Method and apparatus for facilitating communication between collaborators in a networked environment

Abstract

A method for facilitating communication between collaborators in a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) environment which includes the steps of: receiving data via a network connection; storing the received data in a database; retrieving an HTML file from a memory element; and using the stored data in conjunction with the HTML file to generate an HTML page for display. The data received via the network connection includes an indication that an HTML page includes discussions among collaborators. The HTML page rendered for display includes at least one discussion among collaborators. A corresponding system is also disclosed. At least one vote/poll item can be embedded within a discussion group.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for facilitating communication between collaborators in a network environment, the method comprising the steps of:

storing project data associated with an HTML page to be displayed to a collaborator and including an indication that the HTML page includes at least one discussion among collaborators;

storing a template file associated with the HTML page

processing the stored project data in conjunction with the stored template file to generate the HTML page for display wherein the HTML page includes a discussion among collaborators; and

displaying the HTML page to the collaborators.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising,

storing discussion group data with the project data; and

processing the discussion group data with the project data and the template file to generate the HTML page for display.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to add to the discussion included in the HTML page.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising embedding the discussions within the HTML page.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising including an item in the HTML page and enabling the collaborators to associate the discussion with the item included on the HTML page.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the discussion includes a plurality of topics, and the method further comprises, displaying a delineation between each of the plurality of topics.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising,

providing an indication of a plurality of items on the HTML page;

displaying an embedded discussion among the collaborators on the HTML page; and

visually associating the embedded discussion with one of the plurality of indicated items on the HTML page.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising, including a vote/poll item on the HTML page.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the data stored in the database includes an indication that the HTML page includes at least one vote/poll item embedded within the discussion.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the discussion includes discussion entries and the method further comprises, embedding the vote/poll item between the discussion entries.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to cast a single vote via the vote/pole item.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to cast multiple votes via the vote/pole item.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to cast write-in votes via the vote/pole item.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising, requiring the collaborators to cast a vote in response to the vote/poll item being included in the HTML page.

15. The method of claim 8 further comprising, prompting the collaborators to respond to the vote/poll item.

16. The method of claim 8 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to respond to the vote/pole item, wherein responses to the vote/poll item are not displayed.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising, enabling the collaborators to cast votes associated with the discussion.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising, displaying the votes cast by each of the collaborators to all of the collaborators.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the discussion comprises a plurality of entries and the method further comprises, visually indicating on the HTML page to which of the collaborators each of the entries is attributable.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising,

enabling the collaborators to provide a response to a particular one of the plurality of entries; and

visually indicating on the HTML page that the response is provided to the particular one of the plurality of entries.

21. A method for facilitating communication between collaborators in a network environment, the method comprising,

storing project data associated with a page to be displayed to a collaborator and including an indication that the page includes at least one discussion among collaborators,

storing a template file associated with the page,

processing the stored project data in conjunction with the stored template file to generate the page for display, wherein the page includes a discussion among collaborators, and

displaying the page to the collaborators.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to networked systems and, more particularly, to electronic distribution of products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The world wide network of computers commonly known as the "Internet" has grown rapidly over the last several years. Much of this growth has been driven by the increase in popularity of the World Wide Web ("WWW" or "Web"). The WWW is a collection of files written using HyperText Markup Language (HTML), commonly referred to as "Web pages." HTML files may be easily configured and created by users and accessed and displayed using specialized applications known as Web browsers, which allow a user to access and view HTML files using a graphical user interface.

Partially as a result of this growth in popularity, many products can now be distributed to consumers with relative ease. Unfortunately, many users will not purchase a product without first trying the product. However, it is currently difficult to subsequently control access to a distributed product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling access to a product that has been distributed. In particular, the systems and methods described below allow a product to be distributed to a user for demonstration purposes without losing control of usage of the product. The systems and methods described below also allow multiple users access to a product for demonstration purposes while requiring only a single authorization to grant access to all users.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method for controlling access to a product. A request is received for a product. A license string that controls access to the product is generated substantially at the time the request is received. The generated license string is transmitted to the requester. The requester may enter the license string into the product in order to gain access to it.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a system for controlling access to a product. The system includes an input unit which receives a request for a product. The system also includes a license string generator in electrical communication with the input unit. The license string generator produces a license string that controls access to the product. The license string is generated substantially at the time a request is received. The system also includes an output unit for transmitting the generated license string to the requestor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. The advantages of the invention described above, as well as further advantages of the invention, may be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing a collaborative work environment;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a facility as stored by a server database;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a client workstation that may be used in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of an HTML page viewed by a user of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the steps taken by a client workstation to render an HTML page of the sort depicted in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the steps taken by a client workstation to allow users of the system to edit files;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the steps taken by the client workstation to allow users of the system to upload files to a server using a "drag-and-drop" interface;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the steps taken by the system to transfer a file using HTTP;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of one embodiment of an eRoom containing a discussion group item in the item box;

