Displaying conversation views in a conversation-based email system

• US 7,818,378 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Singh, Sanjeev, Chang, Bay-Wei W., Lim, Jing Yee, Buchheit, Paul T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dollinger; Tonia L
• Assistant Examiner(s): BILGRAMI, ASGHAR H
• Application Number:
  US10/914,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20050223066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,265 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads

Abstract

A method and system of processing messages is described that includes receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, wherein each message has a unique message identifier. Each of the received messages is associated with a respective conversation to which it belongs. Each conversation includes a respective conversation identifier and a set of one or more messages which share a common set of characteristics that meet certain predefined criteria. A list of conversations to which the various messages belong is displayed in an order determined in accordance with other predefined criteria, such as ordering the conversations by the last date a message was received in a particular conversation. Each conversation is represented as a single item in the list. Other information displayed relating to the conversation includes labels, senders, date/time values, recipients, number of message in a conversation, and whether or not the conversation contains any unread messages.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of processing messages, comprising:

at a client computer;

receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;

associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria and the respective conversation identifier is distinct from a subject reference of the one or more messages in the respective conversation;

associating with each conversation a set of senders of messages included in the conversation; and

displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list, wherein a plurality of conversations in the list of conversations each include a plurality of messages that share a common set of characteristics that meet the first predefined criteria;

wherein the list of conversations comprises a set of rows, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value, wherein the sender list of a row in the list of conversations includes identifiers of one or more senders of at least one message in the corresponding conversation, including identifiers of a plurality of the senders in the set of senders, but less than all of the senders in the set of senders, when the set of senders exceeds a predefined limit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a message number indicator that indicates a number of messages in the conversation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conversation topic of a row in the set of rows includes a conversation name and a portion of the conversation associated with the row.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the date/time value in a row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that satisfies a query.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein

every conversation in the list of conversations includes at least one message marked with a particular label;

the date/time value in each row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that is marked with the particular label;

the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one row in the displayed list of conversations further includes at least one user-defined label associated with the corresponding conversation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the conversation corresponding to the row includes a message sent by a first sender and one or more messages sent by a second sender, the displaying includes displaying in a first distinct format an identifier of the first sender in the sender list when the message sent by the first sender has not been viewed or marked as read by the user, and displaying in second distinct format an identifier of the second sender in the sender list when all the messages sent by the second sender have been viewed or marked as read by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying includes highlighting a sender'"'"'s name in the sender list when a message sent by the sender has not been read by the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a sender'"'"'s identifier in the sender list is replaced with a unique character string or icon when the sender is the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a sender'"'"'s identifier is assigned a priority, for determining which sender identifiers to include in the sender list, wherein the priority is determined in accordance with date/time information and status information associated with the messages in the conversation.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

52. The method of claim 1, wherein each row in the list of conversations comprises said single item representing a respective conversation, and the sender list of at least one respective conversation in the list of conversations identifies two or more distinct senders of messages in the respective conversation.

15. A computer-implemented method of processing messages, comprising:

at a server computer system having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs, the one or more processors executing the one or more programs to perform the operations of;

receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;

associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier;

wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria and the respective conversation identifier is distinct from a subject reference of the one or more messages in the respective conversation;

associating with each conversation a set of senders of messages included in the conversation; and

providing presentation information for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list, wherein a plurality of conversations in the list of conversations each include a plurality of messages that share a common set of characteristics that meet the first predefined criteria;

wherein providing presentation information includes providing information to display the list of conversations as a set of rows, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value, wherein the sender list of a row in the list of conversations includes identifiers of one or more senders of at least one message in the corresponding conversation, including identifiers of a plurality of the senders in the set of senders, but less than all of the senders in the set of senders, when the set of senders exceeds a predefined limit.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a message number indicator that indicates a number of messages in the conversation.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the conversation topic of a row in the set of rows includes a conversation name and a portion of the conversation associated with the row.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the date/time value in a row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that satisfies a query.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein

every conversation in the list of conversations includes at least one message marked with a particular label;

the date/time value in each row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that is marked with the particular label;

the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one row in the displayed list of conversations further includes at least one user-defined label associated with the corresponding conversation.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein, when the conversation corresponding to the row includes a message sent by a first sender and one or more messages sent by a second sender, the providing includes providing in a first distinct format an identifier of the first sender in the sender list when the message sent by the first sender has not been viewed or marked as read by the user, and providing in second distinct format an identifier of the second sender in the sender list when all the messages sent by the second sender have been viewed or marked as read by the user.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the providing includes providing information indicating when a message sent by a sender has not been read by the user.

25. The method of claim 15, further including replacing a sender'"'"'s identifier in the sender list with a unique character string or icon when the sender is the user.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

27. The method of claim 15, wherein a sender'"'"'s identifier is assigned a priority, for determining which sender identifiers to include in the sender list, wherein the priority is determined in accordance with date/time information and status information associated with the messages in the conversation.

28. The method of claim 15, wherein the providing includes providing a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

53. The method of claim 15, wherein each row in the list of conversations comprises said single item representing a respective conversation, and the sender list of at least one respective conversation in the list of conversations identifies two or more distinct senders of messages in the respective conversation.

29. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of a computer system, the computer readable storage medium being non-transitory, the one or more programs in the computer readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;

instructions for associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier, wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria and the respective conversation identifier is distinct from a subject reference of the one or more messages in the respective conversation;

instructions for associating with each conversation a set of senders of messages included in the conversation; and

instructions for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list, wherein a plurality of conversations in the list of conversations each include a plurality of messages that share a common set of characteristics that meet the first predefined criteria;

wherein the list of conversations comprises a set of rows, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value, wherein the sender list of a row in the list of conversations includes identifiers of one or more senders of at least one message in the corresponding conversation, including identifiers of a plurality of the senders in the set of senders, but less than all of the senders in the set of senders, when the set of senders exceeds a predefined limit.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a message number indicator that indicates a number of messages in the conversation.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the conversation topic of a row in the set of rows includes a conversation name and a portion of the conversation associated with the row.

33. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the date/time value in a row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that satisfies a query.

34. The computer readable storage medium of claim 33, wherein the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

35. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein

every conversation in the list of conversations includes at least one message marked with a particular label;

the date/time value in each row of the set of rows comprises a date/time value associated with a most recent message of the conversation that is marked with the particular label;

the conversations in the list of conversations are monotonically ordered according to their date/time values.

36. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein at least one row in the displayed list of conversations further includes at least one user-defined label associated with the corresponding conversation.

37. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the instructions for displaying include instructions that, when the conversation corresponding to the row includes a message sent by a first sender and one or more messages sent by a second sender, the displaying includes display in a first distinct format an identifier of the first sender in the sender list when the message sent by the first sender has not been viewed or marked as read by the user, and display in second distinct format an identifier of the second sender in the sender list when all the messages sent by the second sender have been viewed or marked as read by the user.

38. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the instructions for displaying include instructions for highlighting a sender'"'"'s name in the sender list when a message sent by the sender has not been read by the user.

39. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, including instructions for replacing a sender'"'"'s identifier in the sender list with a unique character string or icon when the sender is the user.

40. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

41. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein a sender'"'"'s identifier is assigned a priority, for determining which sender identifiers to include in the sender list, wherein the priority is determined in accordance with date/time information and status information associated with the messages in the conversation.

42. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

54. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein each row in the list of conversations comprises said single item representing a respective conversation, and the sender list of at least one respective conversation in the list of conversations identifies two or more distinct senders of messages in the respective conversation.

43. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of a computer system, the computer readable storage medium being non-transitory, the one or more programs in the computer readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for receiving a plurality of messages directed to a user, each message having a unique message identifier;

instructions for associating each of the plurality of messages with a respective conversation, each conversation having a respective conversation identifier;

wherein each conversation comprises a set of one or more messages sharing a common set of characteristics that meet first predefined criteria and the respective conversation identifier is distinct from a subject reference of the one or more messages in the respective conversation;

instructions for associating with each conversation a set of senders of messages included in the conversation; and

instructions for providing presentation information for displaying a list of conversations in an order determined in accordance with second predefined criteria, each conversation being represented as a single item in the list, wherein a plurality of conversations in the list of conversations each include a plurality of messages that share a common set of characteristics that meet the first predefined criteria;

wherein the instructions for providing presentation information include instructions for providing information to display the list of conversations as a set of rows, each row corresponding to one of the listed conversations and including at least a sender list, a conversation topic and a date/time value, wherein the sender list of a row in the list of conversations includes identifiers of one or more senders of at least one message in the corresponding conversation, including identifiers of a plurality of the senders in the set of senders, but less than all of the senders in the set of senders, when the set of senders exceeds a predefined limit.

44. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a message number indicator that indicates a number of messages in the conversation.

45. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein a row in the set of rows includes a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

46. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions for providing presentation information including instructions that, when the conversation corresponding to the row includes a message sent by a first sender and one or more messages sent by a second sender, provide in a first distinct format an identifier of the first sender in the sender list when the message sent by the first sender has not been viewed or marked as read by the user, and provide in second distinct format an identifier of the second sender in the sender list when all the messages sent by the second sender have been viewed or marked as read by the user.

47. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions for providing presentation information include instructions for providing information indicating when a message sent by a sender has not been read by the user.

48. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, including instructions for providing presentation information include instructions for replacing a sender'"'"'s identifier in the sender list with a unique character string or icon when the sender is the user.

49. The computer readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the unique character string is a self-referencing identifier in a particular language.

50. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, including instructions for assigning a sender'"'"'s identifier a priority, for determining which sender identifiers to include in the sender list, wherein the priority is determined in accordance with date/time information and status information associated with the messages in the conversation.

51. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions for providing presentation information include instructions for providing a recipient indicator that indicates whether the user is a primary recipient or secondary recipient of any message in the conversation.

55. The computer readable storage medium of claim 43, wherein each row in the list of conversations comprises said single item representing a respective conversation, and the sender list of at least one respective conversation in the list of conversations identifies two or more distinct senders of messages in the respective conversation.