Method and apparatus for accessing related computer objects

• US 7,159,207 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2001
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Mordecai, Nicole Y., Tang, John C., Van De Vanter, Michael L., Begole, James M. A., Gentner, Donald R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Steelman; Mary J.
• Application Number:
  US09/829,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20040015854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 717106-109, 711/116, 715/511, 715751-759, 715/804, 715/810, 715/835, 707/6
• US Class Current: 717/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for accessing related computer objects. In one embodiment, computer objects related to a user'"'"'s current task by a metric are listed. In another embodiment, other users related to a user'"'"'s current task by a metric are listed. In one embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object determines whether the user accessed the computer object. In another embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object determines whether the user is referenced in the computer object. In other embodiments, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object involves other measures of relatedness. In one embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a computer object is related to another computer object determines whether the computer objects have a related user in common.

Claims

1. A graphical display interface portal tangibly embodied on a computer readable media, the graphical display interface portal providing a user interface for interactivity, comprising:

a document display area of a user interface display screen, the document display area defining a currently active program object that is executing enables program interaction by a user and displays updated results; and

a neighborhood panel presented on the user interface display screen along side the document display area, such that the neighborhood panel is concurrently illustrated when the currently active program object for the user is present, the neighborhood panel including a list of one or more users and a list of one or more program objects,

the list of one or more users being automatically displayed in the neighborhood panel, each user in the list of one or more users being dynamically selected for display in the neighborhood panel based on a relationship between the user and the currently active program object, the relationship being defined by a metric; and

the list of one or more program objects being automatically displayed in the neighborhood panel, each program object in the list of one or more program objects being dynamically selected for display in the neighborhood panel based on a relationship between the program object and the currently active program object, the relationship being defined by a metric;

wherein automatically displaying the list of one or more users and the list of one or more program objects in neighborhood panel provides a viewable interrelationship and an accessible link to the users and program objects that are most related to the currently active program object, as defined by the metric for the users and the metric for the program objects, and wherein the accessible link to either the users or the program objects is presented as an icon, the icon providing a graphical or text indicator of a type for the accessible link.

2. A graphical display interface portal as recited in claim 1, wherein the neighborhood panel further identifies a history list, the history list defining users and program objects that the user of the currently active program object has accessed or communicated with, the history list being automatically updated and displayed on the user interface display screen.

3. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the currently active program object is one of a word processing document, an email message, a telephone conversation, or a web page.

4. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the users is determined by a number of times the users accessed the currently active program object in the past.

5. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the program object is determined by an amount of common content between the currently active program object and the program object.

6. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the program object is determined by a frequency with which the program object is accessed by one or more users.

7. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the program object is determined by whether the program object is a copy of the currently active program object.

8. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the program object is determined by whether the currently active program object referenced the program object.

9. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the user is determined by whether the user has accessed the program object.

10. A graphical display interface portal of claim 1, wherein the metric for the user is determined by whether the user was contacted.

11. A computer implemented method of accessing a related item through a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides graphical access and interactivity, comprising:

displaying a currently active program object that is executing in a display area, the currently active program object allowing user interaction and displaying updated results with aspects of the active program object;

automatically generating a dynamic list of related users and program objects for the currently active program object based on a metric;

concurrently displaying the list of related users and program objects in a neighborhood panel, such that the neighborhood panel is displayed along with the currently active program object in the display area; and

enabling access to at least one of the related users or programs objects through the neighborhood panel, wherein access to either the users or the program objects is enabled through an icon, the icon providing a graphical or text indicator of a type for the access.

12. A computer implemented method of accessing a related item as recited in claim 11, wherein the neighborhood panel further identifies a history list, the history list defining users and program objects that the user of the currently active program object has accessed or communicated with, the history list being automatically updated and displayed in the display area.

13. A computer implemented method of accessing a related item as recited in claim 11 wherein the currently active program object is one of a word processing document, an email message, a telephone conversation, or a web page.

14. A computer implemented method of accessing related item as recited in claim 11 further comprising:

selecting one or more users for display in the neighborhood panel based on a relationship, between the user and the currently active program object, defined by the metric.

15. A computer implemented method for accessing related item as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

determining the metric for the users by the number of times the users accessed the currently active program object in the past.

16. A computer implemented method for accessing related item as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

determining the metric for the program object by a frequency with which the program object is accessed by one or more users.

17. A computer implemented method for accessing related item as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

determining the metric for the program object by an amount of common content between the currently active program object and the program object.