Keeping Working Hours and Calendar Entries Up-to-Date

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for keeping calendars up-to-date, whereby a person's working hours, events, and actual availability are accurately reflected. In response to user-generated input and/or application-generated input, working hours can be updated and calendar events can be added to, deleted from, or changed on the user's calendar. This makes it easy for users to keep calendars (including working hours) up-to-date and helps both people and applications that use calendar data. Profiles are preferably used to specify working hours, and a particular user may have one or more profiles available (including a default profile); the user can then easily select from among these profiles to update the working hours for a date/day, or a range of dates/days. Preferences may be associated with the profiles, providing a convenient way of isolating information that applies only to a particular set of working hours.

1 . A system for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user's electronic calendar, comprising: 
 a computer comprising a processor; and    instructions which execute using the processor to implement functions comprising: 
 defining, for a calendar user, a plurality of profiles, wherein each profile specifies a set of scheduled working hours for the user's electronic calendar;  
 applying a first one of the profiles to a first future day or days for the user's electronic calendar, responsive to selection of the first one by the user, thereby associating the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile with the first future day or days;  
 applying a second one of the profiles to a second future day or days for the user's electronic calendar, responsive to selection of the second one by the user, thereby associating the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile with the second future day or days, wherein: 
 the first future day or days does not overlap the second future day or days; and  
 at least one difference exists between the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile and the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile; and  
 
 simultaneously using, by the electronic calendar, the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile to reflect the user's scheduled working hours on the first future day or days and the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile to reflect the user's scheduled working hours on the second future day or days.  
   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the applying the first one of the profiles stores an identifier of the first profile in association with the first future day or days and the applying the second one of the profiles stores an identifier of the second profile in association with the second day or days.  
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein user preferences are associated with at least one selected one of the first and second profiles, the user preferences comprising at least an alternate means of contacting the user on the future day or days to which the selected profile is applied.  
     
     
         4 . A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user's electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for: 
 defining, for a calendar user, a plurality of profiles, wherein each profile specifies a set of working hours for the user's electronic calendar;    applying a first one of the profiles to a first future day or days for the user's electronic calendar, responsive to selection of the first one by the user, thereby associating the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile with the first future day or days;    applying a second one of the profiles to a second future day or days for the user's electronic calendar, responsive to selection of the second one by the user, thereby associating the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile with the second future day or days, wherein: 
 the first future day or days does not overlap the second future day or days; and  
 at least one difference exists between the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile and the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile; and  
   simultaneously using, by the electronic calendar, the set of scheduled working hours from the first profile to reflect the user's scheduled working hours on the first future day or days and the set of scheduled working hours from the second profile to reflect the user's scheduled working hours on the second future day or days.    
     
     
         5 . The computer program product according to  claim 4 , wherein the applying the first one of the profiles stores an identifier of the first profile in association with the first future day or days and the applying the second one of the profiles stores an identifier of the second profile in association with the second day or days.  
     
     
         6 . The computer program product according to  claim 4 , wherein user preferences are associated with at least one selected one of the first and second profiles, the user preferences comprising at least an alternate means of contacting the user on the future day or days to which the selected profile is applied.