Methods and apparatuses for displaying and managing content during a collaboration session

• US 8,473,850 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2007
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Liang, Neil, Wu, Chengli, Montgomery, Elaine
• Primary Examiner(s): SONG, DAEHO D
• Application Number:
  US11/753,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20080294992A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,224 Days
• Field of Search: 715/733, 715/751, 715/761, 715/781, 715/777
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses share shared content from a presenter device with an attendee device; display the shared content on the attendee device; display an indicator associated with the shared content on the presenter device; and display a control tab configured to change a shared status.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying content generated by an application executing on a presenter device associated with a first user participating in a collaboration session in a window on a display of the presenter device in accordance with a window status assigned to the window, the window status being either a shared window status in which the corresponding window and its contents are rendered as displayable content on another device in the collaboration session or a hidden window status in which the corresponding window and its contents are excluded from being rendered as the displayable content on the other device;

providing the displayable content from the presenter device to an attendee device associated with a second user participating in the collaboration session for display on a display of the attendee device during the collaboration session;

indicating on the display of the presenter device the window status of the window by a graphical property of a frame that surrounds the window on the display of the presenter device;

changing the window status of the window upon activation of a control on the frame that surrounds the window; and

excluding the window from the displayable content in response to the window status thereof being changed to the hidden window status or including the window in the displayable content in response to the window status thereof being changed to the shared window status.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the property of the frame is a color code that distinguishes the shared window status from the hidden window status.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

displaying unshared content on the display of the presenter device in another window separate from the primary window and having the hidden window status assigned thereto; and

excluding the unshared content in the other window from the displayable content provided to the attendee device.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining the window status of the window from a record retrieved from storage and displaying the window and its content in accordance with the retrieved window status; and

storing the changed window status of the window in the record upon the activation of the control on the frame.

4. A method comprising:

displaying a primary window and a secondary window of one or more applications executing on a presenter device on a display of the presenter device, wherein each of the primary window and the secondary window is assigned a window status by the presenter device during a collaboration session, the window status being either a shared window status in which the corresponding window and its contents are rendered as displayable content on another device in the collaboration session or a hidden window status in which the corresponding window and its contents are excluded from being rendered as the displayable content on the other device;

displaying a control coupled to a frame that surrounds the primary window on the display of the presenter device, selection of the control by a user of the presenter device during the collaboration session causing a change in the window status of the primary window from the shared window status to the hidden window status or vice-versa;

selectively displaying the primary window or the secondary window on a display of an attendee device during the collaboration session based on the window status of the primary window and the secondary window assigned thereto by the presenter device.

5. The method according to claim 4 further comprising detecting a position of a first window and a second window to determine the primary window and the secondary window.

6. The method according to claim 4 further comprising indicating with a graphical property of the frame the window status of the primary window on the display of the presenter device such that the shared window status is distinguishable from the hidden window status.

7. The method according to claim 4 further comprising indicating with a graphical property of the frame the window status of the secondary window on the display of the presenter device such that the shared window status is distinguishable from the hidden window status.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured to store instructions executable by the processor to define a plurality of software modules, the software modules including;

a window detection module configured to detect a window status of each of a plurality windows associated with one or more applications executing on the system, the window status defining each of the windows as a shared window or a hidden window;

an internal render module configured to display the windows on a display of the system in accordance with corresponding window status, wherein the shared window is displayed with a frame that surrounds the shared window that distinguishes the shared window status from the hidden window status during the collaboration session, where the shared window and the hidden window are also each displayed with an attached control tab. selection of which switches the window status of the corresponding window during the collaboration session; and

an external render module configured to provide the shared window and exclude the hidden window from the system to an attendee device during the collaboration session at which the shared window is displayed on a display of the attendee device during the collaboration session.

9. The system according to claim 8 further comprising a window selection module configured to identify the hidden window.

10. The system according to claim 8 further comprising an interface module configured to allow the attendee device to modify the window status of the windows through the control tab.

11. A method comprising:

establishing a collaboration session between a presenter device and one or more attendee devices;

displaying, on a display of the presenter device, a primary window of an application executing on the presenter device;

displaying, on the display of the presenter device, a frame surrounding the primary window of the application, wherein the frame indicates the primary window'"'"'s shared window status during a collaboration session; and

displaying a control coupled to the frame that surrounds the primary window of the application, wherein the control is configured to, when activated, change a window status of the primary window from shared to hidden during the collaboration session and thus prevent of the primary window of the application on the presenter device from being rendered on a display of the one or more attendee devices.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising:

displaying, on the display of the presenter device, a secondary window; and

displaying a control associated with the secondary window, wherein the control is configured to, when activated, change the window status of the secondary window from hidden to shared during the collaboration session.

13. A method comprising:

detecting a plurality of windows on a desktop of a presenter device, each window associated with an application and displaying content related to that application;

determining whether the entire desktop of the presenter device is being shared with an attendee device in a collaboration session;

in response to the entire desktop of the presenter device being shared with the attendee device, displaying a frame that surrounds the entire desktop on the presenter device such that a graphical property of the frame indicates that the entire desktop is being shared;

in response to the entire desktop of the presenter device is not being shared with the attendee device, determining whether any of the windows are being shared with the attendee device in the collaboration session; and

in response to a window being shared with the attendee device, displaying a frame that surrounds the window on the presenter device such that a graphical property of the frame surrounding the primary window indicates that the window is being shared.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the plurality of windows includes a secondary window located at least partially beneath a primary window on the desktop of the presenter device, and the method further comprises:

determining whether the secondary window is being shared with the attendee device in the collaboration session; and

in response to the secondary window being shared with the attendee device, displaying a frame that surrounds the secondary window on the presenter device such that a graphical property of the frame surrounding the secondary window indicates that the secondary window is being shared.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

displaying a control on the frame that surrounds the window being shared with the attendee device, the control configured to, when activated, change a window status of the window from a shared window status to a hidden window status that excludes the window from being shared with the attendee device.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the graphical property of the frame includes a color of the frame.

18. A method comprising:

assigning a hidden window status to one or more windows that present content generated by corresponding processor-executable applications;

establishing a collaboration session between a plurality of devices, wherein one of the devices is configured as a presenter device and the remaining devices are each configured as an attendee device;

rendering the windows assigned the hidden window status and any other windows assigned a shared window status for display on the presenter device such that the windows assigned the shared window status are graphically distinguished from the windows assigned the hidden window status by a graphical indicator at each of the windows assigned the shared window status;

rendering the windows assigned the shared window status at the presenter device for display on the attendee device and excluding the windows assigned the hidden window status at the presenter device from the rendering of the windows for display on the attendee device; and

reassigning a selected window assigned the shared window status with the hidden window status by activating a control for the reassigning disposed on the selected window, wherein the control is disposed on all of the windows assigned the shared window status.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

retrieving a record from a memory that indicates what windows are to be assigned the hidden window status; and

storing in the record an indication that the selected window is in the hidden window status upon activation of the control.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein assigning the hidden window status further comprises:

identifying a window type for which the windows are assigned the hidden window status;

storing the window type in the record; and

assigning the hidden window status to the windows of the window type displayed on the presenter device.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein assigning the hidden window status further comprises:

identifying a selected processor-executable application which the windows presenting the corresponding content are assigned the hidden window status;

storing an indication of the selected application in the record; and

assigning the hidden window status to the windows presenting the content of the selected application displayed on the presenter device.