Synchronization manager for standardized synchronization of separate programs

[0002] The invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly to an improved method and system for managing the synchronization of local and remote data by multiple applications and system components.

[0003] Many computer users store their data on a network server, and then need access to that data when not connected to the server. For example, mobile computer users often install a number of applications that allow them to work while disconnected from the corporate network, i.e., while offline, and thus need access to their files. In one commonplace situation, a mobile user has both a company-provided desktop machine connected directly to the network, and a home machine which can temporarily connect to the network through a dial-up connection to access the data. Other users may have a laptop for traveling, a home machine and a corporate machine. Similarly, even in non-networked environments, a mobile user may work on a laptop computer while traveling instead of a home desktop computer. In each of these situations, the user typically needs to download data, work offline, and propagate any changes back to the network (or other machine).

[0004] Some applications provide the user with various mechanisms for downloading and synchronizing data for offline use. For example, Microsoft® Corporation's Outlook™ application program provides for a user to synchronize (e.g., generally download) electronic mail messages for offline use. Then, upon return to the office and reconnection to the network, or periodically via a dial-in connection to the network, the user instructs the application to synchronize (e.g., generally upload) data to handle offline activities.

[0005] Thus, to prepare for mobile computing, the user needs to instruct such applications to accumulate (e.g., download) the data for offline use while connected to the network. Upon later reconnection, the user needs to instruct the applications to synchronize offline changes to that data with the network. However, a first difficulty with synchronization that is encountered by a user is that each application that provides a synchronization mechanism has its own user interface, methods and configuration settings to accomplish the synchronization. As a result, the user needs to learn a different user interface to configure various settings for each application. Moreover, each of the applications present their information (e.g., the download progress) differently to the user, whereby the user has to learn to correctly deal with these different presentations of information for each application. In general, the user has inconsistent experiences when synchronizing the data of various applications.

[0006] A second, and perhaps more frustrating difficulty encountered by a user, is that the user needs to explicitly start each application to synchronize that application's data. As a result, if the user wants to synchronize data from several applications, the user needs to individually start each application to perform the synchronization. As can be appreciated, this can become a time-consuming and tedious procedure, especially for users that frequently work away from the network.

[0007] Briefly, the present invention provides a centralized, standardized mechanism for managing the synchronization of data between local and remote computers according to user preferences. Applications register respective handlers with a synchronization manager. On a synchronize event, such as a manual request for synchronization, or, based on user preferences, a notification of an event such as logon or logoff, the synchronization manager queues the registered application handlers, and calls the handlers to perform the synchronization of items therein. Progress and results are communicated to a user-viewable dialog via callbacks from the handlers to the synchronization manager.

[0008] The synchronization manager provides consistent user interfaces for obtaining user preferences related to synchronization and for presenting information to the user, thus resulting in a consistent user experience. A connection object obtains and/or or maintains a network connection, such as for purposes of performing scheduled synchronizations.

[0009] Other advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing a computer system into which the present invention may be incorporated;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram representing general components for synchronizing data on an event in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram representing components including instantiated objects to synchronize multiple applications in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a block diagram representing various components for handling various types of data synchronizations in accordance with one aspect of the present invention; and

[0014] FIGS. 5 and 6 comprise a flow diagram generally representing the steps taken by the synchronization manager to manage the synchronization of data in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.

[0015] Exemplary Operating Environment

[0016] FIG. 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0017] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional personal computer 20 or the like, including a processing unit 21, a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 21. The system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read-only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/output system 26 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer 20, such as during start-up, is stored in ROM 24. The personal computer 20 may further include a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the personal computer 20. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs) and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.

[0018] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35 and file system 36, one or more application programs 37, other program modules 38 and program data 39. A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and pointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor 47, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.

[0019] The personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 49. The remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the personal computer 20, although only a memory storage device 50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, Intranets and the Internet.

[0020] When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 is connected to the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as the Internet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

[0021] The Synchronization Manager

[0022] In general, a synchronization manager 60 (FIG. 2) is provided to manage the synchronization of data from multiple applications 62₁-62_mand other system components, such as to synchronize data maintained at different locations, in a standardized way. To accomplish this in a manner that provides a consistent experience from the user's perspective, the synchronization manager 60 provides a common set of wizards and dialog boxes 64 to the user regardless of the application and/or data that is being synchronized. From the perspective of the applications 62₁-62_m, the synchronization manager 60 is a centralized manager that coordinates the applications' synchronizations, and provides a common set of interfaces (e.g., Component Object Model, or COM interfaces) defined for the applications 62₁-62_mto take advantage of the synchronization manager 60. Note that while the present invention will be primarily described below with reference to examples in the COM architecture, alternate forms of defining interfaces and interprocess communication may be used for communication between the synchronization manager 60, the applications 62₁-62_m, and/or one or more event notification mechanisms, including LPC (local procedure call), LRPC (lightweight remote procedure call), Sockets, Windows messages, Shared Memory and others known to those skilled in the art.

[0023] Although not necessary to the present invention, for convenience, the synchronization manager 60 is separated into an executable implementation 66 and a dynamic link library (DLL) implementation 68 as shown in FIG. 2. The synchronization manager 60, including the components of the executable portion 66 described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 3, is started when a first synchronization event is received. The DLL implementation 68, described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4, primarily deals with receiving and maintaining user-selectable information such as settings and schedules set by the user.

[0024] Each handler provider is responsible for registering its handler with the synchronization manager 60. Each application first registers one or more appropriate handlers (e.g. 70₁of FIG. 2) with the synchronization manager 60. For example, in one implementation, the synchronization manager 60 uses the well-documented COM architecture, and in that implementation, the handler is a registered COM Inproc Server that supports the synchronization manager 60 interfaces necessary to plug into synchronization manager 60. Alternatively, LocalServer and other activations may be employed.

[0025] As represented in FIG. 2, the synchronization manager 60 receives events which trigger its operation to manage data synchronization. For example, to manually request synchronization, the user selects a synchronize operation, such as via a Start Menu or a shortcut, which generates an event. In addition to manually generated events, other events include notifications of logon and logoff, programmatic events sent by an application, scheduled synchronization notifications fired by a scheduling service such as Task Scheduler or the like, or events that are automatically generated to synchronize data during idle times. When an event comes in, the synchronization manager 60 retrieves any settings (e.g., based on user preferences) corresponding to that event from the DLL implementation 68, provides a choice dialog 72 as needed to interface with the user to obtain any user choices, queues and runs the registered handlers 70₁-70_nto synchronize items specified therein, and receives data from handlers 70₁-70_nvia a callback mechanism to display a progress dialog 74.

[0026] More particularly, as represented in FIG. 3, when the synchronization manager 60 is launched, the synchronization manager 60 may first check to see if there are already any running instances of itself. For example, in the COM implementation, if no other instances are running, the synchronization manager 60 registers a standard COM class factory 76 and calls the class factory 76 (via CoCreateInstance) to obtain access to an instance of an event object 78. Alternatively, if another instance of a synchronization manager is already running, (e.g., InstanceA), the newly-launched instance (e.g., InstanceB) does not register a class factory, but calls CoCreateInstance on the other instance's (InstanceA's) class factory to return an event object 78 therefrom. Once a proper method of the event object 78 is called, the newly-launched instance, (InstanceB), terminates. Note that multiple instances of the synchronization manager may be run, particularly if multiple progress dialogs are desired, however checking for the single instance enables the synchronization manager to use the existing progress dialog 74 when desired.

