System and method for building dynamic e-mail distribution lists from multiple selected documents

• US 6,636,240 B1
• Filed: 12/16/1999
• Issued: 10/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McGinniss, Jr., James L., Centerwall, Brandt C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MYLINH T
• Application Number:
  US09/464,887
• Time in Patent Office: 1,405 Days
• Field of Search: 345/739, 345/752, 345/789, 345/811, 345/329, 345/333, 345/733, 345/762, 707/10, 709/232
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A Lotus Notes agent populates an addressee field of a new memo with, or creates a new distribution list from, a plurality of E-mail addresses dynamically generated from a plurality of documents selected by a user from a list of received E-mail documents in a browser window or other view which is able to access an E-mail facility.

Claims

1. A method for building a dynamic distribution list directly from received E-mail documents, comprising:

receiving a plurality of received E-mail documents, each said document including an E-mail address;

responsive to user selection of a plurality of selected documents from said plurality of received E-mail documents, extracting said E-mail addresses from said selected documents; and

opening a new document containing said E-mail addresses extracted from said selected documents in said dynamic distribution list for sending said new document;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addresses.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising the further steps of:

initializing an unprocessed document list containing a list of said plurality of received E-mail documents;

initializing a distribution list variable to null; and

for each said selected document in said unprocessed document list, extracting said E-mail address from said unprocessed document list to said distribution list variable.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising the further step of selectively preparing a new distribution list or new mail document including said E-mail addresses from said distribution list variable.

4. A method for building a dynamic distribution list, comprising the steps of:

initializing a distribution list variable;

receiving at a user terminal from an external network a plurality of mail documents;

operating said user terminal to select a plurality of user selected documents from said plurality fo mail documents;

extracting mail addresses from each said user selected document, and loading said mail addresses to said distribution list variable; and

preparing a new document including in said dynamic distribution list addresses loaded to said distribution list variable;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addresses.

5. The method of claim 4, said receiving step comprising the further steps of:

displaying at a user browser at said user terminal a list of said mail documents; and

detecting as said selected mail documents those documents from said list selected by said user.

6. The method of claim 5, said new document being a new mail document including said dynamic distribution list in an addressee field of said new mail document.

7. The method of claim 5, said new document being a new distribution list file.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

displaying at said user browser selection indicia enabling said user to selectively choose create a new distribution list file option or a new mail document option;

responsive to user selection of said create new distribution list file option, creating a new distribution list file including said dynamic distribution list; and

responsive to user selection of said new mail document option, creating a new mail document including said dynamic distribution list in an addressee field of said new mail document.

9. A system for building a dynamic distribution list for an E-Mail document, comprising:

a user terminal for receiving mail documents from an external network;

a user browser at said user terminal for selectively displaying information to and receiving selection input from a user;

an agent; and

said agent being operable for receiving from said user browser a list of selected mail documents selected by said user from a list of said mail documents;

extracting addressee indicia from each said selected mail document to a distribution list variable; and

creating a new document including in said dynamic distribution list said addressee indicia;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addresses.

10. The system of claim 9, said new document selectively being a new distribution list database or a new mail document.

11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for building a dynamic distribution list, said method steps comprising:

receiving from an external communication network directly into a mail box a plurality of received E-mail documents, each said document including an E-mail address generated by a sender of said document;

responsive to user selection of a plurality of selected documents from said mail box, extracting said E-mail addresses from said selected documents; and

opening a new document containing in said dynamic distribution list said E-mail addresses extracted from said selected list for sending said new document;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addresses.

12. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for building a dynamic distribution list, the computer readable program means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect initializing a distribution list variable;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect at a user terminal receiving from an external network a plurality of mail documents;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect operating said user terminal to select a plurality of user selected documents from said plurality of mail documents;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect extracting mail addresses from each said user selected document, and loading said mail addresses to said distribution list variable; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect preparing a new document including in said dynamic distribution list mail addresses from said distribution list variable;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addresses.

13. A computer program product or computer program element for building a dynamic distribution list according to the steps of:

receiving from a user browser a list of mail documents selected by said user from a mail box of E-mail documents received from an external communication network;

extracting addressee indicia from each mail document in said list directly to a distribution list variable; and

creating a new document including in said dynamic distribution list said addressee indicia;

thereby building said dynamic distribution list from a mail box of external documents received at said user browser without reference to a user or system administrator predefined database of approved or allowed addressees.