Re-launching contextually related application sets

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10318338-B2
Application number	US-201514592075-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2015
Priority date	Jan 8, 2015
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, systems, and computer program products for re-launching contextually related application sets. In one embodiment, applications which are contextually-related are saved to a profile, along with the state of each application and data associated with each application. The set of applications, along with saved state and data, can be re-launched responsive to a trigger.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for re-launching contextually related applications, comprising:
identifying, by one or more processors, one or more contextually-related applications based on receiving an indication from the user to save a current state of the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the indication comprises one of: a time-out period, an automatic preference, and a manual selection;
grouping, by one or more processors, the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the identified contextually-related applications specifies applications required for an end to end task;
automatically saving, by one or more processors, state information associated with the one or more contextually-related applications as a first profile, wherein the saved state information includes data shared or transferred between each application of the one or more grouped contextually-related applications;
identifying, by one or more processors, input in an application to be related to a group of the grouping of the one or more contextually-related applications;
identifying input in an application outside of the group to be related to the group of the grouping of the one or more applications; and
in response to identifying input in an application outside of the group to be related to a group of the grouping of the one or more contextually-related applications, launching, by one or more processors, the group of the one or more contextually-related applications with each data field of the applications of the one or more contextually-related applications populated with the saved stated information in the first profile.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
after saving the group of one or more contextually-related applications as the first profile, detecting, by one or more processors, a context of an executed first application;
determining, by one or more processors, whether the detected context of the executed first application is related to a context of the group of one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the context refers to a shared end-to end task based, at least in part on the first profile; and
in response to determining that the detected context of the executed first application is related to the context of the group of one or more contextually-related applications of the first profile, launching, by one or more processors, the group of the one or more contextually-related applications of the first profile.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more contextually-related applications comprise information detailing: a webpage, a text message, an e-mail, a document, and user settings.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein a trigger to launch the group of the one or more contextually-related applications comprises: an automatic trigger in response to the execution of the first application, which is determined to be contextually-related to the group of the one or more contextually-related applications.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein saving, by one or more processors, the group of the one or more contextually-related applications as a first profile comprises:
receiving, by one or more processors, a user selection to exclude at least one application from the indication to save the state of the one or more contextually-related applications.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein launching the group of the one or more contextually-related applications comprises:
accessing, by one or more processors, data associated with the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the data associated with the one or more contextually-related applications comprises search criteria, keywords, and input data;
retrieving, by one or more processors, updates to the one or more contextually-related applications from a source of the one or more contextually-related applications; and
displaying, simultaneously, by one or more processors, the saved state of the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the saved state of the one or more contextually-related applications is updated at a time of the launching of the group of the one or more contextually-related applications, using the retrieved updates to the one or more contextually-related applications from the source, and wherein saving the group of one or more contextually-related applications as the first profile occurs before the launching of the group of the one or more contextually-related applications.

7. A computer program product for re-launching contextually related applications, comprising:
a computer readable storage medium and program instructions, executable by a processor, stored on the computer readable storage medium, the program instructions comprising:
program instructions to identify one or more contextually-related applications based on receiving an indication from the user to save a current state of the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the indication comprises one of: a time-out period, an automatic preference, and a manual selection;
program instructions to group the one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the identified contextually-related applications specifies applications required for an end to end task;
program instructions to automatically save state information associated with the one or more contextually-related applications as a first profile, wherein the saved state information includes data shared or transferred between each application of the one or more grouped contextually-related applications;
program instructions to identify input in an application to be related to a group of the grouping of the one or more contextually-related applications;
program instructions to identify input in an application outside of the group to be related to the group of the grouping of the one or more applications; and
program instructions to, in response to identifying input in an application outside of the group to be related to a group of the grouping of the one or more contextually-related applications, launching, by one or more processors, the group of the one or more contextually-related applications with each data field of the applications of the one or more contextually-related applications populated with the saved stated information in the first profile.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 , further comprising:
after saving the group of one or more contextually-related applications as the first profile, program instructions to detect a context of an executed first application;
program instructions to determine whether the detected context of the executed first application is related to a context of the group of one or more contextually-related applications, wherein the context refers to a shared end-to end task based, at least in part on the first profile; and
program instructions to, in response to determining that the detected context of the executed first application is related to the context of the group of one or more contextually-related applications of the first profile, launch the group of the one or more contextually-related applications of the first profile.

9. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the one or more contextually-related applications comprise information detailing: a webpage, a text message, an e-mail, a document, and user settings.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein a trigger to launch the group of the one or more contextually-related applications comprises: an automatic trigger in response to the execution of the first application, which is determined to be contextually-related to the group of the one or more contextually-related applications.

11. The computer program p

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Deluca Lisa Seacat
• Lakshmanan Geetika T
• Price Dana L
• Smith-Eigenbrode Shelbee D

Classifications

• G06F9/461 Primary

  Saving or restoring of program or task context · CPC title

• H04L67/1097

  for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS] · CPC title

• H04L67/30

  Profiles · CPC title

• G06F9/485 Primary

  Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution (G06F9/4881 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F9/48

  Program initiating; Program switching, e.g. by interrupt · CPC title