Automatic grouping of electronic mail
First Claim
1. A method of grouping electronic mail items, the method comprising:
- receiving a first selection of an electronic mail arrangement type;
arranging, in response to the first selection, a plurality of electronic mail items in accordance with the selected electronic mail arrangement type, wherein arranging the plurality of electronic mail items comprises sorting the plurality of electronic mail items;
receiving a second selection of an electronic mail grouping type; and
applying, in response to the second selection, the selected electronic mail grouping type to the arranged plurality of electronic mail items, wherein applying, in response to the second selection, the electronic mail grouping type to the plurality of electronic mail items comprises;
preparing at least one electronic mail grouping in accordance with the selected electronic mail grouping type within the arranged plurality of electronic mail item, andpopulating the at least one electronic mail grouping with at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the arranged plurality of electronic mail items while maintaining the selected arrangement type.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Automatic sorting and grouping of electronic mail items in an electronic mail system is provided. An automatic mail grouping property may be selected for electronic mail received, sent or stored in a variety of storage folders. For a given mail location (e.g., received mail, sent mail, or a given mail storage folder), a selected automatic grouping property causes mail to be displayed to a user in one or more categories that make location of specific mail items easier and more efficient. Visible dividers with optional headings may be provided between mail categories to quickly draw a user'"'"'s attention to a given mail category and to separate large numbers of mail into logical groupings that make location of specific mail items more manageable.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of grouping electronic mail items, the method comprising:
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receiving a first selection of an electronic mail arrangement type; arranging, in response to the first selection, a plurality of electronic mail items in accordance with the selected electronic mail arrangement type, wherein arranging the plurality of electronic mail items comprises sorting the plurality of electronic mail items; receiving a second selection of an electronic mail grouping type; and
applying, in response to the second selection, the selected electronic mail grouping type to the arranged plurality of electronic mail items, wherein applying, in response to the second selection, the electronic mail grouping type to the plurality of electronic mail items comprises;preparing at least one electronic mail grouping in accordance with the selected electronic mail grouping type within the arranged plurality of electronic mail item, and populating the at least one electronic mail grouping with at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the arranged plurality of electronic mail items while maintaining the selected arrangement type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for grouping electronic mail messages, the system comprising:
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a memory storage; a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to; receive a plurality of electronic mail items; arrange the plurality of electronic mail items according to a default arrangement;
receive a first selection of an electronic mail arrangement type;arrange, in response to the first selection, the plurality of electronic mail items in accordance with the selected electronic mail arrangement type; receive a second selection of an electronic mail grouping type; and in response to the second selection; prepare at least one electronic mail grouping in accordance with the selected electronic mail grouping type within the arranged plurality of electronic mail items, and populate the at least one electronic mail grouping with at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the arranged plurality of electronic mail items the arrangement type being preserved within the at least one electronic mail grouping. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-readable storage unit having a set of instructions which when executed performs a method of grouping electronic mail items, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:
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receiving a plurality of electronic mail items; arranging, in response to the first selection, the plurality of electronic mail items in accordance with the selected electronic mail arrangement type, wherein arranging the plurality of electronic mail items comprises sorting the plurality of mail items in accordance with the selected electronic mail arrangement type; receiving a second selection of an electronic mail grouping type; and
applying, in response to the second selection, the selected electronic mail grouping type to the arranged plurality of electronic mail items, wherein applying, in response to the second selection, the electronic mail grouping type to the plurality of electronic mail items comprises;preparing at least one electronic mail grouping in accordance with the selected electronic mail grouping type within the arranged plurality of electronic items, and populating the at least one electronic mail grouping with at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the arranged plurality of electronic mail items, wherein populating the at least one electronic mail grouping with the at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the plurality of electronic mail items comprises populating the at least one electronic mail grouping with the at least one corresponding electronic mail item from the plurality of electronic mail items while maintaining the selected electronic mail arrangement type. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification