising a verb invoker executing on the local machine.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver for receiving a request for execution of a command associated with the context menu handler and redirecting the request to the verb invoker for execution on the local machine.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the verb invoker further comprises means for integrating the result of the execution of the command into the local display of the desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and resources provided by the local machine.

49. The system of claim 47, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver receiving a result of executing the command on the local machine and providing the result to the shell on the remote machine.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the shell further comprises means for integrating the result of the execution of the command into a display of a desktop environment on the remote machine providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and to resources provided by the local machine.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the remote agent further comprises a receiver receiving an identification of the context menu handler.

52. The system of claim 50, wherein the remote agent further comprises means for modifying a registry entry on the remote machine to include the identification of the command associated with the context menu item.

53. The system of claim 50, wherein the remote agent further comprises a receiver receiving an identification of a command associated with a context menu item.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the remote agent further comprises means for installing a type of proxy handler associated with the identified command.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the local agent further comprises means for publishing the identified context menu item.

56. The system of claim 44, wherein the remote agent further comprises a file system filter driver intercepting a request for an identification of a handler.

57. The system of claim 44, wherein the remote agent further comprises a registry filter driver intercepting a request for an identification of a handler.

58. A networked computing system for providing, by a remote machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a local machine, the system comprising:

a remote agent executing on a remote machine and receiving information associated with a context menu handler associated with a resource provided by a local machine;

a proxy handler associated with the context menu handler and installed by the remote agent;

a shell on the remote machine i) receiving from the remote agent, a request for a display of a context menu, ii) receiving, from the proxy handler, data associated with the context menu, and iii) generating graphical data representing the requested context menu, responsive to the received data associated with the context menu; and

a local agent on the local machine receiving, from the remote agent, the generated graphical data and integrating the generated graphical data into a local display of a desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and resources provided by the local machine.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a dynamic verb proxy handler associated with the context menu handler and installed by the remote agent.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver receiving, from the shell on the remote machine, a request for data associated with the context menu and transmitting to the shell, an identification of at least one context menu item.

61. The system of claim 58 further comprising a verb invoker executing on the local machine.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver for receiving a request for execution of a command associated with a context menu item in the context menu and redirecting the request to the verb invoker for execution on the local machine.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the verb invoker further comprises means for integrating the result of the execution of the command into the local display of the desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and resources provided by the local machine.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the proxy handler further comprises a transceiver receiving a result of executing the command on the local machine and providing the result to the shell on the remote machine.

65. The system of claim 64, wherein the shell further comprises means for integrating the result of the execution of the command into a display of a desktop environment on the remote machine providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and to resources provided by the local machine.

66. The system of claim 58, wherein the remote agent further comprises a receiver receiving an identification of the context menu handler.

67. The system of claim 58, wherein the local agent executing on the local machine further comprises means for identifying a context menu handler associated with the context menu.

68. In a networked computing system, a method for providing, by a local machine, access to functionality associated with a resource executing on a remote machine, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a local agent executing on a local machine, information associated with a context menu handler associated with a resource provided by the remote machine;

(b) installing, by the local agent, a proxy handler associated with the context menu handler, responsive to the received information;

(c) receiving, by a shell, a request for a display of a context menu, the request generated on the local machine;

(d) receiving, by the shell, from the proxy handler, data associated with the context menu;

(e) generating, by the shell, graphical data representing the requested context menu, responsive to the data associated with the context menu; and

(f) integrating, by a local agent on the local machine, the generated graphical data into a local display of a desktop environment providing integrated access both to resources provided by the remote machine and to resources provided by the local machine.

69. The method of claim 68 further comprising:

(g) receiving, by the proxy handler, from the shell, a request for execution of a command associated with the context menu associated with the resource provided by the remote machine;

(h) redirecting, by the proxy handler, the request to a verb invoker executing on the remote machine; and

(i) executing, by the shell, in communication with the verb invoker, the command.