Patent ID: 7472350
Filing Date: 2008-12-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for managing settings of applications executing on a computer system, comprising: detecting configurations associated with a plurality of instances of an executing application, wherein each configuration comprises a plurality of settings; receiving a setting selection from among the plurality of settings; determining an inheritance state for the selected setting; displaying a control widget associated with the selected setting for one instance of the application, the control widget comprising an inheritance state indicator and a current value indicator; wherein a current value is displayed using a control type used by a managed application for the selected setting; displaying an inheritance relationship indicator that indicates the inheritance relationship between the selected setting and at least one other setting; selecting the control widget associated with a desired setting for at least one of the plurality of instances of the application; modifying the current value for the desired setting; and modifying the inheritance state for the desired setting.