Automatic document handling with on-demand application mounting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025021527-A1
Application number	US-202418902034-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 30, 2024
Priority date	Jun 22, 2016
Publication date	Jan 16, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments perform automatic document handling by retrieving icons from local document handlers or from an application volumes manager, without installing the application locally. Embodiments further perform on-demand application mounting by intercepting and suspending requests to launch applications until the appropriate virtual disk, corresponding to the application, is mounted to the disk subsystem by the application volumes manager. The application launch is then resumed.

First claim

1 . (canceled)

2 . A method for on-demand handling and mounting of an unmounted application on a machine, the method comprising:
determining, for a user logged into the machine, one or more entitlements for a set of applications that are accessible to the user; querying handler configuration data to retrieve icons for the set of applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; displaying the retrieved icons for the applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; querying an application volumes manager to determine whether a virtual disk is available for a first application of the set of applications that is not locally installed or mounted on the machine; receiving, from the application volumes manager, a first icon for the first application when the virtual disk is available for the first application; and displaying the first icon for the first application on the machine, wherein in response to detecting input that activates the first icon for the first application, the virtual disk is mounted on the machine.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
receiving a request to launch the first application, the request initiated by the input that activates the first icon; intercepting, by an application volumes filter driver, the request to launch the first application; requesting, by the application volumes filter driver from the application volume manager, the virtual disk that includes the first application; mounting, by the application volume manager, the virtual disk to the machine and merging application content into a file system and a registry of an operating system (OS) of the machine, the merging allowing the first application to launch on the machine; and based on the merging, executing the first application from the mounted virtual disk.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
verifying, by the application volumes manager, that a license is available for the first application prior to mounting the virtual disk to the machine.

5 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
receiving a response from the application volumes manager indicating that the first virtual disk is not available for the first application; and displaying a second icon indicating that the first application is not available on the machine.

6 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
determining that a user closed all files related to the first application on the machine; monitoring a time lapse after a closing of a last file relating to the first application; and dismounting the first application from the machine after a prescribed amount of time has lapsed after the closing of the last file relating to the first application.

7 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
displaying a first type of icon for applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; displaying a second type of icon for applications which are not locally installed or mounted on the machine but for which the virtual disk is available to the application volumes manager; and displaying a third type of icon for applications which are not locally installed or mounted and for which the virtual disk is not available to the application volumes manager.

8 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the machine is a virtual machine executed using a hypervisor and wherein the virtual disk is a read-only virtual disk that contains all application content of the first application.

9 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by a computer system, to execute a set of operations comprising:
determining, for a user logged into the machine, one or more entitlements for a set of applications that are accessible to the user; querying handler configuration data to retrieve icons for the set of applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; displaying the retrieved icons for the applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; querying an application volumes manager to determine whether a virtual disk is available for a first application of the set of applications that is not locally installed or mounted on the machine; receiving, from the application volumes manager, a first icon for the first application when the virtual disk is available for the first application; and displaying the first icon for the first application on the machine, wherein in response to detecting input that activates the first icon for the first application, the virtual disk is mounted on the machine.

10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , the set of operations further comprising:
receiving a request to launch the first application, the request initiated by the input that activates the first icon; intercepting, by an application volumes filter driver, the request to launch the first application; requesting, by the application volumes filter driver from the application volume manager, the virtual disk that includes the first application; mounting, by the application volume manager, the virtual disk to the machine and merging application content into a file system and a registry of an operating system (OS) of the machine, the merging allowing the first application to launch on the machine; and based on the merging, executing the first application from the mounted virtual disk.

11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , the set of operations further comprising:
verifying, by the application volumes manager, that a license is available for the first application prior to mounting the virtual disk to the machine.

12 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , the set of operations further comprising:
receiving a response from the application volumes manager indicating that the first virtual disk is not available for the first application; and displaying a second icon indicating that the first application is not available on the machine.

13 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , the set of operations further comprising:
determining that a user closed all files related to the first application on the machine; monitoring a time lapse after a closing of a last file relating to the first application; and dismounting the first application from the machine after a prescribed amount of time has lapsed after the closing of the last file relating to the first application.

14 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , the set of operations further comprising:
displaying a first type of icon for applications that are locally installed or mounted on the machine; displaying a second type of icon for applications which are not locally installed or mounted on the machine but for which the virtual disk is available to the application volumes manager; and displaying a third type of icon for applications which are not locally installed or mounted and for which the virtual disk is not available to the application volumes manager.

15 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the machine is a virtual machine executed using a hypervisor and wherein the virtual disk is a read-only virtual disk that contains all application content of the first application.

16 . A system comprising:
a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon program code that, when executed, causes the processor to:
determine, for a user logged into a machine, one or more entitlements for a set of applications that are access

Assignees

• Omnissa Llc

Inventors

• Beveridge Daniel James
• Huang Fei
• Conover Matthew

Classifications

• G06F9/45533

  Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors · CPC title

• G06F9/445

  Program loading or initiating (bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57) · CPC title

• G06F8/61

  Installation · CPC title

• G06F16/168

  Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs (query results presentation G06F16/156) · CPC title

• G06F2009/45583

  Memory management, e.g. access or allocation · CPC title