Action Logger for Cross-Application Search
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing applications are deficient in monitoring and logging all types of object-level actions across multiple unrelated applications, failing to identify relationships between events and objects, and do not enable searching for events or objects based on observed actions.
Innovation Solution
A system with monitoring software that tracks user and computer-initiated actions across various objects, analyzes relationships using chronological proximity and relevance ranking, and allows for searching of objects based on user-defined configurations, displaying information in timelines, screenshots, or other formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If monitoring software tracks all types of object-level actions across multiple applications, then the completeness of action logging is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an intermediary component called an 'action logger' that sits between multiple applications and the monitoring system. This logger captures standardized action data from diverse applications through a common interface, enabling comprehensive monitoring without requiring complex integration with each individual application. The intermediary abstracts the complexity while maintaining complete action logging.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system implements a universal action logging mechanism that can track multiple types of actions (keystrokes, mouse movements, window changes, application launches) across different applications through a single standardized interface. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate monitoring mechanisms for each action type or application, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
2Loss of information
If the system analyzes information to infer relationships between events and objects, then the information insight is improved, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-processing and storing action data in a standardized format as it is generated, rather than analyzing relationships in real-time when queries are made. Relationships between events and objects are inferred from pre-organized data structures, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining comprehensive information insight. The data is prepared in advance for rapid relationship inference.
3Ease of operation
If the system enables searching for events and objects based on observed actions, then the usability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts search functionality as a separate, independent module that queries pre-logged action data. Instead of embedding complex search logic throughout the monitoring system, the search function is extracted as a standalone component that interfaces with the standardized action log. This extraction reduces the complexity of individual components while enabling powerful search capabilities for events and objects based on observed actions.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a system and method of observing actions performed on a computer and generating a timeline that includes timeline entries corresponding to the observed actions. During a computer session, the invention searches the timeline and other locations for objects that relate to target objects that are accessed by users and/or presented to users. The search produces search result objects associated with the target objects. The search result objects may be used to conduct additional searches in order to provide more complete search results.