Application sharing viewer presentation

• US 8,082,517 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2007
• Issued: 12/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ben-Shachar, Ido M., Fuller, Deana Rae, Leichtling, Ivan J., Schmieder, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): PITARO, RYAN F
• Application Number:
  US11/869,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20080034320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 715/751, 715/753, 715/755, 715/759, 715/800, 715/786
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/34 for rolling or scrolling

Abstract

An improved application sharing system and method are described wherein an application sharing viewing display is modified to increase the likelihood that a viewing user is able to see without scrolling the entirety of a window of interest displayed by a sharing user on a sharing machine. The scale of the viewer representation of the window of interest may be substantially continuously varied so as to best account for the particular size of the available display area at the viewing machine. In a further embodiment of the invention, the viewer'"'"'s attention may be focused by filtering of the shared display material to visually enhance the current window of interest.

Claims

1. A method of sharing a representation of a selected window set comprising one or more windows with a viewing user of a viewing machine comprising:

receiving a list comprising a description of the one or more windows in the selected window set, wherein the one or more windows include at least one shared window, wherein if the at least one shared window comprises a plurality of windows, the plurality of windows share a common process ID, wherein the list further comprises a description of one or more non-shared windows if the one or more non-shared windows obscure any portion of any shared window in the list, the list created from a list of sharable windows, wherein a sharable window is one that appears on a display of a sharing machine, and that a sharing user of the sharing machine has designated as sharable with a viewing user of a viewing machine, the list identifying a first window, a second window, and a third window, wherein the first window and the second window have a same process ID, but the third window has a different process ID, the list culled to remove any sharable window that does not have the same process ID as a last foreground sharable window, wherein the last foreground sharable window is the sharable window most recently in the foreground of the display of the sharing machine so that the third window is removed if it does not obscure the first window or the second window and is not removed if it obscures the first window or the second window, but the first window and the second window are not removed; and

displaying to the viewing user a representation of the one or more windows in the selected window set to the extent the one or more windows are not obscured by the one or more non-shared windows.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the representation of the one or more windows in the selected window set is scaled down from the windows in the selected window set.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the scale by which the one or more windows in the selected window set is scaled down from the windows in the selected window set comprises a value of about sixty percent.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the amount by which the one or more windows in the selected window set is scaled down from the windows in the selected window set is determined based on a comparison of the size of the one or more windows in the selected window set to an available viewing area on the viewing machine.

5. A method of sharing a list of windows during an application session comprising:

creating a list of sharable windows, wherein a sharable window is one that appears on a display of a sharing machine, and that a sharing user of the sharing machine has designated as sharable with a viewing user of a viewing machine, the list identifying a first window, a second window, and a third window, wherein the first window and the second window have a same process ID, but the third window has a different process ID;

culling the list of sharable windows to remove any sharable window that does not have the same process ID as a last foreground sharable window, wherein the last foreground sharable window is the sharable window most recently in the foreground of the display of the sharing machine so that the third window is removed, but the first window and the second window are not removed;

augmenting the culled list with a description corresponding to any non-sharable window that obscures on the sharer display any portion of any window in the culled list; and

transmitting the augmented list to the viewing machine.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising displaying on the display of the sharing machine an annotation highlighting at least a portion of the material currently displayed on the display of the sharing machine that is also represented in the augmented list.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the annotation highlighting the portion of the material currently displayed on the display of the sharing machine is a box encompassing the portion.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method of sharing a representation of a selected window set comprising one or more windows with a viewing user of a viewing machine, the method comprising:

receiving a list comprising a description of the one or more windows in the selected window set, wherein the one or more windows include at least one shared window, wherein if the at least one shared window comprises a plurality of windows, the plurality of windows share a common process ID, and wherein the list further comprises a description of one or more non-shared windows if the one or more non-shared windows obscure any portion of any shared window in the list, the list created from a list of sharable windows, wherein a sharable window is one that appears on a display of a sharing machine, and that a sharing user of the sharing machine has designated as sharable with a viewing user of a viewing machine, the list identifying a first window, a second window, and a third window, wherein the first window and the second window have a same process ID, but the third window has a different process ID, the list culled to remove any sharable window that does not have the same process ID as a last foreground sharable window, wherein the last foreground sharable window is the sharable window most recently in the foreground of the display of the sharing machine so that the third window is removed if it does not obscure the first window or the second window and is not removed if it obscures the first window or the second window, but the first window and the second window are not removed; and

displaying to the viewing user a representation of the one or more windows in the selected window set to the extent the one or more windows are not obscured by the one or more non-shared windows, wherein the representation of the one or more windows in the selected window set is scaled down by a value based on a comparison of a size of the one or more windows in the selected window set to an available viewing area on the viewing machine from the windows in the selected window set, wherein the first and second windows are displayed, but the third window is not displayed.