# US 2014/0157138 A1 · People as applications > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0157138 A1 - Document ID: US20140157138A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/690,980 - Filed: 2012-11-30 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30 - Assignees: Google Inc. - Applicants: Google Inc. - Inventors: Alexander Friedrich KUSCHER; John Nicholas Jitkoff; Caesar Sengupta - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140157138A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/04817: using icons (graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34) - G06Q 10/063112: {Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task} - G06Q 10/10: Office automation; Time management - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract The subject disclosure relates to associating contacts with corresponding system actions. It includes identifying a contact profile for configuring with system actions, based on one or more of an address book, user input, online accounts, or an interaction with a contact corresponding to the contact profile, retrieving contact information for the identified contact profile and determining at least one available system action based on the retrieved contact information for the identified contact profile. The disclosure also includes generating, based on the retrieved contact information, a system icon representing the contact profile for displaying the contact profile in a graphic user interface component of an operating system and associating the at least one available system action with the contact profile by configuring the at least one available system action to automatically launch when selected at the system icon representing the contact profile. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method for associating contacts with corresponding system actions, the method comprising: identifying a contact profile for configuring with system actions, based on one or more of an address book, user input, online accounts, or an interaction with a contact corresponding to the contact profile; retrieving contact information for the identified contact profile; determining at least one available system action based on the retrieved contact information for the identified contact profile, wherein each available system action corresponds to at least one part of the retrieved contact information for the identified contact profile; generating, based on the retrieved contact information, a system icon representing the contact profile for displaying the contact profile in a graphic user interface component of an operating system; and associating the at least one available system action with the contact profile by configuring the at least one available system action to automatically launch when selected at the system icon representing the contact profile. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the identified contact profile is a priority contact, based on at least one of interaction history, user preferences, user input or physical proximity; and providing, in a case where the identified contact profile is a priority contact, the system icon representing the contact profile for display in a task bar of the operating system. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The computer-implemented method of claim 2, method further comprising: transmitting, in a case where the identified contact profile is a priority contact, a notification to the system icon representing the contact profile about incoming actions corresponding to the at least one available system action. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein associating the at least one available system action with the contact profile by configuring the at least one available system action to automatically launch when selected at the system icon representing the contact profile comprises providing the system icon with in-line system actions, wherein the in-line system actions are configured to receive input from a user at the system icon and transmit the received input to an application corresponding to the system action. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein associating the at least one available system action with the contact profile by configuring the at least one available system action to automatically launch when selected at the system icon representing the contact profile comprises automatically populating fields of data from the contact profile in a graphic user interface corresponding to the at least one available system action, when launching the at least one available system action. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the contact profile comprises one or more profiles for a group of contacts. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the contact profile for configuring with system actions comprises identifying the contact profile based on user association with the contact profile at a social networking site. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein available system actions comprise one or more of composing an email message, composing an SMS message, composing an MMS message, placing a call, initiating a chat session, initiating a video conference, sharing a document, posting a message at a social networking site or composing a document. ### Claim 9 A machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by the processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising: identifying an incoming action; determining whether the identified incoming action is from a priority contact profile, wherein the priority contact profile is identified based on at least one of interaction history, user preferences, user input or physical proximity; and in a case where the identified incoming action is for the priority contact profile, transmitting a notification about the identified incoming action to a system icon representing the priority contact profile, wherein the identified incoming action is accessible from the system icon representing the priority contact profile. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the priority contact profile comprises contact information for the priority contact profile and wherein the operations further comprise: determining whether the incoming action corresponds to at least one available system action for the priority contact profile, wherein the at least one available system action corresponds to at least one part of the contact information for the identified contact profile. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, in a case the incoming action does not correspond to at least one available system action for the priority contact profile, the operations further comprising: generating a new system action corresponding to the incoming action and a new contact information part corresponding to the incoming action, for the priority contact profile. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein, in a case the incoming action is not for the priority contact profile, the operations further comprising: determining whether the incoming action corresponds to at least one available contact profile. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein in a case where the incoming action corresponds to the at least one available contact profile, the operations further comprising: retrieving contact information for the at least one available contact profile; generating a system icon representing the at least one available contact profile; and providing the generated system icon representing the at least one available contact profile for display in a task bar of the operating system. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein, in a case the incoming action is not from the at least one available contact profile, the operations further comprising: generating a new contact profile based on the in the incoming action. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The machine-readable medium of claim 14, the operations further comprising: generating a system icon representing the new contact profile; and providing the generated system icon representing the new contact profile for display in a task bar of the operating system. ### Claim 16 A computer-implemented method for sharing content, the method comprising: receiving, at a system icon representing a contact, a content item for sharing with the contact; determining, based on at least one of a type of the received content item or a contact profile associated with the contact represented by the system icon, a sharing scheme for sharing the received content item with the contact; and causing the received content item to be shared with the contact according to the determined sharing scheme, in response to receiving the content item at the system icon representing the contact. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein determining, based at least on one of the type of the received content item or the contact profile associated with the contact represented by the system icon, a sharing scheme for sharing the received content item with the contact, further comprises: determining the file type for the received content item; and selecting a sharing scheme that corresponds to the determined file type. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein determining, based at least on one of the type of the received content item or the contact profile associated with the contact represented by the system icon, a sharing scheme for sharing the received content item with the contact, further comprises: identifying the contact profile associated with the contact; and selecting a sharing scheme that corresponds to the identified contact profile associated with the contact. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein causing the received content item to be shared with the contact according to the determined sharing scheme, in response to receiving the content item at the system icon representing the contact comprises: launching an application corresponding to the determined sharing scheme; and causing the received content item to be shared through the launched application. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein causing the received content item to be shared through the launched application comprises: identifying a destination location for the content item from the contact profile associated with the contact represented by the system icon; and transmitting the received content item to the identified destination location.