Systems and methods for adding digital content to content management service accounts

• US 10,348,823 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2016
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Motes, Aston, Adeagbo, Makinde, Berg, Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Khanh Q
• Application Number:
  US15/050,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20160173596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 709203, 709220, 709226, 709227, 726 27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Systems and methods for adding digital content associated with a first user account within a content management system to a second user account within the content management system. In various embodiments, the system may be configured to allow a user to add digital content to an account within a content management system associated with the user when the user receives a shared link to access digital content associated with an account within the content management system belonging to another user. The system may be configured to add the digital content to the user account by associating the digital content with the user'"'"'s account. In various embodiments, the system may be configured to add the digital content to the user'"'"'s account by creating an entry in a server-side file journal associated with the user'"'"'s account, where the entry includes one or more file reference strings associated with the digital content.

Claims

1. An online content management system comprising:

at least one processor;

a computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by the processor, the instructions effective to;

receive a request to share digital content from a first account of the content management system;

generate a link in response to the request, the generated link being effective to provide access to the digital content;

receive an indication that the generated link has been activated by a second account of the content management system;

determine a first association between the generated link and the digital content; and

update the second account to include a second association between the digital content and the second account, whereby the second association makes the digital content accessible by the second account and the second association comprises one or more file references associated with the digital content in a server-side file journal associated with the second account within the content management system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second association between the digital content and the second account is made in a server-side file journal that references a particular storage location of the digital content in the content management system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are effective to present a graphical user interface displaying the digital content within the second account.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital content accessible by the second account is the same file and located at the same storage location in the content management system as the digital content from the first account.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital content accessible by the second account comprises including the digital content in the second account within the content management system.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are effective to:

present a graphical user interface displaying the digital content along with a display element; and

receive a selection of the display element, the display element being effective to include the digital content in the second account within the content management system.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions are effective to:

after including the digital content in the second account, synchronize the second account with a client device running a client application of the content management system, the synchronization includes transmitting the digital content to the client application for storage on the client device.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving from a device accessing a first account within a content management system, a request to share digital content from the first account within the content management system with a second account;

generating a first link effective to provide access to the digital content by the second account;

receiving an indication that the first link has been activated by the second account;

determining a first association between the generated link and the digital content; and

including, by the content management system, a second association of the digital content from the first account in the second account, whereby the second association makes the digital content accessible by the second account and the second association comprises one or more file references associated with the digital content in a server-side file journal associated with the second account within the content management system.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the including the digital content in the second account comprises adding journal entries to a server-side file journal associated with the second account.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the journal entries are effective to reconstruct the digital content when accessed by the second account.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, after including the second association of digital content in the second account, synchronizing the second account with a client device running a client application of the content management system, the synchronizing includes transmitting the digital content to the client application for storage on the client device.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving account information associated with the second account; and

using the account information to enable the step of including a second association of the digital content with the second account.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the digital content associated with the second account is the same file and located at the same storage location in the content management system as the digital content from the first account.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium, the instructions effective, when executed to cause a computing device to:

receive a request to share digital content from a first account of a content management system;

generate a first link in response to the request, the first link being effective to provide access to the digital content;

receive an indication that the first link has been activated by a second account of the content management system;

determine a first association between the generated link and the digital content; and

include, by the content management system, a second association of the digital content from the first account in the second account, whereby the second association makes the digital content accessible by the second account and the second association comprises one or more file references associated with the digital content in a server-side file journal associated with the second account within the content management system.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the second association of the digital content with the second account comprises adding data to a data store associated with the second account that is sufficient to allow the system to retrieve the digital content from a particular storage location in response to the second account requesting access to the digital content.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the second association of the digital content included in the second account is the same file and located at the same storage location in the content management system as the digital content from the first account.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, after including the second association of the digital content in the second account, synchronize the second account with a client device running a client application of the content management system, the synchronizing includes transmitting the digital content to the client application for storage on the client device.