JP7424986B2 - Aggregated details displayed within the file browser interface - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present technology relates to graphical user interfaces for displaying details about content items, and more particularly, to displaying details about several content items within a folder in a file explorer interface.

Traditional file explorer applications and associated user interfaces were built for older environments. Specifically, it was built to display content items that are stored in one location, such as content items that are stored locally or content items that are stored on network storage. These traditional file explorer applications are now outdated.

These and other advantages and features of the present technology will become apparent by reference to the specific implementations illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these drawings depict only some examples of the technology and do not limit the scope of the technology to these examples. Moreover, through the use of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the principles of the present technology as described and illustrated, along with additional specificity and detail.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a content management system and client device.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example file system explorer including a details pane showing activity metadata for a root folder, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example file system explorer including a details pane showing activity metadata and comments for subfolders in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example file system explorer including a details pane showing activity metadata, comments, and a preview of a selected content item, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for populating a details pane with details, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for presenting aggregated details and contextualizing aggregated details into selected folders, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams illustrating an example file system explorer including a details pane showing aggregated details, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology. Same as above. Same as above.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for providing interaction with a details pane and populating the details pane with a preview of a selected content item, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example file system explorer including a details pane showing activity metadata, comments, and a preview of a selected folder, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of an example file system explorer including a details pane showing activity metadata, comments, and a dynamic preview of a selected content item, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example details pane in a separate window from a file system explorer, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an example details pane in a separate window from a file system explorer, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for presenting a preview or dynamic preview in a details pane, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

12A and 12B illustrate an example details pane in a window separate from a file system explorer, showing a preview of where a comment is anchored to a content item, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology. be. Same as above.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a pop-out window showing an example details pane and a preview of where a selected comment will be anchored to a content item, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example document with comments placed therein, in accordance with certain aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an example details pane and pop-out window showing details of a content item associated with a selected activity, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for rendering and interacting with a dynamic preview, in accordance with certain aspects of the present technology.

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate example details panes in a separate window from a file system explorer that include a dynamic preview of a content item that can receive edits in a dynamic preview, in accordance with some aspects of the present technology. FIG. Same as above.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an example method for prefetching activities or comments in accordance with certain aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example system for implementing certain aspects of the present technology.

Various examples of the present technology are described in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present technology.

The disclosed technology is in the art for file explorer applications optimized to account for modern day-to-day realities of where users store and access files and how users interact with content items. address the need for Additionally, the disclosed technology addresses the need to display types of information that have not been exposed by file explorer applications in the past, but that these types of information may not be accessible to users as content items or that require the user's attention. Important in assisting in identifying likely content items. As the amount of stored data that users have access to continues to increase, identifying content items is more important than ever.

Because many users store content items in content management systems and cloud-hosted document services, as well as local storage and network-accessible drives on client devices, an improved file explorer now provides You should be able to display information about content items. In some embodiments, the improved file explorer should be able to display a list of content items that includes content items from different sources simultaneously.

Because the several sources in which a content item may be stored may contain different characteristics or store different metadata associated with the content item, the improved file explorer provides new types of information that are available from various sources. information shall be displayed.

Since many content items are currently shared with other users, or can even be collaborative content items where multiple users can edit and comment on a content item, the improved file explorer shows recent activity related to the content item. information should be presented.

Because some users need to access many files just to make minor changes or view minor updates or comments made on content items, File Explorer Need to provide an enhanced preview that allows some actions without having to fully open the document.

The present technology provides a file explorer that satisfies one or more of the stated deficiencies of conventional file explorers. By meeting the above needs, the present technology not only solves the problems associated with displaying more useful information about content items from multiple diverse sources, but also provides several efficiencies. With more useful information in one place, the user does not have to operate the computing device to navigate through the many additional screens exposed to all the data that current technology can present in a file explorer. . In addition, some actions can also conserve computing resources because some actions can be performed without opening the content item completely or without opening the default application used when opening the content item. Users can also be more efficient by searching for related files, learning related information, and performing some tasks all within File Explorer.

In some embodiments, the disclosed techniques are deployed in the context of a content management system that has content item synchronization and collaboration features, among other things.
collaboration features, among others. An example system configuration 100 is shown in FIG. 1, which shows a content management system 110 interacting with a client device 150.

account

Content management system 110 may store content items associated with an account, as well as perform various content item management tasks such as searching, modifying, viewing, and/or sharing content items. Additionally, content management system 110 may allow an account to access content items from multiple client devices.

Content management system 110 supports multiple accounts. Entities (users, groups of users, teams, companies, etc.) can create accounts in content management system 110 and account details can be stored in account database 140. Account database 140 may store profile information for registered entities. In some cases, a registered entity's profile information includes a username and/or email address. Account database 140 includes account types (e.g., free or paid accounts of various tiers), storage space allocated, storage space used, client devices 150 on which registered content management client applications 152 reside, security settings, May include account management information such as personal configuration settings.

Account database 140 may store groups of accounts associated with an entity. Groups can have permissions based on group policies and/or access control lists, and members of the group can inherit permissions. For example, a marketing group may have access to one set of content items, and an engineering group may have access to another set of content items. The administrator group can change groups, change user accounts, etc.

Content item storage

One feature of content management system 110 is the storage of content items that may be stored in content storage 142. A content item may be any digital data, such as a document, collaborative content item, text file, audio file, image file, video file, web page, executable file, binary file, etc. Content items may also include collections and other mechanisms for grouping content items with various behaviors such as folders, zip files, playlists, albums, etc. A collection can refer to multiple content items related to or grouped by a folder or common attribute. In some embodiments, content storage 142 is combined with other types of storage or databases to handle specific functions. Content storage 142 may store content items, and metadata regarding content items may be stored in metadata database 146. Similarly, data regarding where content items are stored in content storage 142 may be stored in content directory 144. Additionally, data regarding changes, accesses, etc. can be stored in server file journal 148. Each of the various storages/databases, such as content storage 142, content directory 144, server file journal 148, and metadata database 146, can be comprised of multiple such storages or databases and distributed across many devices and locations. Other configurations are also possible. For example, data from content storage 142, content directory 144, server file journal 148, and/or metadata database 146 may be combined into one or more content storages or databases or added to additional content storages or databases. It can be further segmented. Accordingly, content management system 110 may include more or less storage and/or databases than shown in FIG.

In some embodiments, content storage 142 receives content items, including, but not limited to, receiving content items for storage, preparing content items for storage, selecting storage locations for content items, and receiving content items from storage. at least one content storage service 116 that includes software or other processor-executable instructions for managing storage of content. In some embodiments, content storage service 116 may divide content items into smaller chunks for storage at content storage 142. The location of each chunk that makes up a content item can be recorded in content directory 144. Content directory 144 may include a content entry for each content item stored in content storage 142. A content entry can be associated with a unique ID that identifies the content item.

In some embodiments, unique IDs that identify content items within content directory 144 can be derived from a deterministic hash function. Because a deterministic hash function outputs the same identifier for all copies of the same content item, but different identifiers for different content, this method of deriving a unique ID for a content item ensures that duplicate content items are can be reliably recognized as such. Using this methodology, content storage service 116 can output a unique ID for each content item.

Content storage service 116 may also specify or record content paths for content items in metadata database 146. The content path has
The name of the content item and/or the folder hierarchy associated with the content item may be included. For example, the content path may include a folder or path to a folder where the content item is stored on the client device's local file system. Although content items are stored in blocks in content storage 142 and may not be stored under a tree such as a directory structure, such a directory structure is a comfortable navigation structure for users. The content storage service 116 may define or record content paths for content items, where the "root" node of the directory structure may be a namespace for each account. Within the namespace is a directory structure defined by the account and/or user of the content storage service 116. Metadata database 146 may store the content path for each content item as part of the content entry.

In some embodiments, the namespace may include additional namespaces nested in the directory structure as if stored within the root node. This can occur if your account has access to shared collections. Shared collections can be assigned their own namespace within content management system 110. Some shared collections are actually the root node of shared collections, but are subordinate to the account's namespace in the directory structure and can be viewed as folders within the account's folders. As mentioned above, the directory structure is only a navigational structure that is comfortable for the user and is not correlated to the storage location of content items within content storage 142.

