Shared item account selection

• US 9,935,963 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2016
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kantor, Arcadiy G., Bockelman, Jonathan A., Steinbok, Jeffrey E., Filman, Sarah M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BEHESHTI SHIRAZI, SAYED ARESH
• Application Number:
  US15/192,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20160308877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 725 46, 705 3, 705 34, 705 40, 709205, 726 28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0838 using one-time-passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Techniques for sharing of items from online storage (e.g., cloud storage) are described herein. In at least some embodiments, sharing links can be configured as one-time sharing links that provide recipients with limited, one-time access to a shared item for the purpose of selecting or registering an account to use for subsequent access to the item. Recipients are able to select accounts they find most convenient for accessing a shared item without the owner/sharer of the item necessarily having contact information for those accounts or sending a link to the accounts. Selection of a one-time link initiates an authentication sequence that selectively provides an option to select a particular account. Once the one-time sharing link is redeemed, the one-time sharing link is invalidated for subsequent access to the item.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:

determining a plurality of selected recipients for a sharing link to an item maintained in online storage, the plurality of selected recipients having a plurality of associated different publish targets for publishing the sharing link;

wherein the plurality of associated different publish targets include a plurality of difference services or sites;

generating different limited access sharing links for each of the plurality of selected recipients for the plurality of associated different publish targets through a single publishing user interface;

wherein share permissions associated with the different limited access sharing links are managed separately;

wherein the different limited access sharing links include a navigation path and a sharing key;

wherein the sharing key is a key or token used to generate the different limited access sharing links to the item maintained in the online storage;

the different limited access sharing links configured to provide limited one-time access to the item maintained in the online storage for the purpose of selecting an account to use for subsequent access to the item maintained in the online storage;

determining the share permissions associated with the different limited access sharing links, the share permissions selected via share permission options including at least a view option and an edit option displayed in the single publishing user interface, where the single publishing user interface further includes an add control to search for an additional publish target associated with the plurality of selected recipients;

sending notifications having the different limited access sharing links to the plurality of selected recipients;

responsive to selection of a limited access sharing link by a respective recipient, selectively exposing an account selection dialog to prompt the respective recipient to select a user account to use for access to the item maintained in the online storage;

and

invalidating the limited access sharing link for subsequent use to gain access to the item maintained in online storage once the respective recipient uses the limited access sharing link to select the user account.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of selected recipients comprises:

receiving a request to send the different limited access sharing links to the plurality of selected recipients, the request including contact information for the plurality of selected recipients; and

processing the request to identify the plurality of selected recipients based on the contact information.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein generating the different limited access sharing links comprises encoding permissions to the item maintained in the online storage within the different limited access sharing links.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein a user account selected by the respective recipient is different than another account of the respective recipient corresponding to the contact information used to send the limited access sharing link to the respective recipient.

5. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising granting the respective recipient limited access to the item maintained in the online storage associated with unauthenticated users until the respective recipient selects the user account to gain enhanced access to the item maintained in online storage associated with authenticated users.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein exposing the account selection dialog to prompt the respective recipient to select the user account comprises selectively presenting the account selection dialog to select the user account during an authentication sequence based upon a determination of whether the respective recipient is currently authenticated to a current user account that has authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage, including:

presenting the account selection dialog to select the user account when the respective recipient is not currently authenticated to the current user account having authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage; and

automatically using the current user account having authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage as a selected account and foregoing the presenting the account selection dialog to select the user account when the respective recipient is currently authenticated to the current user account having authenticated access to the item maintained in online storage.

7. One or more non-signal computer-readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more components of a computing device, implement a collaboration service configured to perform operations including:

providing online storage that is allocated to user accounts with a service provider;

determining a plurality of selected recipients for a sharing link to an item maintained in the online storage, the plurality of selected recipients having a plurality of associated different publish targets for publishing the sharing link;

wherein the plurality of associated different publish targets include a plurality of different services or sites;

generating different limited access sharing links for each of the plurality of selected recipients for the plurality of associated different publish targets through a single publishing user interface;

wherein share permissions associated with the different limited access sharing links are managed separately;

where the different limited access sharing links include a navigation path and a sharing key;

wherein the sharing key is a key or token used to generate the different limited access sharing links to the item maintained in the online storage;

