Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

David Paul Limont

John Allen Atwood

Selvaraj Nalliah

Juan Vicente Esteve Balducci

Patrick Tousignant

Omar Aftab

Michael K Higashi

Kenneth Fern

Massimiliano Ciccotosto

Zhidong Yang

Imran Masud

Chris J Hinman

Michael Brian Palmer

Srinivasa Reddy Manda

Sami Khoury

Karl S Johnson

Joseph Patrick Masterson

Shivakumar Seetharaman

Salman Zafar

Joseph T Flint

Samuel Neely

Harvinder S Bhela

David Lloyd Meyers, Jr

Katy Chen

Burhan Ateeq

Alexandru Leconiuc

Hayley Lynn Steplyk

Nathan Waddoups

Jin Ma

Zohaib Haider Ali

Kristian L M Andaker

Daniel Paul Costenaro

Jedidiah Brown

Jeremy De Souza

Elena Catrinescu

Russell Lee Simpson, Jr

Joey Masterson

Betsy McIntyre

Mirela D S Correa

Mirela Correa

David L Meyers

Darren Alexander Apfel

Quentin S Miller

Andrew James Peacock

Hugh A Teegan

Thomas W Millett

Rebecca Jean Lawler

Gregory Bolles

Kathleen R Thompson

Linda Chen Gray

Russell L Simpson, Jr

Eduardo D Melo

Kevin Christopher Clement

Christian Piccolo

William Dean Saulnier

Mihir S Ray

Sirish Kumar Balaga

David Meyers

Samuele Carpineti

Betsy Yu-pui McIntyre

Deborah Eileen Sommers

Akashdeep Khudia

Tao Zhang

Xiao Hu

Andrew S Moss

Inline document collaboration workflows are provided. When a user receives an electronic communication that includes an attached content item, the receiving user may select the attached content item and cause the attached content item to be displayed in an immersive view in proximity to an electronic communication pane in which an electronic communication may be conducted about any topic including the content item that is displayed in proximity to the electronic communication pane. During editing of a content item, an electronic communication may be generated from a user interface in which the content item is being generated, or alternatively a new content item may be generated out of an electronic communications user interface.

Generating content items out of an electronic communication workflow

Described are embodiments for displaying groups of communications, such as messages, as a conversation. Conversations are groups of communications that can be traced back as related to an original communication. The embodiments allow a user to select a conversation mode for displaying communications, e.g., messages, as conversations. In response to the user's selection, embodiments provide for displaying a graphical element associated with a conversation. The graphical element can be selected to display the messages associated with the conversation. Additionally, embodiments provide for selecting a conversation and applying actions to the conversation, resulting in the application of the action to the messages that are associated with the conversation.

Communications grouped as conversations

A permission manager detects when the message including the link is forwarded and sends a notification to the author indicating that the message was forwarded to another recipient. A notification may also be sent to the recipient who received the forwarded message indicating that the author has been notified that the recipient is not authorized to access the linked content within the forwarded message. The author may set the permissions for accessing the linked content from permission options that are displayed with the notification message sent by the permission manager. Once the permissions are set, the permission manager may send a notification to the recipient of the forwarded message with information relating to the set permissions.

Setting permissions for links forwarded in electronic messages

Enhanced links in a message composition surface are described. A uniform resource locator (URL) may be identified while a user is composing a message in a message composition surface of an electronic message such as an email. A source of the URL and the file type of the document linked to by the URL can be determined and a preview of the document can be rendered in the message composition surface. When the source is a cloud storage location, access permissions for the document can be adjusted from within email&#x2014;without the user navigating to a file management site of the cloud storage. When the file type is a productivity application, a link rendering element can call a productivity application service to provide interaction functionality for the productivity application file and facilitate the rendering of the productivity application file.

Document link previewing and permissioning while composing an email

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for enforcing device settings for mobile devices. Generally, a computer system enforces appropriate mobile device settings (e.g., policy and/or configuration settings) prior to permitting a mobile device to access maintained data. The computer system receives a request from a mobile device. The computer system determines that current mobile device settings are not appropriate for accessing the maintained data. The computer system sends device settings, representing a new mobile device configuration that is appropriate accessing the maintained data, to the mobile device. The computer system receives an indication that the mobile device is configured in accordance with the device settings. The computer system permits the mobile device to access the maintained data in response to receiving the indication that the mobile device is configured in accordance with the device settings.

Enforcing device settings for mobile devices

An attachment control to manage attachments in a conversation is provided. An application such as a communication application displays a conversation of grouped messages in response to a detection of a selection of a message summary associated with one of the grouped messages. An attachment control is generated to manage identified attachments in the grouped messages. The attachment control is displayed in proximity to the conversation. An attachment drop down menu that includes a listing of the attachments is displayed in response to an activation of the attachment control.

