CACHING AND EXPOSING PRE-SEND DATA RELATING TO THE SENDER OR RECIPIENT OF AN ELECTRONIC MAIL MESSAGE

• US 20090259723A1
• Filed: 04/10/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Engen, Del Kirk, Roic, Alessio, Gibbons, Graham D., Yagi, Fumiaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,280,963 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

Technologies are described herein for caching and exposing pre-send data relating to the sender or recipient of an e-mail message. A mail client program is configured to cache recipient and configuration mail tips at a client computer. The configuration mail tips may be retrieved from a server computer and cached when the mail client program is started. Recipient mail tips may be retrieved and cached as each recipient of an e-mail message is identified. When subsequent e-mail messages are created, cached mail tips for an e-mail recipient are utilized instead of retrieving the mail tips from the server computer. The cached mail tips may be updated after a predefined period of time has elapsed. The cached mail tips may also be utilized when the client program is offline or unable to establish a connection to the server computer.

Claims

1. A method for caching pre-send data relating to the recipient or sender of an electronic mail (e-mail) message, the method comprising:

retrieving one or more recipient mail tips during composition of an e-mail message; and

caching the recipient mail tips for display during the composition of a subsequent e-mail message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient mail tips comprise one or more properties that relate to a recipient of the e-mail message.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying the recipient mail tips during composition of the e-mail message.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

retrieving one or more configuration mail tips; and

caching the configuration mail tips for use during the composition of the e-mail message and the subsequent e-mail message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration mail tips comprise one or more properties that relate to a sender of the e-mail message.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising displaying the configuration mail tips during the composition of the e-mail message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more recipient mail tips are retrieved in response to the resolution of an e-mail address for the recipient of the e-mail message.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved; and

in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved, retrieving updated configuration mail tips and caching the updated configuration mail tips.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved; and

in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved, retrieving updated recipient mail tips and caching the updated recipient mail tips.

10. A computer storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

retrieve one or more configuration mail tips from a server computer prior to the composition of an electronic mail (e-mail) message;

retrieve from the server computer during the composition of the e-mail message one or more recipient mail tips corresponding to a recipient of the e-mail message;

store the configuration mail tips and the recipient mail tips in a cache; and

to

display the configuration mail tips and the recipient mail tips.

11. The computer storage medium of claim 10, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

receive the identity of a second recipient during the composition of a subsequent e-mail message;

determine whether any recipient mail tips are stored in the cache corresponding to the second recipient; and

to

retrieve the recipient mail tips from the cache corresponding to the second recipient and to display the retrieved recipient mail tips in response to determining that mail tips are stored in the cache corresponding to the second recipient.

12. The computer storage medium of claim 11, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

determine whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved; and

to

retrieving updated configuration mail tips from the server computer and store the updated configuration mail tips in the cache in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved.

13. The computer storage medium of claim 12, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

determine whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved; and

to

retrieve updated recipient mail tips from the server computer and store the updated recipient mail tips in the cache in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved.

14. The computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein the recipient mail tips comprise one or more properties that relate to a recipient of the e-mail message.

15. The computer storage medium of claim 14, wherein the configuration mail tips comprise one or more properties that relate to a sender of the e-mail message.

16. The computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more recipient mail tips are retrieved in response to the resolution of an e-mail address for the recipient of the e-mail message.

17. A method for caching pre-send data relating to the recipient or sender of an electronic mail (e-mail) message, the method comprising:

communicating with a web service to obtain one or more configuration mail tips prior to the composition of an e-mail message, the configuration mail tips comprising data relating to a sender of the e-mail message;

obtaining from the web service one or more recipient mail tips during the composition of the e-mail message, the recipient mail tips comprising data relating to a recipient of the e-mail message;

storing the recipient mail tips and the configuration mail tips in a mail tip cache;

displaying the recipient mail tips and the configuration mail tips during the composition of the e-mail message;

determining during the composition of a second e-mail message whether any recipient mail tips are stored in the mail tip cache corresponding to a recipient of the second e-mail message;

retrieving any recipient mail tips from the mail tip cache that correspond to a recipient of the second e-mail message; and

displaying the recipient mail tips during the composition of the second e-mail message.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more recipient mail tips are retrieved from the web service in response to the resolution of an e-mail address for the recipient of the e-mail message.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved; and

in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the configuration mail tips were retrieved, retrieving updated configuration mail tips from the web service and storing the updated configuration mail tips in the mail tip cache.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining whether a predefined period of time has elapsed since one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved; and

in response to determining that the predefined period of time has elapsed since the one or more of the recipient mail tips were retrieved, retrieving updated recipient mail tips from the web service and storing the updated recipient mail tips in the mail tip cache.