Local server for synced online content management system

• US 9,088,573 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2013
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• 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:
  US13/849,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 computer-implemented method for locally accessing synced data, comprising:

implementing, on a client computing device, a client-side application that communicates with an online content management system to sync data stored locally on the client computing device with data stored at the online content management system;

running a local web server on the client computing device, the local web server being configured to communicate with the client-side application to interact with at least a portion of the data stored locally, wherein the data stored locally is synced with the data stored at the online content management system;

running a web browser on the client computing device;

accessing the local web server running on the client computing device via the web browser;

sending, simultaneously, a request to access data stored on the online content management system and a request to access data stored on the local web server, where the data stored on the online content management system and the data stored on the local web server are synched;

interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored locally in the event the local web server responds first, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored locally is based, at least in part, on the accessing of the local web server via the web browser;

interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored on the online content management system in the event that the online content management system responds first, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored on the online content management system is based, at least in part, on accessing of the online content management system via the client-side application; and

displaying, by the web browser in the event the local web server responds first or by the client application in the event the online content management system responds first, at least a portion of the data that is being accessed.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a communication from the web browser to the online content management system; and

modifying at least a portion of the data stored at the online content management system based, at least in part, on the communication.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the client-side application communicates with the online content management system over a first secure web connection, wherein the web browser accesses the local web server over a second secure web connection, and wherein the communication from the web browser to the online content management system occurs over a third secure web connection.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the first secure web connection, the second secure web connection, and the third secure web connection each comprise a secure hypertext transfer protocol connection.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a preview of the at least a portion of the data stored locally, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored locally comprises presenting the preview of the at least a portion of the data stored locally.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the accessing of the local web server via the web browser or the interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored locally occurs while the client-side application is unable to communicate with the online content management.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the data stored locally further comprises executing an application installed on the client computing device and configured to operate with respect to a particular data type associated with the at least a portion of the data stored locally.

8. A system comprising:

a processor;

a computer readable medium; and

computer readable instructions, stored on the computer readable medium, that when executed by the processor are effective to cause the system to;

run, on a client device, a client application configured to sync local data on the client device with data on an online content management system;

run, on the client device, a local server configured to communicate with the client application to interact with the local data that is synced, at one or more specified times, with the data on the online content management system;

access the local server from the client device;

send, simultaneously, a request to access data stored on the online content management system and a request to access data stored on the local web server, where the data stored on the online content management system and the data stored on the local web server are synched;

interact with at least a portion of the data stored on the online content management system in the event the online content management system responds first, at least in part, on the accessing of the online content management system from the client device;

interact with at least a portion of the local data based in the event the local web server responds first, at least in part, on the accessing of the local server from the client device; and

display, by the web browser in the event the local web server responds first or by the client application in the event the online content management system responds first, at least a portion of the data that is being accessed.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions cause the system to further transmit a communication from the client device to the online content management system to manipulate at least a portion of the data stored at the online content management system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein manipulating the at least a portion of the data stored at the online content management system comprises at least one of modifying the at least the portion of the data or providing access to the at least the portion of the data for one or more users.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the local data comprises at least one of displaying, playing, opening, executing, or manipulating the at least a portion of the local data.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the local data based, at least in part, on the accessing of the local server is performed more efficiently than interacting with a respective portion of the data stored at the online content management system.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the local data is performed while the client application is unable to communicate with the online content management system.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions cause the system to further execute an application installed on the client device, wherein the application is operable with the at least a portion of the local data, and wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the local data includes utilizing the application to interact with the at least a portion of the local data.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the interacting with the at least a portion of the local data includes modifying one or more settings of the client application running on the client device.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the local data comprises information useful for rendering a webpage of the online content management system.