Document Sync via Offset and Paragraph IDs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies face challenges in synchronizing changes across different versions of documents stored in varying file types, particularly in co-authoring environments where changes made in one version may not be accurately reflected in another due to differing file formats and features between endpoints.
Innovation Solution
A productivity service enables the transfer of content between documents of different storage types by computing and transmitting the offset character count and paragraph identifiers between corresponding paragraphs in different versions of a document, allowing synchronized operations across endpoints, such as cursor placement, insertion, editing, or deletion, to maintain accurate synchronization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If document changes are synchronized across different file types and endpoints, then collaboration accuracy is improved, but processing complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a productivity service as an intermediary system that receives operations from one endpoint, converts them to a standardized format with paragraph identifiers and character offsets, and transmits them to other endpoints. This mediator approach enables synchronization across different file types without requiring complex direct integration between all endpoint pairs, thus improving accuracy while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms document operations into a standardized parameter format consisting of paragraph identifiers and character offsets. By changing the representation of operations from format-specific to parameter-based, the system achieves accurate synchronization across different file types (Word, PDF, plain text) without requiring complex format-specific processing logic at each endpoint.
2Productivity
If document operations are transmitted and applied across multiple endpoints in real-time, then collaboration efficiency is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for synchronization: the operation type, paragraph identifier, and character offset. By transmitting only these minimal necessary parameters rather than entire document states or complex operation objects, the system achieves real-time collaboration efficiency while significantly reducing network bandwidth consumption compared to traditional document version synchronization approaches.
3Measurement precision
If character offset calculations are performed for each operation to ensure accurate positioning, then synchronization precision is improved, but processor load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates character offsets only for the specific paragraph and operation being synchronized, rather than recalculating positions for entire documents. This partial action approach maintains positioning precision for the affected area while avoiding the excessive processor load that would result from full document re-parsing and re-positioning calculations at each endpoint.
Data Source
AI summary
Transfer of content between documents of different storage types is provided. Different versions of an endpoint (e.g., a productivity application) such as a mobile version and a desktop version, for example, may be enabled to process the same document and synchronize changes to the document content, even though the different versions or endpoints may use distinct formats for the same document.