Moving shared files

• US 9,684,670 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2012
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Srinivasan, Varun, Viton, Fernando Nahuel
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, KHANH Q
• Application Number:
  US13/495,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339420A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 709220, 709224, 709228, 709223, 709225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1767 Concurrency control, e.g. optimistic or pessimistic approaches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A client device accesses a shared data system and begins moving data from one location to another. The client device generates a tombstone object that indicates that includes metadata indicating that the data has been moved. When another client accesses the data at the old location, it encounters the tombstone and begins accessing the data at the new location. If the data has not already been completely moved to the new location, the second client to access the data assists in transferring the data to the new location.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of moving shared data, stored in a shared data system at a first location and accessible by a plurality of different user devices, from the first location to a second location, the method comprising:

generating, by a first user device, a user interface display that is displayed on the first user device and includes one or more user input mechanisms, wherein the one or more user input mechanisms comprises a data identifier user input mechanism;

receiving a user input through the data identifier user input mechanism on the first user device;

based on the user input received through the data identifier user input mechanism, identifying, using a data move component on the first user device, the shared data to be moved;

identifying, using the data move component on the first user device, the second location;

generating, using the data move component on the first user device, a first object that comprises;

location metadata identifying the second location; and

move status metadata that indicates a status of moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location;

sending, using the data move component on the first user device, the first object from the first user device to the shared data system for storage at the first location; and

moving, using the data move component on the first user device, the identified shared data from the first location to the second location.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the one or more user input mechanisms comprises a location identifier user input mechanism, the method further comprising:

receiving a user input through the location identifier user input mechanism and, in response, identifying the second location where the shared data is to be moved.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the user interface display comprises a data move user input mechanism, the method further comprising:

receiving a user input through the data move user input mechanism; and

in response to the user input through the data move user input mechanism, initiate moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the identified shared data comprises a plurality of individually movable data portions and wherein moving comprises:

determining, using the data move component on the first user device, whether any of the individually movable data portions still need to be moved;

if so, selecting, using the data move component on the first user device, an individually movable data portion; and

moving, using the data move component on the first user device, the selected, individually movable data portion from the first location to the second location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein moving comprises:

determining, by the first user device, that all of the individually movable data portions are moved to the second location; and

based on the determination,

using the data move component on the first user device to change a location identifier corresponding to the identified shared data, on the first user device, from the first location to the second location; and

updating the first object, stored at the first location, to indicate that all of the individually movable data portions are moved to the second location.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the shared data comprises at least a portion of a notebook with folders and files and wherein the individually moveable data portions comprise portions of the notebook.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the first object is generated and stored in the first location before the identified shared data is moved from the first location to the second location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating, using the data move component on the first user device, the first object with human-readable data that identifies the second location and includes a link to the second location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the move status metadata identifies whether the identified shared data has been completely moved from the first location to the second location.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein generating a first object comprises:

generating, using the data move component on the first user device, the first object with metadata that identifies a time when the moving the identified shared data was initiated and who initiated the move of the identified shared data.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, and further comprising:

accessing a second set of shared data at a third location, using the first user device; and

reading, with the first user device, a second object stored at the third location, the second object including metadata with a fourth location and a move indicator indicating that the second set of shared data is moved from the third location to the fourth location.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the second set of shared data includes individually movable data portions, the second object includes a move status indicator indicating whether the second set of shared data has been completely moved to the fourth location or whether the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, and further comprising:

if the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, selecting, with the first user device, a next individually movable data portion to be moved and moving the selected individually movable data portion from the third location to the fourth location, using the first user device.

13. A client device, comprising:

a user interface component configured to generate a user interface display with one or more user input mechanisms, wherein the one or more user input mechanisms comprises a data identifier user input mechanism that receives a data identifier user input;

a client application configured to access, and interact with, shared data at a first location in a shared data system, the shared data comprising a plurality of individually movable data portions;

a data move component configured to;

based on the data identifier user input, identify the shared data to be moved;

identify a second location for the shared;

generate a tombstone object that comprises location metadata identifying the second location for the shared data and move status metadata that indicates a status of moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location;

send the tombstone object from the client device to the shared data system for storage at the first location in the shared data system;

move the shared data from the first location in the shared data system to the second location by

determining whether any of the individually movable data portions still need to be moved and, if so, selecting an individually movable data portion and moving the selected, individually movable data portion from the first location to the second location; and

a computer processor being a functional part of the client device and activated by the user interface component, the client application and the data move component to facilitate generating user interface displays, accessing and interacting with the shared data, and moving the shared data to the second location.

14. The client device of claim 13 wherein the data move component is configured to receive a user input to access a second set of shared data at a third location and to read a second tombstone object identifying a fourth location for the second set of shared data, the data move component configured to modify the client device to access the second set of shared data at the fourth location.

15. The client device of claim 14 wherein the second tombstone object includes a move status indicator indicating whether the second set of shared data has been completely moved to the fourth location or whether the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved.

16. The client device of claim 15 wherein if the second set of shared data is in the process of being moved, the data move component is configured to identify a next portion of the second set of shared data that is to be moved to the fourth location and to provide outputs to move the identified next portion of the second set of shared data to the fourth location, and wherein when the client device moves a last portion of the second set of shared data to the fourth location, the client device is configured to update the move status indicator.

17. A computer-implemented method comprising:

generating, by a user computing device, a user interface display that is displayed on the user computing device and includes one or more user input mechanisms, wherein the one or more user input mechanisms comprises a data identifier user input mechanism and a second location identifier user input mechanism;

based on a user input received through the data identifier user input mechanism, identifying shared data at a first location in a shared data system;

based on a user input received through the second location identifier user input mechanism, identifying a second location in the shared data system to which to move the shared data;

generating an object with the user computing device, the object comprising location metadata identifying the second location and having human-readable data that identifies the second location and includes a link to the second location, and the object comprising move status metadata that indicates a status of moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location;

sending the object from the user computing device to the shared data system for storage at the first location;

generating a data move user input mechanism to receive a user input to begin moving the identified shared data from the first location to the second location; and

in response to receiving the user input at the data move user input mechanism, initiating a data move operation, with the user computing device, to move the identified shared data from the first location to the second location, wherein the user computing device performs the data move operation by retrieving a portion of data at the first location and providing the portion of data to the shared data system for storage at the second location.