Desktop application for access and interaction with workspaces in a cloud-based content management system and synchronization mechanisms thereof

• US 9,652,741 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Asok, Satish, Goldberg, Arnold, Lee, David T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberly, Van
• Application Number:
  US13/282,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20130013560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,029 Days
• Field of Search: 707613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

Systems and methods for synchronizing workspaces in a web-based collaboration environment with local folders on computers of collaborators of the workspaces are disclosed. Collaborators of a workspace can edit copies of work items either at the collaboration environment server or at the computer. Updates to all synchronized folders are automatically performed. Conflicts between edits made by different collaborators to the same file are flagged, and a notification is sent to the author attempting to make edits to a version of a file that has already been updated by another collaborator.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

maintaining a workspace in a cloud-based collaborative environment for a plurality of collaborators, wherein the plurality of collaborators of the workspace perform activities on one or more work items within the workspace, wherein each of the one or more work items have individually configurable synchronization permissions, and wherein the collaborators maintain local copies of the one or more work items at their respective computers;

receiving a first event notification from a synch client application at a first collaborator'"'"'s computer of a first change to a local copy of a shared work item stored in the workspace, the local copy stored in a local synch folder at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, wherein the first change represents a hard conflict with a second change to the shared work item by a second collaborator;

responsive to receiving the first event notification;

determining a synchronization permission for the first collaborator; and

enabling synchronization between the local copy of the shared work item at the local synch folder of the first collaborator'"'"'s computer and the shared work item at the workspace if the first collaborator has the correct synchronization permission; and

responsive to enabling synchronization;

receiving a first copy of the local copy of the shared work item from the synch client application at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the first copy having a name that includes an identification of the first collaborator;

storing the first copy in the workspace without overwriting the shared work item;

updating a last state information of the workspace to a current state information of the workspace;

transmitting a second copy of the shared work item to the synchronization client at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the second copy including the second change to the shared work item;

notifying the first collaborator that the first change was not merged into the shared work item in the workspace;

selecting one or more collaborators from the plurality of collaborators to notify of the uploaded first copy that includes the first change based on synchronization permissions associated with the shared work item;

sending a second event notification and the current state information indicating the uploaded first copy that includes the first change to the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace; and

responsive to sending the second event notification, receiving one or more synchronization requests from the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace, wherein the one or more synchronization requests are configured to establish synchronization between the local synch folders of the at least one or more selected collaborators and the workspace.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein requirements for the synchronization permission for the workspace are determined by a creator or administrative user of the workspace.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the second copy of the shared work item to at least one of the selected collaborators based on a comparison between the current state information and a last known state information of a local synch folder of the at least one selected collaborator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, the state information is a file or folder tree state.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the notifying is made in real time or near real time to when the uploaded first copy was stored in the workspace.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected collaborators are selected based on permissions configured for the workspace.

7. A method comprising:

maintaining a set of synchronized electronic folders, wherein the set of synchronized electronic folders includes a workspace in a cloud-based collaborative environment, a first local sync folder stored on a first electronic device of a first collaborator, and a second local sync folder stored on a second electronic device of a second collaborator;

wherein the first collaborator and the second collaborator are collaborators of the workspace;

receiving at the first electronic device a first event notification of a first change to a shared copy of a work item in the workspace;

receiving at the first electronic device a second event notification of a second change to a local copy of the work item in the first local sync folder; and

determining that a hard conflict exists if the first change and second change are associated with the same operation occurring on both the shared copy and the local copy of the work item;

in response to determining that the hard conflict exists;

determining a synchronization permission for the first collaborator; and

enabling synchronization between the local copy of the work item in the first local synch folder and the shared copy of the work item in the workspace if the first collaborator has the correct synchronization permission; and

in response to enabling synchronization;

creating a first copy of the local copy of the work item in the first local sync folder;

renaming the first copy, wherein a new name of the first copy includes an identification of the first collaborator;

downloading the shared copy of the work item from the workspace to the first local sync folder;

uploading the renamed first copy to the workspace for storage without overwriting the shared copy;

notifying the first collaborator that the second change was not merged into the shared copy of the work item in the workspace; and

sending a third event notification of the uploaded first copy to the workspace to selected collaborators of the workspace.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the third event notification is made in real time or near real time to when the uploading occurred.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving at the second electronic device a fourth event notification of the first change to the work item in the workspace;

receiving at the second electronic device a fifth event notification of the uploading of the renamed first copy to the workspace; and

downloading the work item with the first change from the workspace to the first local sync folder.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein if the first change and the second change are a soft conflict, the method further comprising:

downloading the work item from the workspace to the first local sync folder;

merging the second change with the downloaded work item; and

merging the second change with the work item in the workspace.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

sending a fourth event notification of the work item with the merged second change to the workspace to selected collaborators of the workspace.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the fourth event notification is made in real time or near real time to when the uploading occurred.

