GROUPING EMAIL MESSAGES INTO CONVERSATIONS

• US 20120185797A1
• Filed: 01/14/2011
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Langoulant, Brendan, Guzman, Angela, Lemay, Stephen O., Coffman, Patrick L., Decker, Stephen, Halchin, Judy, Thorsen, Alicia, Hsu, Karl, Bovet, Simon, Jhaveri, Neil, Woods, Nick, Deutsch, Jonathan Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,824,314 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/287 Visualization; Browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads

Abstract

Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems determine that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message, parse a stored message, in response to the indication being present, for at least a partial match between a subject of the received message and contents of a subject of the stored message, and for at least a partial match between sender and recipient participants of the received message and sender and recipient participants of the stored message, and display the received message as grouped with the stored message. A further exemplary feature includes parsing text of the received message for text that is redundant of text of the stored message, determining that a minimum threshold of consecutive matching characters has been reached, and displaying the received message with the consecutive matching characters at least partially hidden from view.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing email message grouping comprising:

determining, by the computer, that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

parsing, by the computer in response to the indication being present, a stored message for at least a partial match between a subject of the received message and subject of the stored message, and for at least a partial match between sender and recipient participants of the received message and sender and recipient participants of the stored message; and

displaying, by the computer, the received message as grouped with the stored message determined by the parsing to have matching subject and participants to the received message.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data to identify the stored message, wherein the parsing is performed in response to the determination that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indication is a prefix or suffix present in the subject of the received message that indicates that the received message is a reply message.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, the plurality of messages including the grouped messages displayed as a single preview pane item with an indicator that the single preview pane item represents a group of multiple messages, the method further comprising:

expanding the single preview pane item, in response to a received input, to further display a selectable preview pane item for each of the grouped messages.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving an input selecting one of multiple messages in the expanded preview pane item; and

scrolling a message pane display of the multiple messages to bring corresponding message view of the selected one of the multiple messages to a predetermined position.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, wherein at least one of the plurality of messages is displayed as a preview pane item including a thumbnail of stacked images representing a plurality of files attached the at least one message, wherein the stacked images show the content of one of the plurality of files on top of the stack; and

expanding the stacked images, in response to a received input, into a plurality of individual thumbnail images in the preview pane item, each thumbnail image showing the content of a different one of the plurality of files.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying the received message and the stored message in a single window and labeling each of the grouped messages with an indication of the chronological order of messages in the conversation.

8. A computer-implemented method of managing email message grouping comprising:

determining, by the computer, that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is not present in the received message, wherein the received message includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header identifying a stored message; and

displaying, by the computer, the received message as a root of a new conversation in response to determining that the indication is not present in the received message.

9. A computer-implemented method of managing email message grouping comprising:

determining, by the computer, that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

identifying, by the computer in response to the presence of the indication, a stored message using header information in the received message, wherein the header information includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header; and

displaying, by the computer, the received message as grouped with the stored message identified using the header information in the received message.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a second stored message that was processed prior to the received message that includes header information referencing the received message; and

displaying the received message as grouped with the second stored message.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a processing device, wherein the processing device executes instructions that cause the processing device to

determine that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

parse, in response to the indication being present, a stored message for at least a partial match between a subject of the received message and contents of subject of the stored message, and for a match between sender and recipient participants of the received message and sender and recipient participants of the stored message; and

display the received message as grouped with the stored message determined by the parsing to have matching subject and participants to the received message.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing device executes instructions that further cause the processing device to:

determine that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data to identify the stored message, wherein the parsing is performed in response to the determination that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the indication is a prefix or suffix present in the subject of the received message that indicates that the received message is a reply message.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, the plurality of messages including the grouped messages displayed as a single preview pane item with an indicator that the single preview pane item represents a group of multiple messages, and wherein the processing device executes instructions that further cause the processing device to:

expand the single preview pane item, in response to a received input, to further display a selectable preview pane item for each of the grouped messages.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing device executes instructions that further cause the processing device to:

display a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, wherein at least one of the plurality of messages is displayed as a preview pane item including a thumbnail of stacked images representing a plurality of files attached the at least one message, wherein the stacked images show the content of one of the plurality of files on top of the stack; and

expand the stacked images, in response to a received input, into a plurality of individual thumbnail images in the preview pane item, each thumbnail image showing the content of a different one of the plurality of files.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying the received message and the stored message in a single window and labeling each of the grouped messages with an indication of the chronological order of messages in the conversation.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a processing device, wherein the processing device executes instructions that cause the processing device to

determine that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is not present in the received message, wherein the received message includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header identifying a stored message; and

display the received message as a root of a new conversation in response to determining that the indication is not present in the received message.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a processing device, wherein the processing device executes instructions that cause the processing device to

determine that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

identify, in response to the presence of the indication, a stored message using header information in the received message, wherein the header information includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header; and

display the received message as grouped with the stored message identified using the header information in the received message.

19. A machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processing device to perform a method comprising:

determining that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

parsing, in response to the indication being present, a stored message for at least a partial match between a subject of the received message and contents of subject of the stored message, and for at least a partial match between sender and recipient participants of the received message and sender and recipient participants of the stored message; and

displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message determined by the parsing to have matching subject and participants to the received message.

20. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

determining that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data to identify the stored message, wherein the parsing is performed in response to the determination that the received message does not include reference header data or in-reply-to header data.

21. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the indication is a prefix or suffix present in the subject of the received message that indicates that the received message is a reply message.

22. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, the plurality of messages including the grouped messages displayed as a single preview pane item with an indicator that the single preview pane item represents a group of multiple messages, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

expanding the single preview pane item, in response to a received input, to further display a selectable preview pane item for each of the grouped messages.

23. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

displaying a preview pane listing a plurality of messages, wherein at least one of the plurality of messages is displayed as a preview pane item including a thumbnail of stacked images representing a plurality of files attached the at least one message, wherein the stacked images show the content of one of the plurality of files on top of the stack; and

expanding the stacked images, in response to a received input, into a plurality of individual thumbnail images in the preview pane item, each thumbnail image showing the content of a different one of the plurality of files.

24. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the displaying the received message as grouped with the stored message includes displaying the received message and the stored message in a single window and labeling each of the grouped messages with an indication of the chronological order of messages in the conversation.

25. A machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processing device to perform a method comprising:

determining, by the computer, that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is not present in the received message, wherein the received message includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header identifying a stored message; and

displaying, by the computer, the received message as a root of a new conversation in response to determining that the indication is not present in the received message.

26. A machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processing device to perform a method comprising:

determining, by the computer, that an indication that a received message was sent in response to another message is present in the received message;

identifying, by the computer in response to the presence of the standard indication, a stored message using header information in the received message, wherein the header information includes a reference header or an in-reply-to header; and

displaying, by the computer, the received message as grouped with the stored message identified using the header information in the received message.

27. A computer-implemented method of reducing redundant message text comprising:

receiving, by the computer, a reply message containing content of an original message;

parsing, by the computer, text of the reply message for text of the original message, wherein the parsing includes comparing the text of the reply message and the text of the original message character by character until reaching a non-matching character;

determining, by the computer, that a minimum threshold of consecutive matching characters has been reached; and

displaying, by the computer, the reply message with the consecutive matching characters at least partially hidden from view.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein a portion of the consecutive matching characters are displayed.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein all of the consecutive matching characters are hidden when the reply message is displayed.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, further comprising:

identifying an attribute automatically added to the reply message above a block of matching characters and hiding the attribute when the reply message is displayed.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein the parsing further includes resuming searching for matching characters after reaching the non-matching character if the original message still contains additional content to be matched.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein the at least partially hidden characters are two consecutive blocks of characters separated by non-matching text.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein the parsing is initially performed from the beginning of the reply message towards the end of the reply message, and further comprising:

determining that not all of the original text has been matched; and

parsing the text of the reply message for the text of the original message from the end of the reply message towards the beginning of the reply message.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, further comprising:

expanding the message, in response to a received input, to display the hidden characters, the expanding including displaying the message as an unfolding letter wherein the hidden characters were hidden under a folded portion of the letter.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein the displaying the received message includes displaying a preview of the received message, the preview including at least a portion of text that does not match the text of the original message.

36. An apparatus comprising:

a processing device, wherein the processor executes instructions that cause the processor to

receive a reply message containing content of an original message;

parse text of the reply message for text of the original message, wherein the parsing includes comparing the text of the reply message and the text of the original message character by character until reaching a non-matching character;

determine that a minimum threshold of consecutive matching characters has been reached; and

display the reply message with the consecutive matching characters at least partially hidden from view.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein a portion of the consecutive matching characters are displayed.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein all of the consecutive matching characters are hidden when the reply message is displayed.

39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to identify an attribute automatically added to the reply message above a block of matching characters and hiding the attribute when the reply message is displayed.

40. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the parsing further includes resuming searching for matching characters after reaching the non-matching character if the original message still contains additional content to be matched.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least partially hidden characters are two consecutive blocks of characters separated by non-matching text.

42. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the parsing is initially performed from the beginning of the reply message towards the end of the reply message, and wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

determine that not all of the original text has been matched; and

parse the text of the reply message for the text of the original message from the end of the reply message towards the beginning of the reply message.

43. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

expand the message, in response to a received input, to display the hidden characters, the expanding including displaying the message as an unfolding letter wherein the hidden characters were hidden under a folded portion of the letter.

44. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the displaying of the received message includes displaying a preview of the received message, the preview including at least a portion of text that does not match the text of the original message.

45. A machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processing device to perform a method comprising:

receiving a reply message containing content of an original message;

parsing text of the reply message for text of the original message, wherein the parsing includes comparing the text of the reply message and the text of the original message character by character until reaching a non-matching character;

determining that a minimum threshold of consecutive matching characters has been reached; and

displaying the reply message with the consecutive matching characters at least partially hidden from view.

46. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein a portion of the consecutive matching characters are displayed.

47. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein all of the consecutive matching characters are hidden when the reply message is displayed.

48. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

identifying an attribute automatically added to the reply message above a block of matching characters and hiding the attribute when the reply message is displayed.

49. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the parsing further includes resuming searching for matching characters after reaching the non-matching character if the original message still contains additional content to be matched.

50. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the at least partially hidden characters are two consecutive blocks of characters separated by non-matching text.

51. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the parsing is initially performed from the beginning of the reply message towards the end of the reply message, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

determining that not all of the original text has been matched; and

parsing the text of the reply message for the text of the original message from the end of the reply message towards the beginning of the reply message.

52. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing device to perform a method further comprising:

expanding the message, in response to a received input, to display the hidden characters, the expanding including displaying the message as an unfolding letter wherein the hidden characters were hidden under a folded portion of the letter.

53. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the displaying of the received message includes displaying a preview of the received message, the preview including at least a portion of text that does not match the text of the original message.