Although the directory structure in which an account views content items is not correlated to their storage location on content management system 110, the directory structure may be located on local content storage 154 of client device 150 depending on the file system used by client device 150. can be associated with a storage location.

As mentioned above, content entries in content directory 144 may also include the location of each chunk that makes up the content item. More specifically, a content entry may include a content pointer that identifies the location within content storage 142 of the chunks that make up the content item.

In addition to content paths and content pointers, content entries in content directory 144 also include a user account identifier that identifies the user account that has access to the content item and/or a link to the namespace to which the content item and/or content entry belongs. It may include a group identifier that identifies the group that has access.

Content storage service 116 can reduce the amount of storage space required by identifying duplicate content items or blocks that make up a content item or a version of a content item. Instead of storing multiple copies, content storage 142 can store single copies of content items or blocks of content items, and content directory 144 provides pointers to link replicas to the single copy. or may include other mechanisms.

Content storage service 116 provides metadata that describes groups of content items, content item types, folders, file paths, and/or various accounts, collections, or metadata databases 146 that are associated with content items and content item unique IDs. Data can also be stored.

Content storage service 116 may also log data regarding changes, accesses, etc. in server file journal 148. Server file journal 148 may include a unique ID of the content item and a description of the modification or access action, along with a timestamp or version number and any other related data. Server file journal 148 may also include pointers to blocks affected by changes or content item accesses. The content storage service 116 uses content item version control to track changes to the content item, different versions of the content item (including branches in the version tree), and a history of changes that can be obtained from the server file journal 148. It is possible to provide the ability to return to

Content item sync

Another feature of content management system 110 is to synchronize content items with at least one client device 150. Client devices can take different forms and have different capabilities. For example, client device 1501 is a computing device that has a local file system accessible by multiple applications residing thereon. Client device 1502 is a computing device on which content items are accessible only by a particular application or permissions granted by a particular application, and where content items are typically stored in an application-specific space or in the cloud. Client device 1503 is any client device that accesses content management system 110 via a web browser and accesses content items via a web interface. Although example client devices 1501, 1502, and 1503 are depicted in form factors such as a laptop, mobile device, or web browser, the description is not limited to devices in these example form factors. I want to be understood. For example, a mobile device such as client 1502 may have a local file system within local content storage 154 that is accessible from multiple applications residing thereon, or client 1502 may access a content management system via a web browser. 110 can be accessed. As such, form factor should not be considered a limitation when considering the capabilities of client device 150. One or more features described herein with respect to client device 150 may or may not be available to all client devices, depending on the specific features of the device. The file access model is one such feature.

In many embodiments, client devices are associated with an account on content management system 110, but in some embodiments, client devices can access content using shared links and do not require an account.

As mentioned above, some client devices may access content management system 110 using a web browser. However, client devices may also access content management system 110 using client applications 152 stored and executed on client devices 150. Client application 152 may include client synchronization service 156.

Client synchronization service 156 can communicate with server synchronization service 112 to synchronize changes to content items between client device 150 and content management system 110.

Client device 150 may synchronize content with content management system 110 via client synchronization service 156. Synchronization may be platform independent. This means that content can be synchronized across multiple client devices of different types, capabilities, operating systems, etc. Client synchronization service 156 can synchronize any changes (new, deleted, modified, copied, or moved content items) to content items at a specified location in the client device's 150 file system.

Content items may be synchronized from client device 150 to content management system 110 and vice versa. In embodiments where the synchronization is from the client device 150 to the content management system 110, the user can manipulate content items directly from the file system of the client device 150, while the client synchronization service 156 synchronizes changes to the files in the watched folder. In contrast, changes to files within a directory on client device 150 can be monitored.

When client synchronization service 156 detects a write, move, copy, or deletion of content in a monitored directory, client synchronization service 156 may synchronize the changes to content storage service 116. In some embodiments, client synchronization service 156 performs some of the functionality of content storage service 116, including the functionality described above, such as dividing content items into blocks and hashing content items to generate unique identifiers. Can be executed. Client synchronization service 156 may index content in client storage index 164 and save the results to storage index 164. Indexing may include path preservation, a unique server identifier, and a unique client identifier for each content item. In some embodiments, client synchronization service 156 learns a unique server identifier from server synchronization service 112 and learns a unique client identifier from the operating system of client device 150.

Client synchronization service 156 may use storage index 164 to facilitate synchronization of at least some of the content in client storage with content associated with a user account on content management system 110. For example, client synchronization service 156 can compare storage index 164 to content management system 110 and detect differences between content on client storage and content associated with a user account on content management system 110. . The client synchronization service 156 can then attempt to reconcile the differences by uploading, downloading, modifying, and deleting content on the client storage as necessary. Content storage service 116 stores modified or new blocks of content items and updates server file journal 148, metadata database 146, content directory 144, content storage 142, account database 140, etc., as needed. Can be done.

When synchronizing from the content management system 110 to the client device 150 , mounting, modifying, adding, deleting, or moving content items recorded in the server file journal 148 is triggered by a notification sent to the client device 150 using the notification service 117 . can be triggered. When the client device 150 is notified of a change, a request is made for the changes listed in the server file journal 148 since the last synchronization point known to the client device. Upon determining that client device 150 is out of sync with content management system 110, client synchronization service 156 requests the content item block containing the changes and updates the local copy of the changed content items.

In some embodiments, the storage index 164 has one tree that reflects the most recent representation of the directory by the server synchronization service 112 and another tree that reflects the most recent representation of the directory by the client synchronization service 156. Stores a tree data structure. The client synchronization service functions to ensure that the tree structures match by requesting data from the server synchronization service 112 or committing client device 150 changes to the content management system 110.

At times, client device 150 may not have an available network connection. In this scenario, client synchronization service 156 monitors the linked collection for content item changes and queues those changes for later synchronization to content management system 110 when network connectivity is available. be able to. Similarly, a user can manually start, stop, pause, or resume synchronization with content management system 110.

Client synchronization service 156 may synchronize all content associated with a particular user account on content management system 110. Alternatively, client synchronization service 156 may selectively synchronize portions of the total content associated with a particular user account on content management system 110. Selectively synchronizing only portions of content can conserve space on client device 150 and save bandwidth.

In some embodiments, client synchronization service 156 selectively stores portions of content associated with a particular user account and stores placeholder content items in client storage for the remaining portions of the content. For example, client synchronization service 156 stores placeholder content items that have the same file name, path, extension, and metadata of each complete content item on content management system 110, but lack the complete content item's data. can do. Although placeholder content items can be no more than a few bytes in size, each complete content item can be quite large. After a client device 150 attempts to access a content item, the client synchronization service 156 may retrieve the content item's data from the content management system 110 and provide the complete content item to the accessing client device 150. This approach can save significant space and bandwidth while providing full access to the user's content on content management system 110.

Collaboration features

Another feature of content management system 110 is that it facilitates collaboration between users. Collaboration features include sharing content items, commenting on content items, collaborating on content items, instant messaging, providing presence and visibility information about content items, and the like.

share

Content management system 110 may manage shared content via sharing services 128. Sharing content by providing a link to the content may include making the content item accessible from any computing device in network communication with content management system 110. However, in some embodiments, the link may be associated with access restrictions enforced by content management system 110 and access control list 145. Sharing content includes linking the content using sharing service 128 to share the content in content management system 110 with at least one additional user account (in addition to the original user account associated with the content item). You can also allow each user account to access the content. Additional user accounts can access content by accepting it. Content can be accessed through web interface service 124 or directly from within a directory structure associated with an account on client device 150. Sharing can be done in a platform-independent manner. That is, content can be shared across multiple client devices 150 of various types, capabilities, operating systems, etc. Content can also be shared across various types of user accounts.

To share a content item within content management system 110, sharing service 128 adds the user account identifier or user account identifiers to the content entry in access control list database 145 associated with the content item to add user account access to content items. Sharing service 128 may also remove the user account identifier from the content entry to limit the user account's access to the content item. Sharing service 128 may record the content item identifier, the user account identifier given access to the content item, and the access level in access control list database 145. For example, in some embodiments, user account identifiers associated with a single content entry may specify different permissions for each user account identifier with respect to the associated content item.

