Systems and methods for sharing information between a user group and associated document

Abstract

Systems and methods of the present invention connect a group of users who are involved in a common project. The information on this project will be stored in an electronic document. Each member of the group has an exact copy of the document and the method of this invention is what ensures that such copies are exact. Each user may incorporate modifications into their copy, which will later be shared by the rest after a synchronization stage. Systems and methods further allow the information to be shared between the various members of the group and which include a series of stages during which it is mainly a question of transferring the modifications from a specific user to the rest of the group, thus avoiding the use of a dedicated client-server structure.

1 . An electronic document comprising: 
 a group identifier;    a list of users making up the group;    a viewing structure to allow exact reproduction of the document for all users;    the group of objects contained in the document; and    storage, wherein the group identifier, the list of users making up the group, the viewing structure, the group of objects and the storage are all associated with each other and are configured to assist in synchronizing a group of objects at an external device.    
   
   
       2 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein each object in the group of objects can be configured to be designated as a one of a parent and child to establish a parent-child relationship between objects.  
   
   
       3 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein the objects include information relating to an addition or modification, the user making the addition or modification and the time the addition or modification was made.  
   
   
       4 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein the objections may be container objects.  
   
   
       5 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic document is based on a mark-up language.  
   
   
       6 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic document is stored separate from other shared electronic documents.  
   
   
       7 . The electronic document of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic document is stored in a common storage and wherein the electronic document is managed by an information manager.