Seamless windows functionality to remote desktop sessions regarding z-order

• US 7,657,837 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2006
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericom Software Ltd. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericom Software Ltd. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Heyman, Eran, Shilo, Dror, Shappir, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; Kieu
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREENE, SABRINA LETICIA
• Application Number:
  US11/398,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20060230156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 715/751, 715/766, 715/790, 715/794, 715/797
• US Class Current: 715/751
• 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: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

In a client-server system, a server-node application runs a user session and a remote presentation protocol communicates between the client node and the server node. The server node stores a remote virtual desktop including remote windows of the user session. The client node displays multiple local windows of applications running locally on the client node and further displays one or more windows of the remote virtual desktop. The one or more windows are clipped to produce a clipped region so that the remote windows are displayed therein to appear as the local windows. The local windows are enumerated according to z-order from back to front and an area of each local window which overlaps the clipped region is subtracted from the clipped region so that the local windows show through the area.

Claims

1. In a client-server system, a method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a server-node application running a user session, wherein a remote presentation protocol communicates between a client node and said server node wherein said server node stores a remote virtual desktop including a plurality of remote windows of said user session;

(b) displaying on said client node a plurality of local windows of applications running locally on said client node and displaying in at least one local window said remote virtual desktop, wherein at least one of said local windows is a local stub window and wherein said each local stub window is associated with one of said remote windows;

(c) performing a clipping procedure on at least a portion of said at least one local window displaying said remote virtual desktop, said clipping procedure involving a mathematical operation which removes said at least one portion from said at least one local window to provide a clipped region, so that said remote windows are displayed therein to appear as said local widows;

(d) enumerating over said local windows and subtracting from said clipped region an area of each local window overlapping said clipped region, whereby said local windows show through said area, and

(e) adding to said clipped region the area of at least one said remote window associated with a respective stub window.

2. The method, according to claim 1, wherein said enumerating is performed according to z-order from back to front.

3. The method, according to claim 1, wherein said enumerating is performed as an atomic operation, further comprising the step of

(f) copying a plurality of respective handles of the local windows into a data structure.

4. The method, according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating upon intercepting local window events.

5. The method, according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) sending a notification from said server-node application of an event regarding one of said remote windows; and

(g) upon said receiving said notification, recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating.

6. The method, according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

(f) providing said local stub window and

(g) setting a z-order index of said local stub window to match a z-order index of said associated remote window.

7. The method, according to claim 5, wherein said notification regards one of said remote windows being a topmost remote window, further comprising the step of:

(h) making said at least one window topmost.

8. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method in a client-server system wherein the client server system includes a server node application running a user session, wherein a remote presentation protocol communicates between a client node and said server node, wherein said server node stores a remote virtual desktop including a plurality of remote windows of said user session, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying on said client node a plurality of local windows of applications running locally on said client node and displaying said remote virtual desktop as at least one local window wherein one of said local windows is a local stub window and wherein said local stub window is associated with one of said remote windows;

(b) performing a clipping procedure on at least a portion of said at least one local window displaying said remote virtual desktop, said clipping procedure involving a mathematical operation which removes said at least one portion from said at least one local window to provide a clipped region, so that said remote windows are displayed therein to appear as said local windows;

(c) enumerating over said local windows and subtracting from said clipped region an area of each said local window overlapping said clipped region, and

(d) adding to said clipped region the area of said remote window associated with said stub window.

9. The program storage device, according to claim 8, wherein said enumerating is performed according to z-order from back to front.

10. The program storage device according to claim 8, wherein said enumerating is performed as an atomic operation, further comprising the step of:

(e) copying a plurality of respective handles of the local windows into a data structure.

11. The program storage device, according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the step of

(e) recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating upon intercepting local window events.

12. The program storage device, according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

(e) sending a notification from said server-node application of an event regarding one of said remote windows; and

(f) upon said receiving said notification, recalculating said clipped region by performing said enumerating.

13. The program storage device, according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

(e) providing said local stub window and

(f) setting a z-order index of said local stub window to match a z-order index of said associated remote window.

14. The program storage device, according to claim 12, wherein said notification regards one of said remote windows being a topmost remote window, and wherein the method further comprises the step of:

(g) making said at least one window topmost.