To share content items outside of content management system 110, sharing service 128 uses a uniform resource locator ( You can generate custom network addresses such as URLs. To accomplish this, sharing service 128 can include content identification data in the generated URL, which can later be used to properly identify and return the requested content item. For example, sharing service 128 may include an account identifier and a content path or content item identification code in the generated URL. Selecting a URL may send content identification data included in the URL to content management system 110, which uses the received content identification data to identify the appropriate content item and can be returned.

In addition to generating URLs, sharing service 128 may also be configured to record in access control list database 145 that a URL to a content item has been created. In some embodiments, a content entry associated with a content item may include a URL flag that indicates whether a URL to the content item has been created. For example, the URL flag may initially be a Boolean value set to 0 or false to indicate that no URL to the content item has been created. After the sharing service 128 generates the URL to the content item, it can change the value of the flag to 1 or true.

In some embodiments, sharing service 128 may associate a set of permissions with a content item's URL. For example, if a user attempts to access a content item via a URL, sharing service 128 may provide a set of permissions that are limited to the content item. Examples of restricted permissions include restrictions such as the user not being able to download the content item, save the content item, copy the content item, modify the content item, etc. In some embodiments, restricted permissions include: from the specified domain, i.e., from within the corporate network domain, or from an account associated with the specified domain (such as an account associated with a corporate account) (e.g. Contains a restriction that only allows access to content items by (@acme.com).

In some embodiments, sharing service 128 may also be configured to deactivate the generated URL. For example, each content entry may also include a URL active flag indicating whether to return content in response to a request from the generated URL. For example, sharing service 128 may only return the content item requested by the generated link if the URL active flag is set to 1 or true. In this way, by changing the value of the URL active flag, access to the content for which the URL has been generated can be easily restricted. This allows users to restrict access to shared content items without moving the content item or deleting the generated URL. Similarly, shared service 128 can reactivate the URL by changing the value of the URL active flag to 1 or true again. Therefore, the user can easily restore access to the content item without having to generate a new URL.

In some embodiments, content management system 110 may specify a URL for uploading content items. For example, an initial user with a user account may request such a URL, provide the URL to a providing user, and the providing user may use the URL to upload a content item to the initial user's user account.

team service

In some embodiments, content management system 110 includes team services 130. Team service 130 may provide functionality for creating and managing defined teams of user accounts. Teams can be created for a company using subteams (business units, project teams, etc.), user accounts assigned to teams and subteams, or teams can be created for defined groups of user accounts. Team services 130 may provide common shared spaces for teams, private user account folders, and shared folders with limited access. Team Services also provides an administrative interface for administrators to manage collections and content items within a team, and allows administrators to manage user accounts associated with a team.

Authorization service

In some embodiments, content management system 110 includes authorization service 132. Authorization service 132 ensures that user accounts attempting to access the namespace have the appropriate rights to access the namespace. Authorization service 132 can receive a token from client application 152 following a request to access a namespace and can return the capabilities authorized to the user account. For user accounts with multiple levels of access (e.g., user accounts with user and administrator privileges), authorization service 132 requires explicit privilege escalation to avoid unintended actions by the administrator. You can also.

Presence and visibility

In some embodiments, a content management system may provide information regarding how users with whom a content item has been shared are interacting or have interacted with the content item. In some embodiments, content management system 110 may report that the user to whom the content item was shared is currently viewing the content item. For example, client collaboration service 160 can notify notification service 117 when client device 150 is accessing a content item. Notification service 117 may then notify all other users' client devices that access the same content item of the presence of the user of client device 150 with respect to the content item.

In some embodiments, content management system 110 may report a history of user interactions with shared content items. Collaboration service 126 queries data sources, such as metadata database 146 and server file journal 148, to determine whether the user has saved the content item, whether the user has not yet viewed the content item, etc. The notification service 117 can be used to distribute this status information to other users so that they can know who is currently viewing the content item, who has viewed it, or who has modified the content item.

Collaboration service 126 can facilitate comments associated with content even if the content item does not natively support commenting functionality. Such comments may be stored in metadata database 146.

Collaboration service 126 can originate and send notifications for users. For example, a user may mention another user in a comment, and collaboration service 126 may send a notification to that user that he has been mentioned in a comment. Various other content item events can trigger notifications, such as content item deletion, content item sharing, etc.

Collaboration service 126 may provide a messaging platform that allows users to send and receive instant messages, voice calls, email, and the like.

Collaborative content items

In some embodiments, the content management service may provide a collaborative document service 134 that can provide an interactive content item collaboration platform that allows users to simultaneously create collaborative content items, comment on collaborative content items, and manage tasks within collaborative content items. can also be included. A collaboration content item is a file that a user can create and edit using a collaboration content item editor and can contain elements of a collaboration content item. Collaboration content item elements include a collaboration content item identifier, one or more author identifiers, collaboration content item text, collaboration content item attributes, interaction information, comments, shared users, and the like. Collaboration content item elements can be stored as database entities from which collaboration content items can be searched and retrieved. Multiple users can access, view, edit, and collaborate on collaborative content items simultaneously or at different times. In some embodiments, this is managed by requiring two users to access the content item via a web interface, where they can work on the same copy of the content item simultaneously.

Collaboration companion interface

In some embodiments, client collaboration service 160 may provide a native application companion interface for the purpose of displaying information related to content items being presented on client device 150. In embodiments where content items are accessed by native applications that are stored and executed on client device 150, the content items are stored in a specified location in the file system of client device 150 such that the content items are managed by content application 152. be. Native applications may not provide a native way to display the above collaboration data. In such embodiments, client collaboration service 160 can detect that a user has opened a content item and can provide additional information for the content item, such as collaboration data, to the overlay. For example, additional information may include comments on the content item, status of the content item, activity of other users who have previously or currently viewed the content item. Such an overlay can alert the user that another user is currently editing the content item and changes may be lost.

In some embodiments, one or more of the services or storage/databases described above may be accessed using public or private application programming interfaces.

Certain software applications may access content storage 142 via an API on behalf of a user. For example, a software package, such as an application running on a client device 150, can programmatically make API calls directly to the content management system 110 to read, write, create, delete, and otherwise write content when a user provides authentication credentials. May be shared or otherwise manipulated.

A user may view or manipulate content stored in a user account via a web interface generated and provided by web interface service 124. For example, a user may navigate within a web browser to a web address provided by content management system 110. Changes or updates to the content of content storage 142 made via the web interface, such as uploading a new version of a content item, may be reflected on other client devices associated with the user's account. For example, multiple client devices, each with its own client software, may be associated with a single account, and content items within the account may be synchronized across the multiple client devices.

Client device 150 can connect to content management system 110 on behalf of a user. A user may interact directly with client device 150, for example, when client device 150 is a desktop or laptop computer, a telephone, a television, an Internet of Things device, and the like. Alternatively or additionally, client device 150 may act on behalf of a user who does not have physical access to client device 150, eg, if client device 150 is a server.

Some functionality of client device 150 is enabled by applications installed on client device 150. In some embodiments, the application may include content management system-specific components. For example, a content management system-specific component may be a standalone application 152, one or more application plug-ins, and/or a browser extension. However, a user may also interact with content management system 110 via a third party application, such as a web browser, that resides on client device 150 and is configured to communicate with content management system 110. In various implementations, client-side application 152 may present a user interface (UI) for a user to interact with content management system 110. For example, a user may interact with content management system 110 through a file system explorer integrated with the file system or through web pages displayed using a web browser application.

In some embodiments, client application 152 may be configured to manage and synchronize content for two or more accounts on content management system 110. In such embodiments, client application 152 may remain logged into multiple accounts and provide regular service to multiple accounts. In some embodiments, each account may appear as a folder within the file system, and all content items within that folder may be synchronized with the content management system 110. In some embodiments, client application 152 may include a selector for selecting one of the multiple accounts as the primary or default account.

Although specific components of content management system 110 are presented, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the architectural configuration of system 100 is only one possible configuration and that other configurations with more or fewer components are possible. should be understood. Furthermore, a service may have more or less functionality, even including functionality that is described as being in another service. Additionally, features described herein with respect to an embodiment may be combined with features described with respect to another embodiment.

Although specific components are presented in system 100, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the architectural configuration of system 100 is only one possible configuration and that other configurations with more or fewer components are possible. It will be.

