Participant-specific markup

• US 9,380,011 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2011
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rasmussen, Lars Eilstrup, Rasmussen, Jens Eilstrup
• Primary Examiner(s): Kujundzic, Dino
• Application Number:
  US13/094,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20150195221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,890 Days
• Field of Search: 715/753, 715/751, 715/759
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

A conversation server hosts a conversation having a plurality of participants, the conversation server enables a first client to display at least a portion of a conversation to a first participant. The conversation server receives a notification the portion of the conversation was viewed by the first participant at a first time while in a first state. After receiving a notification that the portion of the conversation has ceased to be viewed by the first participant, the conversation is edited to a second state at a second time. At a third time that is after the second time, the conversation server sends, to the first client, information enabling the first client to display a markup of the portion of the conversation that is indicative of one or more edits that transition the portion of the conversation from the first state to the second state.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a server system having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors so as to perform the method;

sending, to a first client, information enabling the first client to display at least a portion of an online document to a first participant, wherein the online document is configured to be concurrently edited by a plurality of participants including the first participant and a second participant;

receiving a notification that is indicative of a first state of the portion of the online document as the portion of the online document was viewed by the first participant at a first time;

receiving a sequence of incremental edits to the online document from the second participant, wherein each incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits corresponds to a respective keystroke of a sequence of keystrokes provided by the second participant; and

in response to receiving each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits from the second participant at different, respective subsequent times that are after the first time, sending each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits and an identifier of the second participant to the first client in real-time at the different respective subsequent times as the server system receives each respective incremental edit from the first client, enabling the first client in real-time to display the portion of the online document with markup indicating each respective incremental edit for each respective keystroke relative to the first state, wherein the markup includes edits made to the online document after the first time, wherein an indicator of the second participant as author of each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits is displayed as a caret with the markup and at a location of a current incremental edit from the second participant at a particular time subsequent to the first time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first state is a state of content of the online document when the portion of the online document was last displayed to the first participant.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information indicative of the first state of the online document.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to receiving a first incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits from the second participant, receiving a notification that the portion of the online document has ceased to be viewed by the first participant;

wherein the notification that the portion of the online document has ceased to be viewed by the first participant includes a notification that one or more of the following events has occurred;

a focus state of the portion of the online document for the first participant has changed and the portion of the online document has ceased to be displayed within a viewing pane.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the first time, receiving a plurality of successive incremental edits from multiple participants other than the first participant and sending each of the plurality of successive incremental edits and associated participant identifiers to the first client in real-time, enabling the first client in real-time to display the portion of the online document with successive markup indicating each successive incremental edit relative to the first state, wherein the successive markup includes author indicators for each successive incremental edit.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

storing representations of the plurality of successive incremental edits; and

sending the stored representations to the first client, enabling the first client to sequentially display the plurality of successive incremental edits.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein a first incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits comprises adding a new portion to the online document, and wherein the markup indicates that the new portion was added to the online document after the first time.

8. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

sending, to a first client, information enabling the first client to display at least a portion of an online document to a first participant, wherein the online document is configured to be concurrently edited by a plurality of participants including the first participant and a second participant;

receiving a notification that is indicative of a first state of the portion of the online document as the portion of the online document was viewed by the first participant at a first time;

receiving sequence of incremental edits to the online document from the second participant, wherein each incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits corresponds to a respective keystroke of a sequence of keystrokes provided by the second participant; and

in response to receiving each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits from the second participant at different, respective subsequent times that are after the first time, sending each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits and an identifier of the second participant to the first client in real time at the different respective subsequent times as the server system receives each respective incremental edit from the first client, enabling the first client in real-time to display a markup of the portion of the online document with markup indicating each respective incremental edit for each respective keystroke relative to the first state, wherein the markup includes edits made to the online document after the first time, wherein an indicator of the second participant as author of each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits is displayed as a caret with the markup and at a location of a current incremental edit from the second participant at a particular time subsequent to the first time.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium and one or more computer programs embedded therein, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:

send to a first client information enabling the first client to display at least a portion of an online document to a first participant, wherein the online document is configured to be concurrently edited by a plurality of participants including the first participant and a second participant;

receive a notification that is indicative of a first state of the portion of the online document as the portion of the online document was viewed by the first participant at a first time;

receive a sequence of incremental edits to the online document from the second participant, wherein each incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits corresponds to a respective keystroke of a sequence of keystrokes provided by the second participant; and

in response to receiving each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits from the second participant at different, respective subsequent times that are after the first time, send each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits and an identifier of the second participant to the first client in real-time at the different respective subsequent times as the server system receives each respective incremental edit from the first client, information enabling the first client in real-time to display the portion of the online document with markup indicating each respective incremental edit for each respective keystroke relative to the first state, wherein the markup includes edits made to the online document after the first time, wherein an indicator of the second participant as author of each respective incremental edit of the sequence of incremental edits is displayed as a caret with the markup and at a location of a current incremental edit from the second participant at a particular time subsequent to the first time.