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FIELD

This disclosure relates to web-based collaboration systems, and more particularly to techniques for recommending conflict resolution tools used in remediation of object edit conflicts that arise from concurrent editing sessions.

BACKGROUND

Cloud-based sharing of files and other objects is a boon to those who collaborate on ideas and projects. Advances in computing capabilities (e.g., high-power client devices) and networking (e.g., high-speed, low latency communication) has facilitated dynamic exchange of ideas, even when working on the same documents or objects. In some environments two or more collaborators can work on the same objects at the same time. When two or more collaborators work on the same document at the same time, it is possible that the changes that two collaborator make each pertains to a different part of the shared document, and no conflicts arise. It is also possible that changes made by two or more simultaneously collaborating users include changes to the same parts of a shared document. In such situations, conflicts (e.g., editing conflicts) can arise. Legacy techniques to aid in conflict resolution assume that all simultaneously collaborating users use the same editing tool (e.g., Microsoft Word). In the process of conflict resolution, one of the simultaneously collaborating users would rely on the conflict resolution helpers (e.g., redline revisions tool) available from the editing tool. Unfortunately, it often happens that the simultaneously collaborating users use different editing tools (e.g., one user uses Microsoft Word, another user uses OpenOffice, another uses Lotus Notes, another user uses VI or eMacs, etc.). It also happens that simultaneously collaborating users use different editing tools at different times (e.g., while editing from a Windows platform, or while editing from a Linux platform, etc.), and/or when editing different types of documents. Legacy collaboration tools are unable to determine what tools should be used by which users at which times so as to facilitate resolution of conflicts that are introduced by simultaneously collaborating users.

What is needed is a technique or techniques to improve over legacy approaches.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a detailed description of techniques used in systems, methods, and in computer program products for recommendation of conflict resolution tools used in conflict remediation.

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and computer program products suited to address the aforementioned issues with legacy approaches. More specifically, the present disclosure provides a detailed description of techniques used in systems, methods, and in computer program products for adaptive tool selection for conflict resolution in a multi-session collaboration setting. Certain embodiments are directed to technological solutions for presenting choices of remediation tools to collaborating users based on user profiles and online environmental conditions, which embodiments advance the relevant technical fields, as well as advancing peripheral technical fields. The disclosed embodiments modify and improve over legacy approaches. In particular, the herein-disclosed techniques provide technical solutions that address the technical problems attendant to collaboration session management functions that need to determine what tools should be used by which users at which times so as to facilitate resolution of conflicts that are introduced by simultaneously collaborating users.

Two or more users can operate concurrently on objects stored in a cloud-based environment that hosts shared objects. Concurrent editing is facilitated by components in the cloud-based environment that serve to grant to a first user, a first permission to modify a first instance of an object to be edited with a first editing tool, then grant to a second user, a second permission to modify a second instance of the same object to be edited with a second editing tool. An occurrence of a modification event that presents a modification conflict is detected, and steps are taken for determining a range of possible remediation tool options that can be used to address the modification conflict. Remediation tool options include remediation tool options that are natively-supported within the editing tools. A set of remediation tool options are presented to one of the users.

Further details of aspects, objectives, and advantages of the technological embodiments are described herein in the following descriptions, drawings, and claims.

