Mini-Calendar Integration in Collaboration Suite
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional collaboration suite applications lack seamless integration of calendaring functionality with other elements, requiring users to switch between applications for scheduling meetings and lack features like date-related interactions and enhanced UI for calendar management.
Innovation Solution
A mini-calendar display within the collaboration suite application allows users to view, edit, and add appointments without switching, with date-related characters recognized as content objects for specific interactions, and enhanced UI for status differentiation and multiple calendar management, along with seamless calendar sharing and scheduling tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users switch between email and calendar applications to schedule meetings, then calendar management functionality is available, but user efficiency and time are reduced due to application switching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the calendar application directly within the email application interface, merging two previously separate functions into a unified workspace. Users can access calendar views, create events, and manage appointments without leaving the email application, thereby eliminating the need to switch between applications and reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The email application is enhanced to perform multiple functions including not only email communication but also calendar management, contact storage, and task management. This multi-functionality allows users to handle diverse productivity tasks within a single application ecosystem, improving ease of operation and reducing context switching.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional collaboration suite applications are used, then basic email and calendar functions are available, but seamless integration and enhanced interactions between elements are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a unified user interface framework that acts as an intermediary layer between different collaboration suite components (email, calendar, contacts, tasks). This framework enables seamless integration and enhanced interactions by providing a common interface that connects these elements, allowing features like dragging emails to create calendar events and automatic date object recognition without requiring complex direct integrations between each component.
3Loss of information
If date-related words in emails are treated as plain text, then email content is simple to process, but contextual date associations and interactions are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically recognizes date-related words and phrases in email content and dynamically associates them with specific calendar dates based on the email's context (such as send date). This self-service approach allows the system to automatically enrich plain text with contextual date information, enabling interactions like hovering over date words to show appointments or right-clicking to create events without requiring manual intervention or complex user actions.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of the present invention provide for enhanced calendaring functionality in a collaboration suite application. A mini-calendar display in different views of the collaboration suite application provide for an easy way to view, edit and/or add appointments without needing to open of the calendar in the collaboration suite application. Email messages can be dragged onto days in the mini-calendar to create meeting proposals. Enhanced UI allows for different meetings being having different appearances based on whether they have been accepted, rejected, etc. Multiple calendars can be viewed simultaneously and their cumulative availability for any time slot can be easily seen via a calendar thermometer. Requests for sharing of calendars can be communicated via email messages, and they can be seamlessly responded to within the email message itself.