FIG. 10 is a screen shot of one embodiment of an eRoom displaying a discussion group item;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of one embodiment of an eRoom displaying a discussion group item associated with an item;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot of one embodiment of a dialog box presented to a user to create a vote/poll item; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the steps taken to electronically distribute and control access to a file.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, and in brief overview, a system for providing a collaborative work environment via a network is shown. Client workstations 12' are connected to one or more servers 14. The client workstations 12' may be connected in any physical arrangement such as a star, loop, ring, or bus. The network connecting client workstations 12' and the server 14 may use any physical media, including wireless, provided that the physical media supports the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

The server 14 stores information relating to a project or a set of projects, referred to as a facility, in a database 20 which may be a flat database, relational database, multi-dimensional database, or object-oriented database. Each server 14 may store more than one database 20, where each database 20 represents a different facility. For example, one server may host project facilities for separate research efforts within one organization or for separate research efforts by separate organizations. Each facility is viewed by a user as a directory of eRoom pages. Referring now to FIG. 2, a directory of eRooms 22 as stored in the server database 20 is shown. Each entry provides at least one link to an eRoom front page 24, which in turn may contain other eRoom pages 27, folders containing database objects 28 or files 29.

Databases 20 may be stored by the server 14 on any convenient mass storage device. For example, FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment in which the server 14 stores the database 20 on an associated hard disk drive 16. Alternatively, the server 14 may store the database in Random Access Memory (RAM) if the database 20 is capable of fitting within the physical memory space of the server 14. The server 14 responds to requests for portions of the database 20 made by the client workstations 12' and transfers the requested data objects over the network to the requesting client workstation 12'.

The server database 20 stores various tables which contain information about eRooms, members, access controls, and other data objects. For example, a members table may be provided which includes unique identification codes for each user, a table value indicating for which eRooms the user fulfills a coordinator role, a table value which indicates for which eRooms the member fulfills an observer role, and a value describing the last time the member record was modified. Similarly, an eRooms table may be provided which includes a globally unique handle identifying the eRoom and one or more room flags which indicate various room attributes, such as whether a coordinator can create an eRoom, or whether the eRoom is a temporary, or trial, eRoom. Objects may also be represented by a table which includes as fields identification codes for each data object, one or more flags which are used to distinguish various objects, one or more flags which are used to determine the behavior of objects (editability, searchability, and others), a field indicating the date the object was created, a field indicating who created the object, a field identifying the parent of the object, and a field identifying the date the object was last modified, among others.

Referring also to FIG. 3, The client workstation 12' may be any machine that supports reception and transmission of data signals over an HTTP network. In general, a client workstation 12' is a personal computer executing a "browser" program to display an HTML page 40, on the screen 30 of the client workstation 12'. The user interacts with pages displayed by the browser utilizing a "point-and-click" interface, i.e., the viewing user uses a mouse 32 to manipulate a cursor 42 that is also displayed on the screen 30 of the client workstation 12'. Once the cursor 42 is over a particular portion of the HTML page 40, the viewing user signals by "clicking" or "double clicking" a button 33 on the mouse 32. Alternatively, the viewing user may also signal by pressing a key on an associated keyboard 36, such as the "return" key. In other embodiments, the viewing user may not use a mouse 32 at all, but may instead use a touchpad, a trackball, a pressure-sensitive tablet and pen, or any other input mechanism for manipulating the cursor.

The client workstation 12' uses a local database 20' to store data objects related to a project, while external files related to a project (such as a word processing document of a set of meeting minutes) are stored in the client workstation's 12' local file system. The client database 20' may be provided as a flat file database, relational database, multi-dimensional database, or object-oriented database. For example, a typical relational database that may be used to provide a client database 20' is Jet Database Engine, manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. The database 20' stored on the client workstation 12' contains a relevant subset of the data objects stored by the server 14. That is, the database 20' stored by the server 14 typically will contain more information about a particular project than the database 20' stored by the client workstation 12'.

However, the database 20' stored on the client workstation 12' may contain tables which are not stored by the server database 20. For example, a client workstation 12 may store in its database an "unread" table which indicates which objects have been modified since the user of the client workstation 12' has last accessed those objects. An unread table may include a member identification field and a modification tag indicating the last modification date and time of an object. All records may be read from this table to identify to the client workstation 12' every item in a particular eRoom page which has not been read by the user, or a selective database query may be done to return only those objects belonging to a particular set of eRoom pages that have not been read by the user. If it is desired to provide this functionality, an additional entry in the unread table must be made to allow data objects to be distinguished based on some indication of affiliation.

