System and method for address book customization for shared emessaging
View Patent ↗A system and method provided for limiting access to directory information in a hosted, shared access environment. In situations where a third party provides hosting on a network server of services, such as e-mail, multiple third party entities may be given access to the same directory. In this situation it may be desirable to limit access to certain portions of the directory so that one entity cannot view address information for another entity. Each entry in the directory may include a form and each form may be modified to include an additional field. The additional field may be employed to associate hierarchal information with the particular entry. Access to certain views of the directory may be then restricted and access provided to other views which include modified selection criteria. Upon access to the directory, a filtering process may be performed whereby only entries in the directory which include the same hierarchal information are employed when building a view of the directory.
1. A method for presenting address information to accessing parties in a shared directory environment, the method comprising:
detecting a query from at least one entity over a data network seeking a first view of at least one address entry in a shared directory;
retrieving identification information for the at least one entity, wherein the identification information includes hierarchal information associated with the at least one entity;
denying access to the first view;
searching the shared directory to identify address entries in the shared directory which includes a plurality of address entries, each of the address entries including hierarchal information in a canonical form in a hidden field, wherein searching the shared directory comprises matching the hierarchal information in the canonical form in the hidden field to the hierarchal information associated with the at least one entity initiating the query; and
presenting to the at least one entity initiating the query only identified address entries in a second view.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the shared directory is configurable for supporting emessaging.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one entry include the identification information for at least one of: a person and a group.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the hierarchal information includes at least one of: company name and company location.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first view is a listing of all entries in the directory and the second view is a copy of the listing with modified selection criteria.
6. A system for providing limited access to address entries in a directory in a shared environment, the system comprising;
a network server configured for receiving and processing queries from one or more entities of a plurality of entities for accessing directory information over at least one data network and performing functions with regards to accessing associated directories;
a shared directory in communication with the server which includes a plurality of address entries, each of the address entries including hierarchal information in a canonical form in a hidden field, the hierarchal information being associated with at least one entity of the plurality of entities having access to the shared directory; and
wherein the network server is further configured to search the shared directory and, based on the queries, generate a first and at least one additional view of the address entries, wherein access to the first view is restricted and the at least one additional view is a subset of the first view and wherein the at least one additional view provides access to only those address entries in the first view for which the hierarchal information matches identification information for the one or more entities making the queries.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the data network is the internet and the server is configured to communicate with web browsers.
8. The system of claim 6 wherein the server and directory are configured to provide hosted emessaging services for a plurality of third parties.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the first view comprises a listing of all entries and the at least one additional view is a copy of the listing of all entries with the modified selection criteria.
10. The system of claim 6 wherein the fields are provided for at least one of: people entries and group entries in the directory.
11. A method for presenting address information to accessing parties in a shared directory environment, the method comprising:
detecting a query from at least one entity over a data network seeking a first view of at least one address entry in a shared directory, wherein the shared directory comprises a Lotus Domino server public address book which includes a plurality of address entries, each of the address entries including hierarchal information in a canonical form in a hidden field;
retrieving identification information for the at least one entity, wherein the identification information includes hierarchal information associated with the at least one entity;
denying access to the first view;
searching the shared directory to identify address entries in the shared directory wherein searching the shared directory comprises matching the hierarchal information in the canonical form in the hidden field to the hierarchal information associated with the at least one entity initiating the query; and
presenting to the at least one entity initiating the query only identified address entries in a second view.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one entry includes the identification information for at least one of: a person and a group.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the hierarchical information includes at least one of: a company name and company location.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first view comprises a listing of all entries in the directory.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the second view comprises a copy of the listing with modified selection criteria.