Method, system and computer software product for pre-selecting a folder for a message

• US 8,732,245 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2003
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Scian, Anthony F., Yach, David P., Klassen, Gerhard D., Zinn, R. Scotte
• Primary Examiner(s): Bengzon, Greg C
• Application Number:
  US10/537,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20060026236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,120 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

In a computer system, a system, method and computer program product for pre-selecting a folder for a current message. The system, method and computer program product involve (a) providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configured to include an associated pre-selection criterion for matching with the current message, and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders; (b) for at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache, comparing a comparison criterion, obtained from the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache; and, (c) pre-selecting the folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache.

Claims

1. A system for pre-selecting a candidate folder for a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders for storing messages, the system comprising:

an electronic communication device comprising a processor;

a storage module on the electronic communication device for storing the plurality of folders;

a communication module on the electronic communication device for receiving or transmitting the current message;

a derivation sub-module for operating the processor to derive at least one comparison criteria from at least one selected attribute of the current message;

a folder pre-selection cache on the electronic communication device having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configurable based on how a previous message is stored to record an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by the processor from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message, and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders;

a message comparison module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache for comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the derivation sub-module from the at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message from other messages, with the associated pre-selection criterion of at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if the message comparison module fails to determine a matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then the derivation sub-module is further operable to derive a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, the second-considered attribute being different from the first-considered attribute;

a folder pre-selection module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache, for pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache;

a user-interface on the electronic communication device for displaying the current message and the pre-selected candidate folder before the message is filed, wherein the user-interface comprises a folder selection module operable by a user, and the folder selection module is operable by the user to allocate the current message to a user-selected folder in the plurality of folders;

a cache-updating sub-module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache for automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on up to n previous messages undergoing folder selection prior to the current message, n being a positive integer greater than 1, wherein

each previous message in the up to n previous messages is allocated to a user-selected associated folder in the plurality of folders;

the folder pre-selection cache includes a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages; and

,

the cache-updating sub-module is operable, for each message in the up to n messages, to automatically update the folder pre-selection cache based on how the message is filed by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message by the processor, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies a user-selected associated folder selected for the message.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein when the message comparison module fails to determine the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, the folder pre-selection module is operable to select a default folder.

3. The system as defined in claim 1 further comprising a user-interface for selectably changing the positive integer n.

4. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the cache-updating-sub-module automatically changes the positive integer n based on available storage space in the storage module for the folder pre-selection cache.

5. The system as defined in claim 1 further comprising a designation means for designating a plurality of the current messages, wherein the message comparison module is operable to compare the at least one comparison criterion, derived from at least one of the plurality of the current messages, with the associated pre-selection criterion of at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache to determine the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache;

and,

the folder pre-selection module is operable to pre-select the folder for the plurality of the current messages.

6. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the pre-selection comparison criterion is the current message.

7. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the electronic communication device is a mobile communication device.

8. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein the current message is from a server and comprises a server-determined folder identifier for identifying a server-determined folder for storing the current message.

9. The system as defined in claim 8 wherein the server-determined folder identifier has an assigned weight, the assigned weight being one of a first weight and a second weight:

when the server-determined folder identifier is of the first weight, the server-determined folder is pre-selected if the message comparison module fails to determine the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, and the folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry is pre-selected if the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache; and

,

when the server-determined folder identifier is of the second weight, the server-determined folder is pre-selected.

10. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein, when a message in the up to n messages from a first folder in the plurality of folders to a second folder in the plurality of folders, the cache-updating sub-module is operable to update the associated folder identification for the corresponding entry from identifying the first folder to identify the second folder.

11. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the folder pre-selection cache comprises an entry replacement sub-module for updating the folder pre-selection cache when a new message is allocated to an associated user-selected folder by discarding an existing entry and adding a new corresponding entry for the new message.

12. The system as defined In claim 11 wherein the folder pre-selection cache comprises a time-and-date sub-module for, for each message in the up to n messages, providing a time-and-date indicator to the corresponding entry for indicating when the message was allocated to an associated user-selected folder, and the entry replacement sub-module is operable to update the folder pre-selection cache when the new message is allocated to the associated user-selected folder by discarding the existing entry having an oldest time-and-date stamp.

13. The system as defined in claim 11 wherein

the derivation sub-module is further configured to, for each message in the up to n messages, derive the associated pre-selection criterion from an associated selected attribute of the message.

