Instant sharing of documents on a remote server

A apparatus for use in a server, comprising:

• an application invoker configured to invoke an application to produce an application screen;
• a server document sharing application configured to send the application screen to a virtual device, the virtual device to produce a shared screen for use in a live data conference;
• a communication module configured to send the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients, each of the remote clients having a viewer application to display the shared screen, the shared screen being simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference;
• and
• a file editing application configured to receive user input from one of the remote clients and drive the application to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update,
• wherein the server document sharing application is further configured to receive the application screen update from the application and send the application screen update to the virtual device, the virtual device to create a shared screen update, the shared screen update representing only the portion of the application screen that was edited, and
• wherein the communication module is further configured to send the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen update to the remote clients, each of the viewer applications to update the display of the application screen with the shared screen update, the shared screen update being simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a server document sharing application configured to send an application screen generated by an application to a virtual device, the virtual device to create a shared screen for use in a live data conference, the shared screen being created at a server;
• a server communication module configured to send the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients;
• a display device attached to each of the remote clients, each of the display devices to simultaneously present a display of the shared screen during the live data conference;
• a client document sharing application to collect user input from a user at one of the remote clients;
• a client communication module configured to send the user input to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to send the user input to the server;
• and
• an application invoker to a file editing application at the remote server to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update, the server document sharing application to send the application screen update to the virtual device, the virtual device to create a shared screen update at the server, wherein the shared screen update represents only the portion of the application screen that was edited,
• wherein the server communication module is further configured to send the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen update to the plurality of remote clients, and
• wherein a viewer application revises the display of the shared screen on each display device using the shared screen update.

A method for automatically sharing a file, comprising:

• printing a file, on an application server, to a virtual printer from an application associated with the file, the virtual printer to create a shared document for use in a live data conference;
• and
• sending the shared document to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared document to a plurality of remote clients;
• and
• displaying the shared document at each remote client with a viewer application, wherein the shared document can be simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference.

A method for use in a server, comprising:

• invoking an application to produce an application screen;
• sending the application screen to a virtual device to produce a shared screen for use in a live data conference;
• sending the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients;
• displaying the shared screen at each of the remote clients with a corresponding viewer application;
• receiving user input from one of the remote clients;
• driving the application to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update;
• sending the application screen update to the virtual device, the virtual device to create a shared screen update, the shared screen update representing only the portion of the application screen that was edited;
• and
• sending the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen update to the remote clients, and updating the display of the application screen with the shared screen update, the shared screen update being simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference.

A method, comprising:

• creating a shared screen for use in a live data conference, the shared screen being created at a server by sending an application screen generated by an application to a virtual device;
• sending the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients;
• simultaneously presenting, on a display device attached to each of the remote clients, a display of the shared screen during the live data conference;
• collecting user input from a user at one of the remote clients;
• sending the user input to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to send the user input to the remote server;
• causing the application at the remote server to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update;
• creating a shared screen update at the remote server by sending the application screen update to the virtual device, wherein the shared screen update represents only the portion of the application screen that was edited;
• sending the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen update to the plurality of remote clients;
• and
• revising the display of the shared screen on each display device using the shared screen update.

A computer program automatically sharing a file, the computer program tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, containing instructions for causing a computer to:

• print a file, on an application server, to a virtual printer from an application associated with the file, the virtual printer to create a shared document for use in a live data conference;
• and
• send the shared document to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared document to a plurality of remote clients;
• and
• displaying the shared document at each remote client with a viewer application, wherein the shared document can be simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference.

A computer program for use in a server, the computer program tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, containing instructions for causing a computer to:

• invoke an application to produce an application screen;
• send the application screen to a virtual device to produce a shared screen for use in a live data conference;
• send the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients;
• display the shared screen at each of the remote clients with a corresponding viewer application;
• receive user input from one of the remote clients;
• drive the application to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update;
• send the application screen update to the virtual device, the virtual device to create a shared screen update, the shared screen update representing only the portion of the application screen that was edited;
• and
• send the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen update to the remote clients;
• and
• update the display of the application screen with the shared screen update, the shared screen update being simultaneously displayed by each of the viewer applications during the live data conference.

A computer program, the computer program tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, containing instructions for causing a computer to:

• create a shared screen for use in a live data conference, the shared screen being created at a server by sending an application screen generated by an application to a virtual device;
• send the shared screen to a conferencing server, the conferencing server to distribute the shared screen to a plurality of remote clients;
• simultaneously present, on a display device attached to each of the remote clients, a display of the shared screen during the live data conference;
• collect user input from a user at one of the remote clients;
• send the user input to the remote server;
• cause the application at the remote server to edit the application screen based on the user input to produce an application screen update;
• create a shared screen update at the remote server by sending the application screen update to the virtual device, wherein the shared screen update represents only the portion of the application screen that was edited;
• send the shared screen update to the conferencing server, the conferencing server to send the user input to the plurality of remote clients;
• and
• revise the display of the shared screen on each display device using the shared screen update.