Email composition and processing

• US 7,979,500 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2009
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Li, Hind, John R., Xiao, Lun, Li, Yongcheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Elchanti; Hussein A
• Application Number:
  US12/622,013
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119338A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/223
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A computer implemented user interface allows composition of an electronic mail message. A user selects at least one pre-existing email from an email inbox. An envelope is then created by parsing each of the selected pre-existing emails. The pre-existing email is displayed as a tree structure comprising an envelope with at least a label sub-node in a new email view. A new email is composed by selecting parts from the tree structure. The sub-nodes may further comprise a content sub-node. The content sub-node further comprises multi-media parts, and the new email body is composed by selecting parts from the content sub-node.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for composing an email message, comprising:

presenting, using a processor, a new email view;

parsing, using said processor, at least a first and a second email selected from a set of unchained emails in an inbox in order to create a first envelope node for said first email and a second envelope node for said second email, each said first and second envelope node comprising a label sub-node, said label sub-node comprising addressees in To, From, BCC, and CC headers of said first and said second email, respectively, and a content sub-node, said content sub-node comprising content and any file attached to said first and said second email, respectively;

displaying, as a tree structure, said first and said second envelope node, said label sub-node, and said content sub-node, respectively, in said new email view; and

constructing said new email from selected parts of said tree structure by selecting desired addressees to receive said new email from said label sub-node and by selecting content from said content sub-node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said content sub-node further comprises multi-media parts.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said envelope node further comprises another envelope as a sub-node thereto.

4. A system for composing an email message, comprising:

a processor; and

memory connected to the processor, wherein the memory is encoded with instructions and wherein the instructions, when executed, comprise;

instructions for presenting a new email view;

instructions for parsing at least a first and a second email selected from a set of unchained emails in an inbox in order to create a first envelope node for said first email and a second envelope node for said second email, each said first and second envelope node comprising a label sub-node, said label sub-node comprising addressees in To, From, BCC, and CC headers of said first and said second email, respectively, and a content sub-node, said content sub-node comprising content and any file attached to said first and said second email, respectively;

for each of said selected emails, instructions for displaying, as a tree structure, said envelope node, said label sub-node, and said content sub-node in said new email view;

instructions for displaying, as a tree structure, said first and said second envelope node, with said label sub-node, and said content sub-node, respectively, in said new email view; and

instructions for constructing said new email from selected parts of said tree structure by selecting desired addressees to receive said new email from said label sub-node and by selecting content from said content sub-node.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said content sub-node further comprises selectable multi-media parts.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said envelope node further comprises another envelope as a sub-node thereto.

7. A computer program product for composing an email message, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to present a new email view;

computer readable program code configured to parse at least a first and a second email selected from a set of unchained emails in an inbox in order to create a first envelope node for said first email and a second envelope node for said second email, each said first and second envelope node comprising a label sub-node, said label sub-node comprising addressees in To, From, BCC, and CC headers of said first and said second email, respectively, and a content sub-node, said content sub-node comprising content and any file attached to said first and said second email, respectively;

computer readable program code configured to display, as a tree structure, said first and said second envelope node, said label sub-node, and said content sub-node, respectively, in said new email view; and

computer readable program code configured to construct said new email from selected parts of said tree structure by selecting desired addressees to receive said new email from said label sub-node and by selecting content from said content sub-node.

8. The computer program product for composing an email message of claim 7, wherein said content sub-node further comprises multi-media parts.

9. The computer program product for composing an email message of claim 7, wherein said envelope node further comprises another envelope as a sub-node thereto.