System and method for browser creation and maintenance of forms

• US 6,748,425 B1
• Filed: 01/04/2000
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Duffy, Catherine M., Estrada, Julio, Estrada, Miguel A., Shore, Maurice B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US09/477,476
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: 705/54, 709/225, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 707/511, 715/506, 715/507
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Collaboration space object model provides for a Place consisting of rooms. A room is made up of pages. Folders are used to organize pages. Members belong to rooms, and are those users authorized to access them. Place type controls the creation of a place, including how many rooms it has, for example. Room type controls the appearance and content of rooms. A form manages the display of data notes. A form can contain fields for containing data and employ scripts to process and compute data. A page is the basic vehicle for content. Content is created using an or importing content from an external source. A member is also a data note, and each place contains its own member directory. A place is created and managed from a client browser in on-line mode and in offline mode with respect to a replicated copy of the space. Room security is independently managed, and security and aesthetics characteristics of subrooms selectively inherited. Room navigation and workflow processing is provided, as are forms creation and uploading from browser to server.

Claims

1. System for the creation and maintenance of forms in rooms within collaboration space, comprising:

a browser;

a collaboration space server;

an object store;

said browser being operable by a user with manager access to a room for creating a new form object by going to a customize page, selecting from said customize page a forms page, and selecting on said forms page a new form button for interactively providing a form definition including a form layout and descriptive fields that make up said new form; and

said server being operable for creating responsive to said browser a collaboration space object by associating with each said form object a form note and with each said field a field note object, and for storing said collaboration space object in said object store.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising for each form fields including a form description for display in a new scene, optionally workflow type, and containing folder indicia.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising for each said field object, fields including indicia identifying the form object containing this field object, field type, field format, and whether field is required.

4. The system of claim 3, said field type being one of subject, text input, rich text, attachment, text popup, name popup, date control, time control, calendar control, serial number, static text and/or graphic, author, creation date, modified date, and size of page.

5. The system of claim 1, said browser being operable by a user for creating a page using said form note and said field notes.

6. The system of claim 5, said browser being operable by a user for creating a page using a plurality of said field notes from a plurality of form notes.

7. System for the creation and maintenance of forms in rooms within collaboration space, comprising:

a collaboration space server;

an object store;

said server being operable, responsive to input from a client browser of a form definition including a form layout and descriptive fields for a new form object, for creating a collaboration space object by presenting to said client browser to a customize page, receiving input from said client browser selecting from said customize page a forms page, presenting said forms page to said client browser, and receiving from said client browser input selecting on said forms page a new form button for interactively associating with each said form object a form note and with each said field a field note object, and for storing said collaboration space object in said object store.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising for each form fields including a form description for display in a new scene, optionally workflow type, and containing folder indicia.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising for each said field object, fields including indicia identifying the form object containing this field object, field type, field format, and whether field is required.

10. The system of claim 9, said field type being one of subject, text input, rich text, attachment, text popup, name popup, date control, time control, calendar control, serial number, static text and/or graphic, author, creation date, modified date, and size of page.

11. The system of claim 7, said server being operable responsive to a request from a client browser for creating a page using said form note and said field notes.

12. The system of claim 11, said server being operable creating a page using a plurality of said field notes from a plurality of form notes.

13. Method for the creation and maintenance of forms in rooms within collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

creating a form definition by operating a user browser to define fields that make uD a new form, including

operating said browser to select from a forms page a new form action;

presenting at said browser a form name field, an add fields action selector, and a workflow attributes entry field;

responsive to user selection of said add fields action selector, presenting at said browser a list of field tyre definitions for a new field;

responsive to user selection of a field type definition, associating with said new field a field note defining the attributes of said new field;

responsive to user selection of said new form action and creation of said field note, associating with said new form a form note defining form layout and linking said field note;

receiving from said user browser said form definition including said form note and linked field notes that make up said new form object; and

storing said form definition in an object store;

thereby creating a collaboration space object by associating with each said form object a form note object and with each said field a field note object.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

receiving from a user browser a request to create a page from said form object;

creating a page object using the definition of said form including said field notes, layout from said form note, and workflow attributes.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

presenting said page object to said user; and

receiving back from said user values for said fields.

16. A method for creating and using a new form, comprising the steps of:

displaying at a user browser a customize page including a forms page selection button and, responsive to actuation of said forms page selection button, a new form button;

displaying at said browser one or more screens by which said user may name said form, the fields in said form, the workflow attributes of said form, and add fields;

associating with said form a form note;

responsive to user selection of said add fields, displaying a list of field types;

responsive to user selection of a field type, associating with each said field a field note; and

creating a place object from said form note and said field notes, and storing said place object to an object store.

17. The method of claim 16, said object store comprising a database at said server.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

receiving from said browser a request to use a form from said object store to create a page; and

creating said page using form note and associated field notes to define the structure and content of said page for display at said browser for user entry of values for selected fields.

19. A method for defining, storing and manipulating a data form in collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

interactively accepting from a user at a browser data fields definitions and a data type for each said data fields, and defining workflow steps for said data form;

interactively accepting from said first user at said browser form data and storing said form data in an object store at a server at a location defined by said user; and

interactively enabling a second user at a browser to use and manipulate said form.

20. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for creating and maintaining forms in rooms within collaboration space, said method steps comprising:

receiving from a user browser a form definition including a form layout and descriptive fields that make up said new form object;

creating a collaboration space object by associating with each said form object a form note object and with each said field a field note object; and

storing said collaboration space object in an object store.

21. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for creating and maintaining forms in rooms within collaboration space, the computer readable program means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect receiving from a user browser a form definition including a form layout and descriptive fields that make up said new form object;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect creating a collaboration space object by associating with each said form object a form note object and with each said field a field note object; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect storing said collaboration space object in an object store.

22. A computer program product or computer program element for creating and maintaining forms in rooms within collaboration space, according to the steps of:

receiving from a user browser a form definition including a form layout and descriptive fields that make up said new form object;

creating a collaboration space object by associating with each said form object a form note object and with each said field a field note object; and

storing said collaboration space object in an object store.