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• US 7,814,438 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• 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): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US11/760,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20070240081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 715/752, 715/854
• 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 logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

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. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a first interface display frame which displays a condensed form of contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a second interface display frame which is displayed with the first interface display frame, but that is distinguished from the first interface display frame on the display screen, and which displays general contact information corresponding to the contact; and

an interface display object comprising a selectable link which is displayed with the first and second interface display frames and that directly links to a communications history page which displays a communication history between a user and the contact, wherein the contact information displayed in the condensed form within the first interface display frame, as well as the general contact information displayed within the second interface display frame are displayed by the first and second display frames, respectively, in an editable format.

2. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface further comprises a third interface display frame which is displayed with the first and second interface display frames, but that is distinguished from the first and second interface display frames on the display screen, and which displays a network profile of the contact.

3. A user interface as recited in claim 2, wherein the user interface further comprises a fourth interface display frame which is displayed with the first, second and third interface display frames, but that is distinguished from the first, second and third interface display frames on the display screen, and which displays an organization profile of the contact.

4. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface further comprises a third interface display frame which is displayed with the first and second interface display frames, but that is distinguished from the first and second interface display frames on the display screen, and which displays an organization profile of the contact.

5. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the first interface display frame further displays information corresponding to a current status of the contact.

6. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first second interface display frames comprises a visible frame border.

7. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the communications history page includes a listing of communications sent to the contact by the user, as well as communications received by the user from the contact.

8. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface further displays an additional link which is selectable and that is directly linked to files associated with the contact.

9. A user interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface further includes a plurality of selectable links for launching communications with the contact through a plurality of corresponding communication means.

10. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a contact information display frame which displays contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a communication history display frame which is displayed with the contact information display frame, but that is distinguished from the contact information display frame on the display screen, and which displays a communication history corresponding to the contact, wherein the communication history includes both communications sent from a user to the contact as well as communications received by the user that were sent from the contact; and

a selectable link which, when selected, changes an amount of contact information displayed in the contact information display frame.

11. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the contact information includes status information corresponding to a current status of the contact.

12. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the communication history display frame includes two separate display frames, wherein a first of the two separate display frames displays communications sent to the contact and wherein a second of the two separate display frames displays communications sent by the contact.

13. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein each of the two separate display frames are independently scrollable.

14. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the communication history display frame includes at least two separate display frames, wherein each of the at least two separate display frames displays communications corresponding to a different day.

15. A user interface as recited in claim 14, wherein at least one of the at least two separate display frames displays a plurality of communications.

16. A user interface as recited in claim 15, wherein the plurality of communications include at least two different types of communications, the at least two different types of communications including at least two types selected from the group comprising:

an email communication type, an instant message communication type and a phone communication type.

17. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the user interface further includes a link for selectably sorting the communications displayed in the communications history display frame by communication type, the communication type including at least one of an email communication type, a phone communication type and an instant message communication type.

18. A user interface as recited in claim 10, wherein the user interface further includes a plurality of interactive filter objects for selectably filtering the communications displayed in the communications history display frame to either communications sent to the contact or communications sent by the contact or to communications corresponding to one or more keywords.

19. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a first interface display frame which displays a condensed form of contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a second interface display frame which is displayed with the first interface display frame, but that is distinguished from the first interface display frame on the display screen, and which displays general contact information corresponding to the contact;

an interface display object comprising a selectable link which is displayed with the first and second interface display frames and that directly links to a communications history page which displays a communication history between a user and the contact;

a third interface display frame which is displayed with the first and second interface display frames, but that is distinguished from the first and second interface display frames on the display screen, and which displays a network profile of the contact; and

a fourth interface display frame which is displayed with the first, second and third interface display frames, but that is distinguished from the first, second and third interface display frames on the display screen, and which displays an organization profile of the contact.

20. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a contact information display frame which displays contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact; and

a communication history display frame which is displayed with the contact information display frame, but that is distinguished from the contact information display frame on the display screen, and which displays a communication history corresponding to the contact, wherein the communication history includes both communications sent from a user to the contact as well as communications received by the user that were sent from the contact,

wherein the communication history display frame includes two separate display frames, wherein a first of the two separate display frames displays communications sent to the contact and wherein a second of the two separate display frames displays communications sent by the contact.

21. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a contact information display frame which displays contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a communication history display frame which is displayed with the contact information display frame, but that is distinguished from the contact information display frame on the display screen, and which displays a communication history corresponding to the contact, wherein the communication history includes both communications sent from a user to the contact as well as communications received by the user that were sent from the contact,

wherein the plurality of communications include at least two different types of communications, the at least two different types of communications including at least two types selected from the group comprising;

an email communication type, an instant message communication type and a phone communication type.

22. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a contact information display frame which displays contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a communication history display frame which is displayed with the contact information display frame, but that is distinguished from the contact information display frame on the display screen, and which displays a communication history corresponding to the contact, wherein the communication history includes both communications sent from a user to the contact as well as communications received by the user that were sent from the contact; and

a link for selectably sorting the communications displayed in the communications history display frame by communication type, the communication type including at least one of an email communication type, a phone communication type and an instant message communication type.

23. A user interface comprising:

a display that is operably connected to a computing system that includes a processor and memory and which includes the following;

a contact information display frame which displays contact information that identifies a contact and that can be used to initiate communication with the contact;

a communication history display frame which is displayed with the contact information display frame, but that is distinguished from the contact information display frame on the display screen, and which displays a communication history corresponding to the contact, wherein the communication history includes both communications sent from a user to the contact as well as communications received by the user that were sent from the contact; and

a plurality of interactive filter objects for selectably filtering the communications displayed in the communications history display frame to either communications sent to the contact or communications sent by the contact or to communications corresponding to one or more keywords.