FIG. 2 illustrates a file browser interface 200 of client application 152 in accordance with some aspects of the present technology. File browser interface 200 includes a content item list section 204 and a details pane 202. In some embodiments, file browser interface 200 may be presented by an application stored and executed on client device 150 that has access to local content storage 154 and the services and databases of content management system 110. In some embodiments, the file browser interface 200 interprets code downloaded from the content management system 110 or stored on the client device 150, among other functions described herein. It may be presented by a web browser that renders the functionality of a file browser interface, such as a content item list section 204 and a details pane 202. Regardless of the source of the code interpreted by the web browser rendering file browser interface 200, file browser interface 200 accesses local content storage 154 and content management system 110 services and databases in accordance with the functionality described herein. can do.

Details pane 202 may be populated and maintained by details pane service 162. As described further herein, details pane service 162 is responsible for requesting and populating data displayed in details pane 202. In some embodiments, details pane service 162 may also be responsible for displaying details pane 202 in conjunction with a web browser on client application 152 or client device 150.

Content item list section 204 is configured to list all content items included within the grouping, regardless of the storage location of those content items. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, content item list section 204 shows all content items included within grouping 205 "Dropbox." As is known in the art, Dropbox is a content management service (such as a service managed by the content management system 110 described herein) that stores content items in cloud storage, and includes many types of For files, you can maintain synchronized copies of content items stored in the cloud with copies stored on the client device's local storage . However, Dropbox may also maintain content items that are stored only in the cloud. Content item list section 204 includes all content items stored by content management system 110, including both content items stored in local content storage 154 of client device 150 and content items stored in content storage 142 of content management system 110. can display a representation of the content item. A representation of a content item that has copies stored in both local content storage 154 and content storage 142 may be used to open such content item directly from local content storage 154.

Groupings such as grouping 205 need not be limited to a single source. For example, grouping can be used to group various content management system services (such as Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, iCloud, OneDrive, etc.), various online document editing services (such as Google Docs, Dropbox Paper, Microsoft Office Online, iCloud, etc.), and local content. It can be linked to multiple different sources, such as storage 154. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, file browser interface 200 and details pane 202 are part of client application 152 associated with content management system 110. In such embodiments, content management system 110 is the primary service and other services, such as any of the representative services listed above, are considered secondary services 170. In some embodiments, the secondary service may be provided by a third party service, eg, a service that is not the provider of file browser interface 200 and details pane 202.

Details pane 202 is configured to display information such as comments, activities, previews, etc. related to the content items shown in content item list section 204.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the details pane 202 when no particular content item is selected in the content item list section 204. The information displayed in details pane 202 when a particular content item is not selected is related to any or more of the content items displayed in content item list section 204. The information displayed in details pane 202 may be obtained from any service that stores one of the content items represented in content item list section 204. Accordingly, the information displayed in details pane 202 may be from multiple sources.

FIG. 2 shows the activities section 206 shown in the details pane 202. Activities section 206 lists information regarding activities that occur with respect to content items in content item list section 204. Activities that occur with respect to a content item may include information such as whether the content item was opened, edited, shared, commented on, etc. In some embodiments, activity that occurs with respect to particular content items may be aggregated as further described herein. Activities in the activities section can be sent to client application 152 by notification service 117.

In some embodiments, the content items listed in the content item list section 204 are shared content items 209, and the file browser interface 200 displays an icon representing the user account 208 to which the content item in the grouping is shared. can do. In some embodiments, the icon representing the user account 208 reflects the user account that is currently viewing the content item or has previously viewed the content item. In some embodiments, icons representing user accounts 208 can be ordered from most recent to most recent views of the content item, with user accounts that have recently viewed the content item displayed to the left of the icon, and the content item Icons representing user accounts that have previously viewed may be displayed on the right. In some embodiments, only user accounts that have viewed a content item within a certain time period or since the content item was last revised are displayed with an icon representing the user account 208.

FIG. 3 shows another view of the file browser interface 200. In FIG. 3, file browser interface 200 displays grouping 215 "Design Assets" which is a subfolder within a larger collection. As shown, the title of the grouping 215 is accompanied by a brief description 201 of the contents of the grouping 215. In some embodiments, short description 201 can be edited by a user with sufficient privileges on folder 215. Similar to FIG. 2, the file browser interface 200 of FIG. 3 also includes icons representing a content item list section 204, a details pane 202, and a user account 208. FIG. 3 shows a details pane 202 that includes a comments section 210 along with an activities section 206. As shown in FIG. The comments section 210 reflects that no comments are provided in the subfolder "Design Assets" 215, but at least one content item in the subfolder "Design Assets" 215, as reflected in the activities section 206. has received a comment (eg, activity 207 reflects that a comment was made regarding content item 203). Other activities listed in the activities section 206 reflect added, edited, or shared content items in the subfolder "Design Assets" 215. Comments section 210 can be displayed in any details pane view. In some embodiments, the comments section 210 may display comments for the entire collection of content items (such as shown in FIG. 3) displayed in the content item list section 204, or for a particular selection. Comments for content items (such as those shown in FIG. 4) may be displayed.

Comments section 210 is configured to display comments regarding any content item listed in content item list section 204. In some embodiments, the comments section 210 can also include replies to previous comments and can form a conversation thread. Comment section 210 also includes an interface for receiving comments. In some embodiments, comments may relate to groupings 215 in general. In some embodiments, a comment can be a response to a previous comment, thereby creating a conversation thread of linked comments (as shown in FIGS. 9 and 15A). Comments can be sent to client application 152 by notification service 117.

In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 4, when a particular content item is selected in the content item view 204, the details pane 202 displays specific details (e.g., activities, comments, etc.) for the selected content item. , preview, etc.). FIG. 4 shows another view of file browser interface 200 again showing groupings 215. FIG. However, in FIG. 4, a particular content item, content item 203, is selected and the details pane 202 reflects only information related to the selected content item 203. Here, the details pane 202 includes a preview section 216 showing a preview 213 of the selected content item 203. Comments section 210 shows comments 219 given to the selected content item 203 and provides an interface 223 for providing new comments regarding the selected content item. Activities section 206 shows only activities related to the selected content item.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example method for populating details pane 202 with information related to content items displayed in content item list section 204. The file browser application displays a content item list that indicates content items stored locally on the client device 150 of local content storage and/or that indicates content items stored on an online service such as the content management system 110 or secondary service 170. Section 204 may be included. The file browser application also includes a details pane 202 populated by a details pane service 162. Details pane service 162 populates details pane 202 with information related to content items in content item list section 204 and responds to input received within details pane 202 .

The details pane service 162 identifies (302) the content item displayed in the content item list section 204 (or all content items in the directory opened in the file browser application) and retrieves the content from the cache of the client device 150. Existing details of content items within the item list section 204 may be obtained (304). In some embodiments, the cache may be part of storage index 164. A cache is a collection of previously received information about content items that have been previously displayed or that may be displayed in the file browser interface 200. In some embodiments, the cache may be populated when details pane service 162 requests information about a content item from one or more sources. In some embodiments, the cache may be populated when notification service 117 sends a notification to client application 152 regarding a content item.

As introduced above, notification service 117 can receive and notify client device 150 information regarding details of content items. In some embodiments, the notification service 117 receives raw event data and converts the raw event data into details that are more meaningful to the user or aggregates the details to provide a better user experience. It is composed of As described herein, notification service 117 may collect information regarding any file-level events regarding content items. Notification service 117 may also access information regarding actions taken with respect to the content item by collaborators with whom the content item has been shared. The notification service 117 may also have access to information regarding comments made about the content item, timestamps regarding when the content item was last opened, created, or modified. In addition to accessing this information, the notification service 117 can transform notifications and/or aggregate notifications related to content items or collections of content items to provide more meaning or a better user experience to the user. . For example, sending too many notifications to client device 150, as can occur if a new collection of content items is shared, can degrade the user experience. In such an example, and in some implementations, notifications may be sent for all content items in the collection, potentially resulting in many notifications. In other examples, notification service 117 may send a single notification regarding a shared collection or may send notifications indicating that many content items have been shared. Although the notification service 117 may aggregate notifications before sending them to the client device 150, in some embodiments the details pane service 162 may perform its own aggregation based on the raw data. Raw (non-aggregated) data may be requested for storage in the cache so that decisions can be made.