[0027] As is understood by those skilled in the art, virtually any event notification mechanism will suffice for providing events to the synchronization manager. In one implementation, the event object 78 is called to indicate that an event has occurred and that synchronization should take place. The event object 78 may be, for example, a standard COM object having defined public and private interfaces, whereby in one implementation, the public interfaces are called by an LCE (Loosely Coupled Events) service/SENS (System Event Notification Service) 80 (FIG. 4) to inform the synchronization manager 60 of logon/logoff and network connection events. These interfaces have been defined by and LCE and SENS 80. SENS, which fires events to the synchronization manager 60, and the COM-based LCE architecture are generally described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/256,624, 09/257,363 and 09/257,364 respectively entitled “System Event Notification Service,” “Object Connectivity Through Loosely Coupled Publish And Subscribe Events,” and “Object Connectivity Through Loosely Coupled Publish And Subscribe Events With Filtering,” assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. The private methods are used internally for handling events that are received by synchronization manager 60 through either command line arguments or from a programmatic invoke. More particularly, when the synchronization manager 60 is invoked it parses the command line argument to determine what event has been requested, e.g., schedule, idle, and so forth. If there is no command line argument, an UpdateAll( ) is performed. Next the synchronization manager 60 calls CoCreateInstance( ) of the class factory 76 to get the event object 78, and calls an appropriate method thereof.

[0028] As represented in FIG. 3, the event object 78 communicates with an object manager 82, which provides a set of functions for managing lifetime and global housekeeping information for the application. The object manager 82 also handles requests for finding and creating objects, such as the choice and progress dialogs 72 and 74 used to interface with the user, i.e., the event object 78 asks the object manager 82 for a dialog when the event object 78 needs one. It is the responsibility of the object manager 82 to either find an already created dialog or create a new instance of the requested dialog and return the dialog object to the caller.

[0029] By way of example, if the event object 78 corresponds to an event that provides choices to a user, e.g., the event corresponds to a manual request by the user to synchronize certain user-selectable items 71₁-72₅, the event object 78 requests the choice dialog 72 from the object manager 82. One or more choice dialogs may exist at any one time, and also may be shared. For example, if the synchronization manager is launched from the Start Menu, or launched programmatic ally while already showing the handlers, the choice dialog is shared. To share a choice dialog 72 that already exists, instead of creating another choice dialog, the object manager 82 finds the existing choice dialog 72 for the event object 78. Alternatively, if a choice dialog is brought up in the context of an application, only handler items for that application are listed, and switching to another application lists its handler items in a separate choice dialog in that other application's context. Separate progress dialogs (e.g., per application) may be similarly provided when appropriate.

[0030] The object manager 82 may track how many event objects are using the choice dialog 72, so as to close the dialog only when no longer needed by an event object 78, i.e., the choice dialog 72 supports lifetime via reference counting functions on the object manager 82. For example, when the event object 78 is done with a dialog it calls a ReleaseDialog( ) function implemented by the object manager 82 to decrement the references on the dialog. Note that there are also general lifetime routines on the object manager 82 independent of dialogs 64. For example, when an event object 78 is created it puts a lifetime on the application, and then when the event object 78 is released, it decrements the lifetime count. When all dialogs have been released and there are not lifetime counts on the application, the object manager 82 shuts down the application.

[0031] In general, the choice dialog 72 is shown to the user following manual synchronize requests in order to enable the user to select which handler items need to be synchronized, i.e., the choice dialog 72 brings up a list of handler items to the user to allows them to pick which items to synchronize. For example, the choice dialog 72 enables the user to select an e-mail handler for synchronizing e-mail messages, and then secondarily select certain e-mail items to synchronize, such as messages from the corporate e-mail account (one item) but not a personal e-mail account (another item). To display the available (registered) handlers 70₁-70_nand their items, the choice dialog 72 queues the registered handlers 70₁-70_n, obtains their information such as their name and accompanying icon to display, and then calls each handler (e.g., 70₁) to enumerate the items (e.g., 71₁) that the handler 70₁can synchronize. The user clicks on displayed representations of the handlers and or items (e.g., on accompanying checkboxes) for which synchronization is desired, whereby the handlers and their items (e.g., 71₁) are queued into a choice queue 86.

[0032] In the choice dialog 72 (and also in the progress dialog 74), there is a button for pulling up a settings dialog 84 (FIG. 4) of the DLL implementation 68, whereby the user can adjust various synchronization-related settings such as schedules and preferences. The choice dialog 72 also provides a synchronize button or the like whereby after selection of the handler items, the user may start the synchronization. When the synchronize button is clicked, the choice dialog 72 moves the appropriate handler (e.g., 70₃) from a choice queue 86 into a progress queue 88 associated with the progress dialog 74.

[0033] Each handler queue maintains a list of all the handlers in the queue and their states, e.g., whether the synchronization is in progress, synchronization is complete, and so forth. The handler queue is the only object that talks to handler implementations, as every other object sends a request to the handler queue, which passes it along. More particularly, the handler queue forwards requests to a worker thread that in turn calls the handler. This allows each handler to be instantiated on a different thread, independent of the thread that the queue is on. As described above, there is a separate handler queue 86 and 88 respectively associated with the choice and progress dialogs, 72, 74. When a request comes into the event object 78, the event object 78 creates a new, temporary handler queue and adds the appropriate items to synchronize to the newly created queue. The event object 78 then transfers the items from that newly created queue into the appropriate choice handler queue 86 or progress handler queue 88, depending on the event request (manual or automatic). The handler queues support standard AddRef/release methods for lifetime management, and each dialog releases its corresponding handler queue 86 or 88 when the dialog is done with that respective queue.

[0034] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the synchronization manager 60 calls each handler (e.g., 70₃) in the progress queue 88 to perform the synchronization. As a result, the user does not need to separately run each application to synchronize the data. The way in which synchronization is handled, e.g., the protocol used, how the data is stored, and so on is performed by the handlers, and is independent of the synchronization manager 60. In other words, the synchronization manager 60 provides the dialogs 64 and appropriately invokes the handlers to perform synchronization, but leaves the synchronization up to the handlers (which should best know how to synchronize their own data). Note that in one implementation the handlers are called one at a time, however alternatively, multiple handlers may be called at the same time.

[0035] To synchronize, the synchronization manager 60 calls each handler. For example, in the COM implementation, the synchronization manager 60 calls methods of the handler, ordinarily including three methods directed to synchronization. First, the synchronization manager 60 calls an “initialize” method of the handler (e.g., 70₃), e.g., named “ISyncMgrSynchronize::Initialize” to determine if the registered application handler 70₃wants to handle the synchronize event. If not, then the other two methods are not called. Alternatively, if the handler 70₃replies that it wants to handle the event, a “prepare” for synchronization method, named “ISyncMgrSynchronize::PrepareForSync” is called by the synchronization manager 60 to give the application a chance to perform any user interface operations and do any necessary initialization before the synchronization. For example, an electronic mail program such as Microsoft® Outlook™ may first need to show a password dialog to the user to obtain proper credentials before logging onto the mail server. The “prepare-for-sync” method call provides the handler 70₃with this opportunity.

[0036] Continuing with the above example, when (and if) the handler 70₃indicates that it is ready for synchronizing, the Synchronization manager 60 calls an ISyncMgrSynchronize::Synchronize method of the handler. If this method is called, the application synchronizes the items that were specified in the PrepareForSync method. Additional details of the exemplary “ISyncMgrSynchronize::Initialize,” the “ISyncMgrSynchronize::PrepareForSync” and the ISyncMgrSynchronize::Synchronize methods are described below.

[0037] During synchronization of any data, the progress dialog 74 is displayed for the benefit of the user in order to show the progress of the synchronization. To this end, the progress dialog 74 communicates with the handlers (e.g., 70₃-70₅) in the progress queue 88 by receiving callbacks therefrom to track the state of handlers and items. Note that the event object 78 and choice dialog 72 create (or find if already created) the progress dialog 74 by making a request to the object manager 82, as described above. The progress dialog 74 similarly supports lifetime via reference counting functions on the object manager 82.

