DOCUMENT COLLABORATION

• US 20130117376A1
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Filman, Sarah M., Kantor, Arcadiy G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,606,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation

Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems provide for an entity to receive collaboration context data regarding activities that have taken place with respect to a document when the entity views a reference to the document comprised within a communication directed to the entity. For example, a hyperlink related to a document may be emailed to an entity when the document is shared with the entity. Subsequently, when the entity views the email comprising the hyperlink, the entity may be provided with contextual information regarding the document (e.g., entities that have viewed the document, edits other entities have made to the document, etc.). In one embodiment, such information may be presented to the entity in the same application (e.g., email client and/or email service) as the email. In this way, the entity may be provided with information that may help the entity assess whether to access a shared document, for example.

Claims

1. A method for document collaboration, comprising:

generating collaboration context data for a document accessible by a plurality of entities;

receiving a request for information regarding the document; and

providing at least a portion of the collaboration context data based at least in part upon the request.

2. The method of claim 1, the request for information received from an email application and the collaboration context data provided to the email application.

3. The method of claim 2, the email application comprising at least one of an email service and an email client.

4. The method of claim 1, the collaboration context data comprising information regarding one or more edits to the document and generated in response to the one or more edits.

5. The method of claim 1, the collaboration context data comprising information regarding an entity that made one or more edits to the document and generated in response to the one or more edits.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

storing the document in the online collaboration database based at least in part upon a request to store the document from a first entity; and

issuing a reference to the document to a second entity configured to direct the second entity to the document.

7. The method of claim 6, the reference comprising an email message with a hyperlink to the document comprised therein.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

issuing a reference to the document, the reference configured to direct one or more entities to the document; and

updating the document based upon one or more edits made to the document to generate a modified document,

the provided portion of the collaboration context data comprising information regarding the one or more edits to the document that caused the modified document to be generated.

9. The method of claim 8, the information regarding the one or more edits to document comprising at least one of:

information regarding an entity that made at least some of the one or more edits to the document to generate the modified document, and

information regarding what edits were made to the document to generate the modified document.

10. A system for document collaboration in a cloud-based context, comprising:

an email application configured to issue a request for collaboration context data upon an identification of a reference to a document comprised within a cloud-based storage component, at least a portion of the system implemented at least in part via a processor.

11. The system of claim 10, the email application configured to identify the reference in one or more emails comprised within the email application.

12. The system of claim 10, the email application configured to receive the collaboration context data from a cloud-based service associated with the cloud-based storage component.

13. The system of claim 10, the collaboration context indicative of one or more edits made to the document between a time the reference was sent to the email application and a time the identification of the reference was made.

14. The system of claim 10, the collaboration context comprising less than all of a modified document indicative of the one or more edits made to the document.

15. The system of claim 10, the email application configured to display the collaboration context to an entity via the email application.

16. The system of claim 10, the collaboration context data comprising information regarding an entity that made at least some of the one or more edits to the document.

17. The system of claim 10, the email application comprising at least one of an email service and an email client.

18. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed via a processor perform a method, the method comprising:

identifying a reference to a document;

issuing a request for collaboration context data indicative of at least one of;

one or more edits made to the document based upon the reference,

one or more other files comprised in a same folder as the document, and

information regarding one or more entities with which the document has been shared;

receiving the collaboration context data; and

presenting the collaboration context data to an entity.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the method comprising presenting the collaboration context data to the entity in conjunction with at least one of the reference to the document, the document, and a modified document yielded from the document comprising the one or more edits.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the reference comprised in an email.