Simultaneous editing/accessing of content by collaborator invitation through a web-based or mobile application to a cloud-based collaboration platform

• US 9,519,886 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Berger, Jonathan, Rolph, Nick, Savage, Brandon
• Primary Examiner(s): CHUANG, JUNG-MU T
• Application Number:
  US14/042,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 715/753
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for a web or mobile interface enabling users and collaborators to simultaneously comment, edit, or edit content in real time or near real time managed by a cloud-based collaboration platform. In one embodiment, the data to be accessed concurrently is presented or depicted at the multiple physical devices to the collaborators for viewing and accessing the data in real time or near real time. Each of the collaborators is able to view, re-edit, or re-modify in a concurrent fashion, at the collaborator'"'"'s physical device, edits or modifications made to the data in real time or near real time as a result of any of the other collaborators accessing the data at their respective physical devices. In some instances, additional collaborators are specifiable for the data created for concurrent real time access in addition to those originally associated with the folder.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing, in a user interface, an element for requesting a creation of a shared document in a folder shared among collaborators in a cloud-based collaboration platform,

wherein the shared document is concurrently accessible by the collaborators in real time via their respective physical devices;

in response to a detection of an action to create the shared document for a concurrent access,

generating the shared document,

presenting the shared document to each of the collaborators for viewing or accessing in real time,

wherein the presentation of the shared document includes a content portion and a margin portion adjacent to the content portion;

wherein each of the collaborators is able to view, edit, and modify the content portion of the shared document concurrently using the collaborator'"'"'s respective physical device, and

wherein edits or modifications made to the content portion of the shared document by a particular collaborator are accessible to other collaborators at their respective physical devices in real time,

marking a current position of editing the content portion of the shared document by each of the collaborators,

wherein the current position marking identifies each of the collaborators with a photo enclosed in a frame of a color associated with each of the collaborators;

wherein the markings for each of the collaborators are presented in the margin portion of the shared document and aligned with their respective current positions of editing the content portion of the shared document, so as not to obstruct the presentation of the content portion of the shared document to other collaborators; and

wherein if two or more collaborators are editing a same line or paragraph in the content portion of the shared document, their respective markings are presented next to each other in the margin portion;

identifying an active editing in the content portion of the shared document by the particular collaborator at the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position, and

responsive to identifying the active editing by the particular collaborator, modifying the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position marking such that the marking identifies the particular collaborator with a string including the particular collaborator'"'"'s name in addition to the photo enclosed in the frame of the color associated with the particular collaborator and such that the photo is repeatedly flashed while the particular collaborator is actively editing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the collaborators are specified via another user interface element in a list associated with the shared document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the physical devices include a mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling a write access to the shared document by one or more of the collaborators.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the write access is disabled for the one or more of the collaborators by an administrator of the shared document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the active editing in the content portion of the shared document by the particular collaborator is based on a number of keystrokes detected at the particular collaborator'"'"'s physical device in a predetermined time period.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the identified active editing is presented to the other collaborators after the number of keystrokes detected at the particular collaborator'"'"'s physical device in a predetermined time period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein additional collaborators are specifiable for the shared document created for the concurrent real time access in addition to those originally associated with the shared document.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared document is presented to the collaborators via a second user interface that is overlaid on the user interface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second user interface is overlaid on the user interface using a lightbox technique.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the shared document comprises a note and the second interface comprises a quick interface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the quick interface disallows a manipulation by the collaborators.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the quick interface provides the collaborators with a snapshot of the note in its current state of collaboration.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface provides a visibility into a notebook in the cloud-based collaboration platform and the data shared document comprises a note associated with one or more notes of the notebook.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user interface includes a graphical element that facilitates a collaborator navigation through the one or more notes of the notebook.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a request initiated by a first collaborator of the collaborators via the graphical element, wherein the request indicates a particular note of the one or more notes of the notebook; and

responsive to receiving the request, presenting the particular note to the first collaborator.

17. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory units, the one or more memory units having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

provide in a first generated graphical user interface (GUI), a graphical element for requesting a creation of a shared document in a folder shared among collaborators in a cloud-based collaboration platform, wherein the shared document is concurrently accessible by the collaborators in real time via their respective physical devices;

in response to a detection of an action to create the shared document for a concurrent access,

generate the shared document, and

present the shared document to each of the collaborators for viewing or accessing in real time,

wherein the presentation of the shared document includes a content portion and a margin portion adjacent to the content portion;

wherein each of the collaborators is able to view, edit, or modify the content portion of the shared document concurrently via the collaborator'"'"'s respective physical device, and any edits or modifications made to the content portion of the shared document by a particular collaborator are accessible to other collaborators via their respective physical devices;

mark a current position of editing the content portion of the shared document by each of the collaborators,

wherein the current position marking identifies each of the collaborators with a photo enclosed in a frame of a color associated with each of the collaborators; and

wherein the markings for each of the collaborators are presented in the margin portion of the shared document and aligned with the respective current position of editing the content portion of the shared document by, so as not to obstruct the presentation of the content portion of the shared document to other collaborators; and

wherein if two or more collaborators are editing a same line or paragraph in the content portion of the shared document, their respective markings are presented next to each other in the margin portion;

identify an active editing in the content portion of the shared document by the particular collaborator at the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position, and

responsive to identifying the active editing by the particular collaborator, modifying the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position marking such that the marking identifies the particular collaborator with a string including the particular collaborator'"'"'s name in addition to the photo enclosed in the frame of the color associated with the particular collaborator, wherein the photo associated with the particular collaborator is repeatedly flashed while the particular collaborator is actively editing.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more memory units have further instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to further, automatically resolve any conflicting edits concurrently made by the collaborators.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the collaborators are specified via another graphical element in a list associated with the shared document.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the list is generated in a second GUI separate from the first GUI.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more memory units have further instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to further, require, an interaction with the second GUI prior to returning a control to the first GUI.

22. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a system, direct the system to:

provide a user interface including an element for requesting a creation of a shared document in a folder shared among collaborators in a cloud-based collaboration platform,

wherein the shared document is concurrently accessible to the collaborators in real time via their respective physical devices;

detect an action to create the shared document for a concurrent access;

in response to the detection,

generate the shared document, and

present the shared document to each of the collaborators for accessing in real time,

wherein the presentation of the shared document includes a content portion and a margin portion adjacent to the content portion;

wherein each of the collaborators is able to view, edit, and modify the shared document concurrently using the collaborator'"'"'s respective physical device, and

wherein edits or modifications made to the content portion of the shared document by a particular collaborator are accessible to other collaborators at their respective physical devices in real time, and

mark a current position of editing the content portion of the shared document by each of the collaborators,

wherein the current position marking identifies each of the collaborators with a photo enclosed in a frame of a color associated with each of the collaborators;

wherein the markings for each of the collaborators are presented in the margin portion of the shared document and aligned with their respective current positions of editing the content portion of the shared document, so as not to obstruct the presentation of the content portion of the shared document to other collaborators; and

wherein if two or more collaborators are editing a same line or paragraph in the content portion of the shared document, their respective markings are presented next to each other in the margin portion;

identify an active editing in the content portion of the shared document by the particular collaborator at the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position, and

responsive to identifying the active editing by the particular collaborator, modify the particular collaborator'"'"'s current position marking such that the marking identifies the particular collaborator with a string including the collaborator'"'"'s name in addition to the photo enclosed in the frame of the color associated with the particular collaborator and such that the photo is repeatedly flashed while the particular collaborator is actively editing.

23. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the system to automatically resolve concurrent edits or modifications made to the content portion of the shared document.

24. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the collaborators are specified via another user interface element in a list associated with the shared document.

25. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein one or more of the physical devices include a mobile device.