Application sharing user interface improvements

• US 7,595,798 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leichtling, Ivan J., Schmieder, Robert W., Ben-Shachar, Ido M., Fuller, Deana Rae
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson; M Good
• Application Number:
  US11/187,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20050257165A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418, 345/421
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

An improved application sharing system and method are described wherein shared window data is treated according to different sets of rules depending upon the fraction of the shared window data that corresponds to the actual shared window. In this manner, occlusions of a shared window on a sharer display may be disguised or handled by a viewer display to minimize the impact of the occlusion on a viewing user, providing a more consistent and less confusing viewer experience.

Claims

1. A method of displaying shared data of an application sharing session on a local computing device, wherein the data is received from a remote computing device, the method comprising:

analyzing at the local computing device a first quantity of received data corresponding to a graphical object in a memory of the remote computing device;

determining whether the first quantity of received data corresponds to an entirety of the graphical object;

if the first quantity of received data corresponds to less than the entirety of the graphical object, treating the received data according to a first set of data processing rules; and

if the first quantity of received data corresponds to the entirety of the graphical object, treating the received data according to a second set of data processing rules.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of data processing rules comprises instructions for:

determining whether the first quantity of received data corresponds to less than a predetermined fraction of the graphical object; and

constructing an image to be displayed on a display device associated with the local computing device, wherein the image is constructed from data comprising the first quantity of received data when the first quantity of received data does not correspond to less than the predetermined fraction of the graphical object, and wherein the image is constructed from data comprising a second quantity of received data that is received prior to receipt of the first quantity of received data when the first quantity of received data corresponds to less than the predetermined fraction of the graphical object.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the predetermined fraction is approximately seven-tenths.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the first set of data processing rules include instructions comprising:

after receiving the second quantity of data, setting a timer to expire after an amount of time; and

receiving the first quantity of data.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first quantity of data corresponds to a current state of the shared data and the second quantity of data corresponds to a prior state of the shared data.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein when the first quantity of received data does not correspond to less than the predetermined fraction of the graphical object, the constructing includes employing a portion of the second quantity of received data that corresponds to the portion of the graphical object that is not described by the first quantity of received data.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein when the first quantity of received data corresponds to less than the predetermined fraction of the graphical object, the constructing does not employ any portion of the first quantity of received data.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the constructing employs only the second quantity of received data.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the constructing includes washing out the image.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the constructing includes adding an indication to the image that a data sharing session is paused.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second set of data processing rules comprises instructions for constructing an image to be displayed on a display device associated with the local computing device, wherein the image is constructed from data comprising the first quantity of received data.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical object corresponds to a shared window.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the first quantity of received data corresponds to less than the entirety of the graphical object when the graphical object is partially obscured.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method of displaying shared data, the method comprising:

receiving at a local computing device shared data corresponding to a current state of a graphical object on a remote computing device;

analyzing the received shared data to determine whether the received shared data corresponds to an entirety of the graphical object; and

when the received shared data is determined to correspond to less than the entirety of the graphical object, treating the received shared data according to a set of rules for constructing an image corresponding to a representation of the entirety of the graphical object using the received shared data, the received shared data containing a portion of the graphical object.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the received shared data corresponds to less than the entirety of the graphical object when the graphical object is partially obscured on the remote computing device.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the shared graphical object corresponds to contents of a shared window.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the rules comprise instructions for employing a large portion of the received shared data and a small portion of previously received data corresponding to a portion of the shared graphical object for which data was not received.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the large portion corresponds to approximately 70% of the shared graphical object.

19. A system for displaying shared data, comprising:

a remote computing device having a graphical object in a memory of the remote computing device that is to be shared; and

a local computing device that receives shared data corresponding to the graphical object, and when the received shared data corresponds to less than an entirety of the graphical object, treats the received shared data according to a set of rules for constructing an image corresponding to a representation of the entirety of the graphical object using the received shared data, the received shared data containing a portion of the graphical object.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the rules comprise instructions for employing a large portion of the received shared data and a small portion of previously received data corresponding to a portion of the shared graphical object for which data was not received, the large portion corresponding to approximately 70% of the graphical object.