[0038] In addition to displaying progress information such as the updating the amount of data synchronized, the progress dialog 74 can display error information. For example, a handler directed to synchronizing a website subscription may indicate via a callback the handler was unable to reach the destination, whereby the progress dialog 74 displays the information. The progress dialog 74 may also provide a selection button via which the user can request additional details about an error, whereby the handler can return any desired information via the callback mechanism. Callbacks to the progress dialog 74 from a handler can also be used to obtain additional user information, for example, to display a user interface to resolve a conflict of how data should be synchronized when changed both locally and on the remote source. A retry button may also be provided in the progress dialog 74 via which a user can request a retry of a requested synchronization. If the retry button is clicked, the synchronization manager 60 will repeat the calling of the handler, e.g., via calls to the initialize method, the prepare-for-sync method and the synchronize method, as described above.

[0039] Each handler (e.g., 70₁) in the handler queues 86, 88 has a JobInfo object associated therewith to maintain information about the event that triggered the job. To this end, for each request to the event object 78, a JobInfo object is created at the same time the handler queue is created, and the JobInfo is released when all handler instances associated with the job have been released. The JobInfo object includes the information that enables the synchronization manager 60 to keep-track of which handlers are associated with which job (event), e.g., whether the item being synchronized because a schedule fired, because of a logon event, during idle, and so forth. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, HandlerA 70₁and HandlerB 70₂in the choice queue are associated with JobInfoA 90₁, HandlerC 70₃and HandlerD 70₄in the progress queue 88 are associated with JobInfoB 90₂, and HandlerE 70₅in the progress queue 88 is associated with JobInfoC 90₃. Note that handlers (e.g., 70₁and 70₂) may share a JobInfo object when the handlers are queued in response to the same event.

[0040] Lastly, as shown in FIG. 3, connection objects (e.g., 92₁-92₂track the status for any connections (e.g., LAN/WAN) associated with JobInfos. By way of example, certain jobs need one or more connections in order to survive, such as a scheduled job that downloads data through a dial-up connection. When a JobInfo is created, it is given a list of connections on which the job can be run, whereby the JobInfo informs a connection manager 94 of the connections on which the job can be performed. A connection object (e.g., 92₁) is provided for each type of connection, e.g., LAN (local area network) or a RAS (remote access server) dial-up connection. The connection manager 94 also provides a wrapper for WinInet and RAS calls such as InternetDial( ). The connection objects handle their respective connection operations, such as the dialing-up operation. Via reference counts, a connection object (e.g., 90₂) is removed from the connection manager when no JobInfos are associated therewith, i.e., the connection is maintained for any other job that still needs it and released when no longer needed.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows the various components related to the exemplary DLL/COM implementation 68 of the synchronization manager 60. For the DLL implementation 68, a class factory 96 is a standard COM DLL class factory used by handlers 70₁-70_nto obtain interfaces of an invoke object 98 and a registration object 100. A class factory object 96ais also created. The invoke object 98 implements the ISyncMgrSynchronizeInvoke interface, via which an application can invoke the synchronization manager 60 to do an UpdateAll or update specific items, as described above. The registration object 100 implements the ISyncMgrSynchronizeRegister interface for registering handlers, as also described above. Additional details of the ISyncmgrSynchronizeInvoke and ISyncMgrSynchronizeRegister interfaces and their methods are described below.

[0042] The synchronization manager 60 may support user-scheduled automatic synchronizations, by providing a schedule dialog and wizard 64 (FIG. 2) that include user dialogs for showing and configuring logon synchronization preferences, logoff synchronization preferences, idle synchronization preferences and scheduled synchronizations. By way of example, a particular user may schedule an automatic synchronization of local and remote electronic mail messages on each logon, schedule an automatic synchronization of local files with network database files every Thursday at 11:00 PM, and schedule a synchronization of subscriptions during idle times. A set of interfaces may also be provided whereby handlers can set up schedules outside of the user interface of the synchronization manager 60.

[0043] A schedule manager 102 implements the management of schedules, and is a private interface obtained off of the main class factory 96. A scheduling object 104 implements the reading and writing of specific schedules as appropriate, and has an interface obtained by calling a method of the schedule manager 102. An external scheduling service such as task scheduler 106 may be used to trigger events, and although external to the DLL implementation 68, is shown in FIG. 4 because it interfaces with the schedule object 104 and the schedule manager 102 to perform scheduled synchronizations. Exemplary synchronization manager scheduling-related interfaces are described below.

[0044] The DLL/COM implementation 68 illustrated herein also includes a preferences object 108 comprising a group of functions for reading and writing user preferences related to synchronization. For example, the preference data may be maintained in the system registry, and the preferences object 108 may register with SENS/LCE 80 (which are external components to the DLL implementation 68, but are shown in FIG. 4 for clarity) as appropriate for receiving event notifications, depending on user-entered preferences. Based on the user configuration information, the synchronization manager 60 registers with the System Event Notification Service (SENS) to receive notifications of specific events such as logon/logoff, network connect/disconnect, time schedule and when the machine is idle. For example, SENS will fire an event to notify the synchronization manager 60 of a network connection if the preferences object 108 registers with SENS for such a notification. The DLL implementation 68 also includes the settings dialog 84, described above, via which the user may enter and/or modify various settings.

[0045] Turning now to an explanation of the present invention with particular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, beginning at step 500 of FIG. 5, when the synchronization manager 60 receives an event, it requests the event object 78, as described above. The event object 78 along with the user preferences for this event indicates whether the network needs to be available for this request, which is tested for as represented by step 502. If the network is not needed, step 502 branches ahead to step 508 to start the synchronization by creating the (temporary) handler queue and the JobInfo object as described above. Alternatively, if the network is needed, step 502 branches to step 504 which asks SENS if the network is available. Note that SENS is one preferred way to determine network availability, however the synchronization manager 60 may alternatively find out network availability via some other mechanism, including a mechanism of its own. In any event, step 506 evaluates whether the network is available, and if not, the process ends. Note that before ending, the process may first attempt to dial up a connection via a connection object for appropriate events. Also, if the user is manually requesting synchronization, the process may alternatively prompt the user to connect to the network.

[0046] If the network is connected at step 506, (or if the network was not needed at step 502), step 508 creates a queue and associated JobInfo object as described above. Step 508 then continues to step 600 of FIG. 6.

[0047] At step 600, the synchronization manager 60 creates an instance of each handler and adds that instance along with the associated JobInfo to the queue that was created at step 508. Next, step 602 represents the determination of whether the event needs a choice (manual synchronization) or progress (automatic synchronization) dialog. If a choice dialog 72 is needed, step 604 represents the request to the object manager 82 to find or create the choice dialog 72. If instead a progress dialog 74 is needed, step 606 represents the request to the object manager 82 to find or create the progress dialog 74. Then, as described above, the queue information for each handler is transferred at step 608 to the appropriate (choice or progress) queue of the dialog, and the JobInfo maintained in association therewith. Step 610 represents the releasing of the respective reference counts on the queue and dialog when the handler queue data is moved, which may result in the removal of the temporary handler queue and/or the dialog.

[0048] At this time, the appropriate methods (initialize, prepare for sync and synchronize methods) are called as described above, on each queued handler, whereby the application and handler may perform the synchronization according to their own particular needs.

[0049] The following sets forth interfaces (in MIDL) that may be used in the exemplary DLL/COM implementation described above. Notwithstanding, there is no intention to limit the present invention to any particular implementation, as alternative implementations are feasible as understood by those skilled in the art. Moreover, the interfaces set forth below are those presently employed, and may change over time.

[0050] The Synchronization Manager Interfaces

[0051] ISyncMgrSynchronize

[0052] Any server that wants to receive synchronization manager notifications implements this interface. The server is instantiated by the synchronization manager in the following way:

[0053] ISyncMgrSynchronize::Initialize

[0054] Called by Synchronization manager to determine if the registered application wants to handle the synchronize event. The application cannot bring up UI (a user interface) within this call. If the application needs to bring up UI before synchronization, it is given a change to do so in the PrepareForSync method.

