Collaborative authoring modes

• US 8,825,758 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bailor, Jonathan Beckett, Bernstein, Ethan Joseph, Knight, Mark Rolland, Antos, Christopher James
• Primary Examiner(s): Dollinger, Tonia L
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN C
• Application Number:
  US11/957,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,454 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1767 Concurrency control, e.g. optimistic or pessimistic approaches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

A collaborative authoring application provides an authoring environment in which two or more users can edit a document concurrently. Each user edits a copy of the document, sends updates to a master copy of the document, and receives updates from the master copy of the document. The authoring environment may be configured into a public mode of operation, in which content and metadata are synchronized automatically, or into a private mode of operation, in which metadata is synchronized automatically and content is synchronized only at the request of the user. The authoring application may edit documents offline in public or private mode.

Claims

1. An authoring system for editing a first user copy of a document on a user device, the first user copy being generated based on a master copy of the document, the authoring system comprising:

a processing unit;

a local cache stored on the user device, the local cache including a store cache and an upload cache;

an authoring application configured to execute on the user device, the authoring application being configured to edit the first user copy of the document, the authoring application being adapted to be selectively configured into an operating mode selected from the group consisting of a public operating mode and a private operating mode, the authoring application being configured to generate metadata updates based on edits made to the first user copy of the document and to generate content updates based on edits made to the first user copy of the document, the metadata updates including presence information indicating presence of a user at a data unit of the first user copy of the document, the metadata updates including at least one lock indicating that the user has locked at least one data unit of the first user copy of the document, the at least one lock being generated by the authoring application around the at least one data unit of the first user copy of the document, the lock inhibiting other authoring applications from editing the at least one data unit on any other user copy of the document, the data unit being visible on at least one other user copy of the document, the at least one data unit comprising a portion of the document, the portion of the document being less than an entirety of all data units within the document, the lock being associated with the at least one data unit, the lock allowing the other authoring applications to edit any data unit of the document not associated with the lock;

a metadata sync module configured to synchronize the metadata updates between the first user copy of the document and the master copy of the document regardless of the mode of operation into which the authoring application is configured;

a protect module configured to store the generated content updates into the store content cache of the local cache when the protect module receives instructions to store the document, the protect module also being further configured to store the generated content updates into the upload cache when the generated content updates are stored into the store cache if the authoring application is configured into the public operating mode; and

a publish module configured to share the content updates stored in the upload cache with the master copy of the document, wherein sharing the content updates with the master copy of the document integrates the content updates into the master copy.

2. The authoring system of claim 1, further comprising:

an obtain module configured to obtain external content updates from the master copy of the document regardless of the operating mode into which the authoring application is configured, the external content updates being generated by one or more other authoring applications; and

an obtain cache in which the obtain module stores the external content updates obtained from the master copy.

3. The authoring system of claim 2, wherein the authoring application is configured to provide an indication that external content updates are available when the obtain module has stored the external content updates in a second content cache, and wherein the authoring application is configured to instantiate one or more of the external content updates into the user copy of the document.

4. The authoring system of claim 1, wherein the protect module also stores the generated content updates into the upload cache when the generated content updates are stored into the store cache if the authoring application is configured in the private operating mode and the protect module has received instructions to share the content updates.

5. The authoring system of claim 1, wherein the authoring application is configured to access the master copy of the document via a connection to a network.

6. The authoring system of claim 5, wherein the authoring application is configured to enable editing of the user copy of the document when the authoring application is not connected to the network.

7. The authoring system of claim 5, wherein the authoring application is configured to provide a warning when the authoring application is not connected to the network, the warning indicating the authoring application cannot synchronize the user copy with the master copy.

