Method of managing e-mail attachments

• US 20050052692A1
• Filed: 09/02/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sbragia, Apollonie, Buschi, Giovanni
• Granted Patent: US 7,369,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method of managing e-mail attachments in a data transmission system comprising a data transmission network and at least one workstation connected thereto and wherein the user of the workstation can receive e-mails from at least one server within the network, at least one e-mail having a document being attached thereto. The method comprises creating an entry in a document references file containing a reference to the document when the document is detached from the e-mail, and generating an icon linked to the entry in the document references file, the icon being displayed when the e-mail is displayed.

Claims

1. A method of managing e-mail attachments in a data transmission system comprising a data transmission network and at least one workstation connected thereto and wherein a user of the workstation can receive e-mails from at least one server within the network, at least one e-mail having a document attached thereto, the method comprising the steps of:

creating an entry in a document references file containing a reference to the document when the document is detached from the e-mail, and

generating an icon linked to the entry in the document references file, the icon being displayed when the e-mail is displayed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of creating and generating are performed by a mail tool in charge of managing the e-mails.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the entry in the document references file contains a key calculated and set once when the document is detached from the e-mail in order to ensure permanently the link between the icon and the entry.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the entry in the document references file contains variable parameters.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the variable parameters include a name of the document name and a full path location of the document.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein any change of the variable parameters is detected by a daemon, which modifies the parameters in the entry of the document references file.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user can obtain the reference of the document contained in the document references file by selecting the icon.

8. A system for managing e-mail attachments in a data transmission system comprising a data transmission network and at least one workstation connected thereto and wherein a user of the workstation can receive e-mails from at least one server within the network, at least one e-mail having a document attached thereto, comprising:

a system for creating an entry in a document references file containing a reference to the document when the document is detached from the e-mail, and

a system for generating an icon linked to the entry in the document references file, the icon being displayed when the e-mail is displayed.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the creating and generating systems are provided by a mail tool in charge of managing the e-mails.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the entry in the document references file contains a key calculated and set once when the document is detached from the e-mail in order to ensure permanently the link between the icon and the entry.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the entry in the document references file contains variable parameters.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the variable parameters include a name of the document name and a full path location of the document.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein any change of the variable parameters is detected by a daemon, which modifies the parameters in the entry of the document references file.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the user can obtain the reference of the document contained in the document references file by selecting the icon.