In addition to retrieving details from the cache (304), details pane service 162 may request new details (306) for content items in content item list section 204. These details may relate to activities and comments that occurred after the last recorded activity details stored in the cache.

As mentioned above, notification service 117 may perform aggregation functions. In some embodiments, details pane service 162 further aggregates details (308) by further combining cached details and/or details received in response to a request for new details (306). )be able to. Notification service 117 only aggregates notifications that contain details at the time the notification is sent to client device 150, whereas details pane service 162 aggregates all details received within a particular time period in a single notification. It can be aggregated regardless of whether it was received or received in multiple notifications at different times.

For example, details pane service 162 may aggregate details received within a certain time period, eg, last week, last three days, today, etc. The aggregated details may be stored in a cache or received on request from the content management system 110. The details may already be in partially aggregated form. For example, the details may be in the form of two notifications received previously, the first notification saying "5 items added" and the second notification saying "2 items added". state These partially aggregated notifications can be fully aggregated by the details pane service 162 into the details "7 items added."

Details pane service 162 can aggregate details based on any common criteria. For example, details can be aggregated based on the actor, the person performing the action. One such detail is "Commented on 9 items in Dropbox" 244 (Figure 6A). Details can be aggregated based on common folders or content items, such as “Assets (Folder with 292 items added. 207 (Figure 3). Details can be aggregated by time, such as ``Since Monday, 312 items were added to Dropbox,'' 246 (Figure 6A).246 (Figure 6A).

Details pane service 162 can perform several types of aggregation. The first type of aggregation is a true aggregation that can group all details related to the same criteria. An example of a true aggregation is "You commented on 9 items in Dropbox" 244 (Figure 6A), where the number of "commented" files are summed. The second type of aggregation is debouncing when the same or similar actions are performed repeatedly. For example, if a user makes multiple edits and saves to the same content item, the details can be displayed as details of a single activity, such as "Weekly to-do list edited" 248 (Figure 2). The user ("you") may have made some edits, but the activity details show that the file was edited. The third type of aggregation is reclassification, where the raw events associated with the content item do not reflect the impression of the user's actions. A common type of reclassification involves the deletion of a content item followed by the addition of a content item. If there is a sequence of deletions and additions of the same content item, and the two events occur close in time, it is more likely that the user moved the content item. Thus, in a reclassification, the details pane service 162 can reclassify a deletion and add an event to make it a move event.

In some embodiments, details pane service 162 may also select an order (308) for displaying (310) details in details pane 202. Details pane service 162 can order details for display according to relevance features. For example, an activity or comment is detected when details are received that include the activity or comment, the number of activities or comments on the content item, the number of contributors, explicit user input indicating interest in the content item, etc. The ordering can be based on one or more factors, such as when last interacted with (viewed, edited, commented, etc.).

After the details pane service 162 caches, aggregates, and orders (308) the received details, the details pane service 162 may cause the details pane 202 to display (310) the details.

In some embodiments, details regarding the same event may be aggregated based on the context of the selected folder. For example, FIG. 5B illustrates an example method for displaying activity details according to the associated context of a selected folder. The method begins when the details pane service 162 determines that a folder has been presented (314) and presents (316) aggregated details of content items in the presented folder and subfolders (as shown in FIG. 5A). (as described in steps 304, 306, 308, 310).

For example, FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment showing a root folder 205 in a file browser interface 200. Details pane service 162 populates details pane 202 with aggregated details, including details 244 and 246 associated with content items displayed in content item section 204. (Although FIG. 6A only shows details aggregated in details pane 202, this provides only a simplified example; details pane 202 includes details specific to a particular event of a particular content item, etc.) 6A shows the file browser interface 200 showing the root folder 205, the details pane 202 may contain aggregated details related to the entire directory. include. Details can be grouped according to any common characteristic. For example, aggregated details 244 is grouped based on content items commented on by "you" and aggregated details 246 is grouped based on content items added to root folder 205 (or its subfolders) since Monday. Grouped based on.

Aggregated details in details pane 202 can be selected. As shown in FIG. 5B, in some embodiments, details pane service 162 may determine that aggregated details have been selected (315). After the details pane service 162 determines that an aggregated detail has been selected (315), the details pane service 162 may highlight (317) content items associated with the selected aggregated detail. For example, FIG. 6B shows an example file browser interface 200 showing aggregated details 244 as selected. In accordance with step 315 of FIG. 5B, content items 229 and 209 are highlighted to reflect that the content item referenced by aggregated details 244 is within the highlighted folder (see FIG. 6B). . In some embodiments, if the content item referenced by aggregated details 244 is stored directly in root directory 205, the content item itself is also highlighted.

As mentioned above, the aggregated details can be contextualized according to the folders presented in the file browser interface 200. In FIG. 5B, details pane service 162 may determine that another folder is selected (318) and may present contextualized details for the selected folder (320). . This contextualization is illustrated by comparing FIGS. 6A and 6C. 6A shows the Dropbox root folder 205, and FIG. 6C shows the folder design library 209, which is a subfolder of the Dropbox root folder 205. Thus, FIG. 6A includes aggregated details for all content items within Dropbox root folder 205, and FIG. 6C includes aggregated details for content items within Design Library 209 or its subfolders. For example, in Figure 6A, aggregated details 244 pertain to nine content items that You have commented on, whereas in Figure 6C, aggregated details 249 pertain to three content items that You have commented on in Design Library. Pertains only to items. The context of the aggregated details related to content items that "you" commented on has changed from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and is now related only to content items that are in the design library 209. Specifically, aggregated details 244 references nine content items and aggregated details 249 references three of the nine content items. Aggregated details 249 references three content items when only two content items are displayed (241, 243). This is because some/all of the three content items are located within the folder "Digital" 241.

Similarly, aggregated details 251 references 294 items (compared to 312 items in aggregated details 246 of Figure 6A) and subfolder "Digital" 241 (the path of aggregated details 246 of Figure 6A). 6C (compare "Design Library -> Digital") for the presentation of Design Library 209 in FIG. 6C.

The details pane 202 determines the contextualization of aggregated details on demand (e.g., after a folder is selected) or precontextualizes it by creating and storing a contextualization for each (sub)directory. This table can be processed and stored in the cache.

In some embodiments, in addition to contextualizing the aggregated details according to the folders displayed in the file browser interface 200, the details pane service 162 provides different information based on the folders displayed in the file browser interface 200. Details, alternative groupings of details, alternative sections for organizing and interacting with details, etc. can be presented. Details pane service 162 may further determine whether content item list section 204 is displaying a root folder or subfolder, or whether a particular content item is selected. When content item list section 204 is displaying a root folder, details pane service 162 may only display details of activities related to content items within the root folder. For example, as seen in FIG. 2, file browser application 200 is displaying root folder 205 and details pane 202 is displaying only activity section 206. Although FIG. 2 does not display a separate comments section 210 (seen in FIG. 3) or preview section 216 (seen in FIG. 4), the activity section 206 includes comments and displays thumbnail images next to the activity. By displaying fewer details sections, the details pane 202 can be kept from becoming too crowded.

In some embodiments, details pane service 162 determines that the directory displayed in content item list section 204 contains too many content items and displays only certain details sections (e.g., activities, comments, previews, etc.). can be displayed. Similar to determining the displayed root folder, the details pane 202 can be kept from becoming too crowded by displaying fewer details sections.

In some embodiments, if the content item list section 204 is displaying subfolders, or displaying less than a threshold number of content items, or has less than a threshold number of total activities to be displayed, the details pane Service 162 can display additional types of information. For example, details pane service 162 may display a collection of content items displayed in comments section 210 or content item preview section 216 or content item list section 204.

