JP2002149573A - Electronic mail transmitter-receiver and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance visibility when transmitted and received mails are displayed as a list. SOLUTION: A condition setting means 2a sets a display condition 1 when information concerning the transmitted or received E-mail is displayed by a list. A re-arranging means 2b re-arranges information with respect to the E-mails to have a hierarchical structure in accordance with the display condition 1. A list display means 2c displays and outputs information concerning the E-mails which are re-arranged by the re-arranging means 2b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus and program, and more particularly to an electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus for transmitting / receiving electronic mail to / from a communication partner and a program for causing a computer to perform such functions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of the Internet, information exchange by e-mail and the like is becoming active.

In the conventional e-mail transmission / reception device, a method has been adopted in which received or transmitted e-mails are stored in a reception box or a transmission box, respectively, and displayed in a list according to a user's instruction.

In recent e-mail transmitting and receiving apparatuses,
When a "reply" is made or "forwarded" to a certain e-mail, a predetermined symbol is added to the subject of the e-mail to indicate that the reply or forwarding was executed There is also.

[0005] Further, when a reply or transfer is performed, there is also an electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus that displays a dependency relationship between the original mail and the mail related to the reply or transfer in a hierarchical structure.

[0006]

When actually exchanging e-mails, it is often the case that the same topic is repeatedly exchanged with a specific partner. However, the conventional e-mail transmission / reception device has a problem that it is difficult to display a group of e-mails related to such a series of exchanges in association with each other.

[0007] Even if the topic is not the same, if a reply is sent to a desired partner, the task related to the transmission is simple, and there is a problem that it is difficult to confirm the original association. The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail transmission / reception device that can display transmitted / received e-mails in a form that is easy for a user to understand.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in an e-mail transmitting / receiving apparatus 2 for transmitting / receiving an e-mail shown in FIG. 1, information on a title of the transmitted / received e-mail is displayed in a list. Condition setting means 2a for setting conditions for performing the operation, sorting means 2b for sorting information on the titles of the e-mails in a hierarchical structure according to the conditions, and information on the titles of the e-mails sorted by the sorting means 2b. And an e-mail transmitting / receiving device 2 having a list display means 2c.

[0009] Here, the condition setting means 2a sets conditions for displaying a list of information on the title of the transmitted or received e-mail. The reordering unit 2b reorders information about the title of the e-mail into a hierarchical structure according to the conditions. The list display means 2c displays a list of information about the titles of the e-mails sorted by the sorting means 2b.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a principle diagram for explaining the operation principle of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the e-mail transmitting / receiving apparatus 2 of the present invention includes a condition setting unit 2a, a rearranging unit 2b, and a list display unit 2c.

The condition setting means 2a sets conditions for displaying a list of information about the titles of transmitted or received e-mails. The reordering unit 2b reorders information about the title of the e-mail into a hierarchical structure according to the setting conditions.

The list display means 2c displays a list of information on the titles of the e-mails sorted by the sorting means 2b. Next, the operation of the above principle diagram will be described.

First, when displaying a list of titles of e-mails transmitted and received by the e-mail transmission / reception device 2 of the present invention, the user inputs a display condition 1 which is a display condition.
Here, the display condition is a condition serving as a criterion for extracting a group having a specific relevance from a target mail group, and a hierarchical process is performed on the group extracted in this manner. You. As a specific example of the display condition, for example, a condition that the character string included in the “Subject” which is the title of the mail is “substantially equal” is used.

The condition setting means 2a acquires the display condition 1 and supplies it to the rearranging means 2b. In the present example, it is assumed that “the character strings included in the subject are substantially equal” is input as a condition and supplied to the reordering unit 2b.

The reordering unit 2b refers to the display condition 1 supplied from the condition setting unit 2a and reorders the input display target mail group according to a certain rule. In the present example, since “the character strings included in the subject are substantially equal” is input as the display condition 1,
When the character strings included in the “ject” are substantially equal (specifically, when the character strings except for Re: are equal), it is determined that they belong to the same group. Then, in the group formed in this way, a tree is formed from the subordination relation (specifically, reception and reply relation) between the mails.

The list display means 2c displays and outputs the groups formed in this way and the tree structure of each group. As a result, a display result 3 is obtained. In this display result 3, two mails of the single group “○
Following “About ×” and “△△”, “XX”, “Re: XX”, “Re: XX”, and “Re: Re: XX” A group consisting of four mails of “case” is displayed in a tree shape.

As described above, according to the present invention, the mails to be displayed are rearranged and displayed according to the display condition 1, so that the mails are grouped according to the purpose and the tree is formed as necessary. The mail can be displayed with the structure, and the mail can be displayed in a display format according to the actual situation of the exchange of the mail.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatuses 20 and 21 according to the present invention are connected to each other via the Internet 24.

