Method and system for selectively requesting an acknowledgement to recipients of an electronic mail

• US 20070094339A1
• Filed: 10/24/2006
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Marmigere, Gerard, Bauchot, Frederic
• Granted Patent: US 8,015,251 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]

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, system and computer program in a client side of an electronic mail management application, for selectively requesting a read mail acknowledgment to one or a plurality of recipients of a mail among a plurality of recipients.

Claims

1. A method in a client side of a mail management application, for selectively requesting a read mail acknowledgment to at least one recipient of a mail among a plurality of recipients, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a user'"'"'s command to send a mail, said mail comprising a body and a list with all recipients of said mail;

receiving at least one of user'"'"'s commands for selecting among said list of all recipients, predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested;

building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested;

building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

determining whether said lists of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested each contain at least one recipient, and if so, then;

duplicating the mail;

associating with an exemplar of the duplicated mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement and sending said exemplar to the one or plurality of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

sending another exemplar of the duplicated mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested.

2. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further step of:

If the list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty;

sending the mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested.

3. The method according to claim 2 comprising the further step of:

If the list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty;

associating with the mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement, and

sending said mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mail management application is based a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s commands are received by means of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the Graphical User Interface (GUI) comprises two windows, comprising:

a normal mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is not requested;

an acknowledged mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is requested.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of receiving at least one user'"'"'s commands for selecting among said list of all recipients, recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is not requested, comprises the further step of:

at least one of user'"'"'s commands for selecting in said list of all recipients, at least one groups of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and at least one groups of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is not requested, the list of all recipients comprising three groups of recipients;

a group of main recipients;

a group of recipients in copy; and

a group of recipients in blind copy.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein each window comprises three groups of recipients:

a group of main recipients;

a group of recipients in copy; and

a group of recipients in blind copy.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

means are associated with the normal mail window to move at least one recipient from the normal mail window to the acknowledged mail window;

means are associated with the acknowledgement window to remove at least one recipient from the acknowledged mail window, and moving said recipients from the acknowledged mail window to the normal mail window.

10. A computer system for selectively requesting a read mail acknowledgment to at least one recipient of a mail among a plurality of recipients, said system comprising:

means for receiving a user'"'"'s command to send a mail, said mail comprising a body and a list with all recipients of said mail;

means for receiving at least one of user'"'"'s commands for selecting among said list of all recipients, predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested;

means for building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested;

means for building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

means for determining whether said lists of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested each contain at least one recipient, and if so, then;

means for duplicating the mail;

means for associating with an exemplar of the duplicated mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement and sending said exemplar to the one or plurality of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

means for sending another exemplar of the duplicated mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested.

11. The system according to claim 10 further comprising:

means for sending the mail to the at least one recipient for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested If the list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for associating with the mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement, and

sending said mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested if the list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the user'"'"'s commands are received by means of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the Graphical User Interface (GUI) comprises two windows, comprising:

a normal mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is not requested; and

an acknowledged mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is requested.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for selectively requesting a read mail acknowledgment to at least one recipient of a mail among a plurality of recipients, said system comprising:

means for receiving a user'"'"'s command to send a mail, said mail comprising a body and a list with all recipients of said mail;

means for receiving at least one of user'"'"'s commands for selecting among said list of all recipients, predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested;

means for building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested;

means for building a list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

means for determining whether said lists of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested each contain at least one recipient, and if so, then;

means for duplicating the mail;

means for associating with an exemplar of the duplicated mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement and sending said exemplar to the at least one recipient for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested; and

means for sending another exemplar of the duplicated mail to the at least one recipient for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested.

16. The computer program according to claim 15 further comprising:

means for sending the mail to the at least one recipient for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested If the list of said predetermined recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty.

17. The computer program according to claim 16, further comprising:

means for associating with the mail an indicator for requesting a read mail acknowledgement, and

sending said mail to the one or plurality of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested if the list of said predetermined recipients for whom no read mail acknowledgement is requested is empty.

18. The computer program according to claim 15, wherein the user'"'"'s commands are received by means of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

19. The computer program according to claim 18, wherein the Graphical User Interface (GUI) comprises two windows, comprising:

a normal mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is not requested; and

an acknowledged mail window comprising the list of recipients for whom an acknowledgment is requested.

20. The computer program according to claim 15, wherein said means receiving at least one user'"'"'s commands for selecting among said list of all recipients, recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is not requested, further comprises:

means for receiving at least one of user'"'"'s commands for selecting in said list of all recipients, at least one groups of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is requested and at least one groups of recipients for whom a read mail acknowledgement is not requested, the list of all recipients comprising three groups of recipients;

a group of main recipients;

a group of recipients in copy; and

a group of recipients in blind copy.