Method and system for presentation conferencing

• US 6,411,988 B1
• Filed: 07/15/1998
• Issued: 06/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Parker, Robert L. C., Tafoya, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jean, Frantz B.
• Application Number:
  US09/116,552
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 709/204-207, 709/203, 709/205, 709/208, 709/248, 364/167.01, 345/329, 345/330, 345/331, 370/260, 370/270
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A presentation system for displaying a presentation at multiple computer systems. One computer system is designated as a presenter computer system, and the other computer systems are designated as audience member computer systems. Each computer system executes an application that exposes a function for controlling the behavior of the application. Each computer system also has a conference subsystem with a messaging component, an automation component, and a user interface component. The messaging component controls communications between the computer systems. The automation component controls the behavior of the application using the exposed function. The user interface component displays the presentation within a conference window, receives commands from a presenter and sends the commands to each audience member computer system, receives commands from the presenter computer system, and directs the automation component to effect the performing of behavior of the received commands.

Claims

1. A system for displaying a drawing concurrently with a presentation at a plurality of computer systems, comprising:

(a) at each computer system,

(i) a presentation application program that is executed by the computer system to display the presentation; and

(ii) a drawing component for receiving drawn data input by a user, for sending the drawn data received to a presenter computer for distribution to the drawing components of the other computer systems, for receiving drawn data from the other computer systems as distributed by the presenter computer, and invoking a function to direct the presentation application program to display the drawn data received, with the presentation that is being displayed.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the function is exposed through Object Linking and Embedding automation.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the drawing component includes an application-dependent automation component for controlling its interaction with the presentation application program.

4. A method for displaying a presentation simultaneously at multiple computer systems, comprising:

(a) transmitting a presentation content from a presenter computer system to the other computer systems comprising the multiple computer systems;

(b) executing a presentation application program at each of the computer systems;

(c) sending commands from one computer system to the presenter computer system, which sends the commands to the other computer systems to control displaying the presentation content with the presentation application program; and

(d) at each computer system that receives the commands that were sent and under control of the executing presentation application program, accessing the presentation content and displaying a portion of the presentation content in accordance with the received commands.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each executing presentation application program is an instance of the same presentation program.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein each executing presentation application program interfaces with a conference subsystem that controls the sending and receiving of commands.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the conference subsystem invokes a function to effect the performing of the received commands.

8. A method for dynamically changing content of a presentation that is simultaneously displayed at multiple computer systems, comprising:

(a) at each computer system,

(i) executing an instance of a presentation application program;

(ii) receiving the content of the presentation;

(iii) receiving commands to display a portion of the presentation with the presentation application program;

(iv) displaying a portion of the presentation with the presentation application program in accordance with the received command; and

(v) during display of the presentation,

(1) receiving a command causing the presentation application program to modify the content of the presentation; and

(2) modifying the presentation in accordance with the received command.

9. The method of claim 8 further including the step of sending the content of the presentation and the commands from a presenter computer system to a plurality of audience member computer systems, each of which is executing the presentation application program.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of receiving is performed by a conference subsystem that directs the instance of the presentation application program to perform the displaying and modifying through a function exposed by the presentation application program.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the function is exposed through Object Linking and Embedding automation.

12. A presentation system for an audience member computer system, the presentation system displaying a presentation that is controlled by a presenter computer system, comprising:

(a) an instance of a presentation application program for displaying the presentation, said presentation application program being executed by the audience member computer system; and

(b) a conference subsystem having a messaging component for receiving a description of the presentation from a presenter computer system, for receiving commands from the presenter computer system to control the presentation application program to display the presentation, and for directing the instance of the presentation application program to perform the received command to effect the presentation.

13. The computer system of claim 12 wherein the presentation application program exposes an interface for controlling its behavior, and wherein the conference subsystem uses the exposed interface to direct the presentation application program to effect the performing of a behavior of the received commands.

14. The computer system of claim 12 wherein the presentation is displayed simultaneously on the audience member computer system and the presenter computer system.

15. A presentation system for a presenter computer system, the presentation system controlling a presentation that is displayed at multiple audience member computer systems, comprising:

(a) an instance of a presentation application program that is executed at each audience member computer system for displaying the presentation; and

(b) a conference subsystem having a messaging component for sending a description of the presentation to the audience member computer systems, for sending commands to the audience member computer systems to control the display of the presentation by the presentation application program executed by each audience member computer system, and for directing the instance of the presentation application program to perform the command to effect the display of the presentation on the presenter computer system.

16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein the presentation application program exposes an interface for controlling its behavior and the conference subsystem uses the exposed interface to direct the presentation application program to effect the performing behavior of the commands.

17. The computer system of claim 15 wherein the presentation is displayed simultaneously on the audience member computer systems, under control of a presenter.

18. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for causing a simultaneous display of a presentation at multiple computer systems, by:

(a) transmitting a presentation content from a presenter computer system to audience member computer systems;

(b) executing a presentation application program at each of the audience member computer systems;

(c) sending commands from the presenter computer system to the audience member computer systems to control displaying the presentation content by the presentation application program; and

(d) at each audience member computer system, upon receiving the commands that were sent, accessing the presentation content and displaying a portion of the presentation content in accordance with the commands that were received.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein each executing presentation application program is an instance of the same presentation program.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein each executing presentation application program interfaces with a conference subsystem that controls the sending and receiving of commands.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the executing function exposes its behavior through a function, and wherein a conference subsystem invokes the function to effect performance of the received commands.

22. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for causing a dynamically changing content of a presentation to be simultaneously displayed at multiple computer systems, by:

(a) executing an instance of a presentation application program at each computer system, said presentation application program, when executed, causing a portion of the content of a presentation to be displayed at each computer system;

(b) receiving at each computer system the content of the presentation from a computer system operating as a presenter computer system;

(c) receiving commands from the presenter computer system to display a portion of the content of the presentation from the presenter computer system with said presentation application program;

(d) displaying a portion of the content of the presentation from the presenter computer system at each computer system with said presentation application program in accordance with the receiving commands; and

(e) during display of the presentation,

(i) receiving a command from the presenter computer system to modify the content of the presentation from the presenter computer system being displayed by the presentation application program executed by each computer system; and

(ii) modifying the content of the presentation from the presenter computer system in accordance with the received command.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 wherein execution of the instructions causes the content of the presentation and the commands to be sent from the presenter computer system to a plurality of audience computer systems, so that the presenter computer system controls the display of the presentation by the plurality of audience computer systems.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 wherein receiving is performed by a conference subsystem that directs the instance of the presentation application program to perform the displaying and modifying through a function exposed by the presentation application program.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein the function is exposed through Object Linking and Embedding automation.