Abstract: The present invention relates to methods of automatically generating a data stream in which a calendar owner can request the status of a plurality of calenders maintained by an electronic calendaring system. A first data structure is generated by the system in response to the entry of calendar information by the calendar owner. The first data structure includes a plurality of predetermined fields for storing the calendar information. Each of the plurality of fields are compared to equivalent fields in identified ones of the plurality of calendars. A second data structure is then generated for each of the identified ones of the plurality of calendars which sets forth the status of calendaring an event thereon. The second data structure is transmitted to the calendar owner to confirm the status of each of the identified ones of the plurality of calendars.

Abstract: This invention relates to marking a document with action markers and specifying an action to be performed by a responding end user. Notification criteria, notify ID and a status, which are associated with the action to be performed, are also specified. Upon the completion of the action specified, the responding end user updates the status and a message is automatically generated and transmitted to an end user associated with the notify ID if the updated status meets the notification criteria.

Abstract: A method of, and system for, using a single keyboard for concurrently interacting with a plurality of terminals. By dividing the keyboard and dedicating one portion to one terminal and another portion to another terminal, a user can have a plurality of applications active at the same time and interact with all.

Abstract: A method for use in an interactive information handling system which manages a relatively large plurality of electronic documents for a plurality of end users in which an end user who is not the owner of a document, may request a delayed copy of the document to be furnished only at the time that the owner's copy of the document is to be deleted from the system. A Delayed Copy Request (DCR) is entered into the system interactively by the non-owner end user when a screen is displayed on the end user's terminal. This screen prompts the end user for the information required by the system to subsequently present to the end user document owner. At the time the document is to be deleted, the information is redisplayed to the document owner which allows the owner to decide if the request should be honored.

Abstract: The invention relates to the retrieval of data records from a computer system. A user may retrieve selected error data records by specifying criteria and activating an error services utility. Only the error record data which satisfies the specified criteria will be printed or displayed. The user may also retrieve selected message data records by specifying criteria and activating an message services utility. The user may specify the display of selected messages which were generated by a specified component within the computer system. Moreover, after displaying a selected message, the user may request the system to display more detailed information regarding the displayed message.

Abstract: This invention relates to updating a display unit associated with a remote computer system communicating with a host computer system. Information, which is currently being displayed on the display unit and information to be displayed thereon are compared to determine any differences which exist therebetween. If the differences exceed a predetermined value, an update command is generated and transmitted by the host computer system to the remote computer system along with the information to be displayed if facilitate the updating of the display unit. If the differences do not exceed the predetermined value, it is determined which of a plurality change categories should be used to transmit the differences to the remote system in the most efficient manner. An update command, which is associated with the selected one of the plurality of change categories, and data representing the differences are then enqueued for transmission to the remote system to facilitate the updating of the display unit.

Abstract: A data processing network in which a plurality of workstations such as personal computers (PC) (12) are connected to a host processor (11) and contain PC programs at particular levels for controlling tasks on the personal computers. The personal computers send a signal to the host when they are about to conduct a task indicating which data files they have and at what level. The host has an object library containing a copy of each disk file for each version of PC program. The host determines if the personal computer has the latest level data file for the version of program at that personal computer and, if it does not, sends a copy of the latest level data file to the personal computer to replace the down-level data file. Preferably, the host checks if the personal computer has all the data files it needs for the particular task and, if it does not and if it should because of the version of PC program stored at the PC, the host can load a copy of the missing file to the personal computer.

Abstract: This invention relates to assigning disk drives associated with both a host computer and a remote computer coupled together by a communication link using normal DOS driver letters. DOS initialization of the host computer is postponed until a remote session is established with the remote computer and the remote computer provides information regarding the disk drives associated therewith. Upon receiving the disk drive information from the remote computer, the host completes its initialization and assigns drive letters associated with diskette drives associated with the host computer to diskette drives associated with the remote computer. Thus, host diskette drives are logically replaced by remote diskette drives. Any hard disk drives associated with the remote computer are assigned the next available drive letter on the host computer.

Abstract: A method of managing the relationship between intermingled objects of different types for editing purposes. Management is through establishing separate and combined modes of operation. When a separate mode is selected, only a selected object will be affected by an edit action. When a combined mode is selected, selection of any object will result in all objects being affected by an edit action.

Abstract: A method for tailoring a master document to obtain a special document. The master document is made up of data objects and portions of the data objects. Included in the portions are pointers to corresponding data objects. The portions are windowed and displayed. Selection of a window will result in a view port being opened through the window into a corresponding data object. The data object can then be scrolled to obtain a desired portion to be included in the special document. As each desired portion is obtained, it is stored and becomes part of the special document.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for powering down a computer system while saving the state of the system at power down is disclosed. The system maintains the capability to suspend the execution of an application program operating on the system at any point and resuming execution of the application program at that same point at a later time. The time at which the system may be powered down and then powered back up again is totally arbitrary and depends only upon the user of the system. At the time the system is powered off, the contents of all active registers as well as the states of all I/O devices in the system are stored in a special save area of system memory. This special save area is provided with power during the suspended time in order to retain the state of the system at the time it was powered down. By using this special save suspend area, the main memory area of the system is available to any application programs independently of the system save memory requirements.

Abstract: A method for creating on-line presentations on a computer display using a complier, a compressor, and a processor. The complier converts control commands in source code format into object code format in order to specify how the information in an on-line presentation is to be presented on the display. The complier also creates a file identifying the image data to be used in the presentation. This file contains the names of the display units describing the image data used to indicate which of the uncompressed image data is to be operated upon by the compressor. The compressor formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been used to create the on-line presentation. The processor then loads and executes the object code of the control commands with its corresponding picture elements of image data to create the on-line presentation. The control commands are generated totally separate from the image data.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for disabling the clocking of a processor in a battery operated computer during non-processing times. The clocking is disabled at the conclusion of a processing operation. The clocking can then be re-enabled using interrupts from any one of a plurality of sources, such as an I/O device or a direct memory access. Application programs and operating system programs running on the system can specify the stopping of the system clock and the central processor until a specified event which had been requested occurs, or until an optional time-out period has expired. In this situation, the event is defined as one that results in either a system interrupt from an I/O device or from a direct memory access operation. The stopping of the system clock is a two part operation wherein in the first part the stopping mechanism is first armed. If an interrupt is received subsequent to arming, then it will be processed and the arming mechanism will be reset.

Abstract: In a signal processing environment, voice messages are stored into and read out of a buffer in real time. Since voice messages are being stored and read from the buffer, different sizes and rates of information are being stored therein. Small packets of digitized voice are input to the buffer at a very high rate, while larger packets of data are output from the buffer at a lower rate and can be stored into permanent memory. The buffering of this digitized voice data occurs in real time using a ringed buffer. The transfer of data into and out of the buffer is under the control of a software application running on a host processing system. The producer of the digitized voice data is a signal processing system which converts an input analog voice signal into a compressed digitized signal. The consumer of the buffered digitized voice data is a software application program which removes blocks of multiple data records from the buffer for program execution.