Systems and methods for multiple display support in remote access software

• US 8,054,241 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2006
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GOTO Group Incorporated (LogMeIn, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Muklashy, Shadi, Piasecki, Derek, Green, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): SHERMAN, STEPHEN G
• Application Number:
  US11/542,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20080068290A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,863 Days
• Field of Search: 345 11- 4, 715/737, 715/767
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A method of supporting multiple display configurations in a remote access environment, the remote access environment having a host computing device in communication with a viewer computing device comprises: receiving from a host computing device, by a viewer computing device having one or more viewer displays, a list of rectangles, each rectangle representing the boundaries of one of a plurality of host displays; presenting, by the viewer computing device to an end-user of the viewer computing device, a graphical user interface including means for selecting a configuration for displaying a window representing screen data of the plurality of host displays in the viewable area of the one or more displays of the viewer computing device; and displaying in the selected configuration, by the viewer computing device, the window representing the screen data of the one or more host displays. Corresponding systems are also described.

Claims

1. A method for remotely viewing, at a viewer computing device, at least part of a plurality of host displays that are each connected to a same single host computing device, the viewer computing device having at least one viewer display, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, at the viewer computing device from the single host computing device having the plurality of host displays connected thereto, information relating to at least one image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays, the information comprising a record of rectangles with each rectangle identifying the boundaries of one of the plurality of host displays connected to the same single host device;

(b) presenting, on at least one viewer display, a control derived from the received information, the control comprising (i) a scaled version of image data presented on the plurality of host displays and (ii) a repositionable and resizable marker superimposed on the scaled version of the image data, the scaled version of the image data comprising a plurality of tiles with each tile corresponding to one of the plurality of host displays and being derived from one of the received rectangles and wherein at least one of the plurality of tiles is disproportionately sized relative to another tile;

(c) receiving user input repositioning or resizing the marker and

(d) displaying, on at least one viewer display and in response to the marker being repositioned or resized, the portion of the at least one image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays that is demarcated by the repositioned or resized marker.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the received information further comprises the image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the received information is compressed.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the presentation of the control is made in response to an action performed by an end user.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the action comprises a keypress.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the action comprises a mouse click.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the presentation of the control is made in a predetermined location.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the presentation of the control is made in a location determined by an end user.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the control in response to an update in an image presented at the plurality of host displays.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the control real time.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of tiles is scaled to occupy space on the at least one viewer display proportionate to the size of the tile'"'"'s corresponding host display.

12. A computer implemented system for remote access having a host computing device connected to a plurality of host displays, the single host computing device in communication with a viewer computing device via a network, the system comprising:

a viewer computing device comprising;

a transceiver which receives, from the single host computing device having a plurality of host displays connected thereto, information relating to at least one image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays, the information comprising a record of rectangles with each rectangle identifying the boundaries of one of the plurality of host displays;

at least one viewer display which displays a control derived from the received information, the control comprising (i) a scaled version of image data presented on the plurality of host displays and (ii) a repositionable and resizable marker superimposed on the scaled version of the image data, the scaled version of the image data comprising a plurality of tiles with each tile corresponding to one of the plurality of host displays and being derived from one of the received rectangles and wherein at least one of the plurality of tiles is disproportionately sized relative to another tile;

a user interface that allows a user to reposition or resize the marker; and

at least one viewer display which displays, in response to the user repositioning or resizing the marker, the portion of the at least one image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays that is demarcated by the repositioned or resized marker.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the viewer computing device comprises a plurality of viewer displays, and wherein the plurality of viewer displays display, in at least two of the plurality of viewer displays, the portion of the at least one image presented on at least part of the plurality of host displays that is demarcated by the repositioned or resized marker.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the number of host displays equals the number of viewer displays.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the viewer computing device comprises a single viewer display, and wherein the viewer display displays images from at least part of a selected one of the plurality of host displays.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the viewer computing device comprises a single viewer display, and wherein the viewer computing device scales the screen data of each of the host displays such that the screen data for each host display is displayed on the viewer display.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein each of the plurality of tiles is scaled to occupy space on the at least one viewer display proportionate to the size of the tile'"'"'s corresponding host display.