CONFIGURABLE ACCESS TO A DOCUMENT'S REVISION HISTORY

• US 20170228393A1
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Published: 08/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Standefer, III, Robert Earl, Mullins, Christopher Lee, Fay, Jonathan Edgar
• Granted Patent: US 10,642,940 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/219 Managing data history or versioning querying versioned data G06F16/2474; querying temporal data G06F16/2477
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2329 using versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A facility for providing configurable access to a document'"'"'s history is described. The facility receives input specifying one or more revisions to a document. The facility causes to be stored a representation of at least a portion of the revisions. When the facility receives a request to materialize the document for a particular entity, the facility materializes the document in a manner that includes any of the represented revisions only if the entity is among an authorized class of entities.

Claims

1. A method in a computing system, comprising:

receiving input specifying one or more revisions to a document;

causing to be stored a representation of at least a portion of the revisions;

receiving a request to materialize the document for a particular entity; and

in response to the request, materializing the document in a manner that includes any of the represented revisions only if the entity is among an authorized class of entities.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the entity is a user.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the entity is a group of users.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the entity is a computing system operating on behalf of one or more users.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises displaying a view of the document that visually indicates, in a static manner, at least a portion of the represented revisions.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises displaying a view of the document that visually indicates at least a portion of the represented revisions via redlining.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the materialization comprises permitting a user corresponding to the entity to navigate between a pair of states of the document each corresponding to a different time, between which at least a portion of the represented revisions occur.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the materialized document to be displayed.

9. A computing system comprising:

a processor; and

one or more memories collectively having contents that, when executed by the processor;

(a) receive from an authorized user first input identifying at least a portion of a document;

(b) receive from the authorized user second input identifying a group of one or more users;

(c) receive from the authorized user third input specifying one or more details regarding how a user among the group of one or more users identified by the second input may access history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input; and

(d) store for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input and the group of one or more users identified by the second input a representation of the third input.

10. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the memories collectively have contents that, when executed by the processor, further:

receive a request from a requesting user to access history of the at least a portion of the document identified by the first input;

determine that the requesting user is among the group of one or more users identified by the second input; and

in response to the determining, make available to the requesting user at least some history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input in a manner consistent with the stored representation of the third input.

11. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input specifies one or more times at which users in the group of one or more users identified by the second input can access history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input.

12. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input specifies a level of history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the group of one or more users identified by the second input.

13. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input specifies whether history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the group of one or more users identified by the second input can access is limited to history connected to document events occurring for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input.

14. The computing system of claim 9 wherein the received third input (1) specifies that history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the group of one or more users identified by the second input can access is limited to history connected to document events occurring for the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input, and (2) specifies a type of document event in connection with which history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input that can be accessed by users in the group of one or more users identified by the second input.

15. The computing system of claim 9 wherein acts (b)-(d) are performed multiple times for the same at least a portion of a document,

and wherein the memories collectively have contents that, when executed by the processor, further:

(e) receive a request from a requesting user to access history of the at least a portion of the document identified by the first input;

(f) determine that the requesting user is among at least two groups of one or more users each identified by a selected instance of the second input;

(g) from the representations of instances of the third input stored for selected instances of the second input, determine one or more details regarding how the requesting user may access history of the at least a portion of the document identified by the first input; and

(h) make available to the requesting user at least some history of the at least a portion of a document identified by the first input in a manner consistent with the determined details regarding how the requesting user may access history of the at least a portion of the document identified by the first input

16. The computing system of claim 15 wherein (g) comprises:

determining which of the selected instances of the second input is highest in a precedence among user groups;

determining details that correspond to the representation of the third input stored for the group of one or more users identified by the determined instance of the second input.

17. A computer-readable medium having contents configured to cause a computing system to:

receive input from an authorized user identifying a document and an entity not comprising the authorized user;

retrieve a set of document history access permissions that apply to the document and entity identified by the received input;

materialize the document in a manner that includes its history only to the extent permitted by the retrieved document history access permissions; and

cause the materialized document to be displayed to the authorized user.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the entity is a user other than the authorized user.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the entity is a category of users.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the received input further identifies a point in time,

and wherein the document is materialized in a manner that includes its history only to the extent that is permitted by the retrieved document history access permissions at the time identified by the received input.