Patent ID: 7516132

Claim:
A system, comprising: a first node; a second node; and a network for communicatively coupling the first and second nodes; wherein the first and second nodes share a file, the first node maintaining a first copy of the file and the second node maintaining a second copy of the file, the file having a first region comprising a first set of content and a second region comprising a second set of content; the first node generating a first display to show at least a portion of the first copy of the file and the second node generating a second display to show at least a portion of the second copy of the file; wherein the first node updates, based upon input received from a first user, the first region of the first copy of the file with a first set of updated content, the first node sending, to the second node, a first update message which comprises the first set of updated content, the second node receiving the first update message and automatically updating, without requiring action from a user of the second node, the first region of the second copy of the file with the first set of updated content, the second node automatically refreshing the second display so that it shows the first set of updated content in the first region; and wherein the second node updates, based upon input received from a second user, the second region of the second copy of the file with a second set of updated content, the second node sending, to the first node, a second update message which comprises the second set of updated content, the first node receiving the second update message and automatically updating, without requiring action from a user of the first node, the second region of the first copy of the file with the second set of updated content, the first node automatically refreshing the first display so that it shows the second set of updated content in the second region.