Secondary selection highlighting of e-mail item listing

• US 9,015,603 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2012
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Loverin, Darrell J., Coppinger, Jodi L., Conmy, Douglas M., Wilcox, Eric M., Moody, Paul B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustine, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US13/447,364
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 715/752
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method for rendering an e-mail item listing within a graphical user interface of an e-mail application on a display device is disclosed. The method includes receiving an input from an input device to select a first item of the e-mail item listing, applying a first selection highlighting to the first item, wherein the applied first selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from a background color of the e-mail item listing, identifying a second item of the e-mail item listing based on a relation of the second item to the first item, and applying a second selection highlighting to the second item, wherein the applied second selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from the first selection highlighting and the background color.

Claims

1. A method for generating, using a computing device, an e-mail message listing for use within a graphical user interface of an e-mail application, the method comprising:

receiving an input from an input device to select a first e-mail message of the e-mail message listing;

applying a first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message, wherein the applied first selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from a background color of the e-mail message listing;

identifying a second e-mail message of the e-mail message listing based on a relation of the second e-mail message and the first e-mail message; and

applying a second selection highlighting to the second e-mail message, wherein the applied second selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from the first selection highlighting and the background color.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first e-mail message is associated with a first attribute and the method further comprises:

applying a first color coding to the first e-mail message based on a value of the first attribute.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message comprises:

changing a color of the applied first color coding, wherein the changed color is visually distinguishable from a color of the first selection highlighting.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second e-mail message is associated with a second attribute and the method further comprises:

applying a second color coding to the second e-mail message based on a value of the second attribute; and

wherein applying the second selection highlighting to the second e-mail message does not include changing a color of the applied second color coding.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein applying the first color coding includes changing a background color of at least one field of the first e-mail message.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein applying the first color coding includes changing a text color of at least one field of the first e-mail message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the relation indicates that the first e-mail message and the second e-mail message are included in a same conversation thread.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the applying the first selection highlighting includes changing a background color of at least part of the first e-mail message to a first selection color, and

the applying the second selection highlighting includes changing a background color of at least part of the second e-mail message to a second selection color.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second selection color is determined based on the first selection color.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second selection color is a lighter color than the first selection color and the second selection color visually complements the first selection color.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

applying the second selection highlighting to each visible e-mail message of the e-mail message listing that is associated with the same conversation thread as the first e-mail message, wherein the each visible e-mail message does not include the first e-mail message.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message is performed in response to receiving the input.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message includes applying the first selection highlighting such that the first selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from all other e-mail messages from the e-mail message listing.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first e-mail message includes a plurality of fields, and wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message includes changing a background color of at least one field from the plurality of fields.

12. A method for rendering an e-mail message listing for use within a graphical user interface of an e-mail application executed by a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving an input from an input device to select a first e-mail message of the e-mail message listing;

applying a first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message by changing a background color of the first e-mail message to a first selection highlighting color, wherein the applied first selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from a background color of the e-mail message listing;

identifying a plurality of related e-mail messages of the e-mail message listing based on a common attribute of the first e-mail message and each of the plurality of related e-mail items; and

applying a second selection highlighting to the plurality of related e-mail items by changing a background color of the plurality of related e-mail items to a second selection highlighting color, wherein

the applied second selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from the first selection highlighting and the background color, and

the second selection highlighting color is a lighter color than the first selection highlighting color.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first e-mail message is associated with a first attribute and the method further comprises:

applying a first color coding to the first e-mail message based on a value of the first attribute, wherein applying the first color coding includes changing a text color of at least one field of the first e-mail message.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message comprises:

changing a color of the applied first color coding, wherein the changed color is visually distinguishable from a color of the first selection highlighting.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message is performed in response to receiving the input.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message includes applying the first selection highlighting such that the first selection highlighting is visually distinguishable from all other e-mail messages from the e-mail message listing.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first e-mail message includes a plurality of fields, and wherein applying the first selection highlighting to the first e-mail message includes changing a background color of at least one field from the plurality of fields.