Minimizing productivity loss in a collaborative sharing environment

Abstract

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a local network device establishes a communication session with a remote network device in the communication network, and designates at least one program from a plurality of programs executable by the local network device for access by the remote network device to yield a designated program. The local network device further generates a shared display object, and associates each designated program with the shared display object to permit display thereof. The local network device further instantiates one or more shared control objects associated with the shared display object, and facilitate access to each designated program for the remote network device using at least one of the one or more shared control objects.

1 . A method comprising:
 establishing a real-time communication session between a local network device and a remote network device;   designating a program for access during the communication session to yield a designated program; and   generating a shared display object having a shared access area, the shared display object restricted for interaction only with the designated program.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein maintaining, by the local network device, access for the local network device to each program not designated by the local network device, further comprises:
 maintaining, by the local network device, access for the local network device to each program not designated by the local network device using one or more local control objects.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 removing, by the local network device, a designation for the designated program to prohibit access by the remote network device.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 instantiating one or more shared control objects associated with the shared display object, the one or more shared control objects including a shared pointer, the shared pointer separately displayed with a local pointer assigned to the local network device.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 facilitating access to the designated program for the remote network device using at least one of the one or more shared control objects.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the facilitating of the access to the designated program includes:
 providing, by the local network device, the shared display object to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the shared display object on a portion of a remote display associated with the remote network device;   displaying, by the local network device, the shared display object on a portion of a local display associated with the local network device; and   adjusting, by the local network device, a first display area associated with the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object independently from a second display area associated with the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the shared display object is a display window. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 displaying, by the local network device, the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the local display that displays the shared display object;   providing, by the local network device, the one or more shared control objects to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the remote display that displays the shared display object; and   restricting, by the local network device, display of each shared control object to the portion of the local display that displays the shared display object and the portion of the remote display that displays the shared display object.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, by the local network device, the shared display object and one or more shared control objects on a local display;   displaying, by the local network device, one or more local control objects associated with corresponding local input devices on the local display; and   differentiating, by the local network device, the display of the one or more shared control objects from the one or more local control objects on the local display.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 assigning, by the local network device, each shared control object of one or more shared control objects to a corresponding remote input device associated with the remote network device.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 assigning, by the local network device, each shared control object of one or more shared control objects to a corresponding local input device associated with the local network device when input commands from the local input device correspond to the shared display object.   
     
     
         12 . A local network device comprising:
 one or more processors coupled to one or more network interfaces; and   a memory configured to store one or more processes that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 establish a real-time communication session between the local network device and a remote network device; 
 designate a program for access during the communication session to yield a designated program; 
 generate a shared display object having a shared access area, the shared display object restricted for interaction only with the designated program. 
   
     
     
         13 . The local network device of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more processes, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to maintain access for the local network device to each program not designated by the local network device using one or more local control objects. 
     
     
         14 . The local network device of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more processes, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 instantiate one or more shared control objects associated with the shared display object, the one or more shared control objects including a shared pointer, the shared pointer separately displayed with a local pointer assigned to the local network device, and   facilitate access to the designated program for the remote network device using at least one of the one or more shared control objects.   
     
     
         15 . The local network device of  claim 12 , wherein facilitating access to each designated program for the remote network device includes:
 providing the shared display object to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the shared display object on a portion of a remote display associated with the remote network device;   displaying the shared display object on a portion of a local display associated with the local network device; and   adjusting a first display area associated with the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object independent from a second display area associated with the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object.   
     
     
         16 . The local network device of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more processes, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 display the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object;   provide the one or more shared control objects to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object; and   restrict display of each shared control object to the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object and the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object.   
     
     
         17 . The local network device of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more processes, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 display the shared display object and one or more shared control objects on a local display;   display one or more local control objects associated with corresponding local input devices on the local display; and   differentiate the display of the one or more shared control objects from the one or more local control objects on the local display.   
     
     
         18 . A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having software encoded thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 establish a real-time communication session between a local network device and a remote network device;   designate a program for access during the communication session to yield a designated program;   generate a shared display object having a shared access area, the shared display object restricted for interaction only with the designated program.   
     
     
         19 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors further cause the one or more processors to:
 provide the shared display object to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the shared display object on a portion of a remote display associated with the remote network device;   display the shared display object on a portion of a local display associated with the local network device; and   adjust a first display area associated with the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object independent from a second display area associated with the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object.   
     
     
         20 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more processors further cause the one or more processors to:
 display the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object;   provide the one or more shared control objects to the remote network device to cause the remote network device to display the one or more shared control objects on the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object; and   restrict display of each shared control object to the portion of the local display displaying the shared display object and the portion of the remote display displaying the shared display object.