E-mail attachment manager

• US 7,480,067 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2008
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sbragia, Apollonie, Buschi, Giovanni
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Kimberly A
• Application Number:
  US12/061,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20080212134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 292 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/402, 707/10, 707/102, 707/200, 707/202, 707/206
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an email attachment manager for managing e-mail attachments in a data transmission system including a data transmission network and at least one workstation connected thereto and wherein a user of the workstation can receive e-mails from at least one server within the network, at least one e-mail having a document attached thereto. The email attachment manager includes a system for creating an entry in a document references file containing a reference to the document when the document is detached from the e-mail, the entry containing variable parameters, a system for generating an icon linked to the entry in the document references file, the icon being displayed when the e-mail is displayed, and a continuously running daemon for detecting when any of the variable parameters of the document have been changed, wherein the daemon modifies the parameters in the entry of the document references.

Claims

1. A system for managing e-mail attachments in a data transmission system comprising a data transmission network and at least one workstation connected thereto and wherein a user of the workstation can receive e-mails from at least one server within the network, at least one e-mail having a document attached thereto, comprising:

a system for creating an entry in a document references file containing a reference to the document when the document is detached from the e-mail, the entry containing variable parameters,

a system for generating an icon linked to the entry in the document references file, the icon being displayed when the e-mail is displayed, and

a continuously running daemon for detecting when any of the variable parameters of the document have been changed, wherein the daemon modifies the parameters in the entry of the document references file in response to a detected change.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the creating and generating systems are provided by a mail tool in charge of managing the e-mails.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the entry in the document references file contains a key calculated and set once when the document is detached from the e-mail in order to ensure permanently the link between the icon and the entry.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the variable parameters include a name of the document name and a full path location of the document.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the user can obtain the reference of the document contained in the document references file by selecting the icon.