For example, FIG. 7 illustrates an example for receiving a selection of a content item or details about the content item and updating the details pane 202 with details specific to the content item. Details pane service 162 may determine that an individual content item or details in details section 202 associated with a content item within content item list section 204 have been selected (322). Both content item selections or content item details can be treated as content item selections. When an individual content item (e.g., content item 203 in FIG. 4) is selected, details pane service 162 displays the selected individual content item (such as content item 203 in FIG. 4) along with comments and activities for the selected individual content item. (e.g. preview 213) can be executed. Accordingly, details pane service 162 requests (324) a content item preview for the selected individual content item and displays (326) the content item preview in preview section 216 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4). be able to. In some embodiments, content item previews may be available from a local cache (as described in step 304 of FIG. 5A). In some embodiments, a preview may be available from content management system 110 (as described in step 306 of FIG. 5A). In some embodiments, the preview may be dynamically rendered by the details pane service 162 (as further described with respect to FIG. 10). Further, details pane service 162 is specific to content items such as comments pane 210 and activities section 206, as seen, for example, in FIG. Other sections of the details pane 202 may be presented (328).

FIG. 8 shows another example of a file browser interface 200. In FIG. 8, file browser interface 200 displays the contents of subfolder "Fall 2017" as seen in directory path 224. FIG. 8 further shows two additional subfolders within the content item list section 204. The first of these subfolders is subfolder 220 "Working" and the second subfolder is subfolder 225 "Resources." Additional content items are listed within each of subfolders 220 and 225. One such additional content item is the selected folder 211 "Fonts". In response to selection of folder 211 , details pane service 162 presents details pane 202 showing preview section 216 showing a preview 227 of folder 211 . Details pane 202 also includes a comments section 210 and an activities section 206 that list comments and activities for folder 211.

FIG. 9 shows another example of a file browser interface 200. In FIG. 9, file browser interface 200 displays the content of “Fall 2017 Issue” in subfolder 230 and also shows two additional subfolders within content item list section 204. In FIG. The first of these subfolders is subfolder 235 "Latest" and the second is subfolder 220 "Working." In FIG. 9, content item 217 has been selected and details pane service 162 displays details pane 202 showing a preview section 216 showing a preview of content item 217. In FIG. This preview is a dynamic preview, with preview section 216 rendering the editable content of content item 217. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, preview section 216 shows a to-do list that can be manipulated directly from details pane 202 without opening content item 217 in the default application typically used to open content item 217. Interaction with the content displayed in preview section 216 of details pane 202 is described in further detail with respect to FIG. 11.

10A and 10B illustrate an example of a separate details pane 222. In these embodiments, details pane 222 is displayed as its own separate window, as opposed to details pane 202, which is displayed as part of file browser interface 200. Although the separated details pane 222 is displayed as its own separate window, it functions similarly to the details pane 202 and can function in conjunction with the file browser interface 200. Similarly, any features shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B may be present in any of the attached views of the details pane 202 shown in other figures.

FIG. 10A illustrates a preview section 216 that shows a preview of a content item. Preview section 216 also shows metadata associated with the content item. Specifically, the preview section 216 indicates when the content item was last edited 228 next to information regarding the number of times the content item has been opened 226 . Displaying this information side-by-side is unique and useful. Initially displaying information about how recently a content item was edited 228 is useful, but when combined with information about how often the file was opened 226 provides important additional context. Taken together, this information not only indicates that the content item is currently relevant, but also indicates that it was repeatedly relevant because it was opened repeatedly. Additionally, if the content item has been opened a large number of times, this indicates that the content item is likely to be shared. This can be confirmed by the browsing activity section 206, which provides more context as to who opened the content item.

One unique aspect of displaying last edited information 228 next to content item open count 226 is that this data can be obtained from a variety of sources. For example, last edited information 228 may be derived from the operating system of client device 150 and content item open count 226 may be provided from content management system 110 or other platform that manages shared content items.

Another feature shown in FIG. 10A is the version information displayed within the activity section 206. For example, in some embodiments, activities related to a content item may be divided into activities related to different versions of the content item. As shown in FIG. 10A, the activities section 206 displays a first version 234 of activities and a second version 236 of activities. In some embodiments, a content item may be associated with an input in which it is declared that it should be designated as a new version. In some embodiments, a content item may be designated as a new version after the content item is edited and saved.

FIG. 10B also shows an example of a separate details pane 222. In FIG. 10B, comments section 210 reflects comments regarding the content item shown in preview section 216. The comments shown in the comments section 210 are shown either in the entire details pane 222 with comment threads separated or collapsed so that they do not overtake other comment threads. In some embodiments, when a comment thread is collapsed, details pane service 162 displays a subset of comments, such as the first and last comments in the comment thread, and provides information about the existence of additional comments 242. be able to.

In some embodiments, information regarding the existence of additional comments 242 may be executable to receive input and expand to display one or more of the collapsed comments.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example method involving displaying a preview of a content item by details pane service 162 when file browser interface 200 receives 350 a selection of comments specific to a particular content item. . In some embodiments, when the details pane 202 is displaying a view that includes the comments section 210, the details pane 202 may be configured to view a particular content item, whether that content item is a subfolder or a file. Displaying a unique view. In some embodiments, when details pane 202 is displaying a view specific to a particular content item, details pane 202 also includes a preview of the particular content item. The preview may include a preview representing the content item or a preview of a portion of the content item. In some examples, when a particular comment or selection of a content item is received (350), details pane service 162 may present a preview indicating the location of the comment within the content item. In some embodiments, a preview that indicates where a comment is anchored within a content item may replace a preview that represents the entire content item in preview section 216. In some embodiments, a preview indicating where the comment is anchored within the content item may be displayed in the comments section 210 or in a separate pop-out box or window (see FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 13). as shown). In some embodiments, a comment anchor may be highlighted text, or a selected point, or a selected area within a content item.

Details pane service 162 may determine whether the content item is of a dynamically renderable type (356), as described in more detail below. Accordingly, when details pane service 162 determines that a preview can be dynamically rendered (356), details pane service 162 determines that a preview can be dynamically rendered (356), and details pane service 162 determines that a preview can be dynamically rendered (356) in a content item (either locally stored or cloud-based) that indicates the location of the selected comment in the content item. Dynamically renders a preview (361) from a copy of the file (saved in storage). The dynamic preview can be rendered by a content authoring applet that is part of or associated with the details pane service 162. In some embodiments, the content authoring applet can read the content of the content item, find comments within the content item, and render appropriate portions of the content item as a preview. In some embodiments, the content authoring applet may provide a web view that allows the content authoring applet to render a preview from a copy of the content item stored in the content management system 110. Note that while a local copy of the content item may be available on client device 150, the web view may still render a preview based on the content management system copy of the content item.

In some embodiments, a dynamic preview can receive edits directly in the preview. In some embodiments, a dynamic preview can receive and respond to input to navigate within a content item.

In some embodiments, details pane service 162 may not be able to render dynamic previews of some content items. If the details pane service 162 determines that the preview cannot be dynamically rendered (356), the details pane service 162 requests (358) a static preview showing a portion of the content item and the selected comment is anchored. A preview of the content item may be displayed (360) indicating the location within the content item that is being viewed. Dynamic previews are further described in connection with FIG. 16 below.

Static previews can be received from a content management system 110 that can provide a service that opens a content item and creates a preview of the content item surrounding selected comments within the content item. In some embodiments, this functionality may be performed in advance and a pre-processed preview may be sent to client device 150 for caching. In some embodiments, previews may be created and/or sent to device 150 on demand and at the request of detail pane service 162.

In some embodiments, a preview showing comments within the content item may be automatically included in the comments section 210.

In some embodiments, while a preview of a content item indicating the location of a comment within the content item is being displayed, the details pane service 162 displays another preview (360, An input may be received (350) to select another comment resulting in the presentation of (361).

12A and 12B illustrate two examples of a details pane 222 showing an example preview of the location of a comment within a content item. Although FIGS. 12A and 12B show a separate details pane 222, it should be understood that all of the functionality shown therein applies equally to details panes of other form factors, such as details pane 202.

As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the separate details pane 222 includes a preview section 216 that shows a general preview applicable to the content item 217. Comments section 210 displays a preview of the location of comments regarding content item 217.

12A and 12B also show an expandable preview section 216. User interface controls 232 may be activated to expand preview section 216 to reveal metadata about content item 217, as shown in FIG. 12A. Once preview section 216 is expanded, user interface control 232 can be selected to collapse preview section 216 to hide additional metadata details.

