Adding images to a text based electronic message

• US 10,693,820 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2018
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Abou Mahmoud, Alaa, Bastide, Paul R., Lu, Fang
• Primary Examiner(s): Keehn, Richard G
• Application Number:
  US16/101,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20180351896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 681 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information

Abstract

Criteria can be received from a user via a user interface, the criteria specifying image types or desired image attributes. A plurality of word groups that each satisfy a respective criterion can be identified in a first electronic message, each word group comprising at least one word. For each word group that satisfies the respective criterion, at least one image that satisfies an image type specified by the respective criterion or that has at least one image attribute specified by the respective criterion can be automatically selected from a plurality of images, wherein the selected image corresponds to a meaning of the word group that satisfies the respective criterion. Each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion can be presented with the first electronic message.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, criteria from a user, the criteria specifying image types or desired image attributes and the criteria specifying a minimum number of images to present per electronic message or a maximum number of images to present per electronic message;

identifying in a first electronic message a plurality of word groups that each satisfy a respective criterion, each word group comprising at least one word;

for each word group that satisfies the respective criterion, automatically selecting, using a processor, from a plurality of images at least one image that satisfies an image type specified by the respective criterion or that has at least one image attribute specified by the respective criterion, wherein the selected image corresponds to a meaning of the word group that satisfies the respective criterion;

presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion, a total number of the plurality of the selected images presented with the first electronic message satisfying the minimum number of images to present per electronic message or the maximum number of images to present per electronic message; and

presenting, proximate to the plurality of images selected for at least one of the plurality of word groups, at least one consolidated image into which at least two images are combined, the at least two images selected from the plurality of images selected for the at least one of the plurality of word groups.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting the first electronic message in text format and each selected image in a tree structure, the tree structure presenting each selected image below the first electronic message and the tree structure indicating that each selected image corresponds to the first electronic message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the tree structure comprises lines pointing from the first electronic message to the at least one image.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting text of a first portion of a word group selected from the plurality of word groups; and

presenting the image selected for the word group next to the text of the first portion of the word group, the image replacing at least one word in a second portion of the word group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting at least one consolidated image comprising at least two images selected from the plurality of images.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

replacing, in the first electronic message, at least one word in each of the plurality of word groups with the image selected for that word group.

7. A system, comprising:

a processor and memory programmed to initiate executable operations comprising;

receiving, via a user interface, criteria from a user, the criteria specifying image types or desired image attributes and the criteria specifying a minimum number of images to present per electronic message or a maximum number of images to present per electronic message;

identifying in a first electronic message a plurality of word groups that each satisfy a respective criterion, each word group comprising at least one word;

for each word group that satisfies the respective criterion, automatically selecting from a plurality of images at least one image that satisfies an image type specified by the respective criterion or that has at least one image attribute specified by the respective criterion, wherein the selected image corresponds to a meaning of the word group that satisfies the respective criterion;

presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion, a total number of the plurality of the selected images presented with the first electronic message satisfying the minimum number of images to present per electronic message or the maximum number of images to present per electronic message; and

presenting, proximate to the plurality of images selected for at least one of the plurality of word groups, at least one consolidated image into which at least two images are combined, the at least two images selected from the plurality of images selected for the at least one of the plurality of word groups.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting the first electronic message in text format and each selected image in a tree structure, the tree structure presenting each selected image below the first electronic message and the tree structure indicating that each selected image corresponds to the first electronic message.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the tree structure comprises lines pointing from the first electronic message to the at least one image.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting text of a first portion of a word group selected from the plurality of word groups; and

presenting the image selected for the word group next to the text of the first portion of the word group, the image replacing at least one word in a second portion of the word group.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting at least one consolidated image comprising at least two images selected from the plurality of images.

12. The system of claim 7, the executable operations further comprising:

replacing, in the first electronic message, at least one word in each of the plurality of word groups with the image selected for that word group.

13. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, criteria from a user, the criteria specifying image types or desired image attributes and the criteria specifying a minimum number of images to present per electronic message or a maximum number of images to present per electronic message;

identifying in a first electronic message a plurality of word groups that each satisfy a respective criterion, each word group comprising at least one word;

for each word group that satisfies the respective criterion, automatically selecting, by the processor, from a plurality of images at least one image that satisfies an image type specified by the respective criterion or that has at least one image attribute specified by the respective criterion, wherein the selected image corresponds to a meaning of the word group that satisfies the respective criterion;

presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion, a total number of the plurality of the selected images presented with the first electronic message satisfying the minimum number of images to present per electronic message or the maximum number of images to present per electronic message; and

presenting, proximate to the plurality of images selected for at least one of the plurality of word groups, at least one consolidated image into which at least two images are combined, the at least two images selected from the plurality of images selected for the at least one of the plurality of word groups.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting the first electronic message in text format and each selected image in a tree structure, the tree structure presenting each selected image below the first electronic message and the tree structure indicating that each selected image corresponds to the first electronic message.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the tree structure comprises lines pointing from the first electronic message to the at least one image.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting text of a first portion of a word group selected from the plurality of word groups; and

presenting the image selected for the word group next to the text of the first portion of the word group, the image replacing at least one word in a second portion of the word group.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein presenting with the first electronic message each image selected for each respective word group that satisfies the respective criterion comprises:

presenting at least one consolidated image comprising at least two images selected from the plurality of images.