Controlling application features

• US 8,850,388 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2006
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Stubbs, Paul, Schnepp, Eric S., Torr, Peter J., Shepard, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MITCHELL, JASON D
• Application Number:
  US11/470,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20080127053A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,945 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

A facility is provided for controlling application features. In various embodiments, the facility assembles an indication of features, starts a controlled application, and provides the assembled indication of features to the controlled application so that the controlled application can disable a feature of the controlled application. The facility can include a controlling application that is adapted for assembling a set of tokens that identify features by adding or removing tokens when a user of the controlling application selects a command associated with the controlling application, and a controlled application that, when invoked by the controlling application and provided the assembled set of tokens, controls a feature of the controlled application based on the assembled set of tokens.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computing system for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, comprising:

collecting an indication of features of the controlled application into a set of tokens, wherein, each token in the set of tokens corresponds to a feature of the controlled application;

starting the controlled application;

reading configuration settings from a configuration file, the configuration settings based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials;

identifying, based on the configuration settings, features of the controlled application to be disabled, wherein the identified features correspond to one or more tokens in the set of tokens;

altering the set of tokens to indicate the identified features of the controlled application to be disabled, the altering performed by removing the tokens from the set of tokens to which the identified features correspond; and

providing the altered set of tokens to the controlled application, wherein the controlled application is configured to disable at least one feature of the controlled application based on the altered set of tokens.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a command to a process in which the controlled application executes.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the command is to load a project.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the command is to insert code into a code editor.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing includes identifying an application that starts an integrated development environment so that the integrated development environment can customize itself.

6. A system for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, comprising:

a processor and memory;

the controlling application executed by the processor is adapted for collecting a set of tokens, when a user of the controlling application selects a command associated with the controlling application,

wherein, each token in the set of tokens corresponds to a feature of the controlled application; and

wherein the set of tokens are collected by removing one or more tokens from a previous set of tokens based on a determination of whether a particular function of the controlled application is irrelevant to a command currently being performed by the system, wherein the determination of whether a particular function of the controlled application is irrelevant is based on a predicted state of the system after the system complies with the command; and

the controlled application, when invoked by the controlling application and provided the collected set of tokens, disables at least one feature of the controlled application based on the collected set of tokens.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the controlled application is an integrated development environment.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the collected set of tokens further causes the integrated development environment to add code in a code editor.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the integrated development environment has a graphical user interface.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the controlling application generates source code for display in a code editor of the controlled application when collecting the set of tokens.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the controlled application emits the source code in the code editor when the controlled application starts.

12. The system of claim 6 wherein the controlling application has a provider component for communicating with the controlled application.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the provider component starts the controlled application.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, the method comprising:

receiving from the controlling application an indication to load a component associated with the controlled application and a set of tokens, wherein the set of tokens is modified from an original set of tokens corresponding to features of the controlled application by;

reading configuration settings from a configuration file; and

identifying, based on the read configuration settings, one or more tokens of the set of tokens such that each identified token corresponds to one or more features of the controlled application to be enabled;

determining whether the component to be loaded matches at least one of an identified one or more tokens corresponding tone or more features of the controlled application to be enabled; and

only when the component to be loaded matches at least one of an identified one or more tokens, enabling the component,

wherein the settings in the configuration file are based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising loading the component.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising inserting source code into a code editor associated with the controlled application when the identified one or more tokens of the set of tokens indicates that source code is to be inserted.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein a feature of the controlled application is disabled when it does not correspond to any of the identified one or more tokens of the set of tokens.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the configuration file is a user-defined configuration file.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the tokens corresponding to features of the controlled application correspond to at least one of:

toolbars, window visibility, and color settings.

20. A method performed by a computing system for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, comprising:

collecting an indication of features of the controlled application into a set of tokens, wherein, each token in the set of tokens corresponds to a feature of the controlled application;

identifying, based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials, features of the controlled application to be modified, wherein the identified features correspond to one or more tokens in the set of tokens;

altering the set of tokens to indicate the identified features of the controlled application to be modified; and

providing the altered set of tokens to the controlled application, wherein the controlled application is configured to modify at least one feature of the controlled application based on the altered set of tokens.

21. A method performed by a computing system for controlling features of an integrated development environment, the method comprising:

collecting, based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials, a set of tokens corresponding to features of the integrated development environment; and

providing the collected set of tokens to the integrated development environment;

wherein the integrated development environment is configured to, based on the presence or absence of tokens in the collected set of tokens, modify at least one feature of the integrated development environment,

wherein the modifying comprises one of;

enabling a feature, disabling a feature, inserting code into an editor, creating or opening projects, and changing stylistic features displayed in the integrated development environment.

22. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform operations for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, the method comprising, the operations comprising:

collecting an indication of features of the controlled application into a set of tokens, wherein, each token in the set of tokens corresponds to a feature of the controlled application;

identifying, based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials, features of the controlled application to be modified, wherein the identified features correspond to one or more tokens in the set of tokens;

altering the set of tokens to indicate the identified features of the controlled application to be modified; and

providing the altered set of tokens to the controlled application, wherein the controlled application is configured to modify at least one feature of the controlled application based on the altered set of tokens.

23. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform operations for controlling features of a controlled application from a controlling application, the method comprising, the operations comprising:

collecting, based on one or more of;

observed past interactions of a user and the user'"'"'s network credentials, a set of tokens corresponding to features of the integrated development environment; and

providing the collected set of tokens to the integrated development environment;

wherein the integrated development environment is configured to, based on the presence or absence of tokens in the collected set of tokens, modify at least one feature of the integrated development environment,

wherein the modifying comprises one of;

enabling a feature, disabling a feature, inserting code into an editor, creating or opening projects, and changing stylistic features displayed in the integrated development environment.