Uncoupled application extensions including interactive digital surface layer for collaborative remote application sharing and annotating

摘要

Systems and method for providing for uncoupled application extensions to a remote access application. The application extensions are provided as part the remote access application to provide features and functionalities that otherwise are not provided by underlying the application programs that are made available by the remote access program. These features and functionalities may be provided without a need to modify the underlying application program, as they are integral with the remote access application.

主权项

1. A method of providing an uncoupled application extension to a remotely-accessed application, comprising:
providing a tiered remote access framework comprising an application tier, a server tier and a client tier, the tiered remote access framework communicating first information regarding the remotely-accessed application in a state model between client computing devices in the client tier that are accessing the remotely-accessed application, wherein the state model enables the client computing devices to natively display logical elements of the remotely-accessed application; updating the state model by a server executing the remote-accessed application in accordance with the screen or application data of the remote-accessed application, and sending the updates of the state model to the client tier; updating by a client access application program in the client tier the state model in accordance with input data received from a client tier user interface program and sending the updates of the state model to the server tier; providing the uncoupled application extension at each client computing device, the uncoupled application extension enhances the remotely-accessed application by providing a functionality at the client computing device that is independent of the remotely-accessed application; updating by a client access application in the client tier an extension state model to include second information regarding the uncoupled application extension such that the functionality associated with the uncoupled application extension is enabled in at least one of the client computing devices; communicating the state model and the extension state model to synchronize a state of the application and the uncoupled application extension, respectively, during a session that includes the client computing devices; receiving, by at least one of the client computing devices or a remote application server, the state model updates and the extension state model updates; and composing an updated state model based on the state model updates and the extension state model updates, wherein the updated state model enables the client computing device to natively display modified logical elements of the remotely-accessed application.