Threaded presentation of electronic mail

• US 7,895,279 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2008
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lemay, Steve, Christie, Gregory N., Forstall, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Neurauter, Jr.; George C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fearer; Mark D
• Application Number:
  US12/179,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/205, 718/100
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads

Abstract

A threaded list of e-mail messages is provided by checking each received message against previous messages to determine whether the new message is associated with previous messages. If so, then a new thread is created. The new thread has an associated thread header, which stores metadata bout the messages in the thread. If the received message is related to messages in an existing thread, then the received message is added to that thread, and the thread header for that thread is updated to reflect data from the received message. The thread header appears with messages in a message list view of the inbox, and provides data about the thread. Messages that are not part of a thread are shown in the same view as threaded messages, without a thread header. This allows a user to view both threaded and non-threaded messages in a single view.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display; and

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, generating an e-mail thread, the e-mail thread associating the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, the e-mail thread having a thread header including information derived from attributes of at least one of the first or second e-mail messages, and displaying the thread header in the mailbox display as a thread header entry in place of separate mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.

2. The method of claim 1, where the thread header entry displays information about the thread contents.

3. The method of claim 1, where the thread header includes an indicator identifying a number of associated e-mail messages in the thread.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third e-mail message;

determining that the third e-mail message is related to first e-mail message and the second e-mail message;

associating the third e-mail message with the e-mail thread; and

updating the thread header entry using information derived from attributes of the third e-mail message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input expanding the thread header entry of the mailbox; and

displaying mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message in response to the input as nested mailbox entries associated with the thread header entry.

6. A method comprising:

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry including information associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display; and

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, determining whether the second e-mail message is associated with an existing thread such that;

when the second e-mail is associated with an existing thread, updating the existing thread including updating an existing thread header and displaying the updated existing thread header as a second entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, and

when the second e-mail is not associated with an existing thread, generating a new thread and displaying a new thread header as a third entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.

7. A system comprising:

a user interface device; and

one or more computers operable to interact with the user interface device and to perform operations including;

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display; and

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, generating an e-mail thread, the e-mail thread associating the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, the e-mail thread having a thread header including information derived from attributes of at least one of the first or second e-mail messages, and displaying the thread header in the mailbox display as a thread header entry in place of separate mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.

8. The system of claim 7, where the thread header entry displays information about the thread contents.

9. The system of claim 7, where the thread header includes an indicator identifying a number of associated e-mail messages in the thread.

10. The system of claim 7, further operable to perform operations comprising:

receiving a third e-mail message;

determining that the third e-mail message is related to first e-mail message and the second e-mail message;

associating the third e-mail message with the e-mail thread; and

updating the thread header entry using information derived from attributes of the third e-mail message.

11. The system of claim 7, further operable to perform operations comprising:

receiving an input expanding the thread header entry of the mailbox; and

displaying mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message in response to the input as nested mailbox entries associated with the thread header entry.

12. A system comprising:

a user interface device; and

one or more computers operable to interact with the user interface device and to perform operations including;

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry including information associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display; and

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, determining whether the second e-mail message is associated with an existing thread such that;

when the second e-mail is associated with an existing thread, updating the existing thread including updating an existing thread header and displaying the updated existing thread header as a second entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, and

when the second e-mail is not associated with an existing thread, generating a new thread and displaying a new thread header as a third entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.

13. A computer program stored on a computer readable memory device and adapted to perform the operations of:

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display;

and when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, generating an e-mail thread, the e-mail thread associating the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, the e-mail thread having a thread header including information derived from attributes of at least one of the first or second e-mail messages, and displaying the thread header in the mailbox display as a thread header entry in place of separate mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.

14. A computer program stored on a computer readable memory device and adapted to perform the operations of:

receiving a first e-mail message;

determining whether the received first e-mail message is related to another e-mail message in a mailbox;

when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is not related another e-mail message, displaying a first entry including information associated with the first e-mail message in a mailbox display;

and when, based on the determining, the first e-mail message is related to a second e-mail message, determining whether the second e-mail message is associated with an existing thread such that;

when the second e-mail is associated with an existing thread, updating the existing thread including updating an existing thread header and displaying the updated existing thread header as a second entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message, and when the second e-mail is not associated with an existing thread, generating a new thread and displaying a new thread header as a third entry in place of mailbox entries for the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message.