DOCUMENT LINK PREVIEWING AND PERMISSIONING WHILE COMPOSING AN EMAIL

• US 20150154156A1
• Filed: 12/03/2013
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meyers, David Lloyd Jr., Limont, David Paul, Fern, Kenneth, Palmer, Michael, Correa, Mirela, Mclntyre, Betsy Yu-pui
• Granted Patent: US 10,769,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes

Abstract

Enhanced links in a message composition surface are described. A uniform resource locator (URL) may be identified while a user is composing a message in a message composition surface of an electronic message such as an email. A source of the URL and the file type of the document linked to by the URL can be determined and a preview of the document can be rendered in the message composition surface. When the source is a cloud storage location, access permissions for the document can be adjusted from within email—without the user navigating to a file management site of the cloud storage. When the file type is a productivity application, a link rendering element can call a productivity application service to provide interaction functionality for the productivity application file and facilitate the rendering of the productivity application file.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a uniform resource locator (URL) to a document in a message body of a composition interface for a message; and

rendering a URL preview of the document in the message body.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication to send the message to a recipient after rendering the URL preview in the message body.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is a rich text format message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the document comprises a productivity application file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the URL preview in the message body comprises:

determining a file type of the document to which the URL links; and

generating an interactive preview of the document within the message body.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein generating the interactive preview of the document within the message body comprises invoking a productivity application service in response to receiving an interaction with the interactive preview.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recognizing the URL as a link to a cloud storage; and

presenting a command element to adjust an access permission to the document with the URL preview in the message body.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to receiving a command to adjust the access permission to the document via the command element, initializing an access request; and

after receiving an indication to send the message, requesting the cloud storage to adjust the access permission according to the access request.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recognizing the URL as a link to a cloud storage; and

after receiving an indication to send the message to one or more recipients, requesting the cloud storage to adjust an access permission of the document for the one or more recipients.

10. One or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:

identifying a uniform resource locator (URL) in a message body of a composition interface for a message;

determining a file type of a document to which the URL links; and

launching a link rendering element to generate an interactive preview of the document within the message body.

11. The media of claim 10, wherein the document comprises a hypertext markup language file.

12. The media of claim 10, wherein the document comprises a productivity application file, wherein the link rendering element invokes a productivity application service to provide interaction functionality for the productivity application file.

13. The media of claim 10, wherein the composition interface is presented in response to receiving a command for a new message, a command for a reply message, or a command for a forwarding message.

14. The media of claim 10, wherein the composition interface comprises the message body, a first input field for indicating one or more recipients of the message;

and a send command element for receiving a command to send the message to the one or more recipients.

15. An apparatus comprising:

one or more computer readable storage media; and

an email application embodied in program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media that, when executed by a computing system, direct the computing system to;

display a message composition interface for a message;

detect a uniform resource locator (URL) string input to the message composition interface;

determine a source represented by the URL string and a file type of a document at the source; and

display a preview of the document within the message composition interface.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the message is a rich text format message.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the preview comprises an interactive preview of the document.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the program instructions further direct the computing system to:

invoke a productivity application service to render the interactive preview.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the program instructions further direct the computing system to:

in response to the source being determined to be a cloud storage location and after receiving an indication to send the message including the URL, request a cloud storage to adjust an access permission of the document.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the program instructions further direct the computing system to:

in response to the source being determined to be a cloud storage location, present a command element to adjust an access permission to the document in the message composition interface;

in response to receiving a command to adjust the access permission to the document via the command element, initialize an access request; and

after receiving an indication to send the message, request the cloud storage to adjust the access permission according to the access request.