Method and device for customizing a mail history

• US 8,244,776 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Best, Steven F., Hao, Xiang Yu, Ma, Yue, Qu, Min, Zhu, Meng Xin
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Shahid
• Application Number:
  US12/259,415
• Publication Number:
  US 20090144339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 707/609, 707/802, 709/206
• US Class Current: 707/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method and a device for customizing a mail history are provided. A method in accordance with an embodiment includes: generating a mail tree composed of all received mails belonging to a same topic; receiving a user input indicating a mail to be replied to and a mail to be referred to which are selected by the user, the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to being located on different branches of the mail tree; acquiring a first plurality of mails on a first path from a root mail of the mail tree to a child mail of the mail to be replied to, and a second plurality of mails on a second path from the root mail to a child mail of the mail to be referred to; and merging the first plurality of mails and the second plurality of mails to generate a merging result as the mail history. With the method and the device, when replying to a current mail, a user can conveniently refer to a mail on a different branch of a same mail tree or on a different mail tree, thereby improving the efficiency of a mail system.

Claims

1. A method for customizing a mail history, comprising:

generating, using a computer device, a mail tree composed of all received mails belonging to a same topic;

receiving, using the computer device, a user input indicating a mail to be replied to and a mail to be referred to which are selected by the user, the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to being located on different branches of the mail tree;

acquiring, using the computer device, a first plurality of mails on a first path from a root mail of the mail tree to a child mail of the mail to be replied to, and a second plurality of mails on a second path from the root mail to a child mail of the mail to be referred to,

locating the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to in the mail tree,

traversing a part of the first path between the mail to be replied to and the root mail, so as to acquire all mails between the mail to be replied to and the root mail as the first plurality of mails,

traversing a part of the second path between the mail to be referred to and the root mail, so as to acquire all mails between the mail to be referred to and the root mail as a third plurality of mails,

comparing the first plurality of mails and the third plurality of mails to find identical mails therein,

deleting the identical mails from the third plurality of mails to obtain the second plurality of mails; and

merging, using the computer device, the first plurality of mails and the second plurality of mails to generate a merging result as the mail history.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein all mails belonging to the same topic are received by a mail client.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the merging further comprises:

arranging respective mails in the first plurality of mails and respective mails in the second plurality of mails in an order from a child mail to the root mail and in a manner of changing indentation distances thereof gradually; and

arranging the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to in parallel, so as to merge the mails.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

inserting the merging result as the mail history into a new mail as a reply.

5. A device for customizing a mail history, comprising:

generating means for generating a mail tree composed of all received mails belonging to a same topic;

receiving means for receiving a user input indicating a mail to be replied to and a mail to be referred to which are selected by the user, the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to being located on different branches of the mail tree;

acquiring means for acquiring a first plurality of mails on a first path from a root mail of the mail tree to a child mail of the mail to be replied to, and a second plurality of mails on a second path from the root mail to a child mail of the mail to be referred to,

locating means for locating the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to in the mail tree,

searching means for traversing a part of the first path between the mail to be replied to and the root mail, so as to acquire all mails between the mail to be replied to and the root mail as the first plurality of mails, and for traversing a part of the second path between the mail to be referred to and the root mail, so as to acquire all mails between the mail to be referred to and the root mail as a third plurality of mails,

comparing means for comparing the first plurality of mails and the third plurality of mails to find identical mails therein, and for deleting the identical mails from the third plurality of mails to obtain the second plurality of mails; and

merging means for merging the first plurality of mails and the second plurality of mails to generate a merging result as the mail history.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the device is a mail client, and the all mails belonging to the same topic are received by the mail client.

7. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the merging means respectively arranges respective mails in the first plurality of mails and respective mails in the second plurality of mails in an order from a child mail to the root mail and in a manner of changing indentation distances thereof gradually, and arranges the mail to be replied to and the mail to be referred to in parallel, so as to merge the mails.

8. The device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

inserting means for inserting the merging result as the mail history into a new mail as a reply.