Methods and systems for sharing database content

• US 8,959,341 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2010
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Dismore, John, Prophete, Didier, Mathurin, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffman, Brandon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Woldemariam, Nega
• Application Number:
  US12/693,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20100223467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,849 Days
• Field of Search: 726/26, 726/27, 726/28, 726/29, 726/30, 726/31, 726/32, 726/33, 713/168, 713/169, 713/170, 713/171, 713/172, 709/206, 709/204, 709/201, 707/607, 707/608, 707/609, 380/1, 380/2, 380/200
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/183 Provision of network file services by network file servers, e.g. by using NFS, CIFS network file access protocols H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Mechanisms and methods for sharing database content stored by a first organization with a third party are provided. A network address is provided to the third party, which can enable control of the access to the content and tracking of the views of the content. For example, the network address can include an encrypted key that contains information about the organization that created content and the specific distribution ID for delivering the content when requested by the third party using the address. A distribution can be created in numerous ways, with various restrictions on the access to the document of a distribution.

Claims

1. A method of sharing database content, the method comprising:

receiving, by an on-demand database system, receiving a document from a user associated with an organization;

storing the document at a first location in a database of the on-demand database system, wherein only specified users of the on-demand database system have access rights to access the document stored at the first location in the database of the on-demand database system;

receiving a request to provide an access to the document to an entity that does not have access rights to the document stored at the first location from one of the specified users of the on-demand database system;

generating, in response to receiving the request, a network address;

associating the document with the generated network address such that the document is accessible by the entity via a request to the network address;

providing the network address to allow the entity to access the document;

providing, by the on-demand database system, an input mechanism for the user to specify one or more parameters regarding the access to the document; and

storing the parameters in a table that is associated with an identifier that is part of the network address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the document is a combination of multiple files.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters include one or more selected from the group of:

a date the access expires;

a number of views before the access expires;

whether the document can be downloaded, viewed, or both;

what format the document can be downloaded; and

whether to notify the user when content is viewed or downloaded.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a distribution object in the database, the distribution object including;

an identification associated with the request, and

the parameters, wherein the distribution object appears as a related object to the document.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the document to a format accessible by a network browser.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

storing the converted document at a second location in the database, wherein the network address is linked to the second location.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the on-demand database system receiving, at the network address, a request from the entity to view the document; and

providing the converted document for display within the network browser.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the on-demand database system receiving, at the network address, a request from the entity to view the document;

providing the document for display within the network browser; and

the on-demand database system tracking one or more parameters related to the request from the entity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the parameters include one or more selected from the group of:

a time when the request was made, a first number of how many requests have been made by the entity, a second number of how many requests have been made by any entity, and a duration of viewing of each page of the document during a request.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

tracking requests to view the document from other users of the organization, wherein the internal and external views are differentiated.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the network address is publicly accessible.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein providing the network address to allow the entity to access the document includes sending a password that is required to access the document via the network address.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the network address includes an encrypted key, the method further comprising:

a server of the on-demand database system interpreting the encrypted key to correspond to a request for a document as opposed to a request to login into the on-demand database system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the encrypted key includes a first identification corresponding to the first organization and a second identification that identifies a request object that corresponds to the request, wherein the request object further identifies the document to be shared.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the document is not associated with the network address until the request is received.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the providing further comprises emailing the network address to the entity.

17. A non-transitory computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions for controlling one or more processors of an on-demand database system to perform an operation for sharing database content, the instructions comprising:

receiving, by the on-demand database system, receiving a document from a user associated with an organization;

storing the document at a first location in a database of the on-demand database system, wherein only specified users of the on-demand database system have access rights to access the document stored at the first location in the database of the on-demand database system;

receiving a request to provide an access to the document to an entity that does not have access rights to the document stored at the first location from one of the specified users of the on-demand database system;

generating, in response to receiving the request, a network address and associating the network address with the document such that the document is accessible to the entity via a request to the network address;

providing the network address to allow the entity to access the document;

providing, by the on-demand database system, an input mechanism for the user to specify one or more parameters regarding the access to the document; and

storing the parameters in a table that is associated with an identifier that is part of the network address.

18. An on-demand database system comprising:

a database that stores database objects for a plurality of organizations; and

one or more processors configured to;

receive a document from a user associated with an organization;

store the document at a first location in a database of the on-demand database system, wherein only specified users of the on-demand database system have access rights to access the document stored at the first location in the database of the on-demand database system;

receive a request to provide an access to the document to an entity that does not have access rights to the document stored at the first location from one of the specified users of the on-demand database system;

generating, in response to receiving the request, a network address and associating the document with the network address such that the document is accessible by the entity via a request to the network address;

provide the network address to allow the entity to access the document;

provide an input mechanism for the user to specify one or more parameters regarding the access to the document; and

store the parameters in a table that is associated with an identifier that is part of the network address.

19. The on-demand database system of claim 18, wherein the document is not associated with the network address until the request is received.