wherein each of the different limited access sharing links is configured to share the item maintained in the online storage associated with the plurality of selected recipients in response to a request to get a limited access sharing link for the item maintained in the online storage, the request including the share permissions associated with the limited access sharing link, the share permissions selected via share permission options including at least a view option and an edit option displayed in the single publishing user interface, and where the single publishing user interface further includes an add control to search for an additional publish target associated with the plurality of selected recipients;

the different limited access sharing links configured to provide limited one-time access to the item maintained in the online storage for the purpose of selecting an account to use for subsequent access to the item maintained in the online storage;

sending a notification having the limited access sharing link to a recipient;

responsive to selection of the limited access sharing link by the recipient, initiating an authentication sequence to authenticate the recipient to a user account of the recipient with the service provider; and

prompting the recipient to select the user account with an account selection dialog during the authentication sequence;

invalidating the limited access sharing link for subsequent use to gain permissions on the item maintained the in online storage once the recipient uses the limited access sharing link to select the user account.

8. One or more non-signal computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 7, wherein the authentication sequence comprises operations including:

determining whether the limited access sharing link indicates that a require sign-in option is set;

if the require sign-in option is not set, providing the recipient with access to the item maintained in the online storage granted to unauthenticated users, detecting when actions on the item by the recipient require access to granted to authenticated users, and performing the prompting the recipient to select the user account with the account selection dialog in response to the detecting; and

if the require sign-in option is set, providing the recipient with limited access for the purpose of selecting the user account and outputting the account selection dialog to authenticate the recipient to the selected account.

9. One or more non-signal computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 7, wherein the authentication sequence comprises operations including:

determining whether the recipient already has authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage through a current user account to which the recipient is currently logged-in,

if the current user account does have authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage, selecting the current user account to use for subsequent access to the item maintained in the online storage;

if the current user account does not have authenticated access to the item maintained in the online storage, prompting the recipient with the account selection dialog to select the current user account or another account to use for subsequent access to the item maintained in the online storage.

10. One or more non-signal computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 7, wherein the collaboration service is provided in conjunction with a plurality of resources available to clients over a network from the service provider.

11. A computing system comprising:

one or more processing components;

one or more computer-readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by

the one or more processing components, implement a collaboration service configured to perform operations including;

determining a plurality of selected recipients for a sharing link to an item maintained in online storage, the plurality of selected recipients having a plurality of associated different publish targets for publishing the sharing link;

wherein the plurality of associated different publish targets include a plurality of difference services or sites;

generating different limited access sharing links for each of the plurality of selected recipients for the plurality of associated different publish targets through a single publishing user interface;

wherein share permissions associated with the different limited access sharing links are managed separately;

where the different limited access sharing links include a navigation path and a sharing key;

wherein the sharing key is a key or token used to generate the different limited access sharing links to the item maintained in the online storage;

wherein each of the plurality of selected recipients are selected to receive a sharing link to the item maintained in the online storage allocated to a user account with a service provider, the different limited access sharing links configured to provide limited access to the item maintained in the online storage for the purpose of selecting an account to use for subsequent access to the item maintained in the online storage;

determining the share permissions associated with the different limited access sharing links, the share permissions selected via share permission options including at least a view option and an edit option displayed in the single publishing user interface, where the single publishing user interface further includes an add control to search for an additional publish target associated with the plurality of selected recipients;

sending notifications having the different limited access sharing links to the plurality of selected recipients;

responsive to selection of a limited access sharing link by a respective recipient, selectively exposing an account selection dialog to prompt the respective recipient to select a user account to use for access to the item maintained in the online storage; and

invalidating the limited access sharing link after the respective recipient uses the limited access sharing link to gain permissions on the item maintained in the online storage.

12. A computing system as described in claim 11, wherein the collaboration service is further configured to perform operations including:

when it is determined that the respective recipient is currently authenticated to a current user account having permissions to the item maintained in the online storage, automatically selecting the current user account to use for access to the item maintained in the online storage.

13. A computing system as described in claim 11, wherein the collaboration service is further configured to perform operations:

outputting the single publishing user interface configured to receive a request to send the different limited access sharing links to the plurality of selected recipients, the request including contact information for the plurality of selected recipients; and

receiving the request submitted via the single publishing user interface,

wherein the generating comprises generating the different limited access sharing links for the plurality selected recipients ascertained from the request and the sending comprises sending the different limited access sharing links to the plurality of selected recipients using the contact information included in the request.