Displaying conversations in a conversation-based email sysem

• US 20050234850A1
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Singh, Sanjeev, Rakowski, Brian D., Chang, Bay-Wei W., Lim, Jing Yee, Buchheit, Paul T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,819,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

A method and system for processing messages is disclosed that includes receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, where each message has a unique message identifier. Each of the plurality of messages may be associated with a respective conversation, where each conversation has a respective conversation identifier. Also, each conversation includes a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet a first predefined criteria. A list of conversations is displayed as a set of rows in an order determined by a second predefined criteria, where each row corresponds to one of the listed conversations and includes at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value. The contents of a conversation is displayed when the user selects a conversation from the displayed list of conversations. Messages can be displayed in one of three modes: expanded, compacted and hidden.

Claims

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;

displaying a list of conversations as a set of rows in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value; and

displaying content of a conversation when the user selects a conversation from the displayed list of conversations.

2. The method of claim 1, including, while displaying the content of a conversation, enabling the user to associate the conversation with a category, the category having a user-specified identifier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating is performed in conjunction with initial processing of each message upon receipt thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, including, while displaying the content of a conversation, displaying any categories associated with the conversation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the content of a conversation includes displaying one or more sub-forms, each sub-form corresponding to a respective message in the conversation, and each sub-form having two display modes, including a compacted display mode and an expanded display mode.

6. The method of claim 5, further providing a third display mode including a hidden display mode.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the user may toggle between the compacted mode and the expanded mode for respective message by clicking in a concise message header area, the concise message header including an identifier of the message sender and a portion of the message.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have been viewed or marked as read by the user are rendered in the compacted display mode and the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have not been viewed or marked as read by the user are rendered in the expanded display mode.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein a sub-form includes a concise message header, a detailed message header, a message body and a plurality of message redirecting control means.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and a list of identifiers of primary message recipients.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and the sub-form includes a portion of text from the corresponding message.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifier of a new conversation participant is highlighted when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the new conversation participant.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifier of any of the message sender and the primary message recipients is highlighted when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the message sender or the primary message recipient.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the highlighting is one or more selected from the list consisting of:

bolding, underlining, font color, font size, background color, and font type.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifier of the user as the message sender or one of the primary message recipients is replaced with a unique character string or an icon.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the detailed message header includes addresses of the message sender, the primary message recipients, and secondary message recipients of the message, the date/time value associated with the message and a plurality of message processing control means.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of message processing control means include a means for deleting the message from the conversation.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of message processing control means include a means for displaying the message in an original format of the message.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of message processing control means include a means for adding a sender or recipient'"'"'s address to a list of contacts associated with the user.

21. The method of claim 9, wherein the sub-form provides a means for rendering the detailed message header visible or invisible to the user.

22. The method of claim 9, wherein displaying the content of a conversation includes displaying a plurality of the sub-forms when the conversation includes a plurality of messages, and wherein the plurality of message redirecting control means in each of the displayed sub-forms includes a means for producing a reply form to prepare a message to the message sender and/or any of the primary and secondary message recipients.

23. The method of claim 9, wherein displaying the content of a conversation includes displaying a means for rendering a spelling check sub-form that includes a copy of the message body, highlights any potentially misspelled words in the message body and associates with at least one potentially misspelled word a list of candidate words.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the check sub-form includes an option for the user to replace the potentially misspelled word with a user specified replacement word.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the check sub-form includes a spelling correction window positioned at a user selected potentially misspelled word, and further includes an expansion means for expanding the spelling correction window to include additional text positioned immediately before or after the user selected potentially misspelled word.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the conversation content includes displaying a means for removing the conversation from the displayed list of conversations, while keeping the conversation in a database of conversations associated with the user.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the means for removing the conversation from the displayed list of conversations includes a means for bringing the conversation back to the displayed list of conversations when user specified criteria are met.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the criteria include a time triggering condition upon which the conversation is brought back to the displayed list of conversations.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the criteria include an event triggering condition upon which the conversation is brought back to the displayed list of conversations.

30. A method for 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;

formatting a list of conversations as a set of rows in an order determined in accordance with second set of predefined criteria, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the formatting includes providing category information associated with the listed conversations.

32. The method of claim 30, further including providing one or more sub-forms, each sub-form corresponding to a respective message in a conversation, and each sub-form having two display modes, including a compacted display mode and an expanded display mode.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have been viewed or marked as read by the user are associated with the compacted display mode and the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have not been viewed or marked as read by the user are associated with the expanded display mode.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein a sub-form includes a concise message header, a detailed message header, a message body and a plurality of message redirecting control means.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and a list of identifiers of primary message recipients.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and the sub-form includes a portion of text from the corresponding message.

37. The method of claim 35, further including identifying any of the message sender and the primary message recipients when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the message sender or the primary message recipient.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the identifier of a new conversation participant is highlighted when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the new conversation participant.

39. The method of claim 35, further including replacing the identifier of the user as the message sender or one of the primary message recipients with a unique character string or an icon.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

41. The method of claim 34, wherein the detailed message header includes addresses of the message sender, the primary message recipients, and secondary message recipients of the message, and the date/time value associated with the message.

42. A computer program product, for use in a computer system, the computer program product comprising:

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 first predefined criteria;

instructions for displaying a list of conversations as a set of rows in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value; and

instructions for displaying content of a conversation when the user selects a conversation in the displayed list of conversations.

43. The computer program product of claim 42, including, instructions for, while displaying the content of a conversation, enabling the user to associate the conversation with a category, the category having a user-specified identifier.

44. The computer program product of claim 42, further including instructions for performing the instructions for associating in conjunction with initial processing of each message upon receipt thereof.

