User Interface For Backup Management

• US 20110083098A1
• Filed: 12/14/2010
• Published: 04/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: van Os, Marcel MWA, Christie, Gregory N., Forstall, Scott, Ragan, Gene Zyrl, Matas, Mike, Cisler, Pavel, Tiene, Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 8,538,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing a user interface including earlier versions of data. In one implementation, computer program product is provided. The computer program product generates a user interface. The user interface includes a view display area for presenting a current view and a history view display area for presenting a history view associated with the current view. The history view includes one or more first visual representations of corresponding earlier versions of the current view. The user interface also includes an input control for initiating a restoration of the current view according to at least a portion of an earlier version of the one or more earlier versions.

Claims

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer readable storage medium, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, generate on a display device a user interface, the user interface comprising:

a first representation of a window in a current state, where the first representation of the window is selectively presented within the user interface; and

one or more second representations of the window as it existed at times in the past, where each second representation of the window shows a past state of the window, where the one or more second representations of the window are selectively presented within the user interface.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface further includes an input control for initiating a restoration of the window to a state associated with one of the second representations.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, where each second representation of the window includes at least a first element that a user can select, and wherein initiation of the input control after the selection initiates the restoration of the window according to only the selected first element.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface further includes a user-activated information area that presents information about a selected past state.

5. The computer program product of claim 3, where the information area provides data associated with the selected past state including when the past state was created.

6. The computer program product of claim 3, where the information area provides data associated with the selected past state including a location of the data of the past state.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, where the first representation of the window is included in a timeline, the timeline further including the one or more second representations of the window.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, where the user interface includes one or more navigation tools for navigating between the first and the one or more second representations of the window in the timeline.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, where the navigation tools include one or more scroll bars for scrolling through the representations of the past states, including scrolling to additional second representations of the window not initially shown.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, where the navigation tools include one or more arrow buttons for scrolling to additional representations of past states not initially shown.

11. The computer program product of claim 6, where the past states in the timeline are presented with a corresponding date range associated with each past state.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, where the date range is a single date.

13. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the user interface further includes another input control for modifying the timeline to include only at least one of the second representations of the window whose corresponding past state differs from the first representation of the window.

14. The computer program product of claim 1, where the first representation of the window and the one or more second representation of the window are presented as a stack.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, where the user interface includes one or more navigation tools for navigating the stack of representations.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, where the user interface animates the navigation between representations in the stack of representations.

17. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface displays the first and the one or more second representations as a calendar, the calendar showing the representations with respect to the corresponding date in which the past state was generated.

18. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface is operable to receive a user input to display the representations in a different format.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, where displaying the representations in a different format includes providing a menu for user selection of a particular format.

20. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface further includes a preview area that presents at least a first element of the past state.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, where the preview area presents a representation of the first element without invoking an application associated with the first element.

22. The computer program product of claim 1, where the user interface further includes a user-activated item timeline area that presents information about the past states.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, where the presented information includes information associated with changes to the first element in one or more of the past states.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, where the information associated with changes to the first element identifies each past state where a change occurred and the type of change that occurred.

25. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

animating the prior state of the current view during display of the representations of the past states.

26. A system comprising:

one or more computing devices operable to interact in order to present a backup user interface on a display device, the backup user interface comprising;

a first representation of a window in a current state, where the first representation of the window is selectively presented within the backup user interface; and

one or more second representations of the window as it existed at times in the past, where each second representation of the window shows a past state of the window, where the one or more second representations of the window are selectively presented within the backup user interface.

27. A method comprising:

receiving, while a first representation of a window in a current state is displayed in a view display area of a backup user interface, the first representation of the window being distinct from the corresponding window, a first user input to display a second representation of the window of one or more second representations of the window each representing a prior state of the window as it existed at times in the past;

displaying the second representation of the window, where the second representation of the window includes a first element from the past state;

receiving, while the second representation of the window is displayed, a second user input requesting that the first element be restored to the window in the current state; and

modifying, in response to the second user input, the window at least with regard to the first element.

28. A method comprising:

receiving, while a window in a current state is displayed in a user interface, a first user input to display one or more snapshot representations of the window representing a prior states of the window as it existed at times in the past; and

displaying the one or more snapshot representations of the window in a backup user interface distinct from the window, where a first snapshot representation of the window includes a first element from the past state.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

receiving, while the first snapshot representation of the window is displayed, a second user input requesting that the first element be restored to the window in the current state; and

modifying, in response to the second user input, the window at least with regard to the first element.

30. The method of claim 28, where the window is a search application interface window displaying one or more elements responsive to a search and each snapshot representation of the window is a visual representation of the search application interface window displaying one or more elements corresponding to versions of items at times in the past responsive to the search.