SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FILE SHARING AND UPDATING

摘要

Embodiments of the present invention include a method and system for sharing changes made by an application to a file on one computer, coherently with other computers, over the Internet. If the application changes multiple files (also referred to as a file group), changes made to all the files are shared together coherently with other computers over the Internet. Coherence over multiple file copies and file group copies is maintained whether users work on files online or offline. A ‘File Upload Lock’ is maintained on a Cloud Server for ensuring coherent sharing of changes made to files. Embodiments include two file syncing processes, variously described as ‘Incremental File Upload’ or ‘Incremental File Download’ and ‘Delta File Upload’ or ‘Delta File Download’. Embodiments also encompass an ‘Explorer’ software tool and user interface that displays folders and files on user devices with pertinent details from the device and the Cloud Server.

主权项

1. A computer implemented method for electronic file sharing, the method comprising:
a server executing an electronic file sharing process for providing a plurality of users access to a plurality of electronic files via the Internet; at least one processor executing a client software process for electronic file sharing on a user device, wherein the client software process communicates with the server via the Internet, and wherein the process comprises monitoring user electronic files to determine whether the user has setup a new shared file; if the user has setup a new shared file, the client software process requesting a file upload lock for the new shared file; and the server issuing the file upload lock when the server determines that conditions are met, the conditions comprising the file upload lock is not currently issued to another user that has previously setup the same shared file.