BOOKMARKING SHARED FILE AND FOLDER LINKS

• US 20140068401A1
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Kirigin, Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 9,626,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9562 Bookmark management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking

Abstract

A document management system that is adapted to allow users to share files or folders by: (1) creating a link to the files or folders; and (2) sharing the link with other users. In particular embodiments, the system is adapted to keep track of any links generated by, sent by, and/or received by a particular user. The system may display a listing of the links upon request by a user, so that the user may re-use or deactivate the links, or modify attributes of the links. Having a centralized listing of the links may be particularly advantageous in helping a user keep track of the files and folders that they have shared and received.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a. one or more processors; and

b. memory, said computer system being adapted to, within the context of a file sharing system;

i. store information regarding a plurality of file sharing links associated with a user; and

ii. selectively display a listing of said one or more file sharing links to said user.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of document sharing links comprises a first set of one or more file sharing links that have been received by the user.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the system is adapted to automatically store information regarding a particular one of said first set of sharing links at least partially in response to the user receiving the particular file sharing link.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of document sharing links comprises a second set of one or more file sharing links that have been sent by the user.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the system is adapted to automatically store information regarding a certain one of said second set of sharing links at least partially in response to the user sending the certain file sharing link.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of document sharing links comprises one or more file sharing links that have been saved, by the user, as favorites.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of document sharing links comprises a first set of one or more file sharing links that have been sent by the user to another user.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the system is adapted to automatically store information regarding a certain one of said first set of sharing links at least partially in response to the user sending the certain file sharing link.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of document sharing links comprises a second set of one or more file sharing links that have been saved, by the user, as favorites.

10. A computer-implemented method of managing file sharing links within the context of a file sharing system, the method comprising the steps of:

a. capturing information regarding a plurality of generated file set sharing links, the links configured to allow a link sharer to provide a link recipient with viewing access to a linked file set when the link is activated;

b. at least partially in response to a request from the link sharer, displaying a list of file set sharing links associated with the link sharer, said list comprising said plurality of generated file set sharing links.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising the step of providing the link sharer one or more rights associated with the displayed list of file set sharing links, said one or more rights selected from a group consisting of:

a. deactivating one of the plurality of file set sharing links;

b. deleting a file set sharing link from the plurality of file set sharing links; and

c. organizing the listing of the plurality of file set sharing links based on a predetermined criterion.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the capturing of information regarding a plurality of file set sharing links is performed automatically as the file set sharing links are generated.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying the listing of the plurality of file set sharing links is carried out within the context of a synched file sharing system.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising the step of providing the link sharer the ability to organize the listing based on a predetermined criteria.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein one or more steps of the method are executed by one or more computer servers comprising at least one processor and memory.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising the step of generating a file set sharing link at least partially in response to receiving a request to generate a file set sharing link.

17. A computer-implemented method of managing file sharing links, the method comprising the steps of:

a. at least partially in response to receiving a request to share a file set, generating a file set sharing link, wherein said file set sharing link is configured to provide a link recipient with at least access to a linked file set;

b. capturing information associated with said generated file set sharing link;

c. capturing information associated with said link recipient;

d. associating said link recipient information with said captured information associated with said file set sharing link; and

e. at least partially in response to a request to view said information associated with said generated file set sharing link, displaying a list of file set sharing links associated with the requester, wherein said list of file set sharing links contains information about said generated file set sharing link.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the step of capturing information associated with said generated file set sharing link is performed automatically at the time said link is generated.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the step of capturing information associated with said link recipient is performed when said link recipient manually submits a request to save said link.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein said list further comprises all file set sharing links associated with said requester.