Method of setting destinations of electronic mail

• US 20020107930A1
• Filed: 01/30/2002
• Published: 08/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Itoh, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,275,214 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

An addition symbol to add two destinations selected from a list of destinations including a group name representing mail addresses of multiple members, and a subtraction symbol to subtract a mail address of an arbitrary member from a group destination are predefined in electronic mail software, so that when an electronic mail message is transmitted to multiple destinations from a communication terminal, the addition symbol or the subtraction symbol is placed between one destination and the other destination in a destination field in a window for composing an electronic mail message to add a destination address to or delete a personal address of a group member from a group name.

Claims

1. A method of setting destinations of electronic mail transmitted using electronic mail software from a communication terminal to multiple destinations, comprising the steps of:

predefining in the electronic mail software an addition symbol to add two destinations selected from a list of destinations including a group name representing mail addresses of multiple members; and

placing said addition symbol between one and the other destinations in a destination section on a screen for composing an outgoing mail to thereby set destinations including the mail addresses of said one and the other destinations.

2. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein said addition symbol readily suggests to the user that the mail addresses of destinations located on both sides of said addition symbol are to be added.

9. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein said addition symbol can be used to add a personal name or a second group name to a first group name to be a destination, said personal name being other than the members of the first group,

if, at the time of transmitting electronic mail using said electronic mail software, the destinations of said electronic mail are produced by adding the personal name other than the members of the first group name or the second group name to all the members of the first group name, said first group name and said personal name or the second group name are selected in the destination section on a screen for selecting recipients by said electronic mail software, while said addition symbol is entered adjacent to said personal name or the second group name, and

if said addition symbol is in the destination section, the electronic mail software sets the mail address of said personal name or mail addresses of all the members of the second group name adjacent to said addition symbol in addition to the mail addresses of all the members of said first group as the destinations of the electronic mail.

14. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 9, wherein if the destinations of said electronic mail include a group name and a personal name set using at least one of the operation symbols, said electronic mail software deletes the personal name and the operation symbols from the destination name data in the data to be transmitted before the transmission of the electronic mail so that only the group name is displayed in the destination section on a screen displayed at each destination.

16. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 9, wherein if the destinations of said electronic mail include a group name and a personal name set using at least one of said operation symbols, said electronic mail software transmits items in the destination section of an outgoing mail composing screen as the destinations of the electronic mail for the destination data in the data to be transmitted so that each of said operation symbols is displayed in addition to the group name and the personal name displayed in the destination section of the screen displayed at each destination.

3. A method of setting destinations of electronic mail transmitted to multiple destinations from a communication terminal using electronic mail software in which a group name representing mail addresses of multiple members registered in a list of destinations is used, comprising the steps of:

predefining in the electronic mail software a subtraction symbol to subtract from one destination indicated by a group name an other destination; and

placing said subtraction symbol between said one destination and said other destination in a destination section on a screen for composing an electronic mail message to be transmitted to thereby set destinations in which the mail address of said other destination is deleted from the mail addresses of the members of the group of said one destination.

4. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 3, wherein said subtraction symbol readily suggests to the user that the mail address of the destination on the right side of said subtraction symbol is to be subtracted from the mail address of the destination on the left side.

10. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 3, wherein said subtraction symbol can be used to delete from a first group name to be a destination an arbitrary personal name of the members of the first group name or a second group name,

if, at the time of transmitting electronic mail using said electronic mail software, the destinations of said electronic mail are produced by deleting an arbitrary personal name of the members of the first group name or the second group name from all the members of the first group name, said first group name and said personal name or the second group name are selected in the destination section on a screen for selecting recipients by said electronic mail software, while said subtraction symbol is entered adjacent to said personal name or the second group name, and

if said subtraction symbol is entered in the destination section, by the electronic mail software, the mail address of said personal name or the mail addresses of all the members of the second group may be deleted from the mail addresses of all the members of said first group name for setting the destinations of the electronic mail.

