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• US 7,240,298 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Perlow, Jonathan D., van Dok, Cornelis K., Park, Vivien, Grossman, Joel K., Blagsvedt, Sean O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US10/324,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20040119761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 715/854, 715/752
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs

Abstract

A computing system and a user interface display requested data corresponding with a contact at a display device. The requested data includes contact information, communication histories, and files associated with the contact. The requested data is obtained from one or more contact information directories located locally and/or remotely from the computing system. The user interface also displays contact-centric tasks that may be engaged in between the user and the contact based upon the capabilities of the corresponding computing systems or that can be performed on a contact. Some of the contact information can be edited with an edit mode of the user interface. The contact may be a person, group, organization, or household.

Claims

1. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a user interface that is configured to display contact information at the display device, a method for displaying contact information from a plurality of contact information directories that are associated with a plurality of communication applications, the method comprising:

an act of providing a remote store interface module, the interface module enabled to search and process information at remote devices;

an act of providing a schema module, the schema module enabled to map contact information, files, and communication histories into categories and classifications which can be recognized for display and the schema module further enabled to organize data from remote stores into a single unifying schema;

an act of receiving, at the computing system, a user request for contact information that corresponds to a predetermined contact;

when contact information is stored remotely, an act of utilizing the interface module and schema module to access the remote information;

an act of displaying, at the display device, the requested contact information;

an act of providing a window for setting preferences for the manner in which the contact information is displayed;

an act of providing, with the requested contact information, a link to a communication history of the predetermined contact, the communication history including a record of a plurality of different types of communications with the predetermined contact generated from a plurality of communication applications; and

upon receiving a user request to view the communication history, comprising a selection of the link, an act of displaying the record of the communication history with the plurality of different types of communications generated from the plurality of communication applications.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information includes at least one of an image, a name, an email address, a telephone number and a status of the predetermined contact.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the contact information includes an image, a name, an email address, a telephone number and a status of the predetermined contact.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information is accessed by the computing system from a plurality of contact information directories that are associated with the plurality of communication applications.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information is edited and published by the contact prior to being displayed on the display device.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information is edited by a user with an edit mode of the user interface.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the record of the communication history includes a plurality of different types of communication application icons that are displayed alongside the plurality of different types of communications that are reflected in the communication history.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the communication history is sorted by the type of communication applications from which the communications originated.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication history includes a record of communications that are sorted by at least one of date and time in which the communications occurred.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication history includes a record of communications that are sorted according to whether the communications were sent or received by the predetermined contact.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact information is sorted into general contact information corresponding to the particular contact and into preferred contact information corresponding to the particular contact.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the general contact information includes at least some of the preferred contact information.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the preferred contact information is determined by a status of the predetermined contact.

14. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein at least some of the preferred contact information is predetermined by the predetermined contact.

15. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein at least some of the preferred contact information is designated by a user via the user interface.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, further including an act of displaying contact-centric tasks, at least some of the contact-centric tasks corresponding with activities that are engaged in between the computing system and another computing system having suitable software and hardware configurations.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, further including an act of displaying contact-centric tasks, at least some of the contact-centric tasks corresponding with activities that can be performed on a contact.

18. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a user interface that is configured to display contact information at the display device, a method for displaying contact information from a plurality of contact information directories, the method comprising:

an act of providing a remote store interface module, the interface module enabled to search and process information at remote devices;

an act of providing a schema module, the schema module enabled to map contact information, files, and communication histories into categories and classifications which can be recognized for display and the schema module further enabled to organize data from remote stores into a single unifying schema;

an act of receiving, at the computing system, a user request for contact information that corresponds to a predetermined contact;

when contact information is stored remotely, an act of utilizing the interface module and schema module to access the remote information;

an act of displaying, at the display device, the requested contact information within a contact information interface;

an act of providing, with the requested contact information, and within the contact information interface, a link to files that are associated with the predetermined contact and that are accessible to the computing system; and

upon receiving a user request to view the files associated with the predetermined contact, comprising a selection of the link, an act of automatically identifying and displaying the associated files at the display device.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the contact information includes an image, a name, an email address, an IM address, an identity key, a telephone number and a status of the predetermined contact.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the contact information is accessed by the computing system from a plurality of contact information directories.

21. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the contact information is edited and published by the contact prior to being displayed on the display device.

22. A method as recited in claim 18, further including an act of enabling at least some of the contact information to be edited with the user interface.