FIG. 13 shows a file browser interface 200 that includes a details pane 202 that shows details about a content item 221. Preview pane 216 displays a preview of content item 221 and comment section 210 shows comments regarding content item 221. In FIG. 13, an individual comment, comment 256, has been selected, and in response, details pane service 162 displays a pop-out window 262 that displays a preview of the portion 258 of content item 221 to which comment 256 is anchored. it's shown.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a content item 221 opened in a native or default application. As shown in FIG. 13, a comment 256 is shown with the portion of the document 258 to which it is anchored.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a file browser interface 200 having a details pane 202 showing activity for a subfolder 230 "Fall 2017". As shown in FIG. 15, the activity section 206 includes comments grouped into categories based on the date the activity was recorded. Specifically, 264 are grouped for comments recorded as "today", and 266 are grouped for comments recorded as "yesterday".

Additionally, FIG. 15 shows activities 233 associated with the selected content item 217. Details pane service 162 receives the selection of activity 233 and is specific to content item 217, including a preview 252 showing where the content item preview in preview section 216 and the comment in comment section 210 are anchored within content item 217. A details pane pop-out window 268 can be displayed showing details of the .

As introduced above, some content items may be useful for presenting dynamic previews of these content items. For example, cloud content items, such as content items written in a markup language or stored in online document services (such as Paper Documents by Dropbox Inc. or Google Docs by Google Inc.), cannot be accessed from the details pane service. 162 may be rendered directly. Other content items may be rendered dynamically with the aid of services accessible via APIs. Some content items may be dynamically renderable by providing a web view that displays a portion of the content item opened in the content management system. Dynamically renderable previews can be manipulated directly in the preview pane, allowing you to edit or add comments without opening the content item in the default application used to edit the content item.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example method for rendering and interacting with a dynamically rendered preview. If the details pane service 162 needs to present a preview of a content item for which the preview is dynamically renderable, the details pane service 162 can dynamically render (362) the preview from a copy of the content item.

As mentioned above, dynamically renderable previews can receive interaction and be edited directly in the preview. Accordingly, the details pane service 162 receives interaction with the dynamically rendered preview (364) by receiving user input to the dynamically rendered preview displayed in the details pane 202 (262 or 268). )be able to. Details pane service 162 may update the preview and content item itself (366) in response to the received (364) interaction. In this way, content items can be quickly modified without having to open the content item in the default application. Changes can be reflected directly in the preview, which remains available for interaction until the user opens the content item in the native application, selects another content item, or closes the file browser interface 200.

17A and 17B illustrate an example details pane 222 illustrating an example of a dynamically rendered content item preview shown in the preview section 216. In the example of FIG. 17A, a dynamically rendered preview of the document is shown in collapsed preview section 216, and in FIG. 17B, a dynamically rendered preview is shown in expanded preview section 216. As discussed with respect to FIGS. 12A and 12B, preview section 216 can be switched from a collapsed view to an expanded view through selection of user interface control 232.

The dynamically rendered preview presents a checklist that can be interacted with to provide updates to both the preview and the underlying content item, as described with respect to FIG. 15. In some embodiments, previews may be obtained from metadata stored with the content item. For example, some content items may be stored with workflow information, such as to-do lists. In such embodiments, possible previews include displaying a to-do list. In some embodiments, the to-do list is part of the content item itself. In some embodiments, the to-do list can be stored in an accompanying metadata file.

In some embodiments where the preview is a dynamically rendered preview, it is possible to make changes to the portion of the content item shown in the preview section 216 as well as navigate to other sections of the document. It may also be possible. If the content item is a web document, such as a web page, the Internet content may be navigated by clicking links within the content item.

Dynamically rendered previews may be provided by including one or more content authoring applets within or associated with details pane service 162. The content authoring applet may include sufficient code to render a particular document type, or at least a portion of a particular document type within the preview section 216 of the details pane 202. In some embodiments, dynamically rendered previews may be displayed in frames under the control of a content authoring applet.

In some embodiments, the content authoring applet may include code that renders the entire content item, and when rendering the content item, may format the content of the content item for display within the preview section 216. can. Additionally, the applet can allow the content of the content item to be scrolled.

In some embodiments, the content authoring applet may include only limited functionality compared to the default application typically used to view and edit types of content items. For example, only basic editing and commenting functions may be available.

In some embodiments, the content authoring applet may be configured to render only a limited portion of the content item. For example, only the portion of a content item that has comments attached, or only the portion that contains a checklist, may be rendered renderable. In some embodiments, a portion of a content item may be tagged and made available for display as a dynamically renderable preview.

In some embodiments, the content authoring applet may be configured to render web views through communication with web interface service 124. Such embodiments may be useful in having the ability to render a variety of content items in a web view, depending on the content management system 110. For example, content management system 110 may have the ability to open files specific to a particular document editor, or a particular image editor, or a particular spreadsheet application, and use web interface service 124 to create a web view of a content item. can be provided. In such embodiments, even if a content item is selected on the client device 150 and a version of it is stored locally, the content item that is opened for the purpose of generating and interacting with the dynamic preview is A version of a content item stored in management system 110. Changes made to content items are saved to content management system 110 and synchronized to a copy stored on client device 150.

Similarly, in embodiments where the content item is a collaborative content item, the content authoring applet may be configured to render a web view of the online service that supports the content item. For example, collaborative content items may be rendered by a content authoring applet in communication with collaborative document service 134.

Although rendering dynamic content item previews by a content authoring applet that hosts a web view of a content item can be useful in many situations, it is less useful if client device 150 is not connected to the Internet. In such embodiments, even though the content authoring applet's default behavior is to work with a web server to host web views, the content authoring applet may be able to render local content items without working with a web server. Contains local resource libraries that are useful for In some embodiments, when a document is rendered in this manner, the format of the document or the available functionality may be limited.

When a dynamically renderable preview receives an edit, it transfers the edit to the content item itself (or the locally stored version if the dynamic preview is rendered from a locally stored version, or the webview if the dynamic preview is rendered from a locally stored version). (if provided by a content management system).

In some embodiments, the content item is managed by a synchronized content management service 110, and once changes to a version of the content item are saved as described above, these changes are saved to the content management system 110 or other can be synchronized with other copies stored on the client device 150.

In some embodiments, a better user experience can be provided if the activities and comments provided in the details pane 202 are cached or prefetched before they are needed, allowing the activities and comments to be provided more quickly. . FIG. 18 illustrates an example method for prefetching activities and comments displayed in details pane 202. Details pane service 162 displays details pane 202 for a folder or content item within a folder (402). The details pane service 162 may prefetch (404) activity and/or comment updates for content items stored in subfolders below the folder whose information is currently displayed in the details pane 202. When details pane service 162 receives input (406) within file browser interface 200 to navigate to another subfolder, details pane service 162 displays (408) previously cached activities and/or comments. )can. Details pane service 162 may continue to request and receive updates of activities and/or comments (410) to update details pane 202 and cache. In some embodiments, notification service 117 may push new activities and new comments to client device 150, which may also be cached.

In embodiments where activities and comments are prefetched as described above, it is possible to utilize a more intelligent system than simply requesting and downloading all activities and comments for all content items in the next lower level subfolder. can be beneficial. Some folders may still contain many content items in subfolders at the next level, so activity and comments on these content items can take a long time to download and require a lot of bandwidth. It may happen. Additionally, users can navigate directory structures faster than pre-fetching comments and activities. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the method shown in FIG. 18 may be modified to prefetch activities and comments according to prefetch priority scores.

A prefetch priority score may be determined for each content item to ascertain the relative priority for prefetching the content item's comments and activities. In some embodiments, the prefetch priority score may be updated dynamically as a factor related to determining a change in the prefetch priority score. The prefetch priority score may be an estimate of the probability that a user will desire access to each particular content item on client device 150.

In some embodiments, the prefetch priority score includes the date last opened on the client device, the date last opened on another device, the last metadata value modified, the date last shared, the content item Based on up-to-date criteria, such as when the content item was recently opened or edited by another user with whom it was shared.

In some embodiments, the prefetch priority score is based on a value that represents the degree to which a user explicitly marks a content item as subjectively important, such as as a favorite item.

In some embodiments, the prefetch priority score is based on a value that represents how often content items are modified or accessed in the content management system.

