Method and system for providing version control for electronic mail attachments

• US 20070143425A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: O'Brien, Michael, Heidloff, Niklas, Kieselbach, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 8,650,254 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments

Abstract

A system for providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages in which a user'"'"'s personal document library is used to store documents attached to the email messages the user sends and/or receives. Each time an attached document is transmitted or received within a message thread, a different version of the document is created and stored in the personal document library. The multiple document versions created allow the disclosed system to provide the user with the options of opening the most recent version of an attached document and/or opening the version of the attached document that is associated with the specific opened message. An attached document is represented within an email message using a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), where the stored URL points to the version of the attached document for that message that is stored in the user'"'"'s personal document library. Through an API (Application Programming Interface) provided by the personal document library, the most recent version of a document can be requested, or another specific version of the document can be indicated for opening.

Claims

1. A method of providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages, comprising:

detecting an operation involving transfer of an electronic mail message having an attached document, said message belonging to a message thread; and

in response to said detecting of said operation, detaching said document from said message and storing said document into a personal document library of a local user, wherein said document is stored in said personal document library in association with a name of said document and a unique name of said message thread.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether said document was previously stored in said personal document library;

in the event that said document was previously stored in said personal document library, determining whether said document has been modified since it was previously stored in said personal document library; and

in the event said document was previously stored in said personal document library and has been modified since it was previously stored in said personal document library, generating a new version of said document, wherein said new version of said document, wherein said new version of said document is a version of said document associated with said electronic mail message.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

responsive to a user selecting said electronic mail message in an electronic mail user interface, presenting a document open user interface including a multiple document open options, wherein a first of said document open options enables said user to open said version of said document associated with said electronic mail message, and wherein a second of said document open options enables said user to open a most recent version of said document in said message thread, wherein said most recent version of said document is associated with a more recently received electronic mail message in said message thread.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said document open user interface further enables said user to set said version of said document associated with said electronic mail message as said most recent version of said document in said message thread.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing a pointer to said new version of said document in said electronic mail message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said operation involving transfer of said electronic mail message having said attached document comprises sending said electronic mail message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said operation involving transfer of said electronic mail message having said attached document comprises receiving said electronic mail message.

8. A system including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages, said program code comprising:

program code for detecting an operation involving transfer of an electronic mail message having an attached document, said message belonging to a message thread; and

program code for, in response to said detecting of said operation, detaching said document from said message and storing said document into a personal document library of a local user, wherein said document is stored in said personal document library in association with a name of said document and a unique name of said message thread.

9. The system of claim 8, said program code further comprising:

program code for determining whether said document was previously stored in said personal document library;

program code for, in the event that said document was previously stored in said personal document library, determining whether said document has been modified since it was previously stored in said personal document library; and

program code for, in the event said document was previously stored in said personal document library and has been modified since it was previously stored in said personal document library, generating a new version of said document, wherein said new version of said document, wherein said new version of said document is a version of said document associated with said electronic mail message.

10. The system of claim 9, said program code further comprising:

program code for, responsive to a user selecting said electronic mail message in an electronic mail user interface, presenting a document open user interface including a multiple document open options, wherein a first of said document open options enables said user to open said version of said document associated with said electronic mail message, and wherein a second of said document open options enables said user to open a most recent version of said document in said message thread, wherein said most recent version of said document is associated with a more recently received electronic mail message in said message thread.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said document open user interface further enables said user to set said version of said document associated with said electronic mail message as said most recent version of said document in said message thread.

12. The system of claim 9, said program code further comprising program code for storing a pointer to said new version of said document in said electronic mail message.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein said operation involving transfer of said electronic mail message having said attached document comprises sending said electronic mail message.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said operation involving transfer of said electronic mail message having said attached document comprises receiving said electronic mail message.

15. A computer program product including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages, said program code comprising:

program code for detecting an operation involving transfer of an electronic mail message having an attached document, said message belonging to a message thread; and

program code for, in response to said detecting of said operation, detaching said document from said message and storing said document into a personal document library of a local user, wherein said document is stored in said personal document library in association with a name of said document and a unique name of said message thread.

16. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, said computer data signal having program code stored thereon for providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages, said program code comprising:

program code for detecting an operation involving transfer of an electronic mail message having an attached document, said message belonging to a message thread; and

program code for, in response to said detecting of said operation, detaching said document from said message and storing said document into a personal document library of a local user, wherein said document is stored in said personal document library in association with a name of said document and a unique name of said message thread.

17. A system for providing version control for documents attached to electronic mail messages, comprising:

means for detecting an operation involving transfer of an electronic mail message having an attached document, said message belonging to a message thread; and

means for, in response to said detecting of said operation, detaching said document from said message and storing said document into a personal document library of a local user, wherein said document is stored in said personal document library in association with a name of said document and a unique name of said message thread.