US 11,755,825 B2
Method, system, and computing device for facilitating private drafting
Travis Smith, Ames, IA (US); Michael Jerome Thiesen, Helena, MT (US); Hannah Joy Deering, Ames, IA (US); Mark David Erickson, Ankeny, IA (US); Ross W. Hendrickson, Prescott, AZ (US); Bryon Lee Marks, Huxley, IA (US); and Tanner Davis Miller, Alpharetta, GA (US)
Assigned to WORKIVA INC., Ames, IA (US)
Filed by WORKIVA INC., Ames, IA (US)
Filed on Sep. 11, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/18,054.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/899,380, filed on Sep. 12, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0081605 A1, Mar. 18, 2021
Int. Cl. G06F 40/177 (2020.01); G06F 16/93 (2019.01); H04L 65/403 (2022.01); G06F 40/197 (2020.01); H04L 67/10 (2022.01); G06F 16/901 (2019.01)
CPC G06F 40/177 (2020.01) [G06F 16/9027 (2019.01); G06F 16/93 (2019.01); G06F 40/197 (2020.01); H04L 65/403 (2013.01); H04L 67/10 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for facilitating private drafting, the method comprising:
storing, in a database, a mainline causal tree structure corresponding to a document, wherein the mainline causal tree structure comprises a sequence of nodes arranged in two or more branches and each node comprises an editing instruction and an identifier unique to the editing instruction, wherein the sequence of nodes tracks and stores changes made to the document over a history of the document;
receiving, from a first user of a plurality of users collaborating on the document, a request to edit a section of the document in a draft mode;
in response to the edit request, creating a draft branch of the mainline causal tree structure to manage editing instructions for the section of the document in the draft mode, wherein the draft branch comprises a sequence of nodes, a portion of which correspond to the nodes of the mainline causal tree structure, and each node of the draft branch comprises an editing instruction and an identifier unique to the editing instruction;
receiving, from the first user, an edit for the section of the document in the draft mode;
displaying a result of the edit on a computing device of the first user but not on computing devices of other users of the plurality of users;
storing, in an additional node of the draft branch, an editing instruction that represents the edit by the first user;
receiving, from the first user, a request to publish the edit; and
in response to the request to publish the edit,
merging the draft branch of the causal tree structure with the mainline causal tree structure, and
displaying the result of the edit on computing devices of the other users of the plurality of users.