Providing attachment control to manage attachments in conversation

Embodiments described herein generally relate to a method and system of integrating a user's voice mail onto a single voice messaging service, e.g., a Unified Messaging (UM) service, such that a client may access this single source for voice mail retrieval, even where such voice mails are from a variety of sources, e.g., work, mobile phone, etc. A user, or the user's mobile operator, need only agree to accept the service, and the registration and configuration requirements for providing the service and forwarding calls to the service are automatically configured. The user's existing 'speed dial' key or other setting for retrieving voice mail may also be automatically configured to the access number(s) for the service. Configurations may monitor the status of the service and update access and/or forwarding numbers. Voice mail forwarding and settings may also be automatically reverted back to the user's original service.

Message forwarding and retrieval with a single messaging service

An adaptive layout and workflow engine. The adaptive layout and workflow engine allows various applications to dynamically render scaled views of content based on the characteristics of the display on the device being used to consume the content. The adaptive layout and workflow engine may select an appropriate view of the content to render based on the size, resolution, or aspect ratio of the display. The rendered size of the content and/or the user interface of the content application is evaluated relative to the characteristics of the display. Embodiments may provide different controls via the user interfaces based on the characteristics of the display and/or content. The adaptive layout and workflow engine may provide customized work flows via the user interface to improve the user experience depending on the display capabilities of the device used to consume the content.

Immersive document interaction with device-aware scaling

An electronic mail (e-mail) display is generated for a user, showing a mailbox for the user. A next calendar item indication is persistently displayed on the e-mail display. The next calendar item includes a countdown timer showing a time until the next calendar item is scheduled to begin.

Displaying a countdown timer for a next calendar event in an electronic mail inbox

Techniques and technologies for smart support systems are described. In at least some embodiments, a method comprises: receiving an indication of a user invoking a support facility due to a problem experienced with a software application; obtaining user-related information including at least one of an age of the user or at least one indication of proficiency of the user with operation of the software application; obtaining problem-related information related to the problem experienced with the software application; and selecting a starting point of a support path based at least partially on the problem-related information and the user-related including at least one of an age of the user or at least one indication of proficiency of the user with operation of the software application, the support path defining one or more operations intended to address the problem experienced with the software application.

Smart support

Systems and methods for creating a collaborative object are provided. A collaborative object may be associated with a user interface that enables one or more users to interact regarding various tasks during the planning and execution of a project. In aspects, the collaborative object may include a task list, an associated document, compiled information and/or communications related to a project. In further aspects, the collaborative object, along with associated information, may be shared with other users as a resource for future projects. Permissions may be set on a collaborative object such that recipients may be allowed varying access to the task list, document, compiled materials and/or communications associated with the collaborative object.

Shared collaboration objects

Described herein are embodiments for managing policies of a mobile device. In embodiments, a mobile device receives policy containers from a plurality of disparate management agents. Each policy container has one or more policies. Each policy corresponds to a particular category that governs various aspects of the device. The policies described herein may be device wide policies corresponding to various features on the device. The policies may also be data specific policies which dictate how data is stored on and transferred to and from the device. Once the policies are received, a determination is made as to which policy in each category is the most secure policy. The most secure policy for each category is merged to create a global policy that is applied to the mobile device.

Integrating policies from a plurality of disparate management agents

Automatic uploading of electronic communication attachments to a collaborative storage location for enabling efficient co-authoring among a group of users is provided. When an electronic communication item is received that contains an attached content item, a user may select the content item for review and/or editing. A communication (e.g., a responsive email message) may be automatically created and may include an attachment pointer to direct recipients of the communication to the location at which the edited content item will be stored at a collaborative group storage location. The communication may also include a posting for notifying recipients of the communication that the associated content item has been edited and by whom the content item was edited. Recipients of the communication may then locate the edited content item and may begin reviewing and/or editing the stored content item in a collaborative co-authoring environment.

Collaborative co-authoring via an electronic user interface

Variety of approaches to optimize performance based on behavioral and situational signals are described. A productivity service initiates operations to optimize performance upon receiving a behavioral signal and/or a situational signal associated with a user. The behavioral signal and/or the situational signal are analyzed to infer a usage pattern associated with a component of an application. Next, a failure of the usage pattern is detected in a comparison to an utility threshold. In response, the application is instructed to interrupt an execution of the component.

Optimizing performance based on behavioral and situational signals

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

David Paul Limont