Solution for automatically incorporating diagnostic data within screen capture images

• US 8,060,795 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2008
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gamulescu, Romeo, O'Doherty, Simon P., O'Donovan, Brian, Mutambwir, Kioso, Bakekolo, C. Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): BONZO, BRYCE P
• Application Number:
  US12/121,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20090287962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 714/27, 714/46, 714/57
• US Class Current: 714/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0706 the processing taking place on a specific hardware platform or in a specific software environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36

Abstract

The present invention can include an automated solution for incorporating diagnostic data within an image of a screen capture image. When a screen capture event is detected, a screen capture image can be generated. The software applications contained within the screen capture image can be identified. Diagnostic data pertaining to the identified software applications can be automatically collected and incorporated into the screen capture image file.

Claims

1. An automated method for incorporating diagnostic data within an image of a screen capture comprising:

detecting a screen capture event;

generating a screen capture image in response to the detecting step, wherein the screen capture image is stored in a screen capture image file;

identifying at least one software application contained in the screen capture image;

automatically collecting diagnostic data for the at least one software application from at least one computing device; and

incorporating the collected diagnostic data into the screen capture image file, wherein the incorporating step utilizes at least of a stenographic application, a graphical alteration application, and a relational companion file generation algorithm, and wherein the diagnostic data comprises at least one of a reference to a diagnostic log, a memory reference, a list of related files, a source code file name, a database name, a database table name, a server name, and a stack trace reference, wherein at least a portion of the collected diagnostic data is collected from a plurality of computing devices at least one of which is remotely located from a client device upon which the at least one software application runs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the screen capture image file containing the incorporated diagnostic data is provided to a technical support agent, said method further comprising:

presenting the screen capture image in a display area of a viewing application; and

visually rendering the incorporated diagnostic data within the presented screen capture image, wherein each item of incorporated diagnostic data is visually rendered with a spatial relationship to a corresponding area of the screen capture image within the display area, whereby providing a contextual meaning between the incorporated diagnostic data and the at least one software application contained in the screen capture image, wherein the rendering step is performed in response to a user-positioning of a pointer mechanism within the display area of the viewing application in real-time for each item of incorporated diagnostic data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen capture image with the incorporated plurality of diagnostic data items is rendered by a viewing application utilized by a technical support agent, and wherein the screen capture image is an image of a screen of a user, wherein said user is communicating in real-time with the technical support agent.

4. The method of claim 1, said incorporating comprising:

incorporating the collected diagnostic data into the screen capture image file utilizing a stenographic application.

5. The method of claim 1, said incorporating comprising:

incorporating the collected diagnostic data into the screen capture image file utilizing a graphic alternation application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen capture image shows a plurality of different software applications running on a client device for which the screen capture event was detected, wherein the at least one software application of the identifying and collecting steps comprises the plurality of different software applications running on the client device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen capture image shows a plurality of different applications running on a client device, wherein the shown plurality of different applications is less than a number of applications running on the client device, and wherein the diagnostic data is collected for only those ones of the different applications shown in the screen capture image.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen capture image is an image of a client device running said at least one software application, wherein the collecting of the collected diagnostic data comprises collecting functional diagnostic data from at least one remotely located server that supports a function of the at least one software application on the client device, wherein the incorporated collected diagnostic data comprises functional diagnostic data from the at least one remotely located server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an image file type of the screen capture image;

determining whether the image file type allows for direct encoding of the collected diagnostic data; and

when direct encoding is allowed for the image file type, directly encoding the diagnostic data into the screen capture image file.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an error in the software application and responsively triggering the screen capture event in order to ultimately provide a support agent with pertinent information for the error without requiring additional research time, wherein the pertinent information comprises the screen image file and the incorporated diagnostic data.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

Receiving a user executed screen capture command from within a diagnostic capture tool; and

Responsive to the user executed screen capture command, firing the screen capture event.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen capture image is an electronic graphical representation of the at least one software application being displayed on a client device for which the screen capture event was initiated.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the incorporating of the collected diagnostic data comprises:

incorporating the diagnostic data using at least one flyover window.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the incorporating of the collected diagnostic data comprises:

incorporating the diagnostic data using at least one graphical overlay.

15. A computer program product for incorporating diagnostic data within an image of a screen capture comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code configured to detect a screen capture event;

computer usable program code configured to generate a screen capture image in response to detecting the screen capture event, wherein the screen capture image is stored in a screen capture image file, wherein the screen capture image shows a plurality of different software applications running on a client device for which the screen capture event was detected;

computer usable program code configured to identify at least one software application contained in the screen capture image;

computer usable program code configured to automatically collect diagnostic data for the at least one software application from at least one computing device, wherein the at least one software application of the identifying and collecting steps comprises the plurality of different software applications running on the client device; and

computer usable program code configured to incorporate the collected diagnostic data into the screen capture image file, wherein the incorporating of the data utilizes at least of a stenographic application, a graphical alteration application, and a relational companion file generation algorithm, and wherein the diagnostic data comprises at least one of a reference to a diagnostic log, a memory reference, a list of related files, a source code file name, a database name, a database table name, a server name, and a stack trace reference.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, said computer program product further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to present the screen capture image in a display area of a viewing application; and

computer usable program code configured to visually render the incorporated diagnostic data within the presented screen capture image, wherein each item of incorporated diagnostic data is visually rendered with a spatial relationship to a corresponding area of the screen capture image within the display area, whereby providing a contextual meaning between the incorporated diagnostic data and the at least one software application contained in the screen capture image, wherein the rendering step is performed in response to a user-positioning of a pointer mechanism within the display area of the viewing application in real-time for each item of incorporated diagnostic data.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the screen capture image with the incorporated plurality of diagnostic data items is rendered by a viewing application utilized by a technical support agent, and wherein the screen capture image is an image of a screen of a user, wherein said user is communicating in real-time with the technical support agent.

18. An automated method for incorporating diagnostic data within an image of a screen capture comprising:

determining an error in the software application;

responsive to the error, triggering a screen capture event;

generating a screen capture image in response to the detecting step, wherein the screen capture image is stored in a screen capture image file;

identifying at least one software application contained in the screen capture image;

automatically collecting diagnostic data for the at least one software application from at least one computing device;

incorporating the collected diagnostic data into the screen capture image file, wherein the incorporating step utilizes at least of a stenographic application, a graphical alteration application, and a relational companion file generation algorithm, and wherein the diagnostic data comprises at least one of a reference to a diagnostic log, a memory reference, a list of related files, a source code file name, a database name, a database table name, a server name, and a stack trace reference; and

providing a support agent with pertinent information for the error without requiring additional research time, wherein the pertinent information comprises the screen image file and the incorporated diagnostic data.