45. The computer program product of claim 42, including, instructions for, while displaying the content of a conversation, displaying any categories associated with the conversation.

46. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the instructions for displaying the content of a conversation includes instructions for displaying one or more sub-forms, each sub-form corresponding to a respective message in the conversation, and each sub-form having two display modes, including a compacted display mode and an expanded display mode.

47. The computer program product of claim 46, further including instructions for providing a third display mode including a hidden display mode.

48. The computer program product of claim 46, further including instructions wherein the user may toggle between the compacted mode and the expanded mode for respective message by clicking in a concise message header area, the concise message header including an identifier of the message sender and a portion of the message.

49. The computer program product of claim 46, further including instructions for rendering the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have been viewed or marked as read by the user in the compacted display mode and the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have not been viewed or marked as read by the user in the expanded display mode.

50. The computer program product of claim 46, wherein a sub-form includes a concise message header, a detailed message header, a message body and a plurality of message redirecting control means.

51. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and a list of identifiers of primary message recipients.

52. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the concise message header includes an identifier of the message sender and the sub-form includes a portion of text from the corresponding message.

53. The computer program product of claim 51, further including instructions for highlighting the identifier of a new conversation participant when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the new conversation participant.

54. The computer program product of claim 51, further including instructions for highlighting the identifier of any of the message sender and the primary message recipients when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the message sender or the primary message recipient.

55. The computer program product of claim 53, wherein the highlighting is one or more selected from the list consisting of:

bolding, underlining, font color, font size, background color, and font type.

56. The computer program product of claim 51, further including instructions for replacing the identifier of the user as the message sender or one of the primary message recipients with a unique character string or an icon.

57. The computer program product of claim 56, further including instructions for providing the unique character string as a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

58. The computer program product of claim 50, further including instructions for including in the detailed message header addresses of the message sender, the primary message recipients, and secondary message recipients of the message, the date/time value associated with the message and providing a plurality of message processing control means.

59. The computer program product of claim 58, further including instructions for, in the plurality of message processing control means, instructions for providing a means for deleting the message from the conversation.

60. The computer program product of claim 58, further including instructions for, in the plurality of message processing control means, providing a means for displaying the message in an original format of the message.

61. The computer program product of claim 58, further including instructions for, in the plurality of message processing control means, providing a means for adding a sender or recipient'"'"'s address to a list of contacts associated with the user.

62. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the instructions for displaying the sub-form includes instructions for providing a means for rendering the detailed message header visible or invisible to the user.

63. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the instructions for displaying the content of a conversation includes instructions for displaying a plurality of the sub-forms when the conversation includes a plurality of messages, and wherein the instructions for providing the plurality of message redirecting control means in each of the displayed sub-forms includes instructions for providing a means for producing a reply form to prepare a message to the message sender and/or any of the primary and secondary message recipients.

64. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the instructions for displaying the conversation content includes instructions for displaying a means for removing the conversation from the displayed list of conversations, while keeping the conversation in a database of conversations associated with the user.

65. The computer program product of claim 64, wherein the instructions for providing the means for removing the conversation from the displayed list of conversations includes instructions for providing a means for bringing the conversation back to the displayed list of conversations when user specified criteria are met.

66. The computer program product of claim 65, wherein the criteria include a time triggering condition upon which the conversation is brought back to the displayed list of conversations.

67. The computer program product of claim 65, wherein the criteria include an event triggering condition upon which the conversation is brought back to the displayed list of conversations.

68. A computer program product, for use with a computer system, comprising:

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 first predefined criteria;

instructions for formatting a list of conversations as a set of rows in an order determined in accordance with second set of predefined criteria, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value.

69. The computer program product of claim 68, wherein the instructions for formatting includes instructions for providing category information associated with the listed conversations.

70. The computer program product of claim 68, further including instructions for providing one or more sub-forms, each sub-form corresponding to a respective message in a conversation, and each sub-form having two display modes, including a compacted display mode and an expanded display mode.

71. The computer program product of claim 70, wherein the instructions for providing the sub-forms includes instructions for associating the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have been viewed or marked as read by the user with the compacted display mode and the sub-forms corresponding to messages that have not been viewed or marked as read by the user with the expanded display mode.

72. The computer program product of claim 70, wherein the instructions for providing the sub-form includes instructions for providing a concise message header, a detailed message header, a message body and a plurality of message redirecting control means.

73. The computer program product of claim 72, wherein the instructions for providing the sub-form includes instructions for providing an identifier of the message sender and a list of identifiers of primary message recipients in the concise message header.

74. The computer program product of claim 72, wherein the instructions for providing the sub-form includes instructions for providing an identifier of the message sender in the concise message header and for providing a portion of text from the corresponding message in the sub-form.

75. The computer program product of claim 73, further including instructions for identifying any of the message sender and the primary message recipients when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the message sender or the primary message recipient.

76. The computer program product of claim 73, further including instruction for highlighting the identifier of a new conversation participant when the associated message comprises a first participation in the conversation by the new conversation participant.

77. The computer program product of claim 73, further including replacing the identifier of the user as the message sender or one of the primary message recipients with a unique character string or an icon.

78. The computer program product of claim 77, further including instructions for providing the unique character string as a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

79. The computer program product of claim 72, further including instructions for providing in the detailed message header addresses of the message sender, the primary message recipients, and secondary message recipients of the message, and the date/time value associated with the message.

80. A system for processing messages, comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of messages directing 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 first predefined criteria;

means for displaying a list of conversations as a set of rows in an order determined in accordance with second set of predefined criteria, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value; and

means for displaying content of a conversation when the user selects a conversation in the displayed list of conversations.