8. A computer-implemented method of synchronizing a user copy of a document with a master copy of the document, the user copy of the document being stored on a user computing device and the master copy of the document being stored on a storage device that is configured to be communicatively coupled to the user computing device, the method comprising:

connecting the user computing device to the storage device;

selecting a private mode of operation for an authoring application;

editing at the user computing device the user copy of the document with the authoring application to generate at least a first content update;

transmitting periodically from the user computing device to the storage device any metadata updates generated by editing the user copy of the document, wherein the metadata updates are instantiated into the master copy stored on the storage device;

storing at the user computing device the content update generated by editing the user copy of the document;

receiving periodically at the user computing device external metadata updates from the master copy of the document when the master copy has been updated to include the external metadata updates, the received external metadata updates including presence information and lock information, the presence information indicating presence of a user at a data unit of the first user copy of the document, the lock information including a lock around at least one data unit of the user copy of the document, the lock preventing the user from editing the at least one data unit of the user copy of the document, the at least one data unit comprising a portion of the user copy of the document, the portion being less than all text within the user copy of the document, the lock being associated with the at least one data unit, the lock allowing the user to edit any data unit of the user copy of the document not associated with the lock;

instantiating the external metadata updates received from the master copy of the document into the user copy of the document;

receiving periodically at the user computing device external content updates from the master copy of the document when the master copy has been updated to include the external content updates.

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

receiving instantiation instructions; and

instantiating the external content updates into the user copy of the document in accordance with instantiation instructions.

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

providing an indication of availability of the external content updates within the authoring application;

receiving instructions to view the external content updates within the authoring application;

providing options for instantiating the external content updates within the user copy of the document; and

implementing selected options for instantiating the external content updates within the user copy of the document.

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

receiving instructions to configure the authoring application into a public mode of operation;

toggling the authoring application into the public mode of operation; and

sharing with the master copy of the document the content updates stored at the user computing device.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

disconnecting the user computing device from the storage device;

continuing to edit the user copy of the document with the authoring application;

storing at the user computing device any content updates generated by the authoring application after disconnecting the user computing device from the storage device; and

sharing the content updates stored at the user computing device when the user computing device is reconnected to the storage device.

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

disconnecting the user computing device from the storage device;

continuing to edit the user copy of the document with the authoring application; and

storing at the user computing device any content updates generated by the authoring application after disconnecting the user computing device from the storage device;

wherein the content updates stored at the user computing device are not shared with the storage device when the user computing device is reconnected to the storage device until the authoring application is toggled into a public mode of operation.

14. A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions, which perform a method of authoring a first user copy of a document stored on a user device when executed by a computing device, wherein the computer readable storage medium does not consist of a propagated signal, the method comprising:

configuring an authoring application into a public mode of operation, wherein the authoring application is configured to be executed by the user device to author the first user copy of the document, wherein the user device is offline;

editing the first user copy of the document with the authoring application to generate a plurality of content updates;

storing at the user device any metadata generated by the authoring application, the metadata updates including presence information indicating presence of a user at a data unit of the first user copy of the document, the metadata including at least one lock indicating that the user has locked at least one data unit of the first user copy of the document, the at least one lock being generated by the authoring application around the at least one data unit of the first user copy of the document, the lock inhibiting other authoring applications from editing the at least one data unit on any other user copy of the document, the data unit being visible on at least one other user copy of the document, the at least one data unit comprising a portion of the document, the portion of the document being less than a total size of all data units within the document, the lock being associated with the at least one data unit, the lock allowing the other authoring applications to edit any data unit of the document not associated with the lock;

storing in a queue at the user device the content updates generated by the authoring application;

connecting the user device to a storage device;

sharing the metadata with a master copy of the document when the user device is connected to the storage device even if the authoring application is closed before the user device is connected.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising:

sharing the content updates stored in the queue when the user device is connected to the storage device even if the authoring application is closed before the user device is connected.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising:

obtaining external metadata updates from the master copy of the document after connecting the user device to the storage device; and

instantiating the metadata updates into the first user copy of the document automatically.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein storing in the queue at the user device the content updates generated by the authoring application comprises storing the content updates in the queue when the authoring application receives finalization instructions from the user.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein receiving the finalization instructions triggers sharing of the content updates when the authoring application is configured into the public mode.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein receiving the finalization instructions does not trigger sharing of the content updates when the authoring application is configured into a private mode.