14. The system as defined in claim 13 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated selected attribute of the message comprises one of an associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, an associated subject attribute of the message, a time sent of the message, a message body contents of the message, and a message encoding of the message, and for the current message, the at least one associated selected attribute of the message comprises at least one of the associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, the associated subject attribute of the message, the time sent of the message, the message body contents of the message, and the message encoding of the message.

15. The system as defined in claim 13 wherein the derivation sub-module comprises a hash determination means for, for each message in the up to n messages, deriving the associated pre-selection criterion from the message by applying a hash function to the associated selected attribute;

and,

for the current message, deriving the at least one comparison criterion by applying the hash function to the at least one associated selected attribute.

16. The system as defined in claim 11 wherein each entry in the folder pre-selection cache is ordered according to a search order, the message comparison module is operable to compare the comparison criterion with the associated pre-selection criterion of each entry in the folder pre-selection cache according to the search order to determine a matching entry in the search order having an associated pre-selection criterion matching the comparison criterion;

and,

the cache-updating sub-module is operable, when the matching entry is not a first entry in the search order and is the user-selected folder, to advance the matching entry within the search order.

17. The system as defined in claim 11 further comprising a restoration means for, when information is erased from the folder pre-selection cache, substantially restoring the folder pre-selection cache by processing each message in the plurality of folders in chronological order from an oldest message in the plurality of folders to a youngest message in the plurality of folders.

44. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the folder selection module provides a first user-selectable option to approve the pre-selected folder and a second user-selectable option to allocate the current message to any user selected user-selected folder in the plurality of folders.

18. A system for pre-selecting a candidate folder for a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders for storing messages, the system comprising:

an electronic communication device comprising a processor;

a storage module on the electronic communication device for storing the plurality of folders;

a communication module on the electronic communication device for receiving or transmitting the current message;

a derivation sub-module for operating the processor to derive at least one comparison criteria from at least one selected attribute of the current message;

a folder pre-selection cache on the electronic communication device having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configurable based on how a previous message is stored to record an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by the processor from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders;

a message comparison module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache for comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from the at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion of at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if the message comparison module fails to determine a matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then the derivation sub-module is further operable to derive a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, second-considered attribute being different from the first-considered attribute;

a folder pre-selection module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache for pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache; and

,

a cache-updating sub-module operating upon the folder pre-selection cache for automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on up to n previous messages undergoing folder selection prior to the current message wherein

each message in the up to n previous messages has an associated attachment file;

the plurality of folders comprises a plurality of file folders for storing a plurality of potentially attachable files;

the folder pre-selection module is operable by the user to select from the plurality of file folders a user-selected associated file folder for an associated attachment file for the current message;

the folder pre-selection cache has a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages; and

,

the cache-updating sub-module is operable, for each message in the up to n messages, to automatically update the folder pre-selection cache based on how the message is filed by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message by the processor, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies a user-selected associated folder previously selected for the associated attachment file.

19. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein

the derivation sub-module is further configure to, for each message in the up to n messages, derive the associated pre-selection criterion from an associated selected attribute of the message.

20. The system as defined in claim 19 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated selected attribute of the message comprises one of an associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, an associated subject attribute of the message, a time sent of the message, a message body contents of the message, and a message encoding of the message, and for the current message, the at least one associated selected attribute of the message comprises at least one of the associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, the associated subject attribute of the message, the time sent of the message, the message body contents of the message, and the message encoding of the message.

21. The system as defined in claim 20 wherein the derivation sub-module comprises a hash determination means for,

for each message in the up to n messages, deriving the associated pre-selection criterion from the message by applying a hash function to the associated selected attribute;

and,

for the current message, deriving the at least one comparison criterion by applying the hash function to the at least one associated selected attribute.

22. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein the cache-updating sub-module updates the folder pre-selection cache based on up to n previously edited attachments stored in the plurality of file folders.

45. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein the folder pre-selection module provides a first user-selectable option to approve the pre-selected folder and a second user-selectable option to allocate the current message to any user selected user-selected folder in the plurality of folders.

