Systems and methods for implementing multi-application tabs and tab sets

• US 8,583,688 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2010
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Fisher, Steve, Bezar, Eric David, Gross, Adam, Swinson, Ian, Hu, George, Oikawa, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): LIAO, JASON G
• Application Number:
  US12/957,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20110072385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• 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 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

A sharing model enables users to easily and conveniently create and share standard and custom database objects, and applications, among users or groups of users. The sharing model includes systems and methods that allow users to conveniently create and customize tabs and tab sets that define relationships between custom objects and fields, standard objects and fields, and applications. A tab visually represents a user interface into an element of an application or into a database object. Selection of a tab provides a user access to the object or element of the application represented by the tab. A tab set is a group of related tabs that work as a unit to provide application functionality. New tabs and tab sets may be defined and tab set views may be customized so that an end user can easily and conveniently switch between the various objects and application elements represented by the displayed tabs and tab set views.

Claims

1. A computer based method for creating an application functionality, comprising:

determining a first tabset and a second tabset, each of the tabsets including tabs, wherein one or more of the tabs provides a user access to data objects or application elements of one or more applications;

presenting the first tabset to an end user; and

providing to the end user a persistent tabset selector for enabling the user to selectively display the first and second tabsets if more than one tabset is available to the end user, wherein the tabset selector is visible as continuously part of a primary window of an application-level interface, wherein the primary window renders the data objects or application elements.

2. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the data objects comprise database objects of at least one database.

3. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the database objects includes a database entity.

4. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the database objects includes a database field.

5. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the database objects includes a database table.

6. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a first tabset and a second tabset comprises:

providing, to the end user, tabs that are available to the end user; and

receiving, from the end user, a selection of tabs to be included in at least one of the first tabset and the second tabset.

7. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a first tabset and a second tabset comprises presenting, to the end user, two or more tabsets, at least one of the tabsets having been created by a first user and shared.

8. A computer based method according to claim 7, wherein the determining a first tabset and a second tabset further comprises providing an interface useable by the end user to override a property of one or more of the presented tabset and a presented tabset tab.

9. A computer based method according to claim 8, wherein the property includes one or more of the following, tab set viewability, tab viewability and order of tabs in a tabset.

10. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a first tab tabset and a second tabset comprises presenting, to the user, tabsets wherein at least one tabset is either a standard tabset provided by a host application provider or a custom tabset created or customized by the end user or another user.

11. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the tabs include either at least one tab for providing access to data objects or at least one tab for providing access to application element of one or more applications.

12. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the tabs include either at least one tab for providing access to standard data objects or at least one tab for providing access to custom data objects.

13. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of tabs include at least one web tab that enables users to embed at least one of external web applications and content.

14. A computer based method according to claim 9, wherein a tab profile viewability of a tab user restricts access, by a user or group of users, to a corresponding one of the tabs, and a tabset profile viewability of a tabset restricts access, by a user or group of users, to a corresponding one of the tabsets.

15. A computer based method according to claim 14, wherein the user access is determined according to a user permission of the user or group of users.

16. A computer based method according to claim 1, further comprising specifying a tabset to be selected a first time that a user logs on to a system implementing the application functionality.

17. A computer based method according to claim 1, further comprising specifying a tab set to be selected when a user logs on to a system implementing the application functionality other than a first time the user logs on to the system.

18. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the determining is implemented by a multi-tenant database system.

19. A computer based method according to claim 18, wherein the multi-tenant database system further provides for storing variable schema data in a fixed physical schema.

20. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein the determining is implemented by an on-demand web-hosted application environment.

21. A computer based method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the tabs provides for switching from a first application to a different application.

22. A computer based system for creating an application functionality, comprising:

one or more processors configured to perform operations including;

determining a first tabset and a second tabset, each of the tab sets including tabs, wherein one or more of the tabs provides access to data objects of at least one database system or application elements of one or more applications;

presenting the first tabset to an end user; and

providing to the end user a persistent tabset selector for enabling the end user to selectively display the first and second tabsets if more than one tabset is available to the end user, wherein the tabset selector is visible as continuously part of a primary window of an application-level interface, wherein the primary window renders the data objects or application elements.

23. A computer based system according to claim 22, wherein determining a first tabset and a second tab set comprises:

providing, to the end user, tabs that are available to the end user; and

receiving, from the end user, a selection of tabs to be included in at least one of the first tabset and the second tab set.

24. A computer based system according to claim 22, wherein determining a first tabset and a second tabset comprises presenting, to the end user, two or more tabsets, at least one of the tabsets having been created by a first user and shared.

25. A computer based system according to claim 22, wherein determining a first tabset and a second tabset further comprises providing an interface useable by the end user to override one or more aspects of the presented tabset.

26. A computer-based method according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the tabs includes either tabs for providing access to application elements of one or more applications or tabs providing access to database objects of at least one database.

27. A computer readable storage medium storing program code for causing a computer to perform the steps of:

determining a first tabset and a second tabset, each of the tabsets including tabs, wherein one or more of the tabs provides access to data objects of at least one database system or application elements of one or more applications;

presenting the first tabset to an end user; and

providing to the end user a persistent tabset selector for enabling the user to selectively display the first and second tabsets if more than tabset is available to the end user, wherein the tabset selector is visible as continuously part of a primary window of an application-level interface, wherein the primary window renders the data objects or application elements.