STORING METADATA INSIDE FILE TO REFERENCE SHARED VERSION OF FILE

• US 20120278281A1
• Filed: 04/28/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meisels, Joshua Adam, Costenaro, Daniel Paul
• Granted Patent: US 11,308,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/625
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A link to a shared version of a local file is inserted into metadata of the local file. The local file may be a copy of a shared file and/or a local file that is designated to be shared. For example, when a local file is uploaded to a shared location for collaboration, a link to the shared location is automatically inserted into metadata of the local file. A local copy of a shared file may be created by downloading the shared file to a local data store. A link to the shared location is automatically inserted into the locally stored. When the local file is opened, the link within the metadata may be used to access the version of the local file at the shared location. Changes made to the local file and/or shared version of the file may also be synchronized.

Claims

1. A method for inserting metadata into a local file that is also stored at a shared location, comprising:

determining when a local file is shared;

creating a link to the shared version of the local file at the shared location;

inserting metadata that includes the link into the local file such that the metadata may be used to access the shared version of the local file at the shared location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising opening the shared version of the local file in response to opening the local file.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining when the shared version of the local file is different from the local file.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein when the shared version of the local file is different from the local file displaying a user interface to a user indicating that a different version of the local file exists at the shared location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein when the shared version of the local file is different from the local file synchronizing the local file and the shared version of the local file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining when the local file is shared comprises determining when the local file is uploaded to the shared location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining when the local file is shared comprises determining when an attachment to an electronic message is stored at the shared location.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a cached version of the shared version of the local file within a cache such that when changes are made to the cached version, the changes are synchronized with the shared version of the local file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the metadata that includes the link into the local file comprises inserting the metadata into a file header of the local file.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for inserting metadata into a local file that is also stored at a shared location, comprising:

determining when a local file is associated with a shared file at a shared location;

creating a link to the shared version of the local file at the shared location; and

associating metadata that includes the link with the local file such that the metadata may be used to access the shared version of the local file at the shared location.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein determining when the local file is associated with the shared file at the shared location comprises determining when the shared file is downloaded to a local data store.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein determining when the local file is associated with the shared file at the shared location comprises determining when the local file is uploaded to a shared location.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising determining when the shared version of the local file is different from the local file and when the shared version of the local file is different from the local file displaying a user interface that includes an option to open the shared version of the local file at the shared location.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising synchronizing the local file and the shared version of the local file.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising storing a cached version of the shared version of the local file.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein associating the metadata that includes the link comprises inserting the metadata into a file header of the local file.

17. A system for inserting metadata into a local file that is also stored at a shared location, comprising:

a network connection that is configured to connect to a network;

a processor, memory, and a computer-readable storage medium;

an operating environment stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executing on the processor; and

a version manager that is configured to perform actions comprising;

determining when a local file is uploaded to a shared location and when a local copy of a shared file is created;

creating a link to the shared version of the local file at the shared location; and

inserting metadata that includes the link into the local file such that when the local file is opened, the metadata may be used to access the shared version of the local file at the shared location.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising opening the shared version of the local file at the shared location in response to opening the local file.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising displaying a user interface that includes an option to open the shared version of the local file at the shared location in response to opening the local file.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising synchronizing the local file and the shared version of the local file.