Displaying conversation views in a conversation-based email system
First Claim
1. A method of processing messages, comprising:
- receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria; and
displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system of processing messages is described that includes receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, wherein each message has a unique message identifier. Each of the received messages is associated with a respective conversation to which it belongs. Each conversation includes a respective conversation identifier and a set of one or more messages which share a common set of characteristics that meet certain predefined criteria. A list of conversations to which the various messages belong is displayed in an order determined in accordance with other predefined criteria, such as ordering the conversations by the last date a message was received in a particular conversation. Each conversation is represented as a single item in the list. Other information displayed relating to the conversation includes labels, senders, date/time values, recipients, number of message in a conversation, and whether or not the conversation contains any unread messages.
612 Citations
69 Claims
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1. A method of processing messages, comprising:
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receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria; and
displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for generating a form for a user to check and respond to a plurality of messages, comprising:
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receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier;
wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet predefined criteria; and
displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value, wherein the sender list of at least one conversation in the list of conversations includes identifiers of multiple senders, but less than all the senders of the conversation.
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20. A method of processing messages, comprising:
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receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier;
wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet predefined criteria; and
providing presentation information for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A computer program product, for use in a computer system, the computer program product comprising:
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instructions for receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
instructions for associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet predefined criteria; and
instructions for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 61)
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56. A computer program product, for use with a computer system, the computer program product comprising:
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instructions for receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
instructions for associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier;
wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet predefined criteria; and
instructions for providing presentation information for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A system for processing messages, comprising:
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means for receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;
means for associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet predefined criteria; and
means for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list.
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Specification