Patent ID: 7716263

Claim:
A method for providing indications that documents are currently opened by other users in a group, comprising: detecting a document open operation on a document, wherein said document open operation is performed by a first user; sending an indication of said document open operation to a server system, wherein said indication of said document open operation further includes a user identifier of said first user and a document identifier of said document; in response to receipt by said server system of said indication of said document open operation, adding said document identifier to a list of documents currently opened by said first user, wherein said list of documents currently opened by said first user is stored on said server system in an on-line status database entry associated with said first user, wherein said on-line status database entry associated with said first user further includes an on-line status of said first user; sending on-line status of said first user from said server system to client systems associated with other users in said group, wherein said list of documents currently opened by said first user is sent together with said on-line status of said first user; generating a perceptible indication by at least one of said client systems associated with said other users in said group that said at least one of said documents is currently opened by said first user; receiving, by a client system associated with a second user that is one of said other users in said group, said list of documents currently opened by said first user together with said on-line status of said first user; in response to receipt of said list of documents currently opened by said first user, comparing said received list of documents currently opened by said first user with a previously received list of documents currently opened by said first user; in the event said received list of documents currently opened by said first user includes a new document identifier, wherein said new document identifier is not listed in said previously received list of documents opened by said first user, determining whether any user in said group currently has a document opened that is identified by said new document identifier; and in the event that another user in said group currently has said document opened that is identified by said new document identifier, adding said user identifier of said first user to a currently accessing users list associated with said new document identifier, wherein said currently accessing users list associated with said new document identifier is stored on said client system associated with said second user, and wherein said currently accessing users list associated with said new document identifier contains user identifiers indicating which specific ones of said users in said group currently have said document open that is identified by said new document identifier.