Computing systems and processes for simultaneous co-development of dashboard interfaces

• US 10,528,211 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2015
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Kodali, Mrudula, Brumbaugh, Eli
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustine, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US14/878,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20170102833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45504 Abstract machines for programme code execution, e.g. Java virtual machine [JVM], interpreters, emulators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores

Abstract

A computer system facilitates the collaborative design and presentation of graphical dashboard displays or the like by initiating the presentation of dashboard imagery on each of the collaborating system displays. When a user of a client system identifies an object of the dashboard display for editing, instructions are sent to each of the other collaborating systems to identify the editing party and to prevent simultaneous edits of the same object by multiple parties. Edited objects may be shaded, colored or otherwise highlighted to provide additional information about the editor, the changes being made or the like.

Claims

1. A process executable by a computer system to facilitate simultaneous editing of dashboard imagery having a plurality of objects by a plurality of different client computing systems each operated by a different user and having an associated display, the process comprising:

directing, by the computer system, each of the plurality of different client computing systems to simultaneously present the plurality of objects of the dashboard imagery on the display that is associated with the client computing system;

receiving a first input from a first one of the plurality of client computing systems at the computer system that identifies one of the objects of the dashboard imagery to be edited by a first user of the first client computing system; and

in response to the first input, the computer system providing a first instruction to the first one of the plurality of client computing systems to thereby enable editing of the identified object by the first user while the dashboard imagery is presented by the first client computing system, and also providing at least one second instruction from the computing system to each of the other client computing systems directing the other client computing systems to disable editing of the identified object while continuing to allow editing of the other objects of the dashboard imagery by the different users of the other client computing systems, wherein the at least one second instruction also directs each of the other client computing systems to augment the presentation of the identified object on the display associated with the other client computing system with a tag while the editing of the identified object is disabled, wherein the tag is a graphical image presented in proximity to and association with the identified object that identifies the first user who is editing the identified object.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the first instruction initiates a change in a color of the object from a first color to a second color while the dashboard imagery is presented by the first client computing system.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the at least one second instruction initiates a second change in the color of the object from the first color to a third color while the dashboard imagery is presented by the other client computing systems, and wherein the third color is different from the second color.

4. The process of claim 2 wherein the at least one second instruction initiates a tag while the dashboard imagery is presented by the other client computing systems, and wherein the tag identifies the first user who is editing the identified object.

5. The process of claim 2 wherein, when the first instruction also initiates a change in a color of the objects other than the identified object while the dashboard imagery is presented by the first client computing system.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the dashboard imagery comprises a list of the plurality of different users.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein a color of the tag that is presented in proximity to the identified object matches a color of an entry in the list of different users that corresponds to the first user who is editing the identified object of the dashboard imagery.

8. The process of claim 7 further comprising:

receiving a second input from the first one of the plurality of client computing systems at the computer system that identifies an end to the editing by the first user; and

in response to the second input, providing a third instruction from the computer system to the first one of the plurality of client computing systems to thereby disable editing of the identified object by the first user, and also providing at least one fourth instruction from the computing system to each of the other client computing systems to thereby discontinue display of the tag that is presented in proximity to the identified object.

9. The process of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a second input from the first one of the plurality of client computing systems at the computer system that identifies an end to the editing by the first user; and

in response to the second input, providing a third instruction from the computer system to the first one of the plurality of client computing systems to thereby disable editing of the identified object by the first user, and also providing at least one fourth instruction from the computing system to each of the other client computing systems indicating that editing of the identified object by the first user is complete.

