Methods, systems and data structures for assigning categories to electronic mail

• US 7,237,009 B1
• Filed: 06/12/2002
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Allred, Brian Verle, Goodman, Robert Scott, Fung, Kenny Chunwai, Clayton, Scott M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder; Patrice L.
• Application Number:
  US10/171,218
• Time in Patent Office: 1,840 Days
• Field of Search: 709206-207, 709/224, 707/7
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

Methods, systems, and data structures are provided for assigning categories to electronic mail (email). An email includes a category identification field, a sender category identification field, and a receiver category identification field. When the email is transmitted any sender assigned category identification being made by the sender is placed in the sender category identification field, and any previous value contained in the sender category identification field is moved to the category identification field and the receiver category identification field. In some embodiments, the sender category identification field and the receiver category identification field can include distribution lists associated with multiple senders and multiple receivers of the email. When the email is received any value included in the category identification field is presented with the email.

Claims

1. A method for assigning electronic mail (email) categories, comprising:

associating a sender category identification with the email as assigned by an original sender of the email, wherein the sender category identification is unique with respect to the original sender; and

maintaining the sender category identification as the email is transferred between the original sender and an original receiver, and wherein the original sender has access to the sender category identification when the email is transferred back to the original sender from the original receiver, and wherein the sender category identification is assigned to a different field of the email which is different from a subject field, and wherein the different field is just modifiable by the original sender, and wherein the sender category identification is viewable by and maintained by the original sender independent of receiver categories that the original receiver may subsequently assign to the email and independent of any subsequent categories that subsequent senders may assign to the email.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a receiver category identification with the email as assigned by the original receiver of the email; and

maintaining the receiver category identification with the email as the email is transferred between the original sender and the original receiver, and wherein the original receiver has access to the receiver category identification when the email is transferred back to the original receiver from the original sender.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, displaying to the original sender a visual cue as the email is transferred back to the original sender, wherein the visual cue identifies the sender category identification associated with the email.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein in displaying to the original sender the visual cue, the visual cue includes at least one of an icon, a descriptive text string, and a unique color associated with the email.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, automatically moving the email as it is transferred back to the original sender, to an email folder associated with the sender category identification.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in maintaining the sender category identification, the sender category identification is indexed in a data store accessible to the original sender.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in maintaining the sender category identification, the original receiver is a distribution list comprising multiple receivers.

8. A method for assigning electronic mail (email) categories, comprising:

receiving category identifications from recipients and senders of the email;

maintaining a distinctive category identification from the category identifications for each recipient and sender included within the recipients and senders, wherein each category identification in the category identifications is unique to a particular one of the recipients or one of the senders and is viewable by that particular recipient or sender; and

presenting the distinctive category identification with the email as the email is received by a recipient associated with the distinctive category identification and the distinctive category is unique to the recipient, and wherein the category identifications are associated with different fields of the email that are different from a subject field of the email, and wherein the category identifications are just modifiable and viewable by a party that created them.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in receiving the category identifications, the senders of the email become the recipients of the email when the email is transferred back to the senders.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein in receiving the category identifications, the category identifications are embedded in the email.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising, storing and indexing each distinctive category identification within a separate data store, wherein each recipient and sender associated with the distinctive category identification has access to its own separate data store in order to index on the distinctive category identification.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein in storing and indexing each distinctive category identification, the separate data stores includes links to additional electronic data associated with the distinctive category identification.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein in presenting the distinctive category identification, the distinctive category identification is presented with a summary listing associated with the email.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein in presenting the distinctive category identification, the distinctive category identification is presented when the email is opened for viewing.

15. An electronic mail (email) category assigning system, comprising:

an email;

a plurality of category identifications; and

wherein the email is associated with the plurality of category identifications, each category identification is uniquely associated with a different recipient of the email, if an assigned category identification was previously designated by one of the recipients, and wherein the plurality of category identifications are associated with one or more different fields of the email that are different from a subject field of the email, and wherein each category identification is just modifiable by a party that created it, and wherein each category identification is just viewable by the party that created it and different parties to the email have their own unique selection from the category identifications.

16. The email category assigning system of claim 15, wherein each category identification is visible with the email by the recipient uniquely assigned to the category identification.

17. The email category assigning system of claim 16, wherein each category identification is linked from the email to a separate data store, wherein each separate data store is accessible by the recipient uniquely assigned to the category identification.

18. The email category assigning system of claim 15, wherein each category identification is used to automatically configure the email when received by the recipient uniquely assigned to the category identification.

19. The email category assigning system of claim 18, wherein processing rules associated with the automatic configuring of the email are defined by the recipient uniquely assigned to the category identification.

20. The email category assigning system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of category identifications are defined and assigned to the email by each of the recipients.

21. An electronic mail (email) data structure residing on a computer readable medium associated with categories, comprising:

a sender category identification field implemented within the computer readable medium;

a receiver category identification field implemented within the computer readable medium; and

wherein when a sender assigns a sender category identification value to the email, the sender category identification value is placed in the sender category identification field and any previous receiver category identification value contained in the sender category identification field is moved to the receiver category identification field before the email is sent by the sender to a receiver, the sender category identification field is unique to just the sender and viewable by just the sender and receiver category identification field is unique to just the receiver and viewable by just the receiver, and wherein the sender and receiver category identification fields are associated with one or more different fields of the email that are different from a subject field of the email, and wherein the sender category identification value is just modifiable by the sender and the receiver category identification value is just modifiable by the receiver.

22. The email data structure of claim 21, wherein the sender category identification field and the receiver category identification field include multiple category identifications values associated with at least one of distribution lists of multiple senders and multiple receivers of the email.

23. The email data structure of claim 21, wherein a value associated with the receiver category identification field is presented with the email when received by the receiver.

24. The email data structure of claim 23, wherein the value is linked to a data store accessible to the receiver, and the data store includes additional electronic data associated with the value.

25. The email data structure of claim 23, wherein the value is used to configure the presentation of the email to the receiver.

26. The email data structure of claim 23, wherein the value is used to route the email to an email folder of the receiver.