HISTORY-BASED ARCHIVE MANAGEMENT

• US 20140032502A1
• Filed: 05/12/2008
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Kraley, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 10,055,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/663
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to determine a proximate save time difference between a target version of electronic content and a next (proximate in time and newer) version of the electronic content. An aged save time difference may be determined as the time difference between the current time and either one of the target version or the next version. The target version of the electronic content may be pruned from a plurality of revisions of the electronic content if the proximate save time difference is less than a selected fraction of the aged save time difference. The plurality of revisions, less the pruned revisions, may be displayed along a historical time line as part of a graphical user interface.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

determining a proximate save time difference between a target version of electronic content and a next version of the electronic content, the target version being older in time than the next version, and proximate in time to the next version;

determining an aged save time difference between a current time and one of the target version or the next version of the electronic content, the aged save time difference being associated with one of a plurality of specified time periods; and

pruning the target version of the electronic content from a plurality of revisions of the electronic content if the proximate save time difference is less than a selected fraction of the aged save time difference such that a different number of revisions of the electronic content are prevented from being pruned depending on the specified time period associated with the aged save time difference, the selected fraction being selected from a plurality of fractions each being associated with a respective time period of the plurality of specified time periods and each decreasing in value as the respective time period increases, the pruning including determining an identity of a first user that saved the target version and an identity of a second user that saved the next version and adjusting the selected fraction upon determination that the first user is different from the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic content comprises a document.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the document is organized according to a page descriptive format.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

repeating determining the proximate save time difference and determining the aged save time difference, the target version of the electronic content becoming the next version of the electronic content if the target version of the electronic content is not pruned.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

repeating determining the proximate save time difference and determining the aged save time difference, the next version of the electronic content remaining as the next version of the electronic content if the target version of the electronic content is pruned.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

reducing a value of the selected fraction according to a reduction in value of the aged save time difference.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein reducing the value of the selected fraction comprises:

reducing the value of the selected fraction according to a sliding time scale having a fixed cutoff value.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

assigning a description to an unpruned one of the plurality of revisions.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising:

displaying the description along with an indication of the unpruned one and a history of some of the plurality of revisions along a time line.

27. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of specified time periods include a first time period and a second time period, the second time period being longer than the first time period, and wherein the preventing comprises:

selecting a first threshold value as the selected fraction based on a determination that the aged save time difference is associated with the first time period, the first threshold value causing a first number of revisions of the electronic content to be prevented from being pruned; and

selecting a second threshold value as the selected fraction based on a determination that the aged save time difference is associated with the second time period, the second threshold value being associated with a longer period than a period associated with the first threshold value, the second threshold value causing a second number of revisions of the electronic content to be prevented from being pruned, the first number being different from the second number.

10. A computer implemented method, comprising:

pruning versions of electronic content revisions from a plurality of electronic content revisions to select a group of unpruned versions of the electronic content, the pruning comprising determining a proximate save time difference between a target version of the plurality and a next version of the plurality, determining an aged save time difference between a current time and one of the target version of the plurality, or the next version of the plurality, the aged save time difference being associated with one of a plurality of specified time periods, and pruning the target version from the plurality if the proximate save time difference is less than a selected fraction of the aged save time difference such that a different number of revisions of the electronic content are prevented from being pruned depending on the specified time period associated with the aged save time difference, the selected fraction being selected from a plurality of fractions each being associated with a respective time period of the plurality of specified time periods and each decreasing in value as the respective time period increases, the target version being older in time than the next version, and proximate in time to the next version, the pruning including determining an identity of a first user that saved the target version and an identity of a second user that saved the next version and adjusting the selected fraction upon determination that the first user is different from the second user; and

displaying a history of the group along a time line as part of a graphical user interface.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

displaying the electronic content included in a selected one of the group.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein displaying comprises:

displaying an indicator for each one of the group on the time line.

13. The method of claim 10, comprising:

displaying a colored indicator for each one of the group on the time line, wherein a color of the colored indicator corresponds to an identity of a user that saved a corresponding member of the group.

15. The method of claim 10, comprising:

receiving a command to prevent a version selected from the plurality of electronic content revisions from being pruned.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein displaying comprises:

displaying the time line to include a series of unequal time segments.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising:

displaying at least some of the unequal time segments in scaled temporal relationship with each other.

18. The method of claim 10, comprising:

revealing additional information about one of the group when a cursor of the graphical user interface hovers over an indicator on the time line corresponding to the one of the group.

19. The method of claim 10, comprising:

receiving a command to revert to a previous version in the group, the previous version being older than the most recent version; and

saving the previous version as the most recent version.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining a role of a third user from which the command to revert is received; and

refraining from saving the previous version as the most recent version upon determination that the role of the third user is not an author or a co-author.

14. (canceled)

20. A system, comprising:

a display device to display electronic content;

a pruning module to prune versions of electronic content revisions from a plurality of electronic content revisions to select a group of unpruned versions of the electronic content by determining a proximate save time difference between a target version of the plurality and a next version of the plurality, determining an aged save time difference between a current time and one of the target version of the plurality or the next version of the plurality, the aged save time difference being associated with one of a plurality of specified time periods, and pruning the target version from the plurality if the proximate save time difference is less than a selected fraction of the aged save time difference such that a different number of revisions of the electronic content are prevented from being pruned depending on the specified time period associated with the aged save time difference, the selected fraction being selected from a plurality of fractions each being associated with a respective time period of the plurality of specified time periods and each decreasing in value as the respective time period increases, the target version being older in time than the next version, and proximate in time to the next version, the pruning including determining an identity of a first user that saved the target version and an identity of a second user that saved the next version and adjusting the selected fraction upon determination that the first user is different from the second user; and

a rendering module to display a history of the group along a time line as part of a graphical user interface on the display device.

21. The system of claim 20, comprising:

a user input device to select a selected one of the group for display in a time-machine mode that prevents changing any part of the selected one unless the selected one is the most recent version.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the rendering module comprises a portable document format processing program.

23. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein for causing a machine to implement a method, comprising:

determining a proximate save time difference between a target version of electronic content and a next version of the electronic content, the target version being older in time than the next version, and proximate in time to the next version;

determining an aged save time difference between a current time and one of the target version or the next version, the aged save time difference being associated with one of a plurality of specified time periods; and

pruning the target version of the electronic content from a plurality of revisions of the electronic content to render a group of unpruned versions if the proximate save time difference is less than a selected fraction of the aged save time difference such that a different number of revisions of the electronic content are prevented from being pruned depending on the specified time period associated with the aged save time difference, the selected fraction being selected from a plurality of fractions each being associated with a respective time period of the plurality of specified time periods and each decreasing in value as the respective time period increases, the pruning including determining an identity of a first user that saved the target version and an identity of a second user that saved the next version and adjusting the selected fraction upon determination that the first user is different from the second user.

24. The medium of claim 23, wherein the method comprises:

displaying a history of the group along a time line as part of a graphical user interface, the time line being displayed to indicate at least some members of the group in unscaled temporal relationship with each other.

25. The medium of claim 23, wherein the method comprises:

displaying the time line to indicate a series of unequal time segments each labeled to indicate a respective span of time.