Patent Publication Number: US-2018046330-A1

Title: Interface menu presenting non-installed content sharing applications

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     A computing system allows users to share content by using content sharing applications that are already installed on the computing system. For instance, a user may share a photo from the photo viewer by an installed image sharing application. For another instance, the user may share a video from a video viewer by logging into a social media web service. 
     A typical computing system provides an application catalog, such as an app store. The application catalog includes many other non-installed content sharing applications. When a user needs to share content from a non-installed application, the user can go to the application catalog and search for the application, then download and install it on the user&#39;s computing system. 
     The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages, or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced. 
     SUMMARY 
     At least some embodiments described herein relate to a model for presenting non-installed applications that enable the user to share the type of content that a user is accessing. For a given type of content that a user is accessing (e.g., audio, video, image, text, web page, web address, and so forth), the model identifies one or more applications that enable the user to share the content. A non-installed application may be, for instance, a web service. The model displays the applications in a user interface menu, whereupon the user may select one or more non-installed applications from the menu to share the content. 
     At least some embodiments described herein relate to the basis for selecting the non-installed applications to be presented in the user interface menu. The model may select the applications to be presented in the menu based on a number of different factors, such as, a location of the user, a language of the content, a web service the user accessed, an application that is installed by a user&#39;s contacts, and so forth. For instance, the model may select an application that corresponds to the location of the user and/or a language of the content. The model may also select an application that is installed by one or more contacts of the user. The model may also direct the user to the web service that the user previously accessed; and so forth. 
     Accordingly, the principles described herein allow for more sharing options to be provided to a user when deciding an application to use to share the content. Furthermore, the options are more likely to be suited to the interests of the user as the selection of additional target applications may be based on behavior of the user, and/or other factors that select the application in a more refined manner, regardless of whether the application is even installed on the user&#39;s computing system. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features can be obtained, a more particular description of various embodiments will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only sample embodiments and are not, therefore, to be considered to be limiting of the scope of the invention, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example computing system in which the principle described herein may be employed; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an environment in which a computing system shares accessed content via various applications (installed or non-installed) via a user interacting with visualizations on a user interface menu; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates multiple data flows originating with a variety of user information types; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a general flow when a user previously accesses a web service; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates data flows associated with how previously stored user credential may be later used to facilitate automated access to a previously accessed web service when the web service is selected as a content sharing application; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an environment in which a user interface menu is presented that includes visualizations of web services applications (both previously accessed and not accessed); 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an environment with an associated data flow showing how the computing system may obtain the contacts of the user, and then identify a list of the content sharing applications that are used by one or more of the user&#39;s contacts and enable sharing of content of the content type; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates that the computing system may obtain a location of the user, and then identify (from a collection of applications that are location registered) a list of the content sharing applications that enable sharing of content of the content type; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates that the computing system may obtain a language of the user, and then identify (from a collection of applications that are language registered) a list of the content sharing applications that enable sharing of content of the content type; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates data flows that show how the content accessing applications may include a functionality to influence the choice of content sharing applications; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an environment in which the computing system detects the type of content that the user is accessing, and further determines whether the type of the content is one of the types (e.g., audio, video, image, text, web page, web address, and so forth) for which the computing system enables content sharing. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     At least some embodiments described herein relate to a model for presenting non-installed applications that enable the user to share the type of content that a user is accessing. For a given type of content that a user is accessing (e.g., audio, video, image, text, web page, web address, and so forth), the model identifies one or more applications that enable the user to share the content. A non-installed application may be, for instance, a web service. The model displays the applications in a user interface menu, whereupon the user may select one or more non-installed applications from the menu to share the content. 
     At least some embodiments described herein relate to the basis for selecting the non-installed applications to be presented in the user interface menu. The model may select the applications to be presented in the list based on a number of different factors, such as, a location of the user, a language of the content, a web service the user accessed, an application that is installed by a user&#39;s contacts, and so forth. For instance, the model may select an application that corresponds to the location of the user and/or a language of the content. The model may also select an application that is installed by one or more contacts of the user. The model may also direct the user to the web service that the user previously accessed; and so forth. 