[0055] Parameters

[0056] dwReserved

[0057] [in] Reserved Parameter, must be zero dwSyncFlags

[0058] [in] Flags taken from the SYNCFLAG enumeration. The following flags are defined:

[0059] SYNCMGRFLAG_CONNECT—Indicates the synchronization was initiated by a network connect.

[0060] SYNCMGRFLAG_PENDINGDISCONNECT—Indicates the synchronization was initiated by a pending network disconnect.

[0061] SYNCMGRFLAG_MANUAL—Indicates the synchronization was manually initiated by the User

[0062] SYNCMGRFLAG_IDLE—Indicates the synchronization was initiated by an idle event.

[0063] SYNCMGRFLAG_INVOKE—Indicates the synchronization was programmatically initiated by the handler.

[0064] SYNCMGRFLAG_SCHEDULED—Indicates the synchronization was initiated by a scheduled event.

[0065] SYNCMGRFLAG_MAYBOTHERUSER.—If this flag is set the application is allowed to show UI and interact with the user. If this flag is not set, the application does not display any UI other than using the ISynchronizeCallback interface. If an application cannot complete the synchronization without bringing up UI, the application fails the synchronization.

[0066] SYNCMGRFLAG_SETTINGS—Indicates the object was instantiated for configuration purposes in the System Properties dialog. Enumerator will be called to gather item information.

[0067] cbCookie

[0068] [in] Size-in bytes of lpCookie data

[0069] lpCookie

[0070] [in] Points to the Cookie that the application passed when it programmatically invoked Synchronization Manager.

[0071] Remarks

[0072] The SyncFlags apply for the lifetime of the ISyncMgrSynchronize object and are used by the other ISyncMgrSynchronize methods.

[0073] The only exception for bringing up UI within this call is if it is the very first time the registered applications initialized method is called. The application is allowed to bring up any one-time initialization it needs to set up items and introduce the user to the applications feature.

[0074] If the application does not recognize the syncflag event, (i.e., a new one has been defined), it should treat the event as a manual sync.

[0075] A handler should not assume the lpCookie data is NULL if it did not invoke the synchronization. For example, on a schedule invoke the name of the schedule is passed as the cookie data. The handler only controls that value of the data if the sync event is SYNMGRFLAG_INVOKE.

[0076] Return Values

[0077] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0078] S_OK

[0079] Initialization was successful.

[0080] S_FALSE

[0081] Application does not want to handle this event. Application returns S_FALSE when it does not want to do anything on the synchronization.

[0082] ISyncMgrSynchronize::GetHandlerInfo

[0083] Called by the Synchronization manager to obtain handler information

[0084] Parameters

[0085] ppSyncMgrHandlerInfo

[0086] [out] returns a pointer to a SyncMgrHandlerInfo Structure

[0087] SyncMgrHandlerInfo Structure

[0088] Members

[0089] cbSize—Set to the size of the structure.

[0090] hIcon—Icon of the Handler

[0091] SyncMgrHandlerFlags—Flags for Handler.

[0092] SYNCMGRHANDLER_HASPROPERTIES—indicates the ShowProperties method may be called on the handler.

[0093] SYNCMGRHANDLER_MAYESTABLISHCONNECTION—Indicates this handler knows how to dial.

[0094] SYNCMGRHANDLER_ALWAYLISTHANDLER—Handler is shown in choice dialog even if no items are associated with it.

[0095] Remarks

[0096] Return Values

[0097] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0098] S_OK

[0099] Handler Information was returned successfully

[0100] ISyncMgrSynchronize:: EnumSyncMgrItems

[0101] Called by the Synchronization manager to return the object's offline items enumerator.

[0102] Parameters

[0103] ppEnumSyncMgrItems

[0104] [out] if Successful a pointer to a valid ISyncMgrEnumItems interface is returned.

[0105] Return Values

[0106] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0107] S_OK

[0108] The enumerator object is successfully instantiated.

[0109] S_SYNCMGR_MISSINGITEMS

[0110] The enumerator object is successfully instantiated but some items are missing. When this success code is returned, Synchronization Manager will not remove any stored preferences for ItemIds not returned in the enumerator.

[0111] Remarks

[0112] The enumerator object created by this method implements the ISyncMgrEnumItems interface, one of the standard enumerator interfaces that contain the Next, Reset, Clone, and Skip methods. ISyncMgrEnumItems permits the enumeration of the data stored in an array of SYNCMGRITEM structures. Each of these structures provides information on an item that can be prepared for offline operation.

[0113] ISyncMgrSynchronize:: GetItemObject

[0114] Called by Synchronization Manager to obtain an interface on the requested Servers Items.

[0115] Parameters

[0116] ItemID

[0117] [in] Identifies the requested item.

[0118] riid

[0119] [in] Identifier for the requested interface.

[0120] ppv

[0121] [out] if Successful a pointer to a valid interface.

[0122] Return Values

[0123] E_NOTIMPL

[0124] The requested interface was not found

[0125] Remarks

[0126] This method is for future use. There are currently no interfaces defined on an Item. Application implementers return E_NOTIMPL from this method.

[0127] ISyncMgrSynchronize:: ShowProperties

[0128] The Synchronization manager calls this method when the item is selected in the choice dialog box and the user hits the Properties button.

[0129] Parameters

[0130] hWndParent

[0131] [in] hwnd that application should use as the Parent of any UI it displays. This value may be NULL.

[0132] ItemID

[0133] [in] ItemId that identifies the item to show the properties for.

[0134] Return Values

[0135] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0136] S_OK

[0137] Properties dialog for this item was handled properly.

[0138] Remarks

[0139] If an application provides a properties dialog for an item, it sets the SYNCMGRITEM_HASPROPERTIES bit in the dwFlags of the items enumerator.

[0141] If ItemID is GUID_NULL, the handler should show the Properties for the overall handler.

[0142] The dialog that is displayed should look like a standards Property Page dialog.

[0143] If a handler returns any success code, it calls the ShowPropertiesCompleted( ) method on the callback. If a failure code is returned from this method, the handler does not call the ShowPropertiesCompleted method.

[0144] ISyncMgrSynchronize:: SetProgressCallback

[0145] Synchronization Manager calls this method to set the ProgressCallback Interface. Applications use this callback to give status information from within the PrepareForSync and Synchronize methods.

[0146] Parameters

[0147] pSyncCallBack

[0148] [in] Pointer to OfflineSynchronizeCallback interface that the application uses to give Synchronization Manager feedback on its synchronization status and when the synchronization is complete.

[0149] Return Values

[0150] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0151] S_OK

[0152] Synchronization was successful.

[0153] Remarks

[0154] Applications AddRef the pSyncCallback interface and use it in the other methods to provide status text and progress indicator feedback.

[0155] If the Application already has a pSyncCallback interface when the method is called, it first releases the old interface and then addreff and hold onto the new interface.

[0156] Before the ISyncMgrSynchronize object is released, Synchronization Manager will call this method with pSyncCallBack set to NULL. The application should release the pSyncCallback interface previously passed.

[0157] ISyncMgrSynchronize::PrepareForSync

[0158] Called by the synchronization manager to give the application a chance to show any UI and do any necessary initialization before the Synchronize method is called. For example, Microsoft® Outlook™ may need to show the password dialog to the User to log onto the mail server.

[0159] Handlers should return as soon as possible from PrepareForSync and then call the ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::PrepareForSyncCompleted ( ) method. It is legal for the Handler to make the PrepareForSyncCompleted call before returning from this method. If an error code is returned from from the PreapreForSync call the handler should not call the PrepareForSyncCompleted method.

[0160] Parameters

[0161] cbNumItems

[0162] [in] Number of Items in the ItemIds array.

[0163] ItemIDs

[0164] [in] Array of ItemIDs that the EndUser has selected to synchronize.

[0165] hwndParent

[0166] [in] hwnd that application should use as the Parent of any UI it displays. This value may be NULL.

[0167] dwReserved

[0168] [in] Reserved Parameter. Applications should ignore this value.

[0169] Return Values

[0170] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0171] S_OK

[0172] Preparation was successful.

