# US 2018/0321829 A1 · Data change alerts in a collaborative environment

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- Number: US 2018/0321829 A1
- Document ID: US20180321829A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/585,414
- Filed: 2017-05-03
- Published: 2018-11-08
- Earliest claimed: 2017-05-03
- Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation
- Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation
- Inventors: Qi Feng Huo; Wen Min Dou; Hua Shao; Jonathan Dunne
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180321829A1

## CPC

- G06F 40/177: of tables; using ruled lines
- G06F 40/18: of spreadsheets (form-filling G06F40/174)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

A method for generating data change alerts in a collaboration environment and highlighting changes. The method generates a message that contains information on a data change event, in response to a first user changing data in a cell of a data table. The method further determines whether there is a representational object that is based on the data being changed, and if so, alerting a second user, who is associated with the representational object, of the data change. Moreover, the data change is highlighted in the representational object.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for highlighting a data change in a collaborative environment, the method comprising:
detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;
in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;
determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;
in response to the determination:
determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and
sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the first user input:
displaying the representational object on the user interface, and
highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;
generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;
updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and
highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving information that the second user is online; and
in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the second user input:
displaying the representational object; and
displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:
created the representational object;
modified the representational object; or
operated on the representational object.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:
the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and
the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

### Claim 8

A computer program product for generating data change alerts in a collaborative environment comprising:
one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform:
detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;
in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;
determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;
in response to the determination:
determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and
sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:
receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the first user input:
displaying the representational object on the user interface, and
highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:
detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;
generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;
updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and
highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:
receiving information that the second user is online; and
in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the second user input:
displaying the representational object; and
displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:
created the representational object;
modified the representational object; or
operated on the representational object.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:
the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and
the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

### Claim 15

A computer system for generating data change alerts in a collaboration environment comprising:
one or more computer processors;
one or more computer-readable storage media;
program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform:
detecting a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;
in response to detecting the first data change, generating a first message that contains information pertaining to the first data change;
determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;
in response to the determination:
determining that there is a second user associated with the representational object, and
sending a first alert to a user interface, where the first alert is based on information in the first message, and wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, further comprising:
receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the first user input:
displaying the representational object on the user interface, and
highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The computer system of claim 16, further comprising:
detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;
generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;
updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and
highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, further comprising:
receiving information that the second user is online; and
in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The computer system of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;
in response to receiving the second user input:
displaying the representational object; and
displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The computer system of claim 16, wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:
the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and
the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.