Direct input from a nearby device

Abstract

The subject technology provides a system of server and client devices, of which at least one server device includes an application configured to receive data directly from another one of the client devices. The application is configured to obtain a list of available client devices and associated features and provide input options for display based on the list. When one of the input options is selected, the application activates a component and/or an application of the client device for generation of the desired data. When the desired data has been generated by the client device, the generated data is directly input from the client device into the running application on the server device, without storage of the generated data at the client device, and without operation of the same application on the client device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a memory; and   at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to:   provide, for display, a user-interface view of an application, the user-interface view including one or more selectable options for inputting data into a file stored in the memory, wherein the one or more selectable options include at least one option to obtain data from a client device;   receive, via the application, a selection of the at least one option to obtain the data from the client device;   activate, via the application, another application on the client device to generate the data;   receive, via the application, the data from the client device; and   input, via the application, the data into the file.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the application comprises a file manager application. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprises an image, a video, augmented reality content, image markup metadata, handwriting recognition data, freehand sketch data, steps data, heart rate data, electro-cardio data, calorie data, blood pressure data, or mood data. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data is received via a component of the client device, and the component comprises at least one of a camera, a touch screen, a stylus, a light sensor, a motion sensor, an activity sensor, or a location sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the component is activated and the data is received without execution of the application on the client device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 generate commands for operating the component of the client device; and   provide the generated commands to the client device with communications circuitry of the system.   
     
     
         7 . A method comprising:
 providing, for display, a user-interface view of a file manager application, the user-interface view including one or more selectable options for inputting data into a file stored in a memory, wherein the one or more selectable options include at least one option to obtain data from a client device;   receiving, via the file manager application, a selection of the at least one option to obtain the data from the client device;   activating, via the file manager application, another application on the client device to generate the data;   receiving, via the file manager application, the data from the client device; and   inputting, via the file manager application, the data into the file.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the data is received via a component of the client device and the component is activated and the data is received without execution of the application on the client device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the receiving the data further comprises:
 generating commands for operating the component of the client device; and   providing the generated commands to the client device with communications circuitry.   
     
     
         10 . A method, comprising:
 activating, by a server electronic device, a camera on a client electronic device;   displaying, by the server electronic device, a preview image stream being captured by the camera, the preview image stream being concurrently displayed at the client electronic device; and   displaying, by the server electronic device and in real-time, at least one modification to the preview image stream being effectuated at the client electronic device.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one modification comprises handwritten markup added to the preview image stream at the client electronic device.