Patent ID: 7519660

Claim:
A method for adjusting instant messaging control settings of an instant messaging application in a computing environment that includes at least one instant messaging application and at least one calendar application, the method comprising the steps of: detecting a calendar event associated with a calendar entry of a calendar application, the calendar event including at least one of a creation of the calendar entry, an editing of the calendar entry, and a receipt of a notification for the calendar entry; upon detection of the calendar event, prompting a user of the instant messaging application to decide whether to manually adjust a control setting or let the control setting be adjusted automatically based on the calendar application entry; adjusting the control setting manually by the user if the user decides to manually adjust the control setting; looking up a default setting and adjusting the control setting automatically to the default setting if the user decides to let the control setting be adjusted automatically, wherein the calendar application is remote from the instant messaging application; the control setting is conveyed from the remote application to the instant messaging application across a network; determining an availability setting within the remote application the at least one additional application other than the instant messaging application based upon the calendar application entry; conveying the availability setting from the remote application to the at least one additional application across a network; and automatically adjusting a setting of the at least one additional application in accordance with the availability setting.