     Accordingly, the principles described herein allow for more sharing options to be provided to a user when deciding an application to use to share the content. Furthermore, the options are more likely to be suited to the interests of the user as the selection of additional target applications may be based on behavior of the user, and/or other factors that select the application in a more refined manner, regardless of whether the application is even installed on the user&#39;s computing system. 
     The principles described herein operate in the context of a computing system that presents the user multiple visualizations, a computing system will first be described with respect to  FIG. 1 . Furthermore, and thereafter, an environment in which the computing system shares accessed content via various applications will be described with respect to  FIG. 2 . Thereafter, further details regarding how the computing system identifies the multiple content sharing applications based on different criteria will be described with respect to  FIG. 3 through 10 . Finally, further details regarding how the computing system may support multiple content types for content sharing will be described with respect to  FIG. 11 . 
     Computing systems are now increasingly taking a wide variety of forms. Computing systems may, for example, be handheld devices, appliances, laptop computers, desktop computers, mainframes, distributed computing systems, or even devices that have not conventionally been considered a computing system. In this description and in the claims, the term “computing system” is defined broadly as including any device or system (or combination thereof) that includes at least one physical and tangible processor, and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by the processor. The memory may take any form and may depend on the nature and form of the computing system. A computing system may be distributed over a network environment and may include multiple constituent computing systems. An example computing system is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in its most basic configuration, a computing system  100  typically includes at least one processing unit  102  and memory  104 . The memory  104  may be physical system memory, which may be volatile, non-volatile, or some combination of the two. The term “memory” may also be used herein to refer to non-volatile mass storage such as physical storage media. If the computing system is distributed, the processing, memory, and/or storage capability may be distributed as well. As used herein, the term “executable module” or “executable component” can refer to software objects, routines, or methods that may be executed on the computing system. The different components, modules, engines, and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). 
     In the description that follows, embodiments are described with reference to acts that are performed by one or more computing systems. If such acts are implemented in software, one or more processors of the associated computing system that performs the act direct the operation of the computing system in response to having executed computer-executable instructions. For example, such computer-executable instructions may be embodied on one or more computer-readable media that form a computer program product. An example of such an operation involves the manipulation of data. The computer-executable instructions (and the manipulated data) may be stored in the memory  104  of the computing system  100 . Computing system  100  may also contain communication channels  108  that allow the computing system  100  to communicate with other message processors over, for example, network  110 . 
     The computing system  100  also includes a display  112  on which a user interface, such as the user interface visualizations here, may be rendered. Such user interface visualizations may be generated in computer hardware or other computer-represented form prior to rendering. The presentation and/or rendering of such user interfaces may be performed by the computing system  100  by having the processing unit(s)  102  execute one or more computer-executable instructions that are embodied on one or more computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media may form all or a part of a computer program product. 
     Embodiments described herein may comprise or utilize a special purpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, such as, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussed in greater detail below. Embodiments described herein also include physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or data structures. Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. Computer-readable media that store computer-executable instructions are physical storage media. Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions are transmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, embodiments of the invention can comprise at least two distinctly different kinds of computer-readable media: computer storage media and transmission media. 
     Computer storage media includes RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. 
     A “network” is defined as one or more data links that enable the transport of electronic data between computer system and/or modules and/or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a transmission medium. Transmissions media can include a network and/or data links which can be used to carry or desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     Further, upon reaching various computer system components, program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be transferred automatically from transmission media to computer storage media (or vice versa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structures received over a network or data link can be buffered in RAM within a network interface module (e.g., a “NIC”), and then eventually transferred to computer system RAM and/or to less volatile computer storage media at a computer system. Thus, it should be understood that computer storage media can be included in computer system components that also (or even primarily) utilize transmission media. 
     Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which, when executed at a processor, cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or even source code. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the described features or acts described above. Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including, personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers, routers, switches, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and remote computer systems, which are linked (either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by a combination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a network, both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
     Embodiments described herein relate to a user interface menu that presents one or more “non-installed” applications that enable a user to share content that the user is accessing. An application is a computing program that causes a computing system to perform tasks for users. An “installed” application is a computing program that has been installed and stored in the computing system. A user can initiate a task of an installed application by activating the installed computing program. An “non-installed” application is a computing program that has not been installed or stored in the computing system. A non-installed application may also be a web service. 