10. A process executable by a first client computing system to present dashboard imagery having a plurality of objects on a display, the process comprising:

establishing a session with a server system via a network, wherein the server system is in simultaneous communication with other client computing systems via the network;

receiving data corresponding to each of the plurality of objects in the dashboard imagery via the session from the server system;

presenting the dashboard imagery including on the display of the first client computing system based upon the data received from the server system, wherein the other client computing systems simultaneously present the same plurality of objects for display and editing;

receiving a first user input from a user of the first client computing system, the first user input selecting one of the plurality of objects to be edited using the first client computing system;

transmitting a first message by the first client computing system to the server system via the session to identify the selected object to be edited using the first client computing system to thereby initiate messages from the server system to the other client computer systems, wherein the messages direct the other client computer systems to prevent editing of the selected object by users of the other client computer systems and to augment the presentation of the dashboard imagery by presenting a tag that is a graphical image located in proximity to and in association with the identified object and that identifies the user of the first client computing system that is editing the identified object;

receiving a first instruction from the server system via the session to thereby enable editing of the identified object by the first client computing system, wherein the server system transmits other instructions to the other client computing systems to prevent simultaneous editing of the identified object by users of the other client computing systems;

updating the dashboard imagery to change the appearance of the selected object presented on the display;

in response to further user inputs from the user, providing edit instructions from the first client computing system to the server system via the session to thereby permit the server system to forward the edit instructions to other client computing systems and thereby enable the other client computing systems to display edits to the selected object in real time; and

receiving a second instruction from the server system via the session and, in response to the second instruction, disabling edits by the user to a second one of the plurality of objects that has been selected for editing by a second user of one of the other client computing systems and, while the editing of the second object is disabled, augmenting the presentation of the second object by the first client computing system with a graphical image presented in proximity to and association with the identified object that identifies the second user who is editing the second object.

11. The process of claim 10 further comprising updating the second one of the plurality of objects in real time in response to subsequent instructions received from the server system via the session.

12. The process of claim 10 wherein the updating comprises changing a color of the selected object of the dashboard imagery while the selected object is being edited on the client computing system.

13. A computer system to generate simultaneous dashboard imagery having a plurality of objects on a plurality of different client computing systems each operated by different user, the computer system comprising a processor, a memory and an input/output interface, wherein the processor executes an application that performs an automated process that comprises:

receiving, via the input/output interface, a first input from a first one of the plurality of client computing systems at the computer system that identifies one of the objects of the dashboard imagery to be edited by a first user of the first client computing system; and

in response to the first input, providing a first instruction to the first one of the plurality of client computing systems via the input/output interface to thereby enable editing of the identified object by the first user while the dashboard imagery is presented by the first client computing system, and also providing at least one second instruction via the input/output interface to each of the other client computing systems directing the other client computing systems to simultaneously disable editing of the identified object while continuing to allow editing of the other objects of the dashboard imagery by the different users while the dashboard imagery is presented by the other client computing systems, wherein the at least one second instruction also directs the other client computing systems to augment the simultaneous presentation of the dashboard imagery by presenting a tag while the editing of the identified object is disabled, wherein the tag is a graphical image located in proximity to and in association with the identified object that identifies the first user of the first computing system who is editing the identified object.

14. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the processor, memory and input/output interface are implemented as part of a cloud processing system.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the application is created using a platform of the cloud processing system, wherein the platform dynamically creates the application based upon data stored in a database.

16. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the client computer systems are remotely-located computer systems that interact with the cloud processing system via a network, and wherein each of the client computer systems execute a client application that generates the dashboard imagery, that receives inputs from the different users, and that provides messages to the cloud processing system that describe edits to the objects made by the different users.

17. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the color of the tag that is presented in proximity to the identified object matches a color of an entry in the list of different users that corresponds to the first user who is editing the identified object of the dashboard imagery, and wherein the application further receives a second input from the first one of the plurality of client computing systems at the computer system that identifies an end to the editing by the first user and, in response to the second input, provides a third instruction from the computer system to the first one of the plurality of client computing systems to thereby disable editing of the identified object by the first user, and also provides at least one fourth instruction from the computing system to each of the other client computing systems to thereby discontinue display of the tag that is presented in proximity to the identified object that identifies the first user.