13. A non-transient computer-readable medium containing instructions for causing a computer to:

maintain a workspace in a cloud-based collaborative environment for a plurality of collaborators, wherein the plurality of collaborators of the workspace perform activities on one or more work items within the workspace, wherein each of the one or more work items have individually configurable synchronization permissions, and wherein the collaborators maintain local copies of the one or more work items at their respective computers;

receive a first event notification from a synch client application at a first collaborator'"'"'s computer of a first change to a local copy of a shared work item stored in the workspace, the local copy stored in a local synch folder at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, wherein the first change represents a hard conflict with a second change to the shared work item by a second collaborator;

responsive to receiving the first event notification;

determine a synchronization permission for the first collaborator; and

enable synchronization between the local copy of the shared work item in the local synch folder of the first collaborator'"'"'s computer and the shared work item at the workspace if the first collaborator has the correct synchronization permission; and

responsive to enabling synchronization;

receive a first copy of the local copy of the shared work item from the synch client application at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the first copy having a name that includes an identification of the first collaborator;

store the first copy in the workspace without overwriting the shared work item;

update a last state information of the workspace to a current state information of the workspace;

transmit a second copy of the shared work item to the synchronization client at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the second copy including the second change to the shared work item;

notify the first collaborator that the first change was not merged into the shared work item in the workspace;

select one or more collaborators from the plurality of collaborators to notify of the of the uploaded first copy that includes first change based on synchronization permissions associated with the shared work item;

send a second event notification and the current state information indicating the uploaded first copy that includes first change to the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace; and

responsive to sending the second event notification, receive one or more synchronization requests from the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace, wherein the one or more synchronization requests are configured to establish synchronization between the local synch folders of the at least one or more selected collaborators and the workspace.

14. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 13 containing further instructions for causing the computer to:

transmit the second copy of the shared work item to at least one of the selected collaborators based on a comparison between the current state information and last known state information of a local synch folder of the at least one selected collaborator.

15. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein, the state information is a file or folder tree state.

16. A host server for of a cloud-based collaborative environment comprising:

one or more processors;

a network interface; and

one or more memory units with instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the host server to;

maintain a workspace in the cloud-based collaborative environment for a plurality of collaborators, wherein the plurality of collaborators of the workspace perform activities on one or more work items within the workspace, wherein each of the one or more work items have individually configurable synchronization permissions, and wherein the collaborators maintain local copies of the one or more work items at their respective computers;

receive, via the network interface, a first event notification from a synch client application at a first collaborator'"'"'s computer of a first change to a local copy of a shared work item stored in the workspace, the local copy stored in a local synch folder at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, wherein the change represents a hard conflict with second change to the shared work item by a second collaborator;

responsive to receiving the first event notification;

determine a synchronization permission for the first collaborator; and

enable synchronization between the local copy of the shared work item at the local synch folder of the first collaborator'"'"'s computer and the shared work item at the workspace if the first collaborator has the correct synchronization permission; and

responsive to enabling synchronization;

receive a first copy of the local copy of the shared work item from the synchronization client application at the first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the first copy having a name that includes an identification of the first collaborator;

store the first copy in the workspace without overwriting the shared work item;

update a last state information of the workspace to a current state information of the workspace;

transmit a second copy of the shared work item to the synchronization client at first collaborator'"'"'s computer, the second copy including the second change to the shared work item;

notify the first collaborator that the first change was not merged into the shared work item in the workspace;

select one or more collaborators from the plurality of collaborators to notify of the uploaded first copy that includes the first change based on synchronization permissions associated with the shared work item;

send, via the network interface, a second event notification and the current state information indicating the uploaded first copy that includes the first change to the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace; and

responsive to sending the second event notification, receive, via the network interface, one or more synchronization requests from the one or more selected collaborators of the workspace, wherein the one or more synchronization requests are configured to establish synchronization between the local synch folders of the at least one or more selected collaborators and the workspace.

17. The host server of claim 16, wherein the one or more memory units have further instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the host server to further:

transmit the second copy of the shared work item to at least one of the selected collaborators based on a comparison between the current state information and last known state information of a local synch folder of the at least one selected collaborator.

18. The host server of claim 16, wherein, the state information is a file or folder tree state.