CONNECTING GALLERIES TO DYNAMIC SERVER-HOSTED CONTENT

• US 20110016194A1
• Filed: 07/15/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sarpangal, Dheeraj, Von Haden, Kyle Matthew, Lee, Sang Ju, Woods, Peter Michael, Zhao, Xiaomeng
• Granted Patent: US 8,296,399 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]

Abstract

Application gallery connections to dynamic server-hosted content may be provided. An application may be instantiated on a client device. Upon loading, the application may connect to an available content server and download a content manifest. An application setting, such as a privacy setting or an administrative restriction may prevent connections to the content server; otherwise the application may determine whether the content manifest lists any new content for download. New content may be downloaded and made available to users of the application. The application may also determine whether any previously downloaded content is out of date according to the content manifest and remove unused content.

Claims

1. A method for providing dynamic application content, the method comprising:

instantiating an application on a client device;

retrieving a manifest associated with available content;

determining whether the manifest identifies at least one content element not available on the client device; and

in response to determining that the at least one content element is not available on the client device, downloading the at least one content element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the manifest comprises at least one content element and a download location for the at least one content element.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the manifest is retrieved from a first remote server and the download location for the at least one content element comprises a second remote server.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an application setting permits the application to retrieve the manifest; and

in response to determining that the application setting does not permit the application to retrieve the manifest, instantiating the application with a plurality of content elements already available on the client device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the application setting comprises an administrative policy setting.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the application setting comprises a user privacy setting.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the application setting comprises a geographic location setting.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the client device comprises at least one content element not listed in the manifest.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

in response to determining that the client device comprises at least one content element not listed in the manifest, determining whether the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining whether the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application comprises determining whether the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been moved to a file location associated with the application.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining whether the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application comprises determining whether a registry setting associated with the at least one content element not listed in the manifest indicates that the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

in response to determining that the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application, saving the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has been used by the application.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

in response to determining that the at least one content element not listed in the manifest has not been used by the application, removing the at least one content element not listed in the manifest.

14. A computer-readable medium which stores a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for providing dynamic application content, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

instantiating an application on a client;

contacting a content server associated with the application;

retrieving a content manifest from the content server; and

comparing the content manifest from the content server with a list of content elements on the client.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

downloading at least one new content element from the content server, wherein the at least one new content element is listed in the content manifest from the content server and not listed in the list of content elements on the client.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether at least one content element listed in the list of content elements on the client is not listed in the content manifest from the content server; and

in response to determining that the at least one content element listed in the list of content elements on the client is not listed in the content manifest from the content server, determining whether the at least one content element has been used by the application.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

in response to determining that the at least one content element has not been used by the application, deleting the at least one content element.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying a preview gallery in the application, wherein the preview gallery comprises a user interface element operative to apply the downloaded at least one content element to a document associated with the application.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the content manifest from the content server comprises at plurality of content elements associated with a plurality of download servers.

20. A system for providing dynamic application content, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

instantiate an application, wherein the application comprises a plurality of content elements stored in a file cache associated with the application;

determine whether the application can connect to a remote content server, wherein being operative to determine whether the application can connect to the remote content server comprises at least one of the following;

being operative to determine whether an available network connection is active between the system and the remote content server and being operative to determine whether an application setting permits the system to connect to the remote content server;

in response to determining that the application can connect to the remote content server, downloading a content manifest from the remote content server wherein the content manifest comprises a plurality of content elements associated with the application and a download location associated with each of the plurality of content elements;

determine whether the content manifest comprises at least one new content element available for download, wherein being operative to determine whether the content manifest comprises at least one new content element available for download comprises being operative to determine whether a content library associated with the application does not comprise at least one of the plurality of content elements of the content manifest and wherein the content library comprises at least one previously downloaded content element associated with the application;

in response to determining that the at least one new content element is available for download;

download the at least one new content element, and

update the content library with the at least one new content element;

receive an input to at least one user interface element operative to apply the at least one new content element to a document associated with the application;

apply the at least one new content element to the document; and

mark the at least one new content element to the document as used by the application, wherein being operative to mark the at least one new content element to the document as used by the application comprises at least one of the following;

moving the at least one new content element to a new storage location and updating at least one registry setting associated with the content library.