     As will be described herein, a computing system  100  presents a user interface on a display  112 . The computing system may have one or more applications installed therein. The computing system includes an operating system, with the one or more installed applications running in the operating system. Even the operating system may also be considered as just an application that is installed on the computing system. An installed application may also be a launching point for navigating the web entering into other remote applications that perhaps are not even installed on the computing system. Such a remote non-installed application will also be referred to hereinafter as a “web service.” 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an environment  200  in which a computing system (such as the computing system  100  of  FIG. 1 ) shares accessed content via various applications (installed or non-installed) via a user interacting with visualizations on a user interface menu  230 . When a user accesses (as represented by bi-directional arrow  211 ) content, the computing system  100  detects (also as represented by bi-directional arrow  211 ) the type of the content  212  the user is accessing. Then, the system identifies (as represented by arrow  213 ) one or more applications  220  that enable the user to share the type of the content that the user is accessing. Such applications  220  may hereinafter be referred to as “content sharing applications”). At least one of the corresponding applications is a non-installed application. For instance, in  FIG. 2 , the applications  220  are illustrated as including installed applications  221  and  222  among potentially other numbers (zero, one, more or many more) as represented by the ellipses  223 , and non-installed applications  224  and  225  among potentially other numbers (one, more or many more) as represented by the ellipses  226 . 
     The computing system  100  presents a user interface menu  230  on the display  112 . The menu  230  is populated with one or more visualizations, each of which being associated with one of the identified applications  220 . For instance, the visualizations are illustrated as including visualization  231  through  236 , each associated with respective applications  221  through  226 . In particular, in the example that follows, assume that visualization  231  is associated with installed application  221  (as represented by line  241 ); visualization  232  is associated with installed application  222  (as represented by line  242 ); and so forth (as represented by ellipses  233  and the line  243 . Similarly, assume that visualization  234  is associated with non-installed application  224  (as represented by line  244 ); visualization  235  is associated with non-installed application  225  (as represented by line  245 ); and so forth (as represented by the ellipses  236  and the line  246 ). 
     After the computing system  100  creates the user interface menu  230 , the user may interact with one or more of the visualizations to activate the content sharing functionality of the corresponding application(s). When a user interacts with a visualization that is associated with a non-installed application, the computing system may perhaps install the non-installed application and enable the user to share content from the newly installed application. Alternatively, the computing system may direct the user to a web service that allows the user to share the content. 
     The act  213  of identifying a content sharing application illustrated in  FIG. 2  could occur using one or more or all of the multiple selection criteria. As an example,  FIG. 3  illustrates multiple data flows  300  originating with a variety of user information types, and in which content sharing applications  340  represent an example of content sharing applications  220  of  FIG. 2 , and user interface menu  350  represents an example of the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . For instance, in addition to identifying content sharing application(s) by content type, the computing system  100  could gather user information  310  from different sources and identify additional selection criteria when selecting the content sharing applications  340  to be populated in the user interface menu  350 . Again, each of the identified content sharing applications  340  may be an installed or non-installed application. 
     A variety of additional criteria that are identified from user information is further illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In the example illustrated, each additional criteria is illustrated as being used to in the selection of a single content sharing application. Of course, this is just for purposes of example. Multiple of the illustrated additional criteria may be used to select any given content sharing application. Furthermore, any of the illustrated additional criteria may be used to select multiple content sharing application. However, for simplicity and clarity only,  FIG. 3  illustrates different identifying criteria and content sharing applications in a one-to-one relationship. For instance, user information  310  may be the content being accessed by the user  311 , the identity of the content access application the user is using  312 , a location of the user  313 , one or more contacts of the user  314 , web services that the user previously accessed  315 , and so forth  316 . The ellipses  316  represent that there may be additional user information that can be used to generate identifying criteria. 
