Methods and apparatus for contextual awareness in a groupware client
First Claim
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1. A method for providing data to a groupware client application (GCA) of an office productivity suite of applications, comprising:
- receiving at an enterprise server a query from the GCA for enterprise-level data, the query generated within a context of the GCA for the enterprise-level data, the context being a local working environment of the GCA,wherein the GCA being a collaborative application having an associated groupware server that provides services to collaborative applications, the GCA including native functionality to access the associated groupware server but not to access the enterprise server,wherein an extension to the GCA enables the GCA to interact directly with the enterprise server, bypassing the groupware server to access enterprise-level data while leaving unaffected access to other data by the GCA through the groupware server, andwherein the enterprise-level data is associated with execution of a workflow from within the context of the GCA;
determining at the enterprise server the context of the GCA in which the query was generated, including identifying a workflow associated with the query;
selecting enterprise data based at least in part on the determined context; and
providing, in response to the query, the selected data within the context of the GCA through the extension to the GCA, including integrating the selected data into a user interface of the GCA to enable interaction with the selected data through the GCA via the extension that provides functionality in the GCA to interact with enterprise-level data associated with the workflow from the context of the GCA without having to change from the context of the GCA to another application to access the enterprise-level data.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatuses provide contextual awareness to a groupware client with respect to an enterprise backend system. The groupware client generates a query or request for data within a context of the groupware client. A backend determines the context, which may include processing an indication of the context received with the query. Data is selectively chosen based on the context, and the selected data is provided to the groupware client to fulfill the request. In one embodiment, the backend determines a permission associated with the context.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for providing data to a groupware client application (GCA) of an office productivity suite of applications, comprising:
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receiving at an enterprise server a query from the GCA for enterprise-level data, the query generated within a context of the GCA for the enterprise-level data, the context being a local working environment of the GCA, wherein the GCA being a collaborative application having an associated groupware server that provides services to collaborative applications, the GCA including native functionality to access the associated groupware server but not to access the enterprise server, wherein an extension to the GCA enables the GCA to interact directly with the enterprise server, bypassing the groupware server to access enterprise-level data while leaving unaffected access to other data by the GCA through the groupware server, and wherein the enterprise-level data is associated with execution of a workflow from within the context of the GCA; determining at the enterprise server the context of the GCA in which the query was generated, including identifying a workflow associated with the query; selecting enterprise data based at least in part on the determined context; and providing, in response to the query, the selected data within the context of the GCA through the extension to the GCA, including integrating the selected data into a user interface of the GCA to enable interaction with the selected data through the GCA via the extension that provides functionality in the GCA to interact with enterprise-level data associated with the workflow from the context of the GCA without having to change from the context of the GCA to another application to access the enterprise-level data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium having content stored thereon to provide instructions to cause a machine to perform operations in an enterprise data interface, the operations including:
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receiving a request for data from a groupware client application (GCA) of an office productivity suite of applications, wherein the request for the data is generated within a context of the GCA, the context being a local working environment of the GCA, wherein the GCA being a collaborative application having an associated groupware server that provides services to the collaborative applications, the GCA including native functionality to access the associated groupware server but not to access the enterprise server, wherein an extension to the GCA enables the GCA to interact directly with the enterprise server, bypassing the groupware server to access enterprise-level data while leaving unaffected access to other data by the GCA through the groupware server, and wherein the data is associated with execution of a workflow from within the context of the GCA, the workflow managed by a server other than the groupware server; determining a the context of the GCA, including identifying the workflow associated with the query; determining a permission of the GCA to access the requested data in response to determining the context; and selectively providing, in response to the query, some or all of the requested data within the context of the GCA through the extension to the GCA, including integrating the selected data into a user interface of the GCA, based at least in part on the permission of the GCA to access the requested data, to enable interaction with the data through the GCA via an the extension that provides functionality in the GCA to interact with data associated with the workflow from the context of the GCA without having to change from the context of the GCA to another application to access the enterprise-level data. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a backend enterprise system including one or more enterprise servers having data accessible via a service; a groupware client application (GCA) of an office productivity suite of applications having a context, the context indicated by an identifier and being a local working environment of the GCA, the GCA to generate a request from within the context for data from the backend enterprise system, wherein the GCA being a collaborative application having an associated groupware server that provides services to the collaborative applications, the GCA including native functionality to access the associated groupware server but not to access the enterprise server, wherein an extension to the GCA enables the GCA to interact directly with the enterprise server, bypassing the groupware server to access enterprise-level data while leaving unaffected access to other data by the GCA through the groupware server, and wherein the data is associated with execution of a workflow from within the context of the GCA, the workflow managed by a server other than the groupware server; and a content manager coupled to the backend enterprise system and to the GCA, the content manager to receive the request for data, identify the context of the GCA in response to receiving the request including identifying a the workflow associated with the query, and, in response to identifying the context, selectively provide, in response to the query, the data related to the request to the GCA within the context of the GCA through the extension to the GCA including integrating the selected data into a user interface of the GCA to enable interaction with the data through the GCA via an the extension that provides functionality in the GCA to interact with data associated with the workflow from the context of the GCA without having to change from the context of the GCA to another application to access the enterprise-level data. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification