METHODS FOR MANAGING ENTITY PROFILES AND APPLICATION LAUNCHING IN SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

• US 20140280487A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gordon E. Seay
• Original Assignee: Gordon E. Seay
• Inventors: Seay, Gordon E.
• Granted Patent: US 10,637,909 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles

Abstract

Methods for managing entity profiles and application launching in software applications, including providing a network connected application server, providing an application configured to be loaded on a client computer, receiving credentials associated with a user from the client computer with the application server, identifying subscribed entities associated with the user, displaying a visual representation of the subscribed entities associated with the user on the client computer, and transferring entity profile data to the application in response to the user selecting the visual representation of one of the subscribed entities. In some examples, the methods include loading a launching utility on a client computer, where the launching utility is configured to display a user interface displaying a user subset of software applications.

Claims

1. A method for managing entity profiles in software applications, comprising:

providing a network connected application server including a storage unit storing entity profile data corresponding to subscribed entities, the subscribed entities including;

a first entity associated with a user,

a second entity associated with the user; and

providing an application configured to be loaded on a client computer;

receiving credentials associated with the user from the client computer with the application server;

identifying the subscribed entities associated with the user;

displaying a visual representation of the subscribed entities associated with the user, including the first entity and the second entity, on the client computer; and

transferring entity profile data associated with the first entity to the application in response to the user selecting the visual representation of the first entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application server:

stores a set of software applications including the application; and

includes a processor and further comprising executing, at least partially, the application with the processor of the application server.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving with the application server client data input by the user on the client computer,

wherein selecting the first entity includes associating the client data received by the application server with the first entity in the entity profile data.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating each application in a set of software applications including the application with selected subscribed entities.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein application server includes computer executable instructions to make entity profile data corresponding to the first entity in the storage unit accessible to applications associated with the first entity and further comprising modifying entity profile data corresponding to the first entity stored in the storage unit with an application associated with the first entity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an entity selector user interface with consistent graphical features in each application in a set of software applications including the application by referencing with a given application an entity selection framework including computer executable instructions for displaying in the set of software applications the entity selector user interface with particular graphical features.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing state data associated with the first entity in the entity profile data corresponding to the first entity when the first entity is selected.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising retrieving state data associated with the first entity in response to the first entity being selected.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving with the application server instructions from the user to execute a selected application in a set of software applications including the application; and

incorporating stored state data associated with the first entity into the selected application.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the state data includes a uniform resource locater storing a location in the selected application at which the client computer was pointed to immediately prior to the user navigating away from the first entity, further comprising automatically navigating to the location associated the uniform resource locater when the user again selects the first entity and the selected application.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein retrieving state data includes retrieving state data from a shared state data memory accessible to each of the subscribed entities, further comprising:

receiving instructions from the user to select the second entity; and

retrieving state data associated with the first entity from the shared state data memory.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, on the application server, a last selected entity value corresponding to the first entity in response to the user selecting the first entity; and

intercepting a client operation within an active application if an entity tag value associated with the active application is not consistent with the last selected entity value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the entity tag value defined by the active application is inconsistent with the last selected entity value;

the client operation has been received on the active application; and

intercepting the client operation entered on the active application includes;

comparing the entity tag value associated with the active application with the last selected entity value; and

rejecting the client operation based on the inconsistency between the entity tag value and the last selected entity value.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising adjusting the last selected entity value to identify, upon execution of the first entity, the first entity as the last selected entity selected amongst the subscribed entities;

wherein;

the entity tag value defined by the active application is consistent with the last selected entity value;

the client operation has been received on the active application; and

intercepting the client operation entered on the active application includes;

comparing the entity tag value associated with the active application with the last selected entity value; and

accepting the client operation based on the consistency between the entity tag value and the last selected entity value.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application server includes a user record associated with the user, the user record including user authentication data;

receiving credentials associated with the user includes comparing the credentials with the user authentication data; and

the client computer is provided access to the entity profile data only if the credentials are consistent with the user authentication data.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity defines a user-designated default entity configured to be selected automatically when the user initiates a session with the application server.

17. A hosted entity management method, comprising:

providing a network connected application server including a storage unit storing a set of software applications;

loading a launching utility on a client computer that includes computer executable instructions for displaying a user interface on the client computer, where the user interface displays a user subset of the set of software applications; and

loading, on the client computer, a selected application in the user subset of the set of software applications in response to a user selecting the selected application on the user interface.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the storage unit stores entity profile data corresponding to a set of subscribed entities;

the launching utility defines an entity launching utility and includes computer executable instructions for identifying a user subset of entities associated with the user;

the user subset of the set of software applications consists of a subset of applications associated with a selected entity in the user subset of entities; and

displaying the user interface on the client computer includes simultaneously displaying a graphical representation depicting each application in the set of applications associated with the selected entity.

19. A hosted entity management method, comprising:

providing a network connected server including a storage unit storing entity profile data corresponding to subscribed entities, the subscribed entities including at least a first entity and a second entity associated with a user;

providing an application defining a software application configured to communicate with the server;

receiving user selection of the first entity;

storing, on the server, a last selected entity value corresponding to the first entity in response to the user selecting the first entity;

storing an entity tag value associated with an instance of an active application associated with the second entity, the entity tag value identifying the instance of the active application as associated with the second entity; and

intercepting a client operation within the instance of the active application if the entity tag value is inconsistent with the last selected entity value.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein intercepting the client operation includes comparing the last selected entity value with the entity tag value, which may be stored in a client-side session memory, depicted in computer executable code associated with the active application, or stored in a server-side session memory.