Personal notes on a calendar item

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9720574-B2
Application number	US-201213423938-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2012
Priority date	Mar 19, 2012
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments provide functionality to provide electronic calendar features and functionalities including personal note-taking features on calendar items, but the embodiments are not so limited. In an embodiment, a computer-based method can be configured to provide a personal note-taking space that enables users to take personal notes on appointment or meeting items with or without sharing the personal notes. Other embodiments are included.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer device including at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by the at least one processor perform electronic calendar features comprising:
displaying a personal note taking space with each appointment item, the personal note taking space configured to receive personal notes for each appointment item;
displaying a personal note taking space with each meeting item, the personal note taking space configured to receive personal notes for each meeting item;
retaining the personal notes independent of an organizer such that the personal notes used in personal preparation for and during an appointment item or a meeting item are tracked and saved;
sharing the personal notes with authorized individuals using sharing rules;
receiving a blank note to the appointment item or the meeting item at a location on an electronic surface, wherein receiving the blank note includes capturing a path traversed by the blank note during application, wherein capturing the path traversed by the blank note includes capturing a plurality of open items on the electronic surface swiped over during application of the blank note;
in response to application of the blank note, capturing a screen state associated with the personal notes for the appointment item or the meeting item, wherein capturing the screen state includes capturing the plurality of open items intersected by the path traversed by the blank note; and
in response to receiving activation of a blank note trigger, automatically restoring the screen state to resurface the plurality of open items associated with the personal notes based at least in part on the path traversed by the blank note during application.

2. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the personal notes can be input using one or more of handwritten, keyboard, and touch screen input types.

3. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the appointment component is configured to provide an appointment window comprising appointment tools, a public space, and the personal note taking space.

4. The computer device of claim 3 , wherein the public space is displayed adjacent to the personal note taking space of the appointment window, wherein the personal note taking space includes a notation that identifies the personal note taking space as private.

5. The computer device of claim 3 , wherein the appointment window includes meeting information including one or more meeting participants.

6. The computer device of claim 5 , wherein the personal notes are stored via one or more of: locally, remotely, and in a distributed manner.

7. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the appointment component is configured further to display a note icon to notify that private notes are associated with a scheduled meeting item as part of a calendar view.

8. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the appointment component is configured to share the personal notes according to a designated sharing relationship.

9. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the appointment component is configured further to retain personal notes for instantiation upon a meeting item or an appointment item occurrence.

10. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the personal notes are encoded using field properties containing text and graphics appended to a messaging application programming interface (MAPI) item.

11. The computer device of claim 1 , wherein the appointment component is configured further to retain field properties associated with the personal notes by default using a user account copy of the meeting item or the appointment item.

12. The computer device of claim 1 , further comprising a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a handheld computer.

13. A method comprising:
providing electronic calendar features including appointment items and meeting items, each appointment item being configured to enable one or more shared aspects including shared appointment information;
displaying a private note taking portion with each appointment item and corresponding shared appointment information, the private note taking portion configured to retain personal notes for each appointment item;
displaying a private note taking portion with each meeting item, the private note taking portion configured to retain personal notes for each meeting item;
storing each appointment item and each meeting item;
limiting dissemination of the personal notes using sharing rules such that the personal notes are shared with authorized individuals;
receiving a blank note to an upcoming appointment item or an upcoming meeting item at a location on an electronic surface, wherein receiving the blank note includes capturing a path traversed by the blank note during application, wherein capturing the path traversed by the blank note includes capturing a plurality of open items on the electronic surface swiped over during application of the blank note;
in response to application of the blank note, capturing a screen state associated with the personal notes for the upcoming appointment item or the upcoming meeting item, wherein capturing the screen state includes capturing the plurality of open items intersected by the path traversed by the blank note; and
in response to receiving activation of a blank note trigger, automatically restoring the screen state to resurface the plurality of open items associated with the personal notes based at least in part on the path traversed by the blank note during application.

14. The method of claim 13 , the limiting dissemination further comprising controlling access to a user calendar including providing an option of viewing any personal notes based in part on determination of a sharing relationship.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising encoding the personal notes by appending a number of field properties containing text and graphics to a MAPI item.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the personal notes can be input using one or more of handwritten, keyboard, and touch screen input types.

17. A non-transitory computer storage apparatus communicatively coupled to a processor and including instructions which, when executed by the processor, provide electronic calendar features comprising:
providing a private note taking space for receiving personal notes for an appointment item, wherein each personal note associates textual and graphical metadata to an instance of the appointment item;
sharing the personal notes based at least in part on a note input and sharing relationship defined according to sharing rules such that the personal notes are shared with authorized individuals;
receiving a blank note to an upcoming appointment item at a location on an electronic surface, wherein receiving the blank note includes capturing a path traversed by the blank note during application, wherein capturing the path traversed by the blank note includes capturing a plurality of open items on the electronic surface swiped over during application of the blank note;
in response to application of the blank note, capturing a screen state associated with the personal notes for the upcoming appointment item, wherein capturing the screen state includes capturing the plurality of open items intersected by the path traversed by the blank note; and
in response to receiving activation of a blank note trigger, automatically restoring the screen state to resurface the plurality of open items associated with the personal notes based at least in part on the path traversed by the blank note during applicatio

Assignees

• Siu Chun Hin Nelson
• Cadiz Jonathan
• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Siu Chun Hin Nelson
• Cadiz Jonathan

Classifications

• G06F3/0484 Primary

  for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range · CPC title

• G06Q10/109

  Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting · CPC title

• G06F16/93

  Document management systems · CPC title

• G06F40/169

  Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes · CPC title

• G06F40/30

  Semantic analysis · CPC title