Granting permissions to an object when adding people to a conversation

Abstract

A user generates a message by adding a recipient in order to send the message to the recipient. The message has a link to an attached object which is automatically detected and it is determined whether the recipient has rights to the object. If not, the recipient's rights are automatically modified so that the recipient has rights to the object, and the user is notified of the modified permissions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method of controlling a messaging system, the method comprising:
 identifying a message to be sent to a recipient from a user, the message including a link to an object, wherein an access permission is associated with the object and defines accessibility to the object;   determining that the recipient does not have permission to access the object based on the access permission associated with the object;   generating a user notification display for the user indicating that the access permission will be modified so the recipient has access to the object; and   automatically modifying the access permission associated with the object so the recipient has access to the object.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the object comprises a document that is separate from the message. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying a message to be sent comprises:
 determining that the message comprises one of a forward message or a reply message to a previously received message and that the recipient is a new recipient that was not a recipient of the previously received message.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 accessing an access control component that specifically identifies one or more users and, for each user, permissions relative to the object; and   determining whether the user has permission to share the object based on the access control component, wherein the access permission is automatically modified so the recipient has access to the object based on determining whether the user has permission to share the object.   
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the link comprises a link to the document that is attached to the message. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the user notification display is displayed to the user before the message is sent by the user to the recipient. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a user notification display comprises:
 generating the user notification display to indicate a permission setting, corresponding to the object, for the recipient prior to modifying the access permission.   
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein generating the user notification display further comprises:
 displaying a permission management user input mechanism;   receiving user actuation of the permission management user input mechanism; and   in response to receiving user actuation, displaying a permission modification user interface display with a permission modification user input mechanism that receives a user modification input to modify the permission setting for the recipient.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the user notification display comprises a user interface element that receives a user input defining a type of access permission for the recipient, and wherein the access permission is modified based on the type. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the type of access permission comprises one of a view only permission or an edit permission, and wherein the user interface element comprises a user-selectable option for selecting the type. 
     
     
         11 . A computing system comprising:
 an access control component configured to:
 detect a message to be sent to a recipient from a user, the message including a link to an object, wherein an access permission is associated with the object and defines accessibility of the object; 
 determine that the recipient does not have permission to access the object based on the access permission associated with the object; 
 based on determining that the recipient does not have permission to access the object, automatically modifying the access permission associated with the object so the recipient has access to the object; and 
   a user interface component configured to generate a user notification display, to the user, that indicates the access permission will be modified so the recipient has access to the object.   
     
     
         12 . The computing system of  claim 11 , wherein the user notification display includes an access control settings change user input mechanism that is actuated to change the access control settings for the recipient, corresponding to the object. 
     
     
         13 . The computing system of  claim 12 , and further comprising:
 a messaging server configured to control message sending and message receiving among users of the computing system, wherein the access control component is configured to:
 automatically set the access control settings by controlling the messaging server to call a data provider that stores the object and an access control list that is associated with the object; and 
 receive from the data provider current access control settings for the new recipient, corresponding to the object. 
   
     
     
         14 . The computing system of  claim 13 , wherein the access control component is configured to automatically set the access control settings for the recipient by having the messaging server send new access control settings for the recipient to the data provider. 
     
     
         15 . The computing system of  claim 11 , wherein the access control component is configured to detect that the user is sending one of a forward message and a reply message that adds a new recipient. 
     
     
         16 . The computing system of  claim 11 , wherein the user notification display indicates a permission setting, corresponding to the object prior to the modification. 
     
     
         17 . The computing system of  claim 16 , wherein the user interface component is configured to:
 display a permission management user input mechanism;   receive user actuation of the permission management user input mechanism; and   in response to the received user actuation, display a permission modification user interface display with a permission modification user input mechanism that receives a user modification input to modify the current permission setting for the recipient.   
     
     
         18 . A computing system comprising:
 at least one processor; and   memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor, wherein the instructions configure the computing system to:
 identify a message to be sent to a recipient from a user, the message including a link to an object, wherein an access permission is associated with the object and defines accessibility to the object; 
 determine that the recipient does not have permission to access the object based on the access permission associated with the object; 
 generate a user notification display for the user indicating that the access permission will be modified so the recipient has access to the object; and 
 automatically modify the access permission associated with the object so the recipient has access to the object. 
   
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 18 , wherein the object comprises a document that is separate from the message. 
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 18 , wherein the instructions configure the computing system to:
 determine that the message comprises one of a forward message or a reply message to a previously received message and that the recipient is a new recipient that was not a recipient of the previously received message.