DATA CHANGE ALERTS IN A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT

• US 20180321829A1
• Filed: 05/03/2017
• Published: 11/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirBNB Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Huo, Qi Feng, Dou, Wen Min, Shao, Hua, Dunne, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 10,552,529 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

A method for generating data change alerts in a collaboration environment and highlighting changes. The method generates a message that contains information on a data change event, in response to a first user changing data in a cell of a data table. The method further determines whether there is a representational object that is based on the data being changed, and if so, alerting a second user, who is associated with the representational object, of the data change. Moreover, the data change is highlighted in the representational object.

Claims

1. A method for highlighting a data change in a collaborative environment, the method comprising:

detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;

determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to the determination;

determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and

sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input;

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input;

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:

created the representational object;

modified the representational object;

or

operated on the representational object.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

8. A computer program product for generating data change alerts in a collaborative environment comprising:

one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform;

detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;

determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to the determination;

determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and

sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input;

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input;

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:

created the representational object;

modified the representational object;

or

operated on the representational object.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

15. A computer system for generating data change alerts in a collaboration environment comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer-readable storage media;

program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform;

detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;

determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to the determination;

determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and

sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

16. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input;

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

17. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

18. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

19. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input;

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

20. The computer system of claim 16, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.