[0173] Remarks

[0174] Applications should only show UI if the SYNCMGRFLAG_MAYBOTHERUSER.flag was set in the dwSyncFlags parameter of Initialize. If an application cannot prepare for the synchronization without showing UI when this flag is not set, it should return S_FALSE for the hr parameter of the PrepareForSyncCompleted method in the callback interface.

[0175] The array of ItemIDs that are passed into this method also apply to the synchronize method.

[0176] The Callback methods can be called on any thread.

[0177] ISyncMgrSynchronize::Synchronize

[0178] The Synchronization manager calls this method once for each selected group after the user has selected what applications should be synchronized. If the user did not select any of the application's item choices, the application's synchronize method will not be called and the interface will be released. If this method is called, the application synchronizes the items that were specified in the PrepareForSync( ) method.

[0179] Handlers should return as soon as possible from Syncrhonize method and then call the ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::SynchronizeCompleted ( ) method. It is legal for the Handler to make the SynchronizeCompleted call before returning from this method. If a handler returns a failure code from Synchronize, it should not call the SynchronizeCompleted method.

[0180] The application gives progress feedback and checks if the synchronization should be cancelled by using the pSynchCallBack interface pass previously in the SetProgressCallback method.

[0181] Parameters

[0182] hwndParent

[0183] [in] hwnd that application should use as the Parent of any UI it displays. This value may be NULL.

[0184] Return Values

[0185] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0186] S_OK

[0187] Synchronization was successful.

[0188] Remarks

[0189] Applications provide progress information even if the SYNCMGRFLAG_MAYBOTHERUSER was not specified in Initialize.

[0190] Applications should make every attempt not to show UI from within the synchronize method. Any UI should be shown in the PrepareForSync and ShowError methods so the end user experience is to see the UI to logon or specify shares to be synced, then the synchronization can be performed without any user intervention. After the synchronization is complete, conflicts or other error messages can be shown.

[0191] The Callback methods can be called on any thread.

[0192] ISyncMgrSynchronize::SetItemStatus

[0193] Called by the synchronization manager to change the status of an item in between the time that the handler has returned from PrepareForSync and called the PrepareForSyncCompleted callback method, or has returned from Synchronize but has not yet called the SynchronizeCompleted callback method.

[0194] Parameters

[0195] ItemID

[0196] [in] Identifies the Item

[0197] dwSyncMgrStatue

[0198] [in] Status to set the item too. Taken from the SYNCMGRSTATUS enumeration.

[0199] Return Values

[0200] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0201] S_OK

[0202] Status was set.

[0203] Remarks

[0204] Currently the only status passed is SYNCMGRSTATUS_SKIPPED and SYNCMGRSTATUS_STOPPED, to skip and stop an item, respectively. When a handler receives this, it should skip or stop the item specified.

[0205] ISyncMgrSynchronize::ShowError

[0206] Called by the Synchronization manager when the user double-clicks on the associated message in the Error tab.

[0207] Handlers should return as soon as possible from ShowError method and then call the ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::ShowErrorCompleted ( ) method. It is legal for the handler to make the ShowErrorCompleted call before returning from this method. If a handler returns a failure code from ShowError it should not call the ShowErrorCompleted method.

[0208] Parameters

[0209] hwndParent

[0210] [in] hwnd that application should use as the Parent of any UI it displays. This value may be NULL.

[0211] dwErrorID

[0212] [in] ErrorID associated with this Error message. The ErrorID value is what was passed in the ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::LogError( ) method.

[0213] Return Values

[0214] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0215] S_OK

[0216] Call completed Successfully.

[0217] Remarks

[0218] The ShowError method is called when the user double-clicks on the associated error in the error tab. This gives the application an opportunity to display a dialog informing the end user what error occurred or other feedback.

[0219] Applications may show UI in this method even if the SYNCMGRFLAG_MAYBOTHERUSER flag was not set in the dwSyncFlags parameter of the Initialize method. Applications still call EnableModeless and check the return code before showing UI.

[0220] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback

[0221] Implemented by the Synchronization manager to allow application to give status feedback and determine if the operation should continue.

[0222] SYNCMGRPROGRESSITEM Structure

[0223] Members

[0224] cbSize—Set to the size of the ProgressItem structure.

[0225] mask—A set of bit flags that specify attributes of this data structure or of an operation that is using this structure.

[0226] The following bit flags specify the members of the SYNCMGRPROGRESSITEM structure that contain valid data. One or more of these bit flags may be set:

[0227] LpcStatusText—Text for updating the status text associated with an item.

[0228] IProgValue—Indicates what to set the ProgressBar value to for an Item

[0229] IMaxValue—Value for setting the Progress Bar Max Value for an Item

[0230] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::Progress

[0231] Called by the application to update the progress feedback and determine if the operation should continue.

[0232] Parameters

[0233] ItemID

[0234] [in] ItemId that identifies the item the Progress information applies too.

[0235] lpSyncProgressItem

[0236] [in] Pointer to SYNCMGRPROGRESSITEM structure containing the progress information.

[0237] Return Values

[0238] S_OK

[0239] Continue the operation.

[0240] S_SYNCMGR_CANCELITEM

[0241] Cancel the operation on the ItemID specified in the ItemID parameter as soon as possible

[0242] S_SYNCMGR_CANCELALL

[0243] Cancel the operation on all items associated with this object as soon as possible.

[0244] Remarks

[0245] Applications should call this to provide normal feedback even then the SYNCMGRFLAG_MAYBOTHERUSER is specified.

[0246] Applications should call the Progress method as often as possible to provide feedback to the User.

[0247] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback:: ShowPropertiesCompleted

[0248] Called by the handler before and after its ShowProperties operation has been completed.

[0249] HRESULT ShowPropertiesCompleted (HRESULT hrResult);

[0250] Parameters

[0251] hrResult

[0252] [in] indicates if ShowPreoperties was successful.

[0253] Return Values

[0254] S_OK

[0255] Properties dialog was dismissed normally.

[0256] S_SYNCMGR_ITEMDELETED

[0257] The Items whose property sheet being displayed has been deleted.

[0258] S_SYNCMGR_ENUMITEMS

[0259] When this success code is returned, the synchronization manager will re-enumerate the handler's items.

[0260] Remarks

[0261] It is legal for the handler to call this method before returning from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::ShowProperties method.

[0262] The only time the handler should not call this method if it does not return a success code from the ShowProperties method.

[0263] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::PrepareForSyncCompleted

[0264] Called by the handler before and after its PrepareForSync operation has been completed

[0265] Parameters

[0266] hrResult

[0267] [in] indicates if PrepareForSync was successful. If S_OK is returned the handlers synchronize method will be called. If the hrResult is set to anything but S_OK the handler will be released without its synchronize method being called.

[0268] Return Values

[0269] S_OK

[0270] Remarks

[0271] A handler should return as soon as possible from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::PrepareForSync method and then call this method to let Synchronization Manager know that it has completed processing the PrepareForSync call.

[0272] It is legal for the handler to call this method before returning from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::PrepareForSync method.

[0273] The only time the handler should not call this method if it does not return a success code from the PrepareForSync method.

[0274] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::SynchronizeCompleted

[0275] Called by the application before and after it displays a dialog from within the PrepareForSync, and Synchronize methods.

[0276] Parameters

[0277] hrResult

[0278] [in] indicates if Synchronize was successful.

[0279] Return Values

[0280] S_OK

[0281] Remarks

[0282] A handler should return as soon as possible from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::Synchronize method and then call this method to let the Synchronization manager know that it has completed processing the Synchronize call.

[0283] It is legal for the handler to call this method before returning from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::Synchronize method.

[0284] The only time the handler should not call this method if it does not return a success code from the Synchronize method.

[0285] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback:: ShowErrorCompleted

[0286] Called by the handler before and after its PrepareForSync operation has been completed.

