Method and apparatus for sending private messages within a single electronic message

• US 6,816,887 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2000
• Issued: 11/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shaw, Wade David, Torche, Edmund, Wright, Martin Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone, Jason D.
• Application Number:
  US09/565,038
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/240, 379/93.01, 379/93.02, 379/93.24, 379/100.08, 345/113, 345/150, 345/329, 345/330, 345/331, 715/512, 715/528
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1886 with traffic restrictions for efficiency improvement, e.g. involving subnets or subdomains
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content

Abstract

A method, system, and program for use in a data processing system for sending private messages from a single electronic message. A plurality of recipients is identified for an electronic message. A number of different sections are designated within the electronic message for separate receipt by each of a number of recipients within the plurality of recipients. Responsive to an indication to send the electronic message, an electronic message is automatically generated for each of the number of recipients, wherein the message of a given recipient within the number of recipients excludes sections within the number of sections designated for other recipients within the number of recipients.

Claims

1. A method of sending a message to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

receiving a message having a plurality of objects within the message;

identifying a plurality of styles associated with the plurality of objects;

creating an outgoing message buffer for each of the plurality of styles;

associating each recipient within the plurality of recipients with an outgoing message buffer selected from the plurality of the outgoing message buffers;

parsing the message to identify the plurality of objects associated with the plurality of styles within the message;

copying the plurality of objects associated with the plurality of styles to corresponding ones of the outgoing message buffers based on styles of the plurality of objects, wherein the outgoing message buffers include subsets of the plurality of objects and, wherein not every object of the plurality of objects is in every subset; and

outputting the contents of the outgoing message buffers to corresponding ones of the plurality of recipients based on the association of the recipients to the outgoing message buffers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the outgoing message buffers is a single buffer associated with a default style, and wherein each recipient of the plurality of recipients is associated with the single buffer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the default style is identified by a default color of text in the message, and wherein other styles of the one or more styles are identified by one or more other colors of text in the message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the message to identify the one or more objects within the message includes:

setting an index value equal to zero, wherein the index value is used to identify a style for processing;

comparing the index value to a style value of the message object;

determining whether the index value matches the style value of the message object;

responsive to a match, copying the message object to the buffer for the index value; and

responsive to no match, determining if further objects are present for processing.

5. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for sending a message to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

first instructions for receiving a message having a plurality of objects within the message;

second instructions for identifying a plurality of styles associated with the plurality of objects;

third instructions for creating an outgoing message buffer for each of the plurality of styles;

fourth instructions for associating each recipient within the plurality of recipients with an outgoing message buffer selected from the plurality of the outgoing message buffers;

fifth instructions for parsing the message to identify the plurality of objects associated with the plurality of styles within the message;

sixth instructions for copying the plurality of objects associated with the plurality of styles to corresponding ones of the outgoing message buffers based on styles of the plurality of objects, wherein the outgoing message buffers include subsets of the plurality of objects and, wherein not every object of the plurality of objects is in every subset; and

seventh instructions for outputting the contents of the outgoing message buffers to corresponding ones of the plurality of recipients based on the association of the recipients to the outgoing message buffers.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein at least one of the outgoing message buffers is a single buffer associated with a default style, and wherein each recipient of the plurality of recipients is associated with the single buffer.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the default style is identified by a default color of text in the message, and wherein other styles of the one or more styles are identified by one or more other colors of text in the message.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the fifth instructions for parsing the message to identify the one or more objects within the message include:

instructions for setting an index value equal to zero, wherein the index value is used to identify a style for processing;

instructions for comparing the index value to a style value of the message object;

instructions for determining whether the index value matches the style value of the message object;

instructions for responsive to a match, copying the message object to the buffer for the index value; and

instructions for responsive to no match, determining if further objects are present for processing.

9. A message processing program for use in a data processing system, wherein the message processing program has a plurality of modes of operation comprising:

a first mode of operation, responsive to receiving a message containing a plurality of portions for transmission, in which the message processing program identifies all recipients for the message;

a second mode of operation, responsive to identifying recipients of the message, in which the message processing program determines a number of styles for the recipients associated with the plurality of portions;

a third mode of operation, responsive to determining the number of styles associated with the plurality of portions, in which the message processing program associates each of the plurality of recipients with style from the number of styles; and

a fourth mode of operation, responsive to associating each of the plurality of recipients with a style from the number of styles, in which the message processing program, creates a new message for each style, wherein the new message for each style includes subsets of the plurality of portions and, wherein not every portion of the plurality of portions is in every subset.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the message for each style is stored in an associated buffer.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the number of styles is a number of colors.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the number of styles is a number of font types.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the portions of the message include text.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the portions of the message includes images.