Email emotiflags

• US 7,565,404 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gwozdz, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Donaghue; Larry D
• Assistant Examiner(s): BHATIA, AJAY M
• Application Number:
  US11/152,524
• Publication Number:
  US 20060282503A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 455/566
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

Email emotiflags are described. A collection of emotiflags, each including a graphical icon and a text tag is maintained. Custom emotiflags may be defined by a user. While composing an email message, a user may associate an emotiflag with the email message such that when the email message is sent, the emotiflag is sent with the email message. Email messages may be received that include emotiflags. New emotiflags may be saved from a received email message for later association with other email messages. Email messages may be filtered, sorted, or otherwise processed based on associated emotiflags.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

an email application maintained in the memory and executed on the processor to perform a method, the method comprising;

receiving an email message having an associated emotiflag specified by the composer of the email message to indicate an emotion the composer intends to be associated with the email message as a whole wherein;

the email message comprises;

a message body; and

header data, the header data comprising an email subject;

the emotiflag is separate from the message body and the email subject; and

the emotiflag comprises;

a graphical icon; and

a text tag; and

a display device for rendering a representation of the received email message such that the emotiflag is rendered as part of the representation, wherein rendering the emotiflag comprises rendering the graphical icon and the text tag.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the emotiflag further comprises a textual representation of the graphical icon; and

rendering the representation of the received email message such that the emotiflag is rendered as part of the representation comprises rendering a textual representation of the graphical icon in place of the graphical icon.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by email application further comprises maintaining the emotiflag of the received email message such that a recipient of the email message may later associate the emotiflag with another email message.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by the email application further comprises maintaining a plurality of emotiflags, any one of which may be associated with an email message to indicate a feeling to be associated with the email message as a whole.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein:

the emotiflag further comprises a textual representation of the graphical icon; and

the method performed by the email application further comprises enabling user-customization of at least one of the graphical icon, the textual representation of the graphical icon, or the text tag, of at least one of the plurality of emotiflags.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by the email application further comprises:

identifying a user-selected graphical icon;

identifying a user-submitted text tag; and

generating a custom emotiflag comprising the user-selected graphical icon and the user-submitted text tag such that the custom emotiflag can be associated with an email message.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by the email application further comprises associating a user-selected emotiflag having a graphical icon and a text tag with a received email message.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by the email application further comprises:

receiving an indication of a user-selected emotiflag; and

filtering email messages based on the user-selected emotiflag.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method performed by the email application further comprises rendering a list of email messages wherein the list is grouped based on emotiflags associated with the email messages.

10. A method comprising:

associating an emotiflag with an email message to indicate a composer-selected emotion to be associated with the email message as a whole, the emotiflag comprising an emoticon and a text tag, wherein the emotiflag is separate from a subject field of the email message and content of the email message; and

sending the associated emotiflag with the email message.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the associating comprises adding the emoticon and the text tag to a header associated with the email message.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein adding the emoticon to the header associated with the email message comprises adding a file containing the emoticon to the email message as an attachment.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising adding a textual representation of the emoticon to the header associated with the email message.

14. One or more computer storage media comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause a computer system to:

identify a user-selected graphical icon that represents an emotion, feeling, or sentiment;

identify a user-submitted text tag to be associated with the graphical icon;

definine an emotiflag that comprises an association between the graphical icon and the text tag; and

maintain the emotiflag such that the emotiflag can be selected by a user for, association with an email message, wherein the association between the emotiflag and the email message is distinct from content of the email message and distinct from a subject field of the email message.

15. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to:

associate the emotiflag with an email message; and

send the email message, such that the emotiflag is sent with the email message.

16. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to associate the emotiflag with a received email message.

17. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to associate the emotiflag with the email message by:

adding the text tag to header data associated with the email message; and

adding a file containing the graphical icon as an attachment to the email message.

18. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to:

receive an email message having an associated emotiflag that indicates a sentiment associated with the email message as a whole;

identify a graphical icon and a text tag associated with the emotiflag; and

maintain the graphical icon and text tag as a custom emotiflag such that the custom emotiflag can be later selected by a recipient of the email message for association with another email message.

19. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to:

maintain a plurality of email messages;

receive a user-selection of an emotiflag; and

filter the plurality of email messages based on the emotiflag, returning only those email messages with which the selected emotiflag is associated.

20. The one or more computer storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed, cause the computer system to:

maintain a plurality of email messages; and

render a list of the plurality of email message such that email messages in the list are grouped based on emotiflags associated with the email messages.