[0019] SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
l) The server 22 transmits the mail supplied from the electronic mail transmitting / receiving devices 20 and 21 to the destination server via a predetermined route.

POP (Post Office Protocol) server 2
3 sorts and stores the mail transmitted from the SMTP server 22 for each destination user, and provides the corresponding mail when the user accesses the mail.

The Internet 24 includes e-mail transmitting / receiving devices 20, 21, an SMTP server 22, and a POP
The servers 23 are mutually connected, and information can be exchanged between them.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the electronic mail transmitting / receiving device 20 shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the e-mail transmitting / receiving device 20 has a CPU (Central Pr
Ocessing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory) 20
b, RAM (Random Access Memory) 20c, HDD
(Hard Disk Drive) 20d, GC (Graphics Card) 2
0e, I / F (Interface) 20f, and bus 20
g. A display device 20h and an input device 20i are connected to the outside.

The CPU 20a controls various parts of the apparatus according to a program stored in the HDD 20d and executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM 20b includes the CPU 2
0a stores basic programs and data to be executed.

When the CPU 20a executes various programs, the RAM 20c stores programs being executed and data being calculated. The HDD 20d is a CPU 20
a stores various programs to be executed and mails to be transmitted and received.

The GC 20e executes a drawing process in accordance with a drawing command or the like supplied from the CPU 20a, converts an obtained image into a video signal, and supplies it to the display device 20h. I /
The F20f performs a protocol conversion when exchanging data with the Internet 24, and also executes an input device 20
Data conversion is performed when data is input from i.

The bus 20g includes a CPU 20a, a ROM 20
b, the RAM 20c, the HDD 20d, the GC 20e, and the I / F 20f are interconnected, and data can be exchanged among them.

The display device 20h is, for example, a CRT (Cath
A video signal output from the GC 20e is displayed and output. Input device 20i
Consists of a keyboard or mouse,
Generate and output data according to the user's operation.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. Now, assuming that the user operates the input device 20i to start the software for sending and receiving mail, the corresponding program is read from the HDD 20d, expanded and executed on the RAM 20c as needed, and executed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed when mail sending / receiving software is started. In the example of this figure, at the upper end of the window 30, a new creation button 30a, a reply button 30b, a transfer button 30
c, send / receive button 30d, first display setting button 30
e and a second display setting button 30f are displayed.

Here, the new creation button 30a is operated when a new mail is created. Reply button 30b
Is operated when replying to the received mail. That is, when this button is operated, a mail with the sender as the recipient is created.

The transfer button 30c is operated when transferring the received mail to another person. Send / Receive button 30d
Is operated when connecting to the POP server 23 to send and receive mail.

The first display setting button 30e is operated to input a condition for specifying a range of a target mail when displaying a list of mails. The details will be described later.

The second display setting button 30f is operated to input tree creation conditions when displaying a list of mails. The details will be described later. In the display area 30g, “□” indicating a mail and its number (serial number) are displayed. The display area 30h displays the title of the mail corresponding to the number displayed in the display area 30g and the mail address of the sender.

The display area 30i displays the text of the mail specified in the display area 30h (the highlighted mail). In such a state, when the first display setting button 30e is operated, a window 40 shown in FIG. 5 is newly displayed on the display device 20h.

On this setting screen, a method for creating a tree,
The creation range of the tree can be specified. First, as for the tree creation method, as shown in the setting items 40a and 40b, one of "reconstruction of all e-mails" or "creation of a tree related to the e-mail number □ as a parent" is used.
You can choose one. Here, "reconstruct all e-mails" indicates that all sent and received e-mails are to be processed, and "create tree related to e-mails as parent" is entered in the text box. A mail having the given number (serial number) is set as a parent, and related mail is specified to create a tree.

As the tree creation range, as shown in the setting items 40c to 40e, any of "all", "from □ month □ day to □ month □ day", or "from □ number to □ number" You can choose. Here, "all" means
Indicates that all sent and received mail is targeted,
“Month □ day to □ month □ day” indicates that the mail sent and received during the period specified by the data entered in each text box is targeted. This indicates that a mail having a serial number specified by the input data is selected as a processing target.

When a predetermined item is selected on the first display setting screen as described above (when a corresponding check box is checked and data is input as necessary), the input data is transmitted to the CPU 20a. Through the HD
D20d is stored in a predetermined area.

Subsequently, the user sets the second display setting button 3
When 0f is operated, a window 60 shown in FIG. 6 is newly displayed on the display device 20h. On this setting screen, it is possible to set tree creation conditions according to information included in the header or the body.

In the setting items 60a to 60c, "Subj
ect ", the tree creation conditions are set. The first setting item 60a is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails with matching character strings included in the subject as the same group.

The setting item 60b is an option for creating a tree by regarding that the character strings of the subject are substantially the same as the same group. It should be noted that the character strings are substantially matched when, for example, 80% or more of the character strings match, or when the character strings other than the specific character “Re:” match.