Certain important information, such as hierarchy and navigation information, related to the project database 20 is considered "skeleton" information. Skeleton information is a set of database records that contain basic properties needed to display Web pages representing the project and therefore client workstations 12' require frequent updates of this information. Accordingly, it is generally desirable to exclude large information from skeleton information associated with a project, such as notes relating to an ongoing discussion, to facilitate transmission of the skeleton information to client workstations 12'.

The client workstation 12' uses project data received from the server 14 in combination with one or more template files to create and display to the user of the client workstation a private, secure collection of HTML pages that provide a virtual workroom for members of a team, whatever its size and wherever the members of the team are physically or corporately located, may be referred to throughout as an "eRoom", or an "eRoom page". An eRoom is a set of connected HTML pages displayed to a user that displays project-related files, data, and discussion lists. Members of a team may congregate, share work and files, discuss ideas, stay informed and otherwise collaborate on common projects using an eRoom.

Client workstations 12' generally have local memory elements for storing data objects of files associated with a project that are downloaded from the server 14 as well as one or more eRoom templates. A client workstation 12' may have an associated mass storage device such as a hard disk drive 16' or a tape drive 18' for storing the set of eRoom templates, although if a client workstation 12' is provided with enough RAM to store the set of eRoom templates, then the mass storage devices need not be provided.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of an eRoom page 60 that a user might encounter while using a popular "browser" program, Internet Explorer, manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. The eRoom page has five major elements: a page element 402; a navigation bar 404; a graphical identifier 406; an item box 408; and a shortcut list 410.

The page element 402 may include subelements. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, a discussion 420 is embedded within the page and there is a facility to allow a viewer to contribute to the discussion 422. The embedded discussion 420 and the contribution facility 422 may be implemented as ActiveX controls, a JAVA applet, or various other means. Further, the facility name is displayed 424, as is the name of the viewed page 426 and a description of the viewed page 428.

The navigation bar 404 provides a number of controls for the viewer of the page. For example, in the page embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the navigation bar 404 provides eight commands; "find," 442 which performs a find for a specified object; "members," 444 which permits certain users to change the membership list and access levels associated with members; "create," 446 which allows certain users to create new items and pages; "edit," 448 which allows certain users to edit eRoom pages; "settings," 450 which permits settings for the display and management of eRooms to be changed; a question mark icon 452 which invokes a help system; a "next unread" icon 454 which displays to the viewer an unread item or file; and an up-arrow icon 456 which displays the "parent" of the eRoom currently being viewed, that is, it displays an eRoom page one logical level "up" from the currently viewed eRoom page.

The graphical element 406 is used to pictorially identify the viewed page. The graphical element 406 may be a corporate logo or other organizational identifier. The graphical element 406 may be static (as depicted in FIG. 4) or it may be a dynamic identifier such as a JAVA script or ActiveX control.

The item box 408 collects and displays items associated with the project represented by the page 402. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the item box 408 contains a folder of items 482, a notes file 486, a spreadsheet file 488, and a word processing file 490, each of these being links to other eRoom pages or files. Other items which may be displayed in an item box 408 are version organizers, discussions, links, and vote/poll items which survey team membership on one or more issues. As will be discussed below in greater detail, a discussion item may be associated with any other item in an eRoom and a discussion item can be contained in an eRoom as a stand-alone item. In further embodiments, discussion items may be embedded within other items contained in the eRoom. Each discussion item may itself include at least one vote/poll item that allows discussion participants to decide issues related to the discussion. In some embodiments, the vote/poll item is presented to the user "in line" with a series of discussion group entries (see FIG. 10). A vote/poll item may also be included in an eRoom as a stand-alone item. The item box may also include a facility for creating new items 492. The item box 408 may also include icons which control how items are displayed in the item box 408. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, three icons are provided: an "icon display" icon 494 (currently selected) which causes items to be displayed as large icons with identifying text underneath; a "list display" icon 496 which causes items to be displayed as small icons with identifying text to one side of the icon; and a "report display" icon which causes items to be displayed as a list. The displayed list may be alphabetized, ordered by size of item, ordered by creation date, ordered by modification data, or ordered by some other data field associated with each item.

