Sectional E-mail transmission
First Claim
1. A computer program product for segmenting an email addressed to a plurality of original email recipients without the need to send separate emails, the computer program product comprising:
- a computer readable storage device;
first program instructions for selecting a section of the email;
second program instructions for selecting a recipient for the section from the plurality of recipients;
third program instructions for inserting, responsive to selecting the recipient for the section, a section information that identifies the recipient for the section and a starting and an ending character of the section into a header of the email;
fourth program instructions for sending the email to an email server, the email server comprising a processor and a memory;
fifth program instructions for receiving the email at the email server;
sixth program instructions for parsing, at the email server, the header for the section information;
seventh program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email to the recipient for the section; and
eighth program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email without the section and the section information to the plurality of original recipients that have not been selected for receiving the section so that the plurality of original recipients cannot see that the section was removed;
wherein the first through the eighth program instructions are stored in the computer readable storage device; and
wherein the section information is adapted to automatically prefix the section with an explanatory text to inform the section recipient that the section is being transmitted only to the section recipient, and wherein the explanatory text is adapted to be indented and colored.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process of segmenting a single email so that portions of it may be directed to or away from select recipients is disclosed. The sender highlights portions of the email and right clicks (or key command, button, or menu item) and selects an option to select recipients. The operator interface then provides the sender with the option of selecting recipients from their address book or the server'"'"'s address book. To speed the process along, the sender may select those already on the To, Cc, or Bcc distribution lists. The sender then selects whether those chosen will receive the highlighted portion or if they will be excluded from receiving it. Lastly, the sender will have the option of providing text that is unique to each of the selected groups.
177 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A computer program product for segmenting an email addressed to a plurality of original email recipients without the need to send separate emails, the computer program product comprising:
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a computer readable storage device; first program instructions for selecting a section of the email; second program instructions for selecting a recipient for the section from the plurality of recipients; third program instructions for inserting, responsive to selecting the recipient for the section, a section information that identifies the recipient for the section and a starting and an ending character of the section into a header of the email; fourth program instructions for sending the email to an email server, the email server comprising a processor and a memory; fifth program instructions for receiving the email at the email server; sixth program instructions for parsing, at the email server, the header for the section information; seventh program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email to the recipient for the section; and eighth program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email without the section and the section information to the plurality of original recipients that have not been selected for receiving the section so that the plurality of original recipients cannot see that the section was removed; wherein the first through the eighth program instructions are stored in the computer readable storage device; and wherein the section information is adapted to automatically prefix the section with an explanatory text to inform the section recipient that the section is being transmitted only to the section recipient, and wherein the explanatory text is adapted to be indented and colored. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer implemented method for segmenting an email addressed to a plurality of original email recipients without the need to send separate emails comprising:
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selecting a section of the email; selecting a recipient for the section from the plurality of recipients; responsive to selecting the recipient for the section, inserting a section information that identifies the recipient for the section and a starting and an ending character of the section into a header of the email; sending the email to an email server, the email server comprising a processor and a memory; at the email server, performing steps including; receiving the email; parsing the header for the section information; sending the email to the recipient for the section; sending the email without the section and the section information to the plurality of original recipients that have not been selected for receiving the section so that the plurality of original recipients cannot see that the section was removed; wherein the section information is adapted to automatically prefix the section with an explanatory text to inform the section recipient that the section is being transmitted only to the section recipient, and wherein the explanatory text is adapted to be indented and colored. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A data processing system comprising:
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a bus; a communications unit connected to the bus; a computer readable storage device connected to the bus; a processor unit connected to the bus and to a computer readable memory; first program instructions for selecting a section of the email; second program instructions for selecting a recipient for the section from the plurality of recipients; third program instructions for responsive to selecting the recipient for the section, inserting a section information that identifies the recipient for the section and a starting and an ending character of the section into a header of the email; fourth program instructions for sending the email to an email server, the email server comprising a processor and a memory; fifth program instructions for receiving the email at the email server; sixth program instructions for parsing, at the email server, the header for the section information; seventh program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email to the recipient for the section; and eighth program instructions for sending, at the email server, the email without the section and the section information to the plurality of original recipients that have not been selected for receiving the section so that the plurality of original recipients cannot see that the section was removed; wherein the first through the eighth program instructions are stored in the computer readable storage device for running via the computer readable memory; and wherein the section information is adapted to automatically prefix the section with an explanatory text to inform the section recipient that the section is being transmitted only to the section recipient, and wherein the explanatory text is adapted to be indented and colored. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification