Intelligently enabled menu choices based on online presence state in address book

• US 9,360,996 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry, Ben-Yoseph, Roy, Heikes, Brian, Kucharewski, Valerie
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Linh K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nicholas, Wendy
• Application Number:
  US13/396,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20120144310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,575 Days
• Field of Search: 715/752, 715/739, 715/758, 715/810, 715/747, 715/781, 715/751, 715/733, 715/864, 715/835, 715/736, 715/765, 379/142.04, 709/227, 709/228, 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2477 for selecting a function from a menu display H04M1/2474 takes precedence

Abstract

A computer implemented method for intelligently enabling menu choices includes rendering, on a client system, an address book user interface comprising information related to one or more contacts, selecting a contact from the address book user interface, determining an online presence state for the selected contact, enabling one or more menu options based upon the determined online presence state, with the menu options enabled for a first online presence state differing from the menu options enabled for a second online presence state, and presenting the enabled menu options to a user in a user interface.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, within a first user interface area of a first communication system, a selection of a contact within the first communication system by a user of the first communication system;

determining, by at least one processor, whether the contact is on a list of contacts of the user with a second communication system stored on a server by;

identifying a screen name from an e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system; and

utilizing the screen name from the e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system to identify a screen name corresponding to the contact in the second communication system;

enabling one or more menu options based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system, wherein the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system are different from the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system; and

presenting to the user, within a second user interface area, the enabled one or more menu options that are based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising including an option to add the contact to the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system as one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system is the same as one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging communication system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the enabled one or more menu options are further based on whether the contact is determined to be in an online state or an offline state with regard to the second communication system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the screen name from the email address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system comprises striping a domain from the e-mail address and comparing a remaining portion of the e-mail address to a database of screen names.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the screen name from the e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system comprises checking to see whether the screen name is associated with an active account having IM capability.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system comprises an option to message the contact using the second communication system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the enabled one or more menu options comprises presenting an indication of whether the contact is in an online state or an offline state.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the enabled one or more menu options within the second user interface area comprises an option to view a user profile of the contact.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which when executed on at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

detecting, within a first user interface area of a first communication system, a selection of a contact within the first communication system by a user of the first communication system;

determining whether the contact is on a list of contacts of the user with a second communication system stored on a server by;

identifying a screen name from an e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system; and

utilizing the screen name from the e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system to identify a screen name corresponding to the contact in the second communication system;

enabling one or more menu options based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system, wherein the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system are different from the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system; and

presenting to the user, within a second user interface area, the enabled one or more menu options that are based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system is the same as one of the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts the user with the second communication system.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging communication system.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the second communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging system.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein:

identifying the screen name from the email address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system comprises striping a domain from the e-mail address and comparing a remaining portion of the e-mail address to a database of screen names.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory memory device storing instructions;

at least one processor coupled to the memory that executes the instructions to;

detect, within a first user interface area of a first communication system, a selection of a contact within the first communication system by a user of the first communication system;

determine whether the contact is on a list of contacts of the user with a second communication system stored on a server by;

identifying a screen name from an e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system; and

utilizing the screen name from the e-mail address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system to identify a screen name corresponding to the contact in the first second communication system;

enable one or more menu options based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system, wherein the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system are different from the enabled one or more menu options when the contact is not on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system; and

present to the user, within a second user interface area on a display device, the enabled one or more menu options that are based upon whether the contact is on the list of contacts of the user with the second communication system.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging communication system.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein:

identifying the screen name from the email address corresponding to the contact in the first communication system comprises striping a domain from the e-mail address and comparing a remaining portion of the e-mail address to a database of screen names.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second communication system comprises at least one of an e-mail communication system or an instant messaging system.