Local server for synced online content management system

• US 10,277,673 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2016
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Mahkovec, Ziga, Nayak, Rajeev
• Primary Examiner(s): Dailey, Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US15/248,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20160366222A1
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A client device can implement a client-side application for a server-side online content management system. The client-side application can communicate with the server-side online content management system to sync data stored locally on the client-side with data stored on the server-side. A local web server can be implemented on the client device to work in conjunction with the client-side application, such that the local web server can access the data stored locally. The client device can run a web browser that communicates with the local web server. A user of the client device can use the web browser to connect to the local web server to access the synced data stored locally on the client-side. Advantages of accessing the data stored locally using the web browser via the local web server include performance improvements, offline access to the data, and use of native client applications to interact with the data.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive, by a local web server running on the computing system, from a web browser application on the computing system, a request to access content associated with a user account registered at a content management system, the content being stored at the content management system;

in response to the request, determine, by the local web server, whether to serve a local copy of the content to the web browser application or direct the web browser application to access the content from the content management system based on at least one of a type of access requested, a network connectivity state associated with the computing system, or synchronization activity between a client-side application on the computing system and the content management system, the local copy being stored at the computing system by the client-side application and synchronized via bidirectional synchronization between the client-side application and the content management system; and

in response to determining to serve the local copy of the content to the web browser application;

obtain, by the local web server, the local copy of the content; and

provide, by the local web server to the web browser application, the local copy of the content.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

communicate, by the local web server, a second request to the client-side application for the local copy of the content.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive, by the local web server, from the web browser application, a second request to access a content item in the content;

based on the type of access requested by the second request, determine whether to provide the web browser application wish a respective local copy of the content item via the local web browser or direct the web browser application to access the content item from the content management system.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive, by the local web server, a second request from the web browser application for an identification of a native application on the computing system that is compatible with a file type of the local copy of the content.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

in response to the second request for the identification of the native application, send, to the web browser application, the identification of the native application; and

receive, from the web browser application, a selection of the native application, the selection requesting access to the local copy of the content via the native application.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive a modification to the local copy of the content from the native application; and

synchronize the modification with a remote copy of the content stored at the content management system.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive, by the local web server, from the web browser application, a second request to access a content item associated with the user account;

determine whether the second request comprises a read operation or a write operation; and

provide, by the local web server to the web browser application, a respective local copy of the content item only when the second request comprises the read operation.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the computing system, cause the computing system to:

receive, by the local web server, from the web browser application, a second request to access a content item associated with the user account;

determine whether the client-side application is synchronizing with the content management system; and

when the client-side application is synchronizing, send, to the web browser application, an indication that local access to the content item is unavailable.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1,

wherein the local web server stores website data associated with an online website of the content management system, and

wherein providing the local copy of the content comprises providing an interface mirroring one or more elements from the online website of the content management system based on the website data.

10. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium storing;

a client-side application comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the client-side application to store locally on the computing system content synchronized between the client-side application and a content management system associated with the client-side application;

a local web server associated with the client-side application and the content management system, the local web server comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the local web server to;

receive, from a web browser application on the computing system, a first request to access a content item from the content synchronized between the client-side application and the content management system;

determine whether to provide the web browser application access to a local copy of the content item or direct the web browser application to access the content item from the content management system, based on at least one of a type of access requested, a network connectivity state associated with the computing system, or synchronization activity between the client-side application and the content management system;

in response to determining to provide the web browser application access to the local copy of the content item, communicate a second request to the client-side application for the local copy of the content item;

based on the second request, obtain, from the client-side application, the local copy of the content item; and

provide, to the web browser application, the local copy of the content item.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the local web server comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the local web server to:

receive, by the local web server, from the web browser application, a third request to access a second content item;

determine whether the third request comprises a read operation or a write operation; and

provide, by the local web server to the web browser application, a second local copy of the second content item only when the third request comprises the read operation.

12. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the second request for the local copy of the content item specifies a local application to open and display the content item, the local application being based on a file type associated with the content item.

13. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the client-side application comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the client-side application to detect that the local copy of the content item has been edited by the local application.

14. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the local web server comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the local web server to:

receive, from the web browser application, a third request to access a second content item;

determine whether the client-side application is synchronizing with the content management system; and

when the client-side application is synchronizing, send, to the web browser application, an indication that local access to the second content item is unavailable.

15. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the local web server stores website data corresponding to an online website of the content management system, and wherein the local web server comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the local web server to:

provide an interface comprising elements from the online website of the online content management system, the interface being specified by the website data.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the local copy of the content is provided to a native application on the computing system selected from a plurality of native applications on the computing system based on a file type of the local copy of the content.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining the file type of the local copy of the content; and

sending, to the native application, a second request to present the local copy of the content on the computing system.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, by local web server running on a computing system, from a web browser application—

on the computing system, a request to access content associated with a user account registered at a content management system, the content being stored at the content management system;

in response to the request, determining, by the local web server, whether to serve a local copy of the content to the web browser application or direct the web browser application to access the content from the content management system based on at least one of a type of access requested, a network connectivity state associated with the computing system, or synchronization activity between a client-side application on the computing system and the content management system, the local copy being stored at the computing system by the client-side application and synchronized via bidirectional synchronization between the client-side application and the content management system;

in response to determining to serve the local copy of the content to the web browser application;

obtaining, by the local web server, the local copy of the content; and

providing, by the local web server, the local copy of the content.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a second request to access a content item from the content associated with the user account;

determining whether the client-side application is synchronizing content with the content management system; and

when the client-side application is synchronizing content with the content management system, notifying the web browser application that local access to the content item is unavailable.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a second request to access a content item from the content associated with the user account;

determining whether the second request to access the content item comprises a read request or a write request; and

when the second request to access the content item comprises the read request, providing a respective local copy of the content item to the web browser application; and

when the second request to access the content item comprises the write request, redirecting the second request to the content management system.