23. A method of pre-selecting a candidate folder for storing a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders for storing messages, the method comprising:

(a) providing a folder pre-selection cache on an electronic communication device having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configured based on how a message is filed to include an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by a processor of the electronic communication device from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message, and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders, wherein the folder pre-selection cache is configured based on the up to n previous messages undergoing folder selection prior to the current message, where n is a positive integer greater than 1;

(b) for at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache, comparing at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if there is no matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message comprises deriving a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being different from the first-considered attribute and derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message;

(c) pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache;

(d) prior to storing the current message, providing a folder selection function to a user of the electronic communication device for selecting a user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for the current message;

(e) selecting the user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for storing the current message;

wherein

each message in the up to n messages is allocated to a user-selected associated folder in the plurality of folders;

the folder pre-selection cache includes a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages, and,

the step of providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries further comprises, for each message in the up to n messages, automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on how a previous message is stored by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message by the processor, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies the user-selected associated folder.

24. The method as defined in claim 23 further comprising pre-selecting a default folder for receiving the current message when step (b) fails to determine the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache.

25. The method as defined in claim 23 further comprising changing the positive integer n based on available storage space.

26. The method as defined in claim 23 further comprising designating a plurality of current messages and pre-selecting the folder for storing the plurality of current messages.

27. The method as defined in claim 23 further comprising

reviewing the current message for a server-determined folder identifier having an assigned weight wherein the assigned weight is one of a first weight and a second weight;

when the server-determined folder identifier is of the first weight, pre-selecting the server-determined folder if the message comparison module fails to determine the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, and pre-selecting the folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection, cache; and

,

when the server-determined folder identifier is of the second weight, pre-selecting the server-determined folder.

28. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein the pre-selection criterion is the current message.

29. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein, when a message in the up to n messages is moved from a first folder in the plurality of folders to a second folder in the plurality of folders, step (a) further comprises updating the associated folder identification for the corresponding entry from identifying the first folder to identify the second folder.

30. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein step (a) further comprises updating the folder pre-selection cache when a new message is allocated to a user-selected associated folder by discarding an existing entry and adding a new corresponding entry for the new message.

31. The method as defined in claim 30 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, step (a) further comprises providing in the corresponding configurable entry a time-and-date indicator for indicating when the message was message was allocated to a user-selected associated folder, and the folder pre-selection cache is updated when the new message is allocated to the user-selected folder by discarding the existing entry having an oldest time-and-date indicator and adding the new corresponding entry for the new message.

32. The method as defined in claim 30 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the message;

and,

the comparison criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the current message.

33. The method as defined in claim 32 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated selected attribute of the message comprises one of an associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, an associated subject attribute of the message, a time sent of the message, a message body contents of the message, and a message encoding of the message, and for the current message, the at least one associated selected attribute of the message comprises at least one of the associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, the associated subject attribute of the message, the time sent of the message, the message body contents of the message, and the message encoding of the message.

34. The method as defined in claim 32 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the message by applying a hash function to the associated selected attribute, and the comparison criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the current message by applying the hash function to the associated selected attribute.

35. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein each entry in the folder pre-selection cache is ordered according to a search order step (b) comprises comparing the comparison criterion with the associated pre-selection criterion of each entry in the folder pre-selection cache according to the search order;

and step (c) comprises determining a matching entry in the search order having an associated pre-selection criterion matching the comparison criterion, and pre-selecting the folder identified by the associated folder identification of the first entry;

wherein the method further comprises, when the matching entry is not a first entry in the search order and is the user-selected folder, advancing the matching entry within the search order.

36. The method as defined in claim 23 further comprising, when information is erased from the folder pre-selection cache, substantially restoring the folder pre-selection cache by, for each message in the plurality of folders in chronological order from an oldest message in the plurality of folders to a youngest message In the plurality of folders, performing steps (a), (b) and (c).

46. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein the folder selection function provides a first user-selectable option to approve the pre-selected folder and a second user-selectable option for selecting any user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for the current message.

37. A method of pre-selecting a candidate folder for storing a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders for storing a plurality of potentially attachable files, the method comprising:

providing a folder pre-selection cache on an electronic communication device having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configured based on how a previous message is stored to include an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by a processor of the electronic communication device from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message, and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders;

for at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache, comparing at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if there is no matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message comprises deriving a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being different from the first-considered attribute and derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message;

pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache; and

,

automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on up to n previous messages undergoing folder selection prior to the current message wherein each message in the up to n previous messages has an associated attachment file;

the folder pre-selection cache has a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages; and

,

the step of providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries further comprises, for each message in the up to n messages, automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on how the message is filed by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message by the processor, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies a user-selected associated folder previously selected for the associated attachment file.