5. A method of setting destinations of electronic mail transmitted to multiple destinations from a communication terminal using electronic mail software, comprising the steps of:

predefining in the electronic mail software an addition symbol to add two destinations selected from a list of destinations including a group name representing mail addresses of multiple members, and a subtraction symbol to subtract from one destination indicated by the group name the other destination; and

placing said addition symbol or said subtraction symbol between said multiple destinations in a destination section on a screen for composing an electronic mail message to be transmitted to thereby set destinations in which addition or subtraction is performed on the mail addresses of said destinations.

6. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 5, wherein if the number of said multiple destinations is at least three, said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol are placed in said destination section, so that the mail addresses of said destinations are subjected to addition and subtraction to set the destinations.

7. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 6, wherein when said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol are used to set the destinations, order specifying operation symbols are predefined, said order specifying operation symbols being placed to contain said addition symbol or said subtraction symbol together with destinations therebetween so that the order of priorities in operation between destination setting by said addition symbol and destination setting by said subtraction symbol can be specified, and

in the destination section on the screen for composing an electronic mail message to be transmitted, using the order specifying operation symbols, at least one set of destinations are set from destinations to be added with said addition symbol or subtracted with said subtraction symbol, and the specified operation is performed with priority for setting the destinations.

8. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 7, wherein said order specifying operation symbols readily suggest to an electronic mail user that the operation of the mail addresses of the destinations put between the order specifying symbols has priority.

11. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 5, wherein if the destinations of said electronic mail are set by adding the mail address of a personal name or the mail addresses of all the members of the second group name to the mail addresses of all the members of the first group name as one of said multiple destinations, said addition symbol is selected and placed adjacent to said personal name or the second group name in said destination section,

if the destinations of said electronic mail are set by subtracting the mail address of said personal name or the mail addresses of all the members of the second group name from the mail addresses of all the members of the first group name, said subtraction symbol is selected and placed adjacent to said personal name or the second group name,

whereby said personal name or the second group name can arbitrarily be added to or subtracted from the mail addresses of all the members of said first group.

12. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 6, wherein, in addition to said first group name, and said personal name or the second group name, a second personal name or a third group name different from said both names is used as one of said at least three, multiple destinations, and

if the destinations of said electronic mail are set by using one of said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol between said first group name and said personal name or said second group name, and the other of said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol between said personal name or the second group name and said second personal name or said third group name, said electronic mail software performs operation for mail addresses with said one of said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol, and operation for mail addresses with said other of said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol to set the destinations of said electronic mail.

13. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 7, wherein if said order specifying operation symbols are used in said destination section in addition to said addition symbol and/or said subtraction symbol, the operation given priority by said order specifying operation symbols is performed and then operation by the remaining operation symbol is performed sequentially from the left to set mail addresses.

15. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 7, wherein said electronic mail software produces a selection screen for inputting said addition symbol, said subtraction symbol and said order specifying operation symbols in the destination section on the screen for selecting recipients in order to specify the destinations of said electronic mail.

18. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 17, wherein a new group name is registered in a destination list, said new group name being given to the destinations set by using said addition symbol, said subtraction symbol, order specifying operation symbols for specifying the order of priorities in operation between destination setting with said addition symbol and destination setting with said subtraction symbol, and multiple group names or personal names selected from the destination list.

19. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 17, wherein said new group name is subjected to operation with another personal name or group name using at least one of said addition symbol and said subtraction symbol to set the destinations.

20. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to claim 19, wherein said new group name is subjected to operation with another personal name or group name using said addition symbol, said subtraction symbol and said order specifying operation symbols to set the destinations.

21. The method of setting destinations of electronic mail according to any one of claim 17, wherein the personal name and said operation symbols are deleted from the recipient name data in the data to be transmitted before the transmission of the electronic mail so that only said new group name is displayed in the destination section on a displayed screen at each destination.

17. A method of setting destinations of electronic mail, comprising the step of assigning a new group name to destinations for registration in a destination list, said destinations being set using at least one of an addition symbol to add two destinations selected from the destination list including a group name, and a subtraction symbol to subtract from one destination indicated by a group name the other destination, and multiple group names or personal names selected from the destination list.