초록 ▼

Effective real-time collaboration across remote sites in which any type of data can be shared in a common work space in a consistent manner is made possible by an annotation layer having multiple distinct modes of operation during a collaborative session with two or more people sharing the same work

Effective real-time collaboration across remote sites in which any type of data can be shared in a common work space in a consistent manner is made possible by an annotation layer having multiple distinct modes of operation during a collaborative session with two or more people sharing the same work space. One mode is a discussion mode in which one or more users simply share a common view of the shared data and manipulate the view independent of the shared data. During the discussion mode, all user input is handled by the annotation layer which interprets user inputs to move common cursors, create, move or delete markings and text which, since the annotation layer is transparent, appear over the application. Another mode is an edit mode in which one or more users actually edit the shared data. The applications and the data are synchronized among all clients to display the same view. Manipulating the view includes moving a common cursor and placing markings on the common view using text and/or drawing tools.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A work space independent user interface for a real-time collaboration system implemented on computers connected in a network, the real-time collaboration system augmented with the user interface continues to support every work space that it could previously support, the user interface comprising:

1. A work space independent user interface for a real-time collaboration system implemented on computers connected in a network, the real-time collaboration system augmented with the user interface continues to support every work space that it could previously support, the user interface comprising:a shared transparent annotation layer built in the real-time collaboration system, the shared transparent annotation layer being placed between each participant and a shared work space, the shared transparent annotation layer overlying the work space so that each participant can view the work space through the shared transparent annotation layer; means for choosing and changing a mode of operation during a collaborative session between a discussion mode and an edit mode, wherein in the discussion mode only the annotation layer is directly manipulated and/or modified and wherein in the edit mode only the work space is directly manipulated and/or modified, the shared transparent annotation layer in the discussion mode providing to the collaboration session a convenience of variously viewing and discussing the work space by participants of the collaboration session, including marking the shared transparent annotation layer in different ways without actually modifying the work space itself, the marking of the shared transparent annotation layer not being limited to markings supported by the work space itself; and means for supporting enforcement of synchrony between any work space and the work space's covering transparent annotation layer wherein, for any work space, when the work space and its covering transparent annotation layer are synchronized, scrolling the work space also scrolls the transparent annotation layer and vice versa, expanding the work space by adding data to the work space also expands the transparent annotation layer in corresponding regions, and contracting the work space by deleting data from it also contracts the transparent annotation layer by truncating corresponding regions.