     As illustrated, the content being accessed by the user  311  helps the computing system identify a language  331  that was used in the content, which can then be used in identifying appropriate content sharing application(s) for that language. The identity of the content access application (i.e., the application that the user uses to access the content in the first place) the user is using  312  may be used by the computing system to help identify corresponding content sharing applications  332  that are especially suited for content accessed by the content access application. The location of the user  313  may help the computing system identify regional criteria of the user, which may be used to identifying corresponding applications  333  that are suited to that region (e.g., are popular or available within that region). The identity of one or more contacts of the user  314  may help the computing system identify content sharing applications that the contacts use  334 , thereby more likely resulting in the computing system selecting those contact sharing application to share the accessed content. The identity of web services the user previously accessed (e.g., a navigation history) may help the computing system identify the user interests and web service information, and so forth, thereby allowing for a more intelligent selection of content sharing applications that the user is more familiar with. 
     As mentioned above, a non-installed content sharing application may be a web service. As previously mentioned, the user may have accessed the web service previously, and the computing system may help the user gain access to that web service.  FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate examples of how this facilitation of access may be achieved by the computing system  100  tracking and storing the user login information used at the time the user accesses the web service. Later, if the user selects the web service as a content sharing application to share the content the user is accessing, the system  100  could retrieve the user login information and log in to the web service automatically. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a general flow  400  when a user previously accesses a web service. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the user previously logs in (as represented by arrow  411 ) to the web service  410  through the user interface  420 . A credential manager  430  tracks (as represented by arrow  421 ) the user&#39;s login information for that web service. The login information is stored (as represented by arrow  431 ) in a credential storage  440 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates data flows  500  associated with how this credential may be later used to facilitate automated access to the web service when the web service is selected as a content sharing application. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , if the user selects a web service as a non-installed content sharing application to share accessed content, the credential manager identifies (as represented by arrow  511 ) that the web service was previously accessed, retrieves (as represented by arrow  521 ) the user login information from the credential storage  540 , and then directs the user to the web service user interface  530  and logs in to the web service automatically (as represented by arrow  522 ). 
       FIG. 6  further illustrates an environment  600  in which a user interface menu  610  is presented that includes visualizations of non-installed web services applications. The user interface menu  610  is an example of the user interface menu  350  of  FIG. 3  or the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . The purpose of  FIG. 6  is to illustrate what could happen when the user selects a web service as a content sharing application depending on whether or not the user has previously accessed that web service. 
     For instance, user interface menu  610  includes visualization set  611  through  614 . The visualization set  611  have one or more visualizations that are each associated with an installed application. Each of the visualization sets  612  through  614  are associated with a corresponding set of one or more non-installed application(s). As illustrated, each visualization in visualization set  612  is associated with a web service that has not been accessed by the user previously; each visualization in visualization set  613  is associated with a web service that has been accessed by the user previously; and each visualization in visualization set  614  is associated with a non-installed application that is not a web service. 
     When a user interacts with one of the visualizations in visualization set  612 , the credential manager  520  identifies that the web service associated with the visualization has not been previously accessed by the user. Thereafter, the computing system directs the user to the web service without automatically trying to log in to the web service. For instance, as illustrated, the initial user interface of the web service  621  may ask a user to log in or register as a new user. When a user interacts with one of the visualizations in visualization set  613 , the credential manager  520  identifies that the web service associated with the visualization has been previously accessed by the user, and the system directs the user to the web service  622 , whereupon the computing system automatically logs in with the previously stored user information. For instance, as illustrated, the user interface of the web service  622  may show the user&#39;s name as John, and other content information associated with the user John. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the computing system could include additional identifying criteria when selecting the content sharing applications to be presented in the user interface menu. One of the illustrated additional criteria may be based on the identity  334  of the content sharing applications that are used by one or more of the user&#39;s contacts.  FIG. 7  further illustrates an environment  700  with an associated data flow showing how content may be shared based on this criterion. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the computing system identifies the content sharing applications that the user&#39;s contacts use. For instance, as illustrated, contact  711  (also referenced as “Contact  1 ”) uses content sharing application  711 A through  711 C (also references as “Application  11 ,” “Application  12 ”, and “Application  13 ”, respectively). The ellipses  711 C represents a flexible number of the content sharing applications that contact  711  may use. The number may be zero, one or more. Similarly, contact  712  (also referenced as “Contact  2 ”) uses content sharing application  712 A through  712 C (also referenced as “Application  21 ”, “Application  22 ”, and “Application  23 ”, respectively). The ellipses  712 C also represents a flexible number of the content sharing applications that contact  712  may use. The number also may be zero, one or more. The ellipses  713  represents that there may be more or many more contacts that use different content sharing applications. Alternatively, the ellipses  713  also represents a flexible number of the contacts and a flexible number of the content sharing applications that the contacts use. There may only be zero or one contact, or zero or one contact sharing applications that the user&#39;s contacts use. 
     The computing system  100  first detects the content type  720  of the content that the user is accessing. In a particular example that follows, assume that the computing system identifies (as represented by arrow  721 ) the content type is as being content type A. Accordingly, the computing system detects the content sharing applications that one or more user&#39;s contacts use, and filters  730  out the applications that enables content sharing of content type A. Assume that application  711 A of contact  711  and application  712 A of contact  712  enable content sharing of content type A; application  711 B of contact  712  and application  712 B of contact  712  enable content sharing of content type B; application  711 C of contact  711  and application  713 C of contact  712  enable content sharing of content type C; and so forth. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the computing system filters  730  out application  711 A and application  712 A, which enable content sharing of content type A. Finally, the system generates the user interface menu  750  and populates multiple visualizations, each of which being associated with the applications that are used by one or more of the user&#39;s contacts and enable the type of the content the user is accessing. 
     In the particular example, the user interface menu  750  populates visualizations  751  and  752 , each of which is associated with application  711 A and  712 A. The ellipses  753  and  743  represent that there may be more content sharing applications that are not identified from the user&#39;s contacts, and each of the visualizations in visualization set  753  is associated with each of the content sharing applications in  743 . The ellipses  743  and  753  also represent flexibility in the number of other content sharing applications  740  and a associated visualizations  750 , respectively. The number may be zero, one, more or many more. Each of the applications associated with one of the visualizations in the user interface menu  750  may be installed or non-installed. At least one of the visualizations represents a non-installed application. The content sharing applications  740  of  FIG. 7  represents an example of the content sharing applications  220  of  FIG. 2 . Furthermore, the user interface menu  750  represents an example of the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the computing system could also use the region  333  of the user and the language  331  of the content being accessed as an additional selection criterion to select content sharing applications to be populated in the user interface menu  350 .  FIGS. 8 and 9  further illustrate this in more detail. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an environment  800  that represents an example of the environment  200  of  FIG. 2 . For instance, the identified applications  850  of  FIG. 8  represent an example of the content sharing applications  220  of  FIG. 2 . Furthermore, the user interface menu  860  is an example of the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . The environment  800  also includes a registered collection  830  of applications that are registered as associated with various locations. For instance, the registered collection  830  includes the identity of application set  830 A through application set  830 C. Each application in application set  830 A is registered as corresponding to location A; each application in application set  830 B is registered as corresponding to location B. There may be a flexible number of applications in each of the application set  830 A and  830 B, such as zero, one or more. The ellipses  830 C represent that there may be many more a registered locations, and accordingly, there may be a flexible number of applications associated with each of the additional locations. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the computing system may obtain a location of the user  810 , and then identify (from the registered collection  830 ) a list of the content sharing applications that enable sharing of content of the content type  820 . The computing system  100  filters out the applications that are registered as location A, and generates the user interface menu  860  including visualization set  861 . Each visualization in visualization set  861  is associated with a content sharing application  851  that is registered as location A. The ellipses  862  represent one or more other visualizations that are each associated with a content sharing application that is within the identified content sharing applications that are not registered as corresponding location A (as represented by ellipses  853 ). 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an environment  900  that represents an example of the environment  200  of  FIG. 2 . For instance, the identified applications  950  of  FIG. 9  represents an example of the content sharing applications  220  of  FIG. 2 . Furthermore, the user interface menu  960  is an example of the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . The environment  900  also includes a registered collection  830  of applications that are registered as associated with various languages. For instance, the registered collection  930  includes the identity of application set  930 A through application(s)  930 C. Each application in application set  930 A is registered as corresponding to language A; each application in application set  930 B is registered as corresponding to language B. There may be a flexible number of applications in each of the application set  930 A and  930 B, such as zero, one or more. The ellipses  930 C represent that there may be many more a registered languages, and accordingly, there may be a flexible number of applications associated with each of the additional languages. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the computing system may obtain a language of the user  910 , and then identify (from the registered collection  930 ) a list of the content sharing applications that enable sharing of content of the content type  920 . The computing system  100  filters out the applications that are registered as language B, and generates the user interface menu  960  including visualization set  961 . Each visualization in visualization set  961  is associated with a content sharing application  951  that is registered as language B. The ellipses  962  represent one or more other visualizations that are each associated with a content sharing application that is within the identified shared content applications that are not registered as corresponding language B (as represented by ellipses  853 ). 