[0287] HRESULT ShowErrorCompleted([in] HRESULT hr,[in] ULONG cbNumItems

[0288] [in] SYNCMGRITEMID *pItemIDs);

[0289] Parameters

[0290] hrResult

[0291] [in] indicates if ShowError was successful. If hrResult is S_SYNCMGR_RETRYSYNC when the handler wants Synchronization Manager to retry the synchronization. When this value is returned to Synchronization Manager both the PrepareForSync( ) and Synchronize methods will be called again.

[0292] cbNumItems

[0293] [in] Indicates the number ItemIds in the pItemIDs arg. This parameter is ignored unless hrResult is S_SYNCMGR_RETRYSYNC.

[0294] pItemIDs

[0295] [in] pointer to array of ItemIds to pass to PrepareForSync on a retry. This parameter is ignored unless hrResult is S_SYNCMGR_RETRYSYNC.

[0296] Return Values

[0297] S_OK

[0298] Remarks

[0299] Since pItemIDs is an in parameter the caller owns the memory pointed to by pItemIDs. The Synchronization manager will make a copy of the array before returning.

[0300] A handler should return as soon as possible from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::ShowError method and then call this method to let Synchronization Manager know that it has completed processing the ShowError call.

[0301] It is legal for the handler to call this method before returning from the ISyncMgrSynchronize::ShowError method.

[0302] The only time the handler should not call this method if it does not return a success code from the Showerror method.

[0303] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::EnableModeless

[0304] Called by the application before and after they display a dialog from within the PrepareForSync and Synchronize methods.

[0305] Parameters

[0306] fEnable

[0307] [in] Indicates if application is requesting permission to display a dialog or is done displaying the dialog.

[0308] Return Values

[0309] S_OK

[0310] Continue the operation.

[0311] S_FALSE

[0312] The dialog box should not be displayed.

[0313] Remarks

[0314] To request permission to display a dialog, the application first calls EnableModeless (TRUE). If S_OK is returned, the application can go ahead and display the dialog. After the dialog box has been displayed, the application must call EnableModeless (FALSE) to let the Synchronization manager know that it is okay to let other items display a dialog.

[0315] It is not necessary for a handler to call EnableModeless in response to a ShowProperties or ShowErrors method call.

[0316] SYNCMGRLOGERRORINFO Structure

[0317] Members

[0318] cbSize—Set to the size of the LogErrorInfo Struture.

[0319] mask—A set of bit flags that specify attributes of this data structure or of an operation that is using this structure.

[0320] The following bit flags specify the members of the SYNCMGRLOGERRORINFO structure that contain valid data. One or more of these bit flags may be set:

[0321] dwErrorID—Indicates application can display additional details or can take some action related to this error. When this item is set and the User clicks on the error in the results pane the applications ShowError( ) method will be called passing back this ErrorID.

[0322] ItemID—Indicates to which item this error applies. If the mask bit is not set or t he ItemID is GUID_NULL, the message is interpreted to apply to all items.

[0323] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::LogError

[0324] Called by the application to log an information, warning, or error message into the Error tab on the Synchronization Manager status dialog.

[0325] Parameters

[0326] dwErrorLevel

[0327] [in] Indicates the error level. Value taken from the SYNCMGRLOGLEVEL enumeration.

[0328] lpErrorText

[0329] [in] ErrorText to be displayed in the Error tab.

[0330] lpSyncLogError

[0331] [in] Pointer to SYNCMGRLOGERRORINFO structure containing additional error information. Applications that do not provide this data can pass in NULL for this parameter.

[0332] Return Values

[0333] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0334] S_OK

[0335] The Item was successfully logged

[0336] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback:: DeleteLogError

[0337] Called by the handler to delete a previously logged error information, warning, or error message into the Error tab on the Synchronization Manager status dialog.

[0338] Parameters

[0339] ErrorID

[0340] [in] Identifies logError to be deleted. If ErrorID is GUID_NULL all errors logged by the instance of the handler will be deleted.

[0341] dwReserved

[0342] [in] Reserved for future use. Must be set to zero.

[0343] Return Values

[0344] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0345] S_OK

[0346] The Item was successfully deleted from the log.

[0347] ISyncMgrSynchronizeCallback::EstablishConnection

[0348] Called by the handler to when it wants to establish a connection.

[0349] HRESULT EstablishConnectoin(

[0350] [in] WCHAR const *lpwszConnection,

[0351] [in] DWORD dwReserved);

[0352] Parameters

[0353] lpwszConnection

[0354] [in] Identifies the name of the Connection to dial

[0355] dwReserved

[0356] [in] Reserved for future use. Must be set to zero.

[0357] Return Values

[0358] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0359] S_OK

[0360] The Connection was established.

[0361] Remarks

[0362] If lpwszConnection is null, then it means that Synchronization Manager should use the default autodial connection.

[0363] When an instance of EstablishConnection is called by a handler then Synchronization Manager will try to establish the connection. If a subsequent EstablishConnection is called, then the Synchronization manager will attempt the new connection without hanging up the previous connection. Connections will remain until all handlers have finished synchronizing. After all handlers have synchronized then any connections established by the Synchronization manager will be closed.

[0364] Handlers should only attempt to establish a connection on a manual or invoked synchronization.

[0365] ISyncMgrEnumItems

[0366] The ISyncMgrEnumItems interface is used to enumerate through an array of SYNCMGRITEM structures. Each of these structures provides information on an item that can be prepared for offline operation. ISyncMgrEnumItems has the same methods as all enumerator interfaces: Next, Skip, Reset, and Clone.

[0367] SYNCMGRITEM Structure

[0368] Members

[0369] cbSize—Size of the SYNCMGRITEM structure.

[0370] ItemID—ItemID for this item.

[0371] dwItemState—Intial Item State. Used by Synchronization Manager if this is a new ItemID as the items initial value.

[0372] hIcon—Small Icon used to display next to item in the choice dialog

[0373] dwFlags—ItemFlags. Only flag currently defined is

[0374] SYNCMGRITEM_HASPROPERTIES—indicates the ShowProperties method may be called on the item.

[0375] SYNCMGRITEM_TEMPORARY—indicates that Synchronization Manager that this item is only valid for this instantiation and no preferences should be saved.

[0376] SYNCMGRITEM_ROAMINGUSER—Indicates that this item should roam with the User.

[0377] SYNCMGRITEM_LASTUPDATETIME—Indicates lastUpdateTime Field is valid

[0378] wszItemName—Description of the Item to display in the Choice dialog.

[0379] ftLastUpdate—Filetime of the last time the item was synchronized. The time is expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

[0380] Remarks

[0381] The ItemID needs to be the same for an item each time the object is created and uniquely identify the object.

[0382] ISyncMgrSynchronizeInvoke

[0383] An application can invoke the synchronization manager to do an UpdateAll or update specific items using the ISyncMgrSynchronizeInvoke interface.

[0384] An application obtains this interface by doing the following:

[0385] ISyncMgrSynchronizeInvoke::UpdateItems

[0386] Parameters

[0387] dwInvokeFlags

[0388] [in] Indicates how the item should be invoked.

[0389] SYNCMGRINVOKE_STARTSYNC—When this flag is set Synchronization Manager will immediately start the synchronization without first displaying the choices to the User.

[0390] SYNCMGRINVOKE_MINIMIZED—The dialog should be initially displayed as minimized. Note: this flag will not change the state of the dialog if it already exists.

[0391] rclsid

[0392] [in] CLSID of the application that should be invoked to handle the Update.

[0393] cbCookie

[0394] [in] Size in bytes of lpCookie data

[0395] lpCookie

[0396] [in] Points to the private Cookie that Synchronization Manager should pass to the Initialize method of the calling application. This information can be anything the application needs such as a list of shares in the case of CSC.

[0397] Return Values

[0398] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0399] S_OK

[0400] The synchronization was successfully

[0401] E_FAIL

[0402] Errors occurred during the synchronization

[0403] ISyncMgrSynchronizeInvoke::UpdateAll

[0404] Called by an application to programmatically start an Update All. Update All will return immediately and the Synchronization manager will perform the synchronization in a separate process from the Calling application.