38. The method as defined in claim 37 wherein the derivation sub-module is further configured to, for each message in the up to n messages, derive the associated pre-selection criterion from an associated selected attribute of the message.

39. The method as defined in claim 37 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated selected attribute of the message comprises one of an associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, an associated subject attribute of the message, a time sent of the message, a message body contents of the message, and a message encoding of the message, and for the current message, the at least one associated selected attribute of the message comprises at least one of the associated sender/recipient attribute of the message, the associated subject attribute of the message, the time sent of the message, the message body contents of the message, and the message encoding of the message.

40. The method as defined in claim 39 wherein for each message in the up to n messages, the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the message by applying a hash function to the associated selected attribute, and the comparison criterion is derived from an associated selected attribute of the current message by applying the hash function to the associated selected attribute.

41. The method as defined in claim 37 further comprising updating the folder pre-selection cache based on up to n previously edited attachments stored in the plurality of file folders.

42. A computer program product for use on a computer system to pre-select a candidate folder for a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer readable instructions, executable by a processor, for configuring the computer to perform the steps of;

(a) providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configured based on how a previous message is stored to include an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by a processor of the computer from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message, and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders;

(b) for at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache, comparing at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if there is no matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message comprises deriving a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being different from the first-considered attribute and derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message;

(c) pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache;

(d) prior to storing the current message, providing a folder selection function to a user for selecting a user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for the current message; and

,

(e) selecting the user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for storing the current message;

wherein

each message in the up to n messages is allocated to a user-selected associated folder in the plurality of folders;

the folder pre-selection cache includes a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages, and,

the step of providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries further comprises, for each message in the up to n messages, automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on how the message is filed by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies the user-selected associated folder.

47. The computer program product as defined in claim 42 wherein the folder selection function provides a first user-selectable option to approve the pre-selected folder and a second user-selectable option for selecting any user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for the current message.

43. A computer program product for use on a computer system to pre-select a candidate folder for a current message, the candidate folder being one of a plurality of folders, the computer-readable medium comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer readable instructions, executable by a processor, for configuring the computer to perform the steps of;

(a) providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries, n being a predetermined positive integer greater than one, each configurable entry being configurable based on how a previous message is stored to record an associated pre-selection criterion, derived by a processor of the computer from the previous message to distinguish the previous message, for matching with the current message and an associated folder identification for identifying an associated folder in the plurality of folders;

(b) for at least one entry in the folder pre-selection cache, comparing at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message to distinguish the current message, with the associated pre-selection criterion to determine a matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache, wherein if there is no matching entry for a first determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the first determined comparison criterion being derived from a first-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message, then comparing the at least one comparison criterion, derived by the processor from at least one selected attribute of the current message comprises deriving a second determined comparison criterion in the at least one comparison criterion, the second determined comparison criterion being different from the first-considered attribute and derived from a second-considered attribute in the at least one attribute of the current message;

(c) pre-selecting the candidate folder identified by the associated folder identification of the matching entry when the message comparison module determines the matching entry in the folder pre-selection cache;

(d) prior to storing the current message, providing a folder selection function to a user for selecting a user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for an associated attachment file for the current message;

(e) selecting the user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for storing an associated attachment file for the current message;

wherein

each message in the up to n previous messages has an associated attachment file;

the plurality of folders comprises a plurality of file folders for storing a plurality of potentially attachable files;

the folder pre-selection cache includes a corresponding configurable entry for each message in the up to n messages, and,

the step of providing a folder pre-selection cache having n configurable entries further comprises, for each message in the up to n messages, automatically updating the folder pre-selection cache based on how the message is filed by configuring the corresponding configurable entry in the folder pre-selection cache such that the associated pre-selection criterion is derived from the message, and the associated folder identification of the corresponding entry identifies a user-selected associated folder previously selected for the associated attachment file.

48. The computer program product as defined in claim 43 wherein the folder selection function provides a first user-selectable option to approve the pre-selected folder and a second user-selectable option for selecting any user-selected folder from the plurality of folders for an associated attachment file for the current message.