Client-server system for maintaining application preferences in a hierarchical data structure according to user and user group or terminal and terminal group contexts

摘要

A system with a network interconnecting a server and a plurality of user stations. A system administrator models users of the system, or user groups, terminals and terminal groups as a hierarchy and sets desktop and user application preferences for each group and for the individual users separately. For a selected group context, say the group of all users of the system, or some subgroup under the group that represents all users, a default set of preferences are determined for a selected user application. The default set is then modified according to preferences that are specifically set forth in the selected group. These preferences may then again modified by a set of preferences that belong specifically to the user.