Transmission of messages related to electronic documents

• US 8,036,989 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2009
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Kircher, Stefan, Dauscher, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischer; Andrew J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCINTYRE, CHARLES AARON
• Application Number:
  US12/627,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20100077348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 680 Days
• Field of Search: 705/51, 718/803
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

One implementation provides a computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed, perform a method for processing a message related to an electronic document. The method includes transmitting an electronic document having a unique identifier from a first system to a second system and receiving at the first system a message from the second system related to content contained in the electronic document. The message includes a predetermined field for the unique identifier that links the message to the electronic document. The method may also include notifying a user of the first system that the first system received the message. The notifying may include updating a list of tasks. One of the tasks may indicate that the user may view the received message on the first system.

Claims

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied in computer-readable memory storage medium, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a computer-implemented method for providing a display on a display device of information about a stored electronic business document, the method comprising:

providing, within a first computing system, an electronic business document that is stored in computer-readable memory medium and that was received by the first computing system from a second computing system, the electronic business document having an identifier that is unique to the electronic business document so as to distinguish the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, wherein the electronic business document was also received from the second computing system by a third computing system; and

in response to the receipt of a user input at the first computing system, indicating a request by a user to access the electronic business document having the unique identifier, accessing the electronic business document having the unique identifier, extracting from the electronic document the unique identifier, and displaying the following in a common graphical user interface (GUI) of a display device of the first computing system;

(1) in a first area of the GUI, content extracted from the electronic business document;

(2) in a second area of the GUI that is distinct from the first area, user interface controls for creating and sending, from the first computing system to the second computing system, new electronic messages pertaining to the electronic business document for which content is being displayed in the first area of the GUI, and

(3) in a third area of the GUI that is distinct from both the first area and the second area, a list view that identifies stored electronic messages, the list view of stored electronic messages including;

(a) messages that were previously created and sent from the first computing system to the second computing system using the user interface controls in the second area of the GUI, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium, and

(b) messages that were received by the first computing system from the second computing system, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium;

each of the electronic messages identified in the list view having stored, in association therewith in the memory medium;

(c) the unique identifier that was extracted from the electronic business document upon the electronic business document being accessed and that distinguishes the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, and

(d) an identifier of the first computing system or of a user of the first computing system;

wherein the third computing system also sent, to the second computing system, electronic messages pertaining to the electronic document; and

wherein the first computing system is restricted from displaying the electronic messages that the third computing system sent to the second system so that the list view in the third area of the GUI of the first computing system only displays electronic messages that are associated with the identifier of the first computing system or of the user of the first computing system.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is an electronic document number, and wherein the electronic document number is a number uniquely associated with the electronic business document.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is not visible to a user viewing the GUI.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises receiving user input under the control of the user interface controls of the second area of the GUI to create a new message pertaining to the business document, and inserting into the new message the unique identifier of the business document.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises sending the new message including the unique identifier contained within the message.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

each of the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system is associated with the unique identifier of the electronic business document and an identifier of the third system or of a user of the third system; and

restricting the first computing system from displaying the electronic messages includes filtering the messages that the second computing system receives from the first computing system and the third computing system so that the first computing system does not display the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system based on the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system being associated with the identifier of the second computing system or of the user of the second computing system.

6. A computer-implemented method for providing a display on a display device of information about a stored electronic business document, the method comprising:

providing, within a first computing system, an electronic business document that is stored in computer-readable memory medium and that was received by the first computing system from a second computing system, the electronic business document having an identifier that is unique to the electronic business document so as to distinguish the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, wherein the electronic business document was also received from the second computing system by a third computing system; and

in response to the receipt of a user input at the first computing system, indicating a request by a user to access the electronic business document having the unique identifier, accessing the electronic business document having the unique identifier, extracting from the electronic document the unique identifier, and displaying the following in a common graphical user interface (GUI) of a display device of the first computing system;

(1) in a first area of the GUI, content extracted from the electronic business document;

