Multiple collaborators running the shopping list application view a shopping list. Figure 1 shows two collaborators views of the lists.
The initial fixed list of items is started with the “default items” button (for simplicity it is not possible to add or remove items). A collaborator increases and decreases the amount of selected items on the list with the “inc” and “dec” buttons.
Notice that in Figure 1 each collaborator can sort the shopping list separately in their interface (using the sort by amount or item combo box). This emphasizes how collaborators point at parts of a collaborative application when the visual appearance differs. Using a conventional telepointer (a mouse cursor that all collaborators see on their interface) is not possible; the telepointer’s position on both collaborators’ interfaces points to different items.
Instead, the shopping list application uses semantic pointing. In semantic pointing, one person points at items and the items are highlighted in the other collaborators’ interfaces. In this application semantic pointing is accomplished when one collaborator selects shopping list items to point at and presses “Point at selection”. The items pointed at are highlighted in a unique color for each collaborator (the collaborator’s color is indicated in the interface as “My color”).Shopping List in Excel
The Shopping List example demonstrates how to integrate a Sync application in a Windows application. The included Excel example is not the complete Shopping List application. Instead it demonstrates the infrastructure for communication between Excel and the Sync application. The communication includes Sync passing data and updates to Excel and Excel controlling the Sync application. The current Excel example lists events in the Sync application and an Excel button increases the amounts of all items. Figure 2 shows the shopping list running in Excel.