     Finally, the computing system  100  may allow a content accessing application itself (e.g., via declarations or code provided by the author of the content accessing application) to register a preferred set of one or more corresponding content sharing applications to be used when sharing content of a particular type by the content accessing application.  FIG. 10  illustrates an environment  1000  that is similar to the environment  200  of  FIG. 2  but includes data flows that show how the content accessing applications may influence the choice of content sharing applications. For instance, identified applications  1040  is an example of the content sharing applications  220  of  FIG. 2 , and the user interface menu  1050  is an example of the user interface menu  230  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a content accessing application  1010  may register an identity of one or more corresponding content sharing applications  1020 . In the illustrated example, the content sharing applications to be registered include applications  1021  and  1022 . The ellipses  1023  represent that there may be a flexible number of registered corresponding content sharing applications. The number may be zero, one or more. When a user is accessing content through application  1010 , the computing system detects one or more corresponding content sharing applications that are registered with application  1010 . Accordingly, the computing system creates the user interface menu  1050  and includes one or more visualizations  1051  through  1053 , each of which is associated with one of the corresponding applications  1041  through  1043  registered with the content accessing application  1010 . 
     As illustrated, assume visualization  1051  is associated with  1041 ; visualization  1052  is associated with  1042  and visualization  1053  is associated with application  1043 . Similar to the ellipses  1023 , the ellipses  1043  and  1053  represent that there may be a flexible number of identified applications and associated visualizations, respectively. The number may be zero, one or more. The ellipses  1044  further represent that the computing system may also identify one or more other content sharing applications that are not registered with the content accessing application  1010 . The visualization  1054  represents one or more visualizations, each of which being associated with one of the content sharing applications  1044  that are not registered with the content accessing application  1010 . The ellipses  1044  and  1054  also represent that the number of the applications or the visualizations may be flexible, such as zero, one or more. 
     The computing system  100  may enable sharing of content of multiple types.  FIG. 11  illustrates an environment  1100  in which the computing system detects (as represented by arrow  1111 ) the type of content that the user is accessing, and further determines (as represented by arrow  1121 ) whether the type of the content is one of the types for which the computing system  100  enables content sharing. As illustrated, the supported content types  1120  may include text content type  1121  and multimedia content type  1122 . The ellipses  1123  represent that there may be zero, one or more content types categories that the computing system  100  may support, and there may be one or more content types in each category that the system  100  may support. Image content type  1122 A, audio content type  1122 B, video content type  1122 C, web address content type  1122 D, and web page content type  1122 E are listed in the category of multimedia content type  1122 . The ellipses  1122  F represent that there may be zero, one or more other multimedia content type that the system  100  may support. 
     Accordingly, the principles described herein provide a model for a computing system to present a user interface menu including multiple visualizations, each of which is associated with a content sharing application, which allows a user to share content that the user is accessing. At least one of the content sharing applications associated with one of the visualizations is a non-installed application, which allows a user to share the content not only with one or more installed applications, but also with one or more non-installed applications. 
     The computing system identifies the non-installed applications based on the type of the content that the user is accessing, for instance, text content type, image content type, audio content type, video content type, web address content type, web page content type, other multimedia content type, and so forth. Furthermore, the system may identify the non-installed applications based on other additional criteria, for instance, the user&#39;s location, the language of the content, the applications that one or more of the user&#39;s contacts use, the content accessing application that the user is using, the web services the user previously accessed, and so forth. 
     This allows the number of potential content sharing applications presented to the user to be augmented to include web services and non-installed applications. This further provides a greater likelihood of interest of the user in sharing via these additional options for content sharing applications. Thus, the principles described herein provide a technical advancement in the state of the art in sharing content over networks. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.