Email to database import utility

• US 20020046248A1
• Filed: 10/09/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Drexler, Jerome P.
• Application Number:
  US09/974,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20020046248A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The present invention facilitates the transfer of data from an email message or the like to records, tables, and/or fields of an electronic database. In an illustrative embodiment, an email message and a number of database fields are identified. Certain data from the email message are associated with one or more of records, tables, and/or fields of the database. With this association, the data in the email message may be automatically or manually parsed and saved to the associated records, tables, and/or fields of the database.

Claims

1. A method of recording data to a database that has a number of database locations, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message including a set of data elements;

selecting a first subset of the data elements;

saving the first subset of data elements to a first location of the database;

selecting a second subset of the data elements; and

saving the second subset of data elements to a second location of the database.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether the electronic mail message is in a predefined format.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining whether an electronic mail message is in a predefined format includes the steps of:

counting the number of times a predetermined delimiter character appears in the electronic mail message; and

comparing the number of times that the predetermined delimiter character appears in the electronic mail message with to an expected number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the expected number is related to the number of fields in the database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first selecting step includes the steps of:

parsing the data elements of the electronic mail message into a number of data strings, wherein each parsed data string includes sequentially positioned data elements in the electronic mail message; and

selecting one of the parsed data string as the first subset of the data elements.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second selecting step includes the step of selecting another one of the parsed data string as the second subset of the data elements.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein:

a first parsed data string includes those data elements that precede a first appearance of a predetermined delimiter character;

a last parsed data string includes those data elements that follow a last appearance of the predetermined delimiter character; and

all other parsed data strings are data strings that appear between successive predetermined delimiter characters.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the parsed data strings is saved to a selected database location.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein only selected parsed data strings are saved to a corresponding database location.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprises the step of associating an electronic mail message with a database.

11. A method of recording data to a database that has a number of database fields, the method comprising the steps of:

parsing an electronic mail message into a number of parsed data strings;

providing a correspondence between selected parsed data strings and a database field in the database; and

saving each of the selected parsed data strings to the corresponding database field in the database.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a user initially defines the correspondence between the selected parsed data strings and the database fields.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of saving the correspondence between the selected parsed data strings and the database fields that were initially defined by the user.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the parsing step includes the step of defining a delimiter character.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the parsing step includes the step of identifying a number of locations within the electronic mail message.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of:

parsing the data within the electronic mail message into parsed data strings;

saving selected parsed data strings into selected fields of a database.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the saving step includes the steps of:

selecting a first/next parsed data string;

identifying a corresponding field within the database, if any;

saving the first/next parsed data string to the corresponding field within the database; and

repeating the selecting, identifying and saving steps for all parsed data strings in the electronic mail message.

20. The software application of claim 19, wherein the data selection means allows a user to graphically select certain data of the electronic mail message.

21. The software application of claim 19, wherein the data selection means automatically selects certain data of the electronic mail message based on data selection criteria provided by a user.

22. The software application of claim 21, wherein the data selection criteria includes a delimiting character.

23. The software application of claim 19, wherein the data association means allows a user to graphically associate certain data of the electronic mail message with selected database fields.

24. The software application of claim 19, wherein the data association means automatically associates certain data of the electronic mail message with selected database fields.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein all steps are performed without human intervention.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of determining whether the electronic mail message should be recorded includes the step of analyzing the subject line of the electronic mail message.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of determining whether the electronic mail message should be recorded includes the step of analyzing the name of the sender of the electronic mail message.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of determining whether the electronic mail message should be recorded includes the step of analyzing the format of the electronic mail message.

16. A method of recording data to a database that has a number of database fields, the method comprising the steps of:

creating an association between a particular electronic mail message format and the database;

receiving an electronic mail message having the particular electronic mail message format; and

saving selected data from the electronic mail message to selected fields of the database.

19. A software application comprising:

display means for displaying an electronic mail message and a number of database fields;

data selection means for selecting certain data of the electronic mail message; and

data association means for associating the certain data with one of the number of database fields.

25. A method of recording data to a database that has a number of database fields, the method comprising the steps of:

analyzing an electronic mail message;

determining whether the electronic mail message should be recorded; and

if the electronic mail message should be recorded, selecting data within the electronic mail message and saving the selected data into predetermined fields of a database.