(2) in a second area of the GUI that is distinct from the first area, user interface controls for creating and sending, from the first computing system to the second computing system, new electronic messages pertaining to the electronic business document for which content is being displayed in the first area of the GUI, and

(3) in a third area of the GUI that is distinct from both the first area and the second area, a list view that identifies stored electronic messages, the list view of stored electronic messages including;

(a) messages that were previously created and sent from the first computing system to the second computing system using the user interface controls in the second area of the GUI, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium, and

(b) messages that were received by the first computing system from the second computing system, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium;

each of the electronic messages identified in the list view having stored, in association therewith in the memory medium;

(c) the unique identifier that was extracted from the electronic business document upon the electronic business document being accessed and that distinguishes the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, and

(d) an identifier of the first computing system or of a user of the first computing system;

wherein the third computing system also sent, to the second computing system, electronic messages pertaining to the electronic document; and

wherein the first computing system is restricted from displaying the electronic messages that the third computing system sent to the second system so that the list view in the third area of the GUI of the first computing system only displays electronic messages that are associated with the identifier of the first computing system or of the user of the first computing system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises receiving user input under the control of the user interface controls of the second area of the GUI to create a new message pertaining to the business document, and inserting into the new message the unique identifier of the business document.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises sending the new message including the unique identifier contained within the message.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein:

each of the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system is associated with the unique identifier of the electronic business document and an identifier of the third system or of a user of the third system; and

restricting the first computing system from displaying the electronic messages includes filtering the messages that the second computing system receives from the first computing system and the third computing system so that the first computing system does not display the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system based on the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system being associated with the identifier of the second computing system or of the user of the second computing system.

9. A computing system that is programmed to perform the following computer-implemented operations:

provide, within a first computing system, an electronic business document that is stored in computer-readable memory medium and that was received by the first computing system from a second computing system, the electronic business document having an identifier that is unique to the electronic business document so as to distinguish the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, wherein the electronic business document was also received from the second computing system by a third computing system; and

in response to the receipt of a user input at the first computing system, indicating a request by a user to access the electronic business document having the unique identifier, access the electronic business document having the unique identifier, extract from the electronic document the unique identifier, and display the following in a common graphical user interface (GUI) of a display device of the first computing system;

(1) in a first area of the GUI, content extracted from the electronic business document;

(2) in a second area of the GUI that is distinct from the first area, user interface controls for creating and sending, from the first computing system to the second computing system, new electronic messages pertaining to the electronic business document for which content is being displayed in the first area of the GUI, and

(3) in a third area of the GUI that is distinct from both the first area and the second area, a list view that identifies stored electronic messages, the list view of stored electronic messages including;

(a) messages that were previously created and sent from the first computing system to the second computing system using the user interface controls in the second area of the GUI, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium, and

(b) messages that were received by the first computing system from the second computing system, and that are stored in computer-readable memory medium;

each of the electronic messages identified in the list view having stored, in association therewith in the memory medium;

(c) the unique identifier that was extracted from the electronic business document upon the electronic business document being accessed and that distinguishes the electronic business document from other electronic business documents, and

(d) an identifier of the first computing system or of a user of the first computing system;

wherein the third computing system also sent, to the second computing system, electronic messages pertaining to the electronic document; and

wherein the first computing system is restricted from displaying the electronic messages that the third computing system sent to the second system so that the list view in the third area of the GUI of the first computing system only displays electronic messages that are associated with the identifier of the first computing system or of the user of the first computing system.

10. The computing system of claim 9, wherein the system is further programmed to receive user input under the control of the user interface controls of the second area of the GUI to create a new message pertaining to the business document, and insert into the new message the unique identifier of the business document.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the system is further programmed to send the new message including the unique identifier contained within the message.

14. The computing system of claim 9, wherein:

each of the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system is associated with the unique identifier of the electronic business document and an identifier of the third system or of a user of the third system; and

restricting the first computing system from displaying the electronic messages includes filtering the messages that the second computing system receives from the first computing system and the third computing system so that the first computing system does not display the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system based on the electronic messages sent by the third computing system to the second computing system being associated with the identifier of the second computing system or of the user of the second computing system.