Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Jonathan M Sigler

Michael J McCormack

Clinton Dee Covington

Andrew Robert Miller

David Francis Gainer

Christopher Warren Bryant

Scott Timothy Gardner

Robert Coggins

Kelly Michael Krout

Theresa Naramore

Daniel Hough

Database interaction is facilitated by graphically presenting database objects in groups that are not necessarily dictated by object types of the database objects. In an example implementation, database navigation is facilitated by determining object dependency groups for a database in which each object dependency group corresponds to a database source object and includes at least those database objects that depend directly or indirectly from the corresponding database source object. When these data source object-based dependency groups are graphically displayed, selecting a database object thereof provides access thereto. In another example implementation, a user can designate an attribute associated with database objects by which the database objects are to be grouped. Thus, the database objects are grouped by various values that the user-designated associated attribute takes. These designated-attribute-based value-driven groups may also be graphically displayed to enable navigation of and access to the different database objects assigned to them.

Database navigation

The present invention is provides a system and method for interacting with data from a collaboration system over a network. Collaboration data is obtained from the collaboration system and stored locally at the client. Operations such as sorting and filtering may be completed by the local client without any interaction from the collaboration server. When an operation such as adding, changing, and deleting data is performed the collaboration server is contacted to determine whether or not the change is valid. Changes made to the local data automatically update the data at the collaboration server. List controls are added to the browser user interface that are similar to a spreadsheet, such as MS Excel, which enables a user to view, add, change, or delete information corresponding to the data stored by the collaboration system in a manner in which they are familiar.

Spreadsheet grid-like control for a web-based collaboration system

Growing community of inventors

Medina, WA, United States of America

Jonathan M Sigler