Change notification routing based on original authorship of modified region

• US 9,690,785 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2014
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Vagell, Vance Julius
• Primary Examiner(s): Stevens, Robert
• Application Number:
  US14/168,882
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 707768, 707608
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

A collaborative document editing system receives an input to a document from a first user. The collaborative document editing system identifies a portion of the document associated with the input and a set of users associated with the identified portion of the document. The collaborative document editing system applies the input to the document and transmits a notification regarding the input to members of the identified set of users other than the first user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for editing an electronic document, comprising:

receiving, from a first user, an input associated with a first portion of the electronic document;

identifying a second user associated with content of the first portion of the electronic document, wherein the second user is associated with the first portion of the document based on an input the second user provides to the first portion of the document;

identifying a third user associated with content of a second portion of the electronic document;

determining a set of users that have provided other input to the first portion of the document;

transmitting a notification regarding the input to the set of users; and

automatically excluding the third user from the notification regarding the input to the first portion of the electronic document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user generated the content of the first portion of the electronic document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user is the last user to have edited the content of the first portion of the electronic document before the input was received.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user generated at least a predetermined proportion of the content of the first portion of the electronic document.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the second user, a request to subscribe to modifications associated with the first portion of the electronic document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the input comprises all data associated with the first portion of the electronic document and received from the first user during a predetermined period.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined period comprises a period starting when the first user accesses the electronic document and ending when the first user exits the electronic document.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined period comprises a period beginning when the first user begins to generate the input and ending after the first user has not generated further input for a predetermined amount of time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion includes a block of text comprising a first set of text generated by the second user and additions to the first set of text generated by at least one user other than the second user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the first user, a second input associated with the second portion of the electronic document; and

transmitting a notification regarding the second input to the third user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the input includes more than a predetermined amount of text,

wherein the notification regarding the input is transmitted in response to determining that the input includes more than a predetermined amount of text.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the input is assigned one of a plurality of input types, wherein the plurality of input types includes an edit to the content of the electronic document, a suggested modification of the content of the electronic document, and a comment.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the input includes a change,

wherein the notification regarding the input is transmitted in response to determining that the change meets a predetermined criteria, and

wherein the predetermined criteria includes addition or deletion of text.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification regarding the input identifies at least one of a type of the input, content of the input, and a size of the input.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a fourth user associated with the first portion of the electronic document, and

transmitting a notification regarding the input to the fourth user.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating the first user with the first portion of the electronic document.

17. A system of electronic document collaboration, comprising:

a document database for storing a plurality of electronic documents;

a user database for storing information regarding a plurality of users;

a communications processor for receiving document input from a plurality of users and sending notifications to a plurality of users; and

a document processor in communication with the document database, the user database, and the communications processor, wherein the document processor is configured to;

identify a first portion of an electronic document associated with an input received from a first user,

identify a second user associated with content of the identified first portion of the electronic document, wherein the second user is associated with the first portion of the document based on an input the second user provides to the first portion of the document;

identify a third user associated with content of a second portion of the electronic document;

determine a set of users that have provided input to the first portion of the document;

generate a notification regarding the input to the set of users; and

automatically exclude the third user from the notification regarding the input to the first portion of the electronic document.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the second user generated the content of the first portion of the electronic document.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the second user is the last user to have edited the content of the first portion of the electronic document before the input was received.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the second user generated at least a predetermined proportion of the content of the first portion of the electronic document.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the second user generated a request to subscribe to modifications associated with the first portion of the electronic document.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the input comprises all data associated with the first portion of the electronic document and received from the first user during a predetermined period.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the predetermined period comprises a period starting when the first user accesses the electronic document and ending when the first user exits the electronic document.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the predetermined period comprises a period beginning when the first user begins to generate the input and ending after the first user has not generated further input for a predetermined amount of time.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the first portion includes a first set of content generated by the second user and additions to the first set of content generated by at least one user other than the second user.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein the document processor is further configured to:

identify second input received from the first user and associated with the second portion of the electronic document; and

generate a notification regarding the second input to the third user.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein the document processor is further configured to:

determine that the input includes more than a predetermined amount of text,

wherein the notification regarding the input is generated in response to determining that the input includes more than a predetermined amount of text.

28. The system of claim 17, wherein the document processor is further configured to:

determine whether the input includes a change,

wherein the information regarding the input is transmitted in response to determining that the change meets a predetermined criteria, and

wherein the predetermined criteria includes addition or deletion of text.

29. The system of claim 17, wherein the information regarding the input identifies at least one of a type of the input, content of the input, and a size of the input.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the type of the input is one of a plurality of input types, wherein the plurality of input types includes an edit to the content of the electronic document, a suggested modification of the content of the electronic document, and a comment.

31. The system of claim 17, wherein the document processor is further configured to:

identify a fourth user associated with the first portion of the electronic document, and

generate a notification regarding the input to the fourth user.

32. The system of claim 17, wherein the document processor is further configured to associate the first user with the first portion of the electronic document.