In some embodiments, the prefetch priority score is based on a value representing how many user accounts are interacting with the content item over a period of time.

The prefetch priority score can be based on any combination of the above or other factors.

FIG. 19 depicts a computing system 500, which may be, for example, any computing device that configures a client device 150, a content management system 110, or any of the components of the system that communicate with each other using connections 505. Give an example. Connection 505 may be a physical connection via a bus or a direct connection to processor 510, such as in a chipset architecture. Connection 505 may also be a virtual connection, network connection, or logical connection.

In some embodiments, computing system 500 is a distributed system where the functionality described in this disclosure may be distributed within a data center, multiple data centers, peer networks, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the described system components represent a number of such components, each of which performs some or all of the functions for which the component is described. In some embodiments, a component may be a physical device or a virtual device.

The example system 500 includes at least one processing unit (CPU or processor) 510 that couples various system components to the processor 510, including system memory 515, such as read-only memory (ROM) 520 and random access memory (RAM) 525. and connection 505. Computing system 500 may include a cache of high speed memory 512 that is directly connected to, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of processor 510 .

Processor 510 may include any general-purpose processor and hardware or software services, such as services 532, 534, and 536 stored in storage device 530, configured to control processor 510, and software instructions that are configured to control an actual processor. Can include a dedicated processor built into the design. Processor 510 may be essentially a completely self-contained computing system that includes multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, and the like. Multi-core processors can be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction, computing system 500 may represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for voice, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, speech, etc. It includes an input device 545 that can be used. Computing system 500 may also include an output device 535, which may be one or more of several output mechanisms known to those skilled in the art. In some cases, a multimodal system may allow a user to provide multiple types of input/output to communicate with computing system 500. Computing system 500 may include a communications interface 540 that generally operates and manages user input and system output. There are no restrictions on operation with a particular hardware configuration, so the basic functionality here can be easily replaced with improved hardware or firmware configurations as developed.

Storage device 530 can be a non-volatile memory device, such as a magnetic cassette, flash memory card, solid state memory device, digital versatile disk, cartridge, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and/or the like. or a combination of these devices, such as a hard disk or other type of computer-readable medium that can store data that can be accessed by a computer.

Storage device 530 may include software services, servers, services, etc. whose code, when executed by processor 510, causes the system to perform functions. In some embodiments, hardware services that perform particular functions are stored on computer-readable media in association with necessary hardware components, such as processor 510, connections 505, output devices 535, etc., to perform the functions. may include software components that are

For clarity of explanation, in some examples, the present technology refers to individual functions including functional blocks including devices, device components, steps or routines of methods implemented in software or a combination of hardware and software. may be presented as containing blocks.

Any of the steps, acts, functions, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented by hardware and software services or combinations of services, alone or in combination with other devices. In some embodiments, the service resides in the client device's memory and/or in one or more servers of the content management system and performs one or more functions when a processor executes software associated with the service. It can be software that In some embodiments, a service is a program or collection of programs that performs a particular function. In some embodiments, a service can be considered a server. Memory may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

In some embodiments, computer readable storage devices, media, and memory may include cables or wireless signals that include bitstreams and the like. However, when referenced, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium expressly excludes media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and the signals themselves.

The methods according to the examples described above may be implemented using computer-executable instructions stored on or otherwise available from a computer-readable medium. Such instructions may include, for example, instructions and data that cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a particular function or group of functions. Some of the computer resources used are accessible via the network. Computer-executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions created, information used, and/or information during methods according to the described examples include magnetic or optical disks, solid-state memory devices, flash memory, etc. , USB devices with non-volatile memory, network storage devices, etc.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can include hardware, firmware, and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors. Typical examples of such form factors include servers, laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, and the like. The functionality described herein may also be incorporated into peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on circuit boards between different chips or different processes performed in a single device, as a further example.

The instructions, the medium for conveying such instructions, the computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources provide the functionality described in these disclosures. It is a means for

Various examples and other information have been used to illustrate the aspects within the appended claims, such that one skilled in the art can use these examples to derive various implementations. However, no limitation of the scope of the claims should be implied on the basis of the particular features or arrangements in such examples. Further, although some subject matter may be described in language specific to example structural features and/or method steps, the subject matter defined in the appended claims does not necessarily have to be described in language specific to example structural features and/or method steps. It is to be understood that it is not limited to characteristics or actions. For example, such functionality may be distributed or performed differently in components other than those identified herein. Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as example components of the systems and methods that are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (14)

receiving a request to display a file browser interface on a client device, the file browser interface including a content item list section and a details section including comment details and activity details;
the content item list section is configured to present a representation of a first plurality of content items;
The details section is configured to present comment details and activity details associated with the first plurality of content items in the content item list section, two or more for activities that share a first common characteristic. recorded activity details are displayed as the first aggregated details in the details section;
receiving a request to send activity details related to the first plurality of content items;
causing at least one aggregated activity detail to be displayed in the file browser interface to the client device, the two or more recorded activity details each sharing at least the first common characteristic; transmitting at least one aggregated activity detail;
including;
the file browser interface includes a dynamic preview section;
receiving a selection of a comment associated with a content item from the provided comment details or a selection of the content item from the content item list section;
in the dynamic preview section, rendering at least a portion of the content item and at least a portion of metadata associated with the content item as a dynamic preview;
including;
the dynamic preview is operated directly within the dynamic preview section;
Edits associated with the content item made in the dynamic preview section are made to a copy of the content item without opening the content item. a comment from the presented comment detail corresponding to a location where the comment is anchored within an individual content item of the first plurality of content items; receiving a selection of comments;
After selecting the comment from the presented comment details, displaying a preview of at least a portion of the individual content item including the location where the comment is anchored within the individual content item;
2. The method of claim 1, comprising: 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the preview is a preprocessed image of a portion of the individual content item surrounding the location of the individual content item to which the comment is anchored. the preview is a dynamic preview;
reading the content of the individual content item by a content authoring applet;
rendering by the content authoring applet a portion of the individual content item surrounding the location of the content item to which the comment is anchored;
including;
the dynamic preview is operated directly within the dynamic preview section;
3. The method of claim 2, wherein edits associated with the content item made in the dynamic preview section are made to a copy of the content item without opening the content item. receiving input to the dynamic preview for editing the preview;
The method of claim 1, causing the edits associated with the content item to be saved to the content item. the dynamic preview is rendered by a content authoring applet within the dynamic preview section of the file browser interface;
reading the content of the content item by the content authoring applet;
displaying the dynamic preview;
2. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving user input in the dynamic preview effective for displaying a new portion of the content of the content item. the content item to which the dynamic preview has been rendered is stored as a local version on the client device and a cloud version in a content management system, the dynamic preview being a web view of the cloud version of the content item; The method according to claim 1. a web view of a version stored in a content management system of the content item to render the dynamic preview in the content authoring applet in the dynamic preview section when the client device is connected to the Internet; to display; and
a locally rendered view of a locally stored version of the content item to render the dynamic preview to the content authoring applet in the dynamic preview section when the client device is not connected to the Internet; 2. The method of claim 1, comprising: displaying. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one activity detail of the activity details is a first aggregated detail that is an aggregation of multiple activity details that share at least a first common characteristic. displaying a second plurality of content items in the content item list section that is a subset of the first plurality of content items;
aggregating received activity notifications into second aggregated details associated with at least the second plurality of content items, the second aggregated details being the first aggregated details; 10. The method of claim 9, comprising: aggregating a plurality of activity details that share the at least first common characteristic used for. receiving a selection of the first aggregated activity details;
After selecting the first aggregated activity details, highlighting two or more of the first plurality of content items of the content item list section to which the aggregated activity details are associated; 10. The method according to claim 9, comprising: 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one activity detail from the activity details is from a first data source and at least one activity detail from the activity details is from a second data source. receiving an activity notification from a content management system that includes activity details, the notification being received in substantially the order in which the activity that gave rise to the activity notification occurred;
storing the received activity notification in a cache;
aggregating the received activity notifications into the first aggregated details related to at least one of the first plurality of content items in the content item list section. the method of. A system comprising at least one storage medium storing computer readable instructions and at least one processor effective to execute the computer readable instructions, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, cause the at least one A system for causing one processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.