[0405] Parameters

[0406] none

[0407] Registering to Participate in Synchronization Manager

[0408] A synchronization handler is a COM Inproc32 Dll. To register with the synchronization manager, the Stadard COM Activation keys need to be registered.

[0409] The first time a User makes an item available for offline, the application code should call the Synchronization Manager's RegisterSyncMgrHandler( ) method. When there are no longer any items available offline the UnregisterSyncMgrHandler( ) method should be called.

[0410] An application obtains this interface by doing the following:

[0411] ISyncMgrRegister::RegisterSyncMgrHandler

[0412] A handler should call this method to register with the synchronization manager when it has items to synchronize.

[0413] Parameters

[0414] rclsid

[0415] [in] CLSID of the handler that should be registered to do synchronizations

[0416] pwsDescription

[0417] [in] Text identifying the handler. This parameter may be NULL.

[0418] dwRegisterFlags

[0419] [in] Set if handler wants the specified event turned on by default for a User. These defaults only apply to LAN connections. Most handlers will pass zero for this value. If a handler sets one of these values, it needs to ensure that it only calls register the first time an item is made available offline so that it does not keep resetting the user's preference.

[0420] SYNCMGRREGISTERFLAG_CONNECT—indicates Connect events should be turned on for the User.

[0421] SYNCMGRREGISTERFLAG_PENDINGDISCONNECT—indicates Logoff events should be turned on for the User.

[0422] SYNCMGRREGISTERFLAG_IDLE—indicates Idle events should be turned on for the User.

[0423] Return Values

[0424] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0425] S_OK

[0426] The handler was successfully registered.

[0427] ISyncMgrRegister:: UnregisterSyncMgrHandler

[0428] Called by the handler to remove its CLSID from the registration. A handler should call this when it no longer has any items to synchronize.

[0429] Parameters

[0430] rclsid

[0431] [in] CLSID of the handler that should be unregistered

[0432] dwReserved

[0433] [in] Reserved for future use. Must be zero.

[0434] Return Values

[0435] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0436] S_OK

[0437] The handler was successfully removed from being registered with Synchronization Manager.

[0438] ISyncMgrRegister:: GetHandlerRegistrationInfo

[0439] Called by the handler to get current registration information.

[0440] Parameters

[0441] rclsid

[0442] [in] CLSID of the handler that should be unregistered

[0443] pdwSyncMgrRegisterFlags

[0444] [in,out] Returns registration flags.

[0445] Return Values

[0446] This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_UNEXPECTED, and E_OUTOFMEMORY, as well as the following:

[0447] S_OK

[0448] Call succeeded and Handler is registered

[0449] S_FALSE

[0450] Handler is not registered.

[0451] The Synchronization Manager Scheduling Interfaces

[0452] ISyncScheduleMgr

[0453] Applications use the methods of the ISyncScheduleMgr interface to schedule synchronization objects.

[0454] Returns one of the following values:

[0455] pSyncSchedCookie: GUID that specifies the new sync schedule's GUID. Applications use this GUID to for future identification of this sync schedule object.

[0456] If the [in] parameter is not GUID_NULL, CreateSchedule will try to create a new schedule with the specified SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE. If the specified schedule already exists, this method will return ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS.

[0457] If this [in] parameter is GUID_NULL, CreateSchedule will fill in the [out] SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE with that of the newly created schedule.

[0458] pwszScheduleName: LPCWSTR that specifies the new Synchonization Schedule Object's friendly name. This friendly name must be unique. If the name is already being used by and existing schedule, this method will return SYNCMGR_E_NAME_IN_USE, and fill in the Cookie with the GUID of the schedule using this name.

[0459] ppSyncSchedule: Address of an interface pointer that receives the requested interface.

[0460] dwFlags: Indicates whether the sync schedule should be editable, or if this schedule relies on a predefined schedule.

[0461] *Note: Errors will be returned in HRESULT_FROM_WIN32 format.

[0462] Returns one of the following values:

[0463] hParent: Handle to the parent window of the configuration properties window.

[0464] pSyncSchedCookie: GUID that specifies the new sync schedule's GUID. Applications use this GUID to for future identification of this sync schedule object.

[0465] If the [in] parameter is not GUID_NULL, and the specified schedule exists, LaunchScheduleWizard will run through the wizard, using the existing information specified on the SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE as the default values.

[0466] If this [in] parameter is GUID_NULL, LaunchScheduleWizard will fill in the [out] SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE with that of the newly created schedule.

[0467] ppSyncSchedule: If the schedule wizard is successfully completed, this parameter receives the address of an interface pointer for the newly created schedule. If the wizard is cancelled or fails, this parameter is NULL.

[0468] dwFlags: Reserved for future use.

[0469] Returns one of the following values:

[0470] pSyncSchedCookie: Specifies the Sync schedule's SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE.

[0471] ppSyncSchedule: Address of an interface pointer that receives the ISyncSchedule interface for the requested SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE object.

[0472] dwFlags: Reserved for future use.

[0473] *Note: Errors will be returned in HRESULT_FROM_WIN32 format.

[0474] Deletes a sync schedule object.

[0475] Returns one of the following values:

[0476] pSyncSchedCookie: GUID that specifies the sync schedule's GUID.

[0477] Retrieves a pointer to an OLE enumerator object that enumerates the sync schedules. Returns one of the following values:

[0478] ppEnumSyncSchedules: Address of a pointer to an IEnumSyncSchedules interface. This interface contains the enumeration context of the current synchronization schedule(s).

[0479] Applications use the methods of the IEnumSyncSchedules interface to enumerate the synchronization schedule objects.

[0480] Retrieves the next celt sync schedule objects in the enumeration sequence. If there are less than the requested number of elements left in the sequence, the remaining elements are retrieved.

[0481] Returns one of the following values:

[0482] Celt: Number of sync schedule objects to retrieve.

[0483] ppSyncSchedCookie: Address of an array of SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIEs that contain the GUIDs of sync schedule objects returned from the enumeration sequence. The client is responsible for freeing the array.

[0484] pceltFetched:Address of a value that contains the number of sync schedules returned in pSyncSchedCookie. If the celt parameter is 1, this parameter can be NULL.

[0485] Skips the next celt number of sync schedule objects in the enumeration sequence.

[0486] Returns one of the following values:

[0487] Celt: Number of sync schedules to be skipped.

[0488] IEnumSyncSchedules::Reset

[0489] HRESULT Reset(void);

[0490] Resets the enumeration sequence to the beginning.

[0491] Returns S_OK if successful, or E_OUTOFMEMORY if there is not enough available memory.

[0492] A call to this method does not guarantee that the same set of sync schedule objects will be enumerated after the reset.

[0493] Creates another enumerator that contains the same enumeration state as the current one. Using this method, a client can record a particular point in the enumeration sequence and return to that point later. The new enumerator supports the same interface as the original.

[0494] Returns one of the following values:

[0495] ppEnumSyncSchedules:Address of a pointer to an IEnumSyncSchedules interface that will be assigned to the newly created enumeration. If the method fails, this parameter will be NULL.

[0496] ISyncSchedule

[0497] Applications use the methods of the ISyncSchedule interface to set and retrieve sync schedule information for a particular synchronization schedule object.

[0498] Retrieves the flags for the specified SyncSchedule.

[0499] Returns one of the following values:

[0500] pdwFlags: Pointer to dword containing information about the sync schedule.

[0501] Currently, two flags are used by the SyncSchedule.

[0502] Others are reserved for future use.

[0503] #define SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_READONLY 0x0001

[0504] #define SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_AUTOCONNECT 0x0002

[0505] #define SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_AUTOHIDDEN 0x0004

[0506] If (dwFlags & SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_READONLY) the schedule times will be uneditable by the user. This is useful for publisher defined synchronization schedules.

[0507] If (dwFlags & SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_AUTOCONNECT) the Sync Manager will attempt to automatically establish the Connection prior to synchronizing.

[0508] If (dwFlags & SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_AUTOHIDDEN) the Sync Schedule will be hidden, and not enumerated in the list of sync schedules.

[0509] Sets the flags for a specified Synchronization Schedule object.

[0510] Returns one of the following values:

[0511] dwFlags: dword containing information about the sync schedule. See above descriptions of the flags.

[0512] Gets the Connection for this Sync Schedule Object.

[0513] Returns one of the following values:

[0514] pwszConnectionName: A character string that will contain the retrieved Connection name.

[0515] pdwConnType: A pointer to DWORD that will contain the type of connection. This can be either SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_CONNECTION_LAN or SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_CONNECTION_WAN.

[0516] PcbSize Address of the DWORD containing the size of buffer allocated for ppwszScheduleName. If the buffer is too small, this param will be filled in with the needed size.

[0517] Sets the Connection for this Sync Schedule Object.

[0518] Returns one of the following values:

[0519] pwszConnectionName: Character string that contains the Connection name. The Connection name is limited to MAX_PATH characters.

[0520] pdwConnType: DWORD that contains the type of connection. This can be either SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_CONNECTION_LAN or SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_CONNECTION_WAN. If this parameter is SYNCSCHEDINFO_FLAGS_CONNECTION_WAN, pwszConnectionName must be non-null.

[0521] Gets the friendly Schedule name for this Sync Schedule Object.

[0522] Returns one of the following values:

[0523] PpwszScheduleName: A character string that will contain the retrieved friendly schedule name.

[0524] PcbSize: Address of the DWORD containing the size of buffer allocated for ppwszScheduleName. If the buffer is too small, this param will be filled in with the needed size.

[0525] Set the friendly name of a Scheduled Synchonization Object.

[0526] Returns one of the following values:

[0527] pwszNewScheduleName: LPCWSTR that specifies the sync schedule's new friendly name. This friendly name must be unique. If the name is already being used by and existing schedule, this method will return SYNCMGR_E_NAME_IN_USE. The Friendly name must be at most MAX_PATH characters.

[0528] Gets the Schedule Cookie for this Sync Schedule Object.

[0529] Returns one of the following values:

[0530] PSyncSchedCookie: A pointer to SYNCSCHEDULECOOKIE that will contain the GUID of the schedule.

[0531] Sets the account name and password for the sync schedule. This method is for Windows NT®; it does nothing in Windows® 95.

[0532] Returns one of the following values:

[0533] PwszAccountName: LPCWSTR that contains the account name. This account name is assigned to the current task.

[0534] PwszPassword: LPCWSTR that contains the account password. This password is assigned to the current task.

[0535] Retrieves the account name for the sync schedule. This method is for Windows NT®; it does nothing in Windows® 95.

[0536] Returns one of the following values:

[0537] PpwszAccountName: An LPWSTR that will contain the account name for the current task.

[0538] PcbSize : Address of the DWORD containing the size of buffer allocated for ppwszAccountName. If the buffer is too small, this param will be filled in with the needed size.

[0539] The method that invokes GetAccountInformation is responsible for freeing the string.

[0540] Gets the task trigger for this Sync Schedule Object.

[0541] Returns one of the following values:

[0542] ppTrigger Address of a pointer to an ITaskTrigger interface.

[0543] Retrieves the next time the sync schedule item will run.

[0544] Returns one of the following values:

[0545] PstNextRun: Address of a SYSTEMTIME structure that contains the next time the work item will run.

[0546] Retrieves the most recent time the sync schedule began running.

[0547] Returns one of the following values:

[0548] PstLastRun: Address of a SYSTEMTIME structure that contains the most recent time the current task ran.

[0549] Opens the configuration properties for the sync schedule item.

[0550] Returns one of the following values:

[0551] HParent: Handle to the parent window of the configuration properties window.

[0552] DwReserved: Reserved for future use; this parameter is ignored.

[0553] ISyncSchedule::AddItem

[0554] Add the specified handler item to this Sync Schedule object.

[0555] Returns one of the following values:

[0556] pHandlerItemInfo: Pointer to the application handler/item data for which to add the item. The item will be added and registered with the handler items.

[0557] Sets the check state of the specified handler item.

[0558] Returns one of the following values:

[0559] pHandlerID: Specifies a pointer to the application handler ID for which to add the item

[0560] pItemID: A pointer to a SYNCMGRITEMID that uniquely identifies a scheduled sync item for the specified handler.

[0561] dwCheckState: The Check State. 1==Checked, 0==Unchecked.

[0562] Sets the check state of the specified handler item.

[0563] Returns one of the following values:

[0564] pHandlerID: Specifies a pointer to the application handler ID for which to add the item

[0565] pItemID: A pointer to a SYNCMGRITEMID that uniquely identifies a scheduled sync item for the specified handler.

[0566] pdwCheckState: A pointer to DWORD to receive the Check State. 1==Checked, 0==Unchecked.

[0567] Retrieves a pointer to an OLE enumerator object that enumerates the items on the current sync schedule.

[0568] Returns one of the following values:

[0569] pHandlerID: Specifies a pointer to the application handler ID for which to enumerate. If this parameter is GUID_NULL, the IEnumSyncItems interface will enumerate all synchonization items for all handlers.

[0570] ppEnumItems:Address of a pointer to an IEnumSyncItems interface. This interface contains the enumeration context for the item(s) on the current sync schedule object.

[0571] ISyncSchedule::Save

[0572] HRESULT Save( );

[0573] Commits the sync schedule to disk. Clients call this method to persist any changes made to the SyncSchedule.

[0574] Returns one of the following values:

[0575] IEnumSyncItems

[0576] Applications use the methods of the IEnumSyncItems interface to enumerate the sync items on a given synchronization schedule.

[0577] IEnumSyncItems::Next

[0578] Retrieves the next celt sync items in the enumeration sequence. If there are fewer than the requested number of elements left in the sequence, the remaining elements are retrieved.

[0579] Returns one of the following values:

[0580] Celt: Number of sync items to retrieve.

[0581] ppHandlerItemList: Address of an array of pointers to SYNC_HANDLER_ITEM_INFO Struct, returned from the enumeration sequence. Clients are responsible for freeing each of the SYNC_HANDLER_ITEM_INFO pointers in the array, and the array itself.

[0582] pceltFetched:Address of a value that contains the number of SYNC_HANDLER_ITEM_INFO struct pointers returned in ppHandlerItemList. If the celt parameter is 1, this parameter can be NULL.

[0583] Skips the next celt number of sync items in the enumeration sequence.

[0584] Returns one of the following values:

[0585] Celt: Number of sync schedules to be skipped.

[0586] IEnumSyncItems::Reset

[0587] HRESULT Reset(void);

[0588] Resets the enumeration sequence to the beginning.

[0589] Returns S_OK if successful, or E_OUTOFMEMORY if there is not enough available memory.

[0590] A call to this method does not guarantee that the same set of sync items will be enumerated after the reset.

[0591] Creates another enumerator that contains the same enumeration state as the current one. Using this method, a client can record a particular point in the enumeration sequence and return to that point later. The new enumerator supports the same interface as the original.

[0592] Returns one of the following values:

[0593] PpEnumSyncItems:Address of a pointer to an IEnumSyncItems interface that will be assigned to the newly created enumeration. If the method fails, this parameter is NULL.

[0594] As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description, there is provided a centralized synchronization manager that provides a user with a consistent user experience while eliminating the need for the user to separately launch applications to synchronize data. Synchronization takes place on events triggered according to a user's preferences, and may be automatic according to the user preferences and/or a schedule, or manual. The synchronization manager provides standard interfaces usable by any application to handle the synchronization of data in a consistent, efficient and extensible way.

[0595] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, a certain illustrated embodiment thereof is shown in the drawings and has been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.