Abstract:
A method and system of automatically launching at least one second operation in response to the closure of a first operation of a computer. The method and system may include associating a first operation with at least one second operation. The method and system may also include determining whether the first operation has been closed. Further, the method and system may include determining the at least one second operation associated with the first operation. Finally, the method and system may include launching the at least one second operation in response to a closure of the first operation.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a software tool for allowing a user to customize his desktop so that certain applications are launched upon the closure of other applications or the operating system. Specifically, it enables the user to designate one or more programs to be launched upon the closure of a certain program or the operating system. 
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
       [0002]    A user may have specific tasks that he performs at certain times of the workday. For example, at the end of his workday, a user may input his daily hours into his company&#39;s networked program. As another example, a user may view a URL containing traffic information before he leaves the office and heads home. 
         [0003]    Modern computer systems, such as Windows XP, contain “startup” applications which launch whenever a user begins a session on his computer. These “startup” applications consist of applications that are useful to a user when he first logs into his computer system. For example, a user may select the network email program as a startup application. It would be useful to have a mechanism that would launch programs as they were needed by the user rather than when he first logs into his system. This would avoid wasting resources by not having programs running on the system during the user&#39;s entire session. Rather, they would be launched only when needed by the user. 
         [0004]    Microsoft Outlook possesses reminder functionalities. A user may enter an event in his personal calendar and indicate how long before the event he wishes to be reminded of it. For example, a user may have a meeting for 10 a.m. on September 30, and request to be reminded of the meeting one hour before it begins. A reminder window may then pop up on the user&#39;s computer screen at 9 a.m. on September 30 reminding the user about his 10 a.m. meeting. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a dataflow diagram illustrating operation of one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is an example embodiment of the present invention in a personalization dialogue of an existing application; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is an example embodiment of the present invention in a separate application. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    Embodiments of the present invention work cooperatively with existing software applications to automatically launch applications upon the closure of other applications or the operating system. A user may select applications, URLs, executable files, etc. that will launch when a certain application is closed or the operating system is shut down. This may be done in an independent application. Alternatively, this may be part of the personalization dialog of the application. For example, a user who works in customer support may need to manually record time entries in a separate application at the end of the day. This user may request that the time entry program be automatically launched when the user attempts to shut down his email program, such as Microsoft Outlook. As another example, a user may wish to view a URL which displays a traffic report before he leaves the office. This user may request that the traffic report URL be automatically launched when the user attempts to shut down the operating system. Once the user finishes using the automatically launched program, the operating system may continue shutting down. Alternatively, the user may be required to manually shut down the operating system. 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary computer system  100  suitable for use with the present invention. The user may associate a first application with at least one second application via input/output device  104 , such as a keyboard or a mouse, for example. The CPU  106  generates the association and accesses the network  108 . Via the network  108 , the CPU  106  passes the association onto the application launcher module  110 . The application launcher module  110  then stores the association in the application launcher database  112 . When the user closes the first application, the CPU  106  recognizes that the first application has been closed. Via the network  108 , the CPU  106  accesses the application launcher module  110 . The application module launcher  110  searches the application launcher database  112  for any applications associated with the first application. The application launcher module  110  returns any associations via the network  108  to the CPU  106 . The CPU  106  then launches any applications associated with the first application that was closed. These programs are displayed to the user via the display  102 . When the user finishes accessing the newly launched programs, he may then close the programs via the input/output device  104 . 
         [0011]    The user may also associate the closure of the operating system with at least one second application via input/output device  104 , such as a keyboard or a mouse, for example. The CPU  106  generates the association and accesses the network  108 . Via the network  108 , the CPU  106  passes the association onto the application launcher module  110 . The application launcher module  110  then stores the association in the application launcher database  112 . When the user closes the operating system, the CPU  106  recognizes that the operating system has been closed. Via the network  108 , the CPU  106  accesses the application launcher module  110 . The application module launcher  110  searches the application launcher database  112  for any applications associated with the operating system. The application launcher module  110  returns any associations via the network  108  to the CPU  106 . The CPU  106  then launches any applications associated with the operating system. These programs are displayed to the user via the display  102 . When the user finishes accessing the newly launched programs, he may then close the programs via the input/output device  104 . The CPU  106  may then continue closing down the operating system automatically. Alternatively, the user may be required to manually continue closing down the operating system. 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a dataflow diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. In  200 , the user may associate a first operation with at least one second operation. The first operation may be an application, such as Microsoft Word. Alternatively, the first operation may be the operating system. The second operation may be an application, such as Adobe Acrobat. Alternatively, the second operation may be a URL, such as www.yahoo.com. The second operation may also be an executable file. This association may be stored in the application launcher database  112 . In  202 , the CPU  106  may determine whether the first operation has been closed. In  204 , the CPU  106  may determine which at least one second operation is associated with the first operation. When the first operation is closed, the CPU  106  may retrieve the at least one second operation that is associated with the first operation from the application launcher database  112 . In  206 , in response to a closure of the first application, the CPU  106  may automatically launch the at least one second operation associated with the first operation. The at least one automatically launched second operation may be displayed to the user via the display  102 . 
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an example embodiment of the present invention in a personalization dialogue of an existing application. The application may be, for example, Microsoft Word. The existing application may also be the operating system, for example. The user may select one or more applications which will be automatically launched upon closure of the existing application. These applications may be selected via a drop down box, a check box, or any other mechanism capable of presented numerous applications to a user. For example, for Application One  302 , the user may select ESS-Time Recording  304 . The user may also wish for a second application to be launched upon closure of the existing application. For Application Two  306 , the user may select the URL www.swr3.trafficservice.de  308 . The user may not select a third application to be launched upon closure of the existing application. 
         [0014]      FIG. 4 . is an example embodiment of the present invention in a separate application. In application  400 , the user may select several applications  402  and correspond them to endup applications  404  which will be automatically launched upon their closure. The applications  402  and endup applications  404  may be selected via drop down boxes, check boxes, or any other mechanism capable of presented numerous applications to a user. For example, the user may wish to associate SAP Enterprise Portal  406  with ESS-Time Recording  408 . Then, ESS-Time Recording  408  may be launched when SAP Enterprise Portal  406  is closed. The user may also with to associate SAP Enterprise Portal  410  with a URL, such as www.swr3.trafficservice.de  412 . Then, www.swr3.trafficservice.de  412  may also be launched when SAP Enterprise Portal  410  is closed. The user may wish to associate certain applications with the operating system, such as Windows XP. These applications may be launched when the operating system is shut down. For example, the user may wish to associate Outlook-Mail  416  with Windows XP  414 . Then, Outlook-Mail  416  may be launched when Windows XP  414  is closed. The user may also wish to associate Outlook-Calendar  420  with Windows XP  418 . Then, Outlook-Calendar  420  may be launched when Windows XP  418  is closed. When is the user is finished making his selections, he may press the save  422  button to save his changes. If the user does not want to have his changes take effect, he may press the cancel  424  button.