Data change alerts in a collaborative environment

1. A method for highlighting a data change in a collaborative environment, the method comprising:

detecting, by one or more processors, a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating, by one or more processors, a first message that contains first information pertaining to the first data change, and second information pertaining to the first data change;

determining, by one or more processors, that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table:

updating the representational object based on information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that there is a second user associated with the representational object,

determining that the second user is not online,

generating, by one or more processors, a first alert based on the first information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that the second user has come online, and

in response to determining that the second user has come online, sending the first alert to a user interface operated by the second user, wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface,

receiving, from the second user interface, a request for more information with respect to the first alert, and

in response to receiving the request for more information, sending to the second user interface, the second information;

wherein:

the first information comprises the representational object, and

the second information comprises overlapping and alternately displaying the representational object before the first data change, and the representational object after the first data change, to highlight the difference in the representational object caused by the first data change.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input:

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input:

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:

created the representational object;

modified the representational object; or

operated on the representational object.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

8. A computer program product for generating data change alerts in a collaborative environment comprising:

one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform:

detecting, by one or more processors, a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating, by one or more processors, a first message that contains first information pertaining to the first data change, and second information pertaining to the first data change;

determining, by one or more processors, that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table:

updating the representational object based on information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that there is a second user associated with the representational object,

determining that the second user is not online,

generating, by one or more processors, a first alert based on the first information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that the second user has come online, and

in response to determining that the second user has come online, sending the first alert to a user interface operated by the second user, wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface,

receiving, from the second user interface, a request for more information with respect to the first alert, and

in response to receiving the request for more information, sending to the second user interface, the second information;

wherein:

the first information comprises the representational object, and

the second information comprises overlapping and alternately displaying the representational object before the first data change, and the representational object after the first data change, to highlight the difference in the representational object caused by the first data change.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input:

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 , further comprising instructions to perform:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input:

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the second user performed at least one of the following actions:

created the representational object;

modified the representational object; or

operated on the representational object.

14. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.

15. A computer system for generating data change alerts in a collaboration environment comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer-readable storage media;

program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising instructions to perform:

detecting, by one or more processors, a first data change, made by a first user, in a cell of a data table;

in response to detecting the first data change, generating, by one or more processors, a first message that contains first information pertaining to the first data change, and second information pertaining to the first data change;

determining, by one or more processors, that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table;

in response to determining that there exists a representational object that is based on information within the cell of the data table:

updating the representational object based on information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that there is a second user associated with the representational object,

determining that the second user is not online,

generating, by one or more processors, a first alert based on the first information in the first message,

determining, by one or more processors, that the second user has come online, and

in response to determining that the second user has come online, sending the first alert to a user interface operated by the second user, wherein the first alert comprises rendering a visual clue in the user interface,

receiving, from the second user interface, a request for more information with respect to the first alert, and

in response to receiving the request for more information, sending to the second user interface, the second information;

wherein:

the first information comprises the representational object, and

the second information comprises overlapping and alternately displaying the representational object before the first data change, and the representational object after the first data change, to highlight the difference in the representational object caused by the first data change.

16. The computer system of claim 15 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving a first user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the first user input:

displaying the representational object on the user interface, and

highlighting a change in the representational object based on information in the first message.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , further comprising instructions to perform:

detecting a second data change in the cell of the data table;

generating a second message that contains information pertaining to the second data change;

updating the representational object based on information in the second message; and

highlighting the second data change in the representational object based on information in the second message.

18. The computer system of claim 15 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving information that the second user is online; and

in response to receiving the information that the second user is online, displaying the first alert in the user interface.

19. The computer system of claim 16 , further comprising instructions to perform:

receiving a second user input indicating that the second user interacted with the visual clue;

in response to receiving the second user input:

displaying the representational object; and

displaying information descriptive of a change history of the representational object.

20. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein highlighting the change in the representational object comprises comparatively displaying:

the representational object corresponding to the data table before the first data change is detected; and

the representational object corresponding to the data table after the first data change is detected.