Search History Information for Shared Objects
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In shared access systems, users may not be aware of recent changes to objects, leading to objects not appearing in search results due to changes such as deletion, unsharing, or relocation, which can result in documents being difficult to find or understand why they are no longer identified as search results.
Innovation Solution
The system utilizes history information to generate historical search result items, allowing users to find objects by displaying their prior states and actions, even if they are not currently accessible or identifiable through current search results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system only displays current state search results, then the search functionality is simple and fast, but users cannot find objects that have been deleted, unshared, or relocated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a historical dimension to the search system by introducing history information items that store prior states of objects. This allows the search to operate in both current state and historical state dimensions, enabling users to find objects that no longer exist in their current form while maintaining a clear distinction between current and historical results through visual indicators.
2Loss of information
If the system displays history information for all objects, then users can understand why objects are no longer found, but the search results become cluttered and harder to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different visual presentations for different types of search results. Current state results are displayed with standard formatting, while historical search result items are displayed with distinct visual indicators (such as different icons, colors, or labels) to clearly distinguish them. This allows users to quickly understand the status of each result without overwhelming detail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments search results into distinct categories: current state results and historical results. This segmentation is achieved through separate data structures (current search result items versus historical search result items) and distinct display formats, allowing users to easily differentiate between objects that currently exist and those that have undergone changes.
3Reliability
If the system searches both current and historical object states, then users can locate previously accessible objects, but the search processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-generating and storing history information items that capture prior states of objects, including metadata about deletions, unsharing, and relocation events. This historical data is maintained in an optimized format that allows for efficient querying without requiring real-time analysis of the entire object history, thus reducing search processing time while maintaining comprehensive search capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving a search request including a search input; and identifying a history information item based on the search input. The history includes information describing a prior state of an object. The method also includes determining whether information describing a current state of the object corresponds to the search input. The method includes outputting a prior-state based search result item that identifies the object and includes information based on the history information item. If the information describing the current state of the object corresponds to the search input, the method includes outputting a current-state based search result item that includes a link for accessing the object.