MOVING SHARED FILES

• US 20130339420A1
• Filed: 06/13/2012
• Published: 12/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Srinivasan, Varun, Viton, Fernando Nahuel
• Granted Patent: US 9,684,670 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1767 Concurrency control, e.g. optimistic or pessimistic approaches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A client device accesses a shared data system and begins moving data from one location to another. The client device generates a tombstone object that indicates that includes metadata indicating that the data has been moved. When another client accesses the data at the old location, it encounters the tombstone and begins accessing the data at the new location. If the data has not already been completely moved to the new location, the second client to access the data assists in transferring the data to the new location.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of moving shared data, stored in a shared data system and accessible by a plurality of different user devices, from a first location to a second location, comprising:

receiving a user input, on a first user device, identifying the shared data to be moved and the second location;

generating a first object, with the first user device, identifying the second location;

sending the first object from the first user device for storage in the shared data system at the old location; and

moving identified shared data, with the first user device, from the first location to the second location.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein receiving a user input comprises:

generating a user interface display with a data identifier user input mechanism to receive the user input to identify the shared data to be moved.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein receiving a user input comprises:

generating the user interface display with a second location identifier user input mechanism to receive the user input to identify the second location where the shared data is to be moved.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein moving the identified shared data comprises:

generating the user interface display with a data move user input mechanism to receive a user input to begin moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the identified shared data comprises a plurality of individually movable data portions and wherein moving comprises:

determining whether any of the individually movable data portions still need to be moved;

if so, selecting an individually movable data portion; and

moving the selected, individually movable data portion from the first location to the second location.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein moving comprises:

if all of the individually movable data portions are moved to the second location, changing a location identifier corresponding to the identified shared data, on the first user device, from the first location to the second location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 wherein the shared data comprises at least a portion of a notebook with folders and files and wherein the individually moveable data portions comprise portions of the notebook.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating the first object with metadata that identifies the second location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating the first object with human-readable data that identifies the second location and includes a link to the new location.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating the first object with metadata that identifies whether the identified shared data has been completely moved to the second location.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating the first object with metadata that identifies a time when the moving the identified shared data was initiated and who initiated the move of the identified shared data.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, and further comprising:

accessing a second set of shared data at a third location, using the first user device; and

reading, with the first user device, a second object stored at the third location, the second object including metadata with a fourth location and a move indicator indicating that the second set of shared data is moved from the third location to the fourth location.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the second set of shared data includes individually movable data portions, the second object includes a move status indicator indicating whether the second set of shared data has been completely moved to the fourth location or whether the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, and further comprising:

if the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, selecting, with the first user device, a next individually movable data portion to be moved and moving the selected individually movable data portion from the third location to the fourth location, using the first user device.

14. A client device, comprising:

a user interface component that generates user interface displays with user input mechanisms that receive user inputs;

a client application that accesses, and interacts with, shared data at a first location in a shared data system;

a data move component that receives a user move input identifying a new location for the shared data and begins to move the shared data from the old location in the shared data system to the new location; and

a computer processor being a functional part of the client device and activated by the user interface component, the client application and the data move component to facilitate generating user interface displays, accessing and interacting with the shared data, and moving the shared data to the new location.

15. The client device of claim 14 wherein the data move component generates a tombstone object that identifies the new location for the shared data and provides a tombstone output to store the tombstone object at the old location in the shared data system.

16. The client device of claim 15 wherein the data move component generates the tombstone object so the new location is identified in location metadata in the tombstone object.

17. The client device of claim 16 wherein the data move component receives a user input to access a second set of shared data at a second old location and reads a second tombstone object identifying a second new location for the second set of shared data, the data move component modifying the client device to access the second set of shared data at the second new location.

18. The client device of claim 17 wherein the second tombstone object includes a move status indicator indicating whether the second set of shared data has been completely moved to the second new location or whether the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved.

19. The client device of claim 18 wherein if the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, the data move component identifies a next portion of the second set of shared data that is to be moved to the second new location and provides outputs to move the identified next portion of the second set of shared data to the second new location, and wherein when the client device moves a last portion of the second set of shared data to the second new location, the client device updates the move status indicator.

20. A computer readable medium that stores computer readable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform steps comprising:

receiving a user input, on a first user device, identifying the shared data to be moved and the second location, by;

generating a user interface display with a data identifier user input mechanism to receive the user input to identify the shared data to be moved; and

generating the user interface display with a second location identifier user input mechanism to receive the user input to identify the second location where the shared data is to be moved;

generating a first object, with the first user device, identifying the second location and having human-readable data that identifies the second location and includes a link to the new location;

sending the first object from the first user device for storage in the shared data system at the old location;

generating the user interface display with a data move user input mechanism to receive a user input to begin moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location; and

in response to receiving the user input at the data move user input mechanism, moving identified shared data, with the first user device, from the first location to the second location.