23. A method as recited in claim 18, further including an act of providing, with the requested contact information, and within the contact information interface, a link to a communication history of the predetermined contact, the communication history including a record of one or more communications with the predetermined contact generated from one or more communication applications.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, wherein upon receiving a user request to view the communication history of the predetermined contact, the method further includes an act of displaying the communication history of the predetermined contact at the display device.

25. A method as recited in claim 18, further including an act of providing a link for searching for related contacts that are related to the predetermined contact and an act of displaying the related contacts.

26. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a user interface that is configured to display contact information at the display device, a method for displaying contact information from a plurality of contact information directories that are associated with a plurality of different communication applications, the method comprising:

an act of providing a remote store interface module, the interface module enabled to search and process information at remote devices;

an act of providing a schema module, the schema module enabled to map contact information, files, and communication histories into categories and classifications which can be recognized for display and the schema module further enabled to organize data from remote stores into a single unifying schema;

an act of receiving, at the computing system, a user request for contact information that corresponds to a predetermined contact;

when contact information is stored remotely, an act of utilizing the interface module and schema module to access the remote information;

an act of displaying, at the display device, the requested contact information;

an act of providing, with the requested contact information, a link to a communication history of the predetermined contact, the communication history including a display of a plurality of communications with the predetermined contact and that correspond to a plurality of different types of communication applications;

upon receiving a user request to view the communication history of the predetermined contact, an act of displaying the plurality of communications generated from the plurality of different types of communication applications;

an act of providing, with the requested contact information, a link to files that are associated with the predetermined contact and that are accessible to the computing system; and

upon receiving a user request to view the files associated with the predetermined contact, an act of displaying the associated files at the display device.

27. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the contact information includes at least one of an image, a name, an email address, a telephone number and a status of the predetermined contact.

28. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the contact information is accessed by the computing system from a plurality of contact information directories.

29. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein at least some of the contact information is edited and published by the contact prior to being displayed on the display device.

30. A method as recited in claim 26, further including an act of enabling at least some of the contact information to be edited with the user interface.

31. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the communication history includes a single record of communications originating from a plurality of different types of communication applications.

32. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the communication history is sorted by the type of communication applications from which the communications originated.

33. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the communication history includes a record of communications that are sorted by at least one of date and time in which the communications occurred.

34. A method as recited in claim 26, wherein the communication history includes a record of communications that are sorted according to whether the communications were sent or received by the predetermined contact.

35. A method as recited in claim 26, further including an act of displaying contact-centric tasks, at least some of the contact-centric tasks corresponding with activities that are engaged in between the computing system and another computing system having suitable software and hardware configurations.

40. A computer program product for use in a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a user interface that is configured to display contact information at the display device, the computer program product comprising:

one or more physical computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for implementing the method recited in claim 26.

36. In a computing system that is connected with a display device and that includes a user interface that is configured to display contact information at the display device, a method for displaying contact information from a plurality of contact information directories, the method comprising:

an act of providing a remote store interface module, the interface module enabled to search and process information at remote devices;

an act of providing a schema module, the schema module enabled to map contact information, files, and communication histories into categories and classifications which can be recognized for display and the schema module further enabled to organize data from remote stores into a single unifying schema;

when contact information is stored remotely, an act of utilizing the interface module and schema module to access the remote information;

displaying contact information corresponding to a predetermined contact with a contact information interface, the contact information including contact information automatically gathered from a plurality of different communication application directories;

an act of providing a link to a communication history of the predetermined contact within the contact information interface, wherein the communication history comprises a display of a plurality communications with the predetermined contact and that are generated from a plurality of different types of communication applications; and

an act of providing a link to associated files that are associated with the predetermined contact and that are accessible to the computing system within the contact information interface.

37. A method as recited in claim 36, wherein the method further comprises:

upon receiving a user request to view the communication history, in response to a selection of the link to the communication history, an act of displaying the communication history;

upon receiving a user request to view the associated files, in response to a selection of the link to the associated files, an act of displaying the associated files; and

upon receiving a user request to view contact information corresponding to a contact, an act of displaying the contact information within the contact information interface.

38. A method as recited in claim 37, wherein the contact information includes at least one of an image, a name, an email address, a telephone number and a status of the predetermined contact.

39. A method as recited in claim 37, further including an act of enabling at least some of the contact information to be edited with the user interface.