Items in the item box may include a graphical indication that it, or items contained within it, are unread. This may imply that the item has been newly created, or the item may have been modified since the viewing user last read it. In either event, the graphical indication signals the user that the item should be read. In FIG. 4, the "Brainstorms" folder 482 has an indication 484 that it is unread.

eRoom pages also may include a shortcut bar 410. The shortcut bar is a list of shortcuts which provide the viewer with a convenient way to access other eRoom pages. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a shortcut to the directory of eRooms is provided, as well as shortcuts to the page currently viewed 414 and a shortcut 416 the folder 482 displayed in the item box 408. The folder shortcut 416 includes a graphical indication that there are unread items in the folder 417. The shortcut to the front page of the eRoom currently being viewed 414 also includes a graphical indication that unread items exists in the page 415. Shortcuts may be added to the shortcut bar by the viewing user. In order to read the unread items in the folder 482, the viewing user may use the shortcut 416 to access the contents of the "Brainstorms" folder 482 and determine which items are unread or the user may simply click on the "next unread" icon 454. The shortcut bar 410 may be provided as an ActiveX control or as a JAVA applet or other means.

As noted above, users interact with eRooms by using Web browsers in a traditional manner. That is, users may traverse a hyperlink to access an eRoom, or users may directly enter a URL address into the browser. Regardless of the manner in which the URL address is accessed, the browser retrieves the HTML file in order to display it. However, if the URL address is an eRoom, the server of the file returns a file of control information, referred to as a "wrapper" file. The wrapper file is an HTML file which contains, among other information, an identification of the object to be displayed. The wrapper file delivers an object ID which is used by the client workstation 12' to look up the object in the local database 20 stored on the client workstation 12'. The local database 20 includes information about the object, including which eRoom template to use and information regarding any "children" the object may have (for example, items contained in the item box).

Generation, display, and management of eRooms is controlled by a "page builder" application residing on the client workstation 12'. The page builder application may be provided as specialized hardware or software operating on a general-purpose machine. In some embodiments, the page builder application may be provided as an Active X control or a COM object.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first step that is taken by the page builder application is to retrieve the eRoom template indicated by the wrapper file (step 502). An eRoom template is an HTML file having additional eRoom-specific information embedded in it. The eRoom specific information is generally distinguished from HTML tags. For example, eRoom-specific information in an eRoom template may be surrounded by "<<" and ">>". Any symbol or set of symbols may be used to distinguish eRoom-specific information so long as eRoom-specific information is distinguishable from HTML tags.

eRoom information in a template includes sections controlling the page itself, the controls on it, and the way the page's data is presented the page is created or edited.

The Template section controls several miscellaneous items about the template itself, for example, the Template Section may include name information, information specifying which thumbnail appears when the page template is selected, a description of the identifying text that appears under the thumbnail, how children (i.e. dependent pages) of this type of page are counted, and whether the page should open automatically when created. In one embodiment, the Template section of a Folder may be configured in the following manner:

    Begin_Template
    {
         category =  container
         wizardname = "Folder"
         thumbnail =  folder
         Icon =  0
         DYNAMIC
         {
            Suffix = "item"
            SuffixP1 =  "items"
            OpenOnCreate = "no"
            Blurb = "A container for storing and organizing files, links and
               other pages."
         }
    }

           Begin_Control
           {
              controlname = ERPage
              wizardname =  "contents"
              childtype =  "container,discussion,content,external,link"
              defaulttarget =  yes
              DYNAMIC
              {
                  InitialView =  "Report"
                  ShowCreation =  FALSE
                  ShowModifyTme =  True
                  ModifyWidth =  116
                  SizeWidth =  68
                  Width =  443
              }
           }

    Begin_Wizard
    {
         Name
         {
            widgettype =  text
            prompt =  "Name"
            default = " "
            indent =  32
            DYNAMIC
            {
                longdescription = "Choose a name for this folder, and
                add a description of you want one."
            }
         }
         Use Description
         {
            widgettype =  checkbox
            prompt =  "Show description"
            default =  TRUE
         }
         Description
         {
            widgettype =  rich_text
            prompt = " "
            default = " "
            indent =  0
            DYNAMIC
            {
                richtextheight =  153
            }
         }
         UseComments
         {
            widgettype =  checkbox
            prompt = "&Include space for comments"
            default =  TRUE
         }
    }

• Inventors
  Salas, Pito; Beir, Jeffrey; Leffler, Melissa; McDonald, Glenn; Kleppner, Paul; Finnegan, Neal; Morrisey, Craig; Crowley, Patrick;
• Assignee
  eRoom Technology, Inc. (Cambridge, MA)
• Published
  May-8-2001
• Current US Classes:
  709/205
  709/219
  715/513
  719/328
• Application #
  116069
• International Classes
  G06F 013/00
• Field of Search
  709/201 709/202 709/205 709/217 709/219 709/223 709/313 709/328 709/204 707/10 707/104 707/500 707/501 707/513
• Examiner
  Vu; Viet D.
• Agent
  Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP
• US Patent References:
  5220657
  5233687
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