Method for automatically implementing special forms in an e-mail system

• US 7,010,616 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2002
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Thurlow, Scott A., Duane, Nicholas Paul, Carlson, Andrew G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kang, Paul H.
• Application Number:
  US10/084,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20020169841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/246, 715/505, 715/506, 715/507
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

In an electronic mail system environment, a system and method for automatically checking recipients'"'"' names, providing message flags, providing custom forms, and providing an autoresponse feature. Recipients'"'"' names are resolved in the background, while the user of the e-mail system is composing the message. The user easily resolves ambiguous names by using a context menu. The resolved ambiguous names are automatically used to create nicknames, which are used to resolve ambiguous names in the future. Message flags allow a sender or recipient to identify required follow-up action and a deadline. The recipient may use the message flags to quickly determine which messages require follow-up action. The e-mail system notifies a recipient when a due date is approaching or when a follow-up action is past due. A custom forms feature allows a user to create and share custom forms without requiring the form to be published or installed by other user. The custom form'"'"'s attributes are transmitted to the recipient as an element of the e-mail message. An autoresponse feature allows a sender to create a message that includes voting buttons corresponding to the possible responses to a query. A recipient replies by selecting one of the voting buttons. The recipient'"'"'s vote is automatically tallied in the sender'"'"'s copy of the message, thus allowing the sender to view a vote tally, a list of the recipients, and their response.

Claims

1. In an electronic mail system for transmitting an item, said item including a plurality of properties, a computer-implemented method for transmitting custom form data as part of said item, comprising:

obtaining said custom form data, said custom form data including at least one field for displaying field data stored in at least one of said plurality of properties and control data values for controlling the layout of the at least one field upon application of said control data values to a general form generation procedure of a recipient computer without requiring a custom form stored on said recipient computer prior to said application of said control data values;

storing said custom form data in one of said plurality of properties in response to obtaining said custom form data; and

transmitting said item to said recipient computer.

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

receiving said field data from said fields as input; and

storing said field data in said at least one of said plurality of properties.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of obtaining said custom form data comprises the steps of:

displaying a form;

altering said form in response to input; and

creating said custom form data corresponding to said altered form.

4. In an electronic mail system for receiving an item, a method for displaying an item comprising:

receiving said item, said item including a plurality of properties;

determining whether said item includes a form property;

in response to a determination that said message item includes said form property, retrieving form data stored in said form property;

otherwise, retrieving form data from a form registry; and

displaying said item by generating a form with a general form generation procedure of said electronic mail system, said form being defined by said form data that includes at least one field and control data values controlling the layout of the at least one field through application of said control data values to the general form generation procedure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said form registry comprises data stored on a memory storage device, said data corresponding to a description of at least one form.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said form property comprises data corresponding to a description of said form.

7. A computer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program for transmitting custom form data as part of an item, said computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, perform:

adding a form property to said item;

obtaining said custom form data, said custom form data including at least one field for displaying field data stored in at least one of a plurality of properties and control data values for controlling the layout of the at least one field upon application of said control data values to a general form generation procedure of a recipient computer without requiring a custom form stored on said recipient computer prior to said application of said control data values;

storing said custom form data in said form property in response to obtaining said custom form data;

receiving said field data from said at least one field as input;

storing said field data in said at least one of said plurality of properties; and

transmitting said item to said recipient computer.

8. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 7, wherein said step of obtaining said custom form data comprises the steps of:

displaying a form;

altering said form in response to input; and

creating said custom form data corresponding to said altered form.

9. A computer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program for displaying an item in the context of a form, said computer program comprising instruction which, when executed by a computer, perform:

receiving said item, said item including a plurality of properties;

determining whether said item includes a form property that includes custom form data;

in response to a determination that said item includes said form property, retrieving said custom form data stored in said form property;

otherwise, retrieving form data from a form registry; and

displaying said item by generating a form with a general form generation procedure of said computer, said form being defined by said form data or said custom form data that includes at least one field and control data values for controlling the layout of the at least one field through application of said control data values to said general form generation procedure without having said form stored on said computer prior to said control data values controlling said layout.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein said form registry comprises data stored on a memory storage device, said data corresponding to a description of at least one form.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein said form property comprises data corresponding to a description of said form.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein a compose page and a read page of said form are displayed the same.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein a compose page and a read page of said form are displayed differently.

14. In an improved item for transmission in an electronic mail system, said item including a plurality of properties, the improvement comprising:

a form property that is included within said plurality of properties, said form property storing form data that includes at least one field for displaying field data and control data values for controlling the layout of the at least one field; and

form data stored in a form property, said form data defining a custom form used to display said item including at least one field for displaying field data stored in at least one of said plurality of properties and control data values for controlling the layout of the at least one field upon application of said control data values to a general form generation procedure of a recipient computer without having said custom form stored on said recipient computer prior to said application of said control data values.