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Web-based electronic mail service apparatus and method using full text and label indexing

  • US 6,185,551 B1
  • Filed: 06/16/1997
  • Issued: 02/06/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/16/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A mail server, for use in conjunction with a plurality of client computers that have means for being coupled to the mail server via a network, the client computers each including a browser application for viewing documents sent by server computers, including the mail server;

  • the mail server comprising;

    an index server for storing mail messages in message files, the mail messages received on behalf of users, the index server storing the mail messages in messages files and storing a full-text index of the mail messages, the full-text index containing location information for all words in the mail messages;

    a mail access module for receiving and servicing a mail access request from one of the client computers, the client computer being operated on behalf of a particular one of the users, the mail access request including a query specifying one or more words associated with mail messages sought by the particular user, the mail access module including mail retrieval means for utilizing the full-text index to identify mail messages, if any, satisfying the query and sending a browser viewable document to the one client computer, the document containing information representing the identified mail messages;

    wherein the mail access module includes label handling means for adding user-defined and system predefined labels to the mail messages, removing labels from the mail messages, and storing the labels in the full-text index;

    the query specifies at least one user-defined label to be included in mail messages satisfying the query.

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