Client Side Locking

• US 20110184906A1
• Filed: 04/04/2011
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Clarke, Simon Peter, Robins, David Benjamin, Bose, Miko Arnab Sakhya Singha, Bernstein, Ethan Joseph, Antos, Christopher James, Sunderland, Edgar Mark, Simonds, Andrew Richard, Bailor, Jonathan Beckett, Jones, Brian Michael, Knight, Mark Rolland
• Granted Patent: US 8,352,418 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/608
• 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: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference

Abstract

A collaborative authoring application provides an authoring environment in which two or more users can edit a document concurrently. Each user edits a copy of the document, sends updates to a master copy of the document, and receives updates from the master copy of the document. The authoring environment generally inhibits the users from providing conflicting editing instructions to the master copy of the document. For example, each user can generate a content lock about one or more data units within the document. The authoring environment may synchronize content locks automatically and content only at the request of the user.

Claims

1. A method for authoring a document at a first computing device, the method comprising:

at the first computing device, allowing a first unit of data of the document to be edited by a first user;

at the first computing device, when the first unit of data is edited, providing a first annotation on the document indicating that the document is being edited by the first user;

at the first computing device, sending a first message to a second computing device, the first message indicating that the first unit of data of the document is being edited;

at the first computing device, receiving a second message from the second computing device, the second message indicating a name of a second user that is editing a second unit of data of the document;

at the first computing device, setting a first lock on the second unit of data, the first lock on the second unit of data preventing the second unit of data from being edited at the first computing device;

at the first computing device, providing a second annotation on the document, the second annotation indicating that the second unit of data is being edited by the second user;

at the first computing device, receiving a third message from the second computing device, the third message indicating that updates are available for the document; and

at the first computing device, updating the second unit of data to incorporate changes to the second unit of data received in the third message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first annotation is displayed on the document when the first user moves a cursor to the first unit of data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first annotation comprises a name tag, the name tag indicating a name of the first user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a second lock on the first unit of data when the first unit of data is edited, the second lock preventing the first unit of data from being edited by anyone other than the first user.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the first message indicating that the second lock has been set on the first unit of data.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second user is an owner of the second lock.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first message including a name of the first user.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the second annotation including a nametag, the nametag indicating a name for the second user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the nametag identifies the second user by color.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising at the first computing device, displaying an alert to the first user when updates are available for the document.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the alert is a visual alert.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the alert comprises a text box on a user interface of the first computing device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the second unit of data to incorporate changes to the second unit of data received in the third message further comprises the updating being initiated by an action by the first user at the first computing device.

14. A method for authoring a document at a first computing device, the method comprising:

at the first computing device, editing a first unit of data of the document, the first unit of data being edited by a first user;

at the first computing device, when the first unit of data is edited, providing a first annotation on the document indicating that the document is being edited by the first user, the first annotation being displayed on the document when the first user moves a cursor to the first unit of data, the first annotation comprising a name tag that indicates the name of the first user;

at the first computing device, when the first unit of data is edited, setting a first lock on the first unit of data, the first lock preventing the first unit of data from being edited by anyone other than the first user;

at the first computing device, sending a first message to a second computing device, the first message indicating that the first unit of data of the document is being edited, the first message also indicating that the first unit of data is locked by the first user;

at the first computing device, receiving a second message from the second computing device, the second message indicating a name of a second user that is editing a second unit of data;

at the first computing device, setting a second lock on the second unit of data, the second lock on the second unit of data preventing the second unit of data from being edited at the first computing device; and

at the first computing device, providing a second annotation on the document, the second annotation indicating that the second unit of data is being edited by the second user, the second annotation comprising a name tag that indicates the name of the second user.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising at the first computing device, receiving a third message from the second computing device, the third message indicating that updates are available for the document.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying a visual alert on the document at the first computing device when the third message is received from the second computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the visual alert comprises a text box on the document at the first computing device.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the visual alert comprises the name tag in the second annotation changing colors.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising at the first computing device, updating the second unit of data to incorporate changes to the second unit of data received in the third message.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a first computing device, cause the first computing device to:

edit a first unit of data of a document, the first unit of data being edited by a first user;

provide a first annotation on the document indicating that the document is being edited by the first user;

send a first message to a second computing device, the first message indicating that the first unit of data of the document is being edited;

receive a second message from the second computing device, the second message indicating a name of a second user that is editing a second unit of data;

set a first lock on the second unit of data, the first lock on the second unit of data preventing the second unit of data from being edited at the first computing device;

provide a second annotation on the document, the second annotation indicating that the second unit of data is being edited by the second user;

receive a third message from the second computing device, the third message indicating that updates are available for the document; and

update the second unit of data to incorporate changes to the second unit of data received in the third message.