Patent ID: 8583614

Claim:
A method for synchronizing browser documents, the method comprising: losing a connection to a version control server at a client device having a first instance of a document open in a first browser window of a browser and a second instance of the document open in a second browser window of the browser; storing a first branch corresponding to the first instance of the document in local storage associated with the browser, the first branch indicating whether the first instance of the document is open or abandoned and one or more first changes; the second browser window automatically determining that the first instance of the document is abandoned; the second browser window automatically merging the one or more first changes into the second instance of the document in response to determining that the first instance of the document is abandoned; and prior to the second browser window automatically determining that the first instance of the document is abandoned, the first browser window periodically marking the first branch as open, wherein the second browser window automatically determining that the first instance of the document is abandoned includes the second browser window determining that a last time the first branch was marked as open occurred more than a predetermined threshold amount of time prior to a current time.