Simultaneous editing/accessing of content by collaborator invitation through a web-based or mobile application to a cloud-based collaboration platform

• US 9,704,137 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2013
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Berger, Jonathan, Rolph, Nick, Savage, Brandon
• Primary Examiner(s): Chuang, Jung-Mu
• Application Number:
  US14/027,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082195A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for a web or mobile interface enabling users and collaborators to simultaneously comment, edit, or edit content in real time or near real time managed by a cloud-based collaboration platform. In one embodiment, the data to be accessed concurrently is presented or depicted at the multiple physical devices to the collaborators for viewing and accessing the data in real time or near real time. Each of the collaborators is able to view, re-edit, or re-modify in a concurrent fashion, at the collaborator'"'"'s physical device, edits or modifications made to the data in real time or near real time as a result of any of the other collaborators accessing the data at their respective physical devices. In some instances, additional collaborators are specifiable for the data created for concurrent real time access in addition to those originally associated with the folder.

Claims

1. A method of providing collaborative access to content on a cloud-based collaboration platform, comprising:

generating a first graphical user interface (GUI) displaying a folder including a plurality of previously created shared documents on a first screen, the previously created shared documents saved in one or more workspaces in the cloud-based collaboration platform and accessible concurrently by one or more collaborators, wherein the first GUI includes a graphical element for requesting creation of a new shared document to be saved in the cloud-based collaboration platform, wherein the new shared document is to be accessible concurrently by the one or more collaborators;

receiving, by the graphical element, a request to create the new shared document;

generating a second GUI for the new shared document, in response to receiving the request, the second GUI including

a graphical element for building the new shared document and a graphical element for entering a list of selected collaborators of the new shared document;

saving the new shared document at the cloud-based collaboration platform in response to detecting a request to save the new shared document;

displaying, in the second GUI, a plurality of graphical elements in succession that show a progress of saving the new shared document at the cloud-based collaboration platform in response to detecting the request to save the new shared document;

transmitting, via a computer network, a notification of the new shared document to computing devices of the selected collaborators in response to detecting the request to save the new shared document;

generating a third GUI in response to detecting, via a fourth GUI, a request to access the saved new shared document, the fourth GUI including a display of a folder of previously saved shared documents including the saved new shared document, the third GUI including a display of the saved new shared document;

displaying, in the third GUI, a graphical annotation generation element including an editable text field, in response to detecting a selection of a portion of the saved new shared document and detecting a request to add an annotation to the selected portion of the saved new shared document;

saving annotation text entered via the editable text field;

closing the graphical annotation generation element in response to saving the entered annotation text; and

displaying, in the third GUI, a graphical annotation element adjacent to the selected portion of the saved new shared document and overlaying another portion of the saved new shared document, in response to detecting an interaction with the selected portion of the saved new shared document, the graphical annotation element including;

the entered annotation text,

a date the annotation text was entered, and

an identification of a collaborator that entered the annotation text.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, for each collaborator, displaying in the third GUI at least one of:

an identification of the collaborator at a position corresponding to a portion of the saved new shared document being edited by the collaborator, and

a marker at a position corresponding to the current position of editing by the collaborator, wherein the marker has an appearance specific to the collaborator.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising including in the second GUI one or more graphical elements for formatting the new shared document.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, in the third GUI, a graphical element for requesting creation of a comment in the saved new shared document.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising displaying, in the third GUI, comments created by one or more of the collaborators.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected portion of the saved new shared document is displayed in a distinct format in response to the saving the entered annotation text.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of graphical elements include a plurality of icons displayed in sequence to show a progress of saving the new shared document.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing access to the saved new shared document to a selected collaborator if they have the appropriate permissions for a particular workspace in which the new shared document is saved.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting interaction with the saved new shared document by one or more of the selected collaborators; and

in response to detecting the interaction, for each of the one or more selected collaborators, displaying in the third GUI, a dynamic marker at a position adjacent to a portion of the saved new shared document with which the collaborator is interacting such that the content of the saved new shared document is not visually obscured by the marker, and wherein the marker has an appearance specific to the collaborator, including an image of the collaborator.