Enhancement of e-mail client user interfaces and e-mail message formats
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of enhancing an e-mail user interface, comprising:
- associating with e-mails in an inbox view listing of e-mails a preview trigger; and
upon activation by a user of the preview trigger associated with one of said e-mails, opening a temporary preview window on said inbox view while said preview trigger is activated, and displaying a preview of content in the associated e-mail within said preview window.
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Abstract
An enhancement to e-mail user interfaces and message formats includes a dynamic preview window to view and retrieve attachments and summaries of e-mail messages directly in the e-mail list view or inbox view without opening an e-mail message. The efficient viewing mechanism further allows previews without cluttering the listing of the e-mails in the inbox by allowing the client to detect special preview instructions within an e-mail and run executables within the preview window. The enhancement is applicable to standalone e-mail clients (POP or IMAP based) and to web-based e-mail systems.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method of enhancing an e-mail user interface, comprising:
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associating with e-mails in an inbox view listing of e-mails a preview trigger; and
upon activation by a user of the preview trigger associated with one of said e-mails, opening a temporary preview window on said inbox view while said preview trigger is activated, and displaying a preview of content in the associated e-mail within said preview window. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An enhanced e-mail user interface for an e-mail client application comprising:
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a preview mechanism comprising a preview trigger for each of one or more of a plurality of e-mails in an inbox view listing of said e-mails;
an indicator of the preview trigger associated with an entry on the e-mail view listing for each of said one or more e-mails; and
a temporary preview window created during activation of the preview mechanism for rendering a preview of the content of a selected one of said e-mails within the preview window. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of enhancing an e-mail for preview by a recipient without opening the e-mail, comprising embedding within the e-mail preview instructions for previewing content of the e-mail and a preview trigger mechanism for generating a preview of the e-mail, said preview trigger mechanism opening a preview window, and said preview instructions specifying a type of application needed for interpreting the instructions and for launching the application within the preview window to render said preview of the e-mail.
Specification