The setting item 60c is an option for creating a tree by regarding the subject containing the character string entered in the text box as the same group. In the following setting items 60d to 60f, "To" indicating the recipient is displayed.
Set the tree creation condition by using. The first setting item 60d is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails with matching character strings included in To as the same group.

The setting item 60e is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails in which the character string entered in the text box is included in To as the same group. The setting item 60f is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails in which the character string entered in the text box is not included in To as the same group.

In the following setting items 60g to 60i, tree creation conditions are set by "From" indicating the sender. The first setting item 60g is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails having matching character strings included in the From as the same group.

The setting item 60h is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails containing the character string entered in the text box in the From group as the same group.
The setting item 60i is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails in which the character string entered in the text box is not included in the From as the same group.

In the following setting items 60j to 60l, conditions for creating a tree are set based on predetermined information "xxx" included in the header. The first setting item 60j is an option for creating a tree by regarding mail having a matching character string included in the predetermined information xxx as the same group.

The setting item 60k is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails in which the character string entered in the text box is included in xxxx as the same group.
The setting item 60l is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails in which the character string input to the text box is not included in xxx as the same group.

In the following setting items 60m to 60o, tree creation conditions are set based on specific information included in the header. The first setting item 60m is an option for grouping mails by priority and creating a tree.

The setting item 60n is an option for grouping mails for each transmission source and creating a tree. The setting item 60o is an option for grouping mails for each mailing list and creating a tree.

The above setting items 60a to 60o are:
This is the setting content for the information stored in the header of the mail. The following setting item 60p is an option for creating a tree by regarding mails including the character string entered in the text box in the body as the same group.

When a predetermined item is selected on the second display setting screen as described above (when a corresponding check box is checked and data is input as necessary), the input data is As in the case of
The data is stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 20d via the U20a.

When the above settings are made, the mails are rearranged in accordance with the set contents, and the results are displayed in the display areas 30g and 30h. Before describing the details, the mail to be processed will be briefly described.

The numbers 02 and 04 displayed in FIG.
The emails # 07 to # 07 have been exchanged with the same partner. The details are shown in FIG. First, the user A (user of the e-mail transmission / reception device to be described) transmits an e-mail with the number 02 (hereinafter, referred to as e-mail 02) to the user B (the communication partner user).

In response to the mail 02, the user B operates the reply button (corresponding to the reply button 30b in FIG. 4) to reply the mail 04 to the user A.
As a result, the user A receives the mail 04.

Subsequently, the user A returns the mail 06 by transmitting the mail 05 by replying to the mail 04 and further replying to the mail 04.

Then, the user B returns the mail 07 to the user A by replying to the mail 06. Here, a mail that has replied to a certain mail can be considered to be a mail subordinate to the mail. Therefore, the mail 02 and the mails 04 to 07 have a tree structure as shown in FIG. Can be considered.

By the way, the mail returned to a certain mail contains information for specifying the original mail in the header. For example, it is assumed that the information (header and body) included in the mail 02 sent to Party B is as shown in FIG. In this example, the header of the mail includes a transmission date and time, a message ID, a subject, a recipient (destination), a sender, and a body.

When the second party who receives such a mail replies to this mail, the first party receives the mail (mail 04) shown in FIG. In this example, the message ID shown in FIG.
es), and the party can identify the original mail from this information.

Subsequently, when the party A replies to such a mail 04, a mail (mail 05) as shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the transmitted mail box on the party A side. As can be seen from this figure, no reference ID is given to this mail 05. By the way, in the related art, the dependency relationship of the mail is determined based on such a reference ID, so that the chain of the mail 04 and the mail 05 is conventionally broken.

However, in the present invention, for example, “S
Such a problem can be avoided by creating a tree based on a character string included in “object”. The specific operation will be described in detail below.

First, in the window 40 of the first display setting screen shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that "all e-mail reconfiguration" is selected as a tree creation method and "all" is selected as a tree creation range. I do. Further, in the window 60 of the second display setting screen shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that “the character string of the subject almost matches” is selected as the tree creation condition.

When such a selection is made, the CPU 20
First, a refers to the information input on the first display setting screen shown in FIG. 5, and selects a mail group to be processed from all the mails transmitted and received so far.

Next, the CPU 20a refers to the information input on the second display setting screen shown in FIG. 6 and groups the target mails. In the current example, "Subject
Since the “character string of t almost matches” is selected, the mail 02 and the mails 04 to 07 including the character string “OOO” are grouped as the same group.

Subsequently, the CPU 20a executes a process of tree-forming (hierarchical) the mail group based on the reception date and time of the mail group belonging to each group and the reference ID. Specifically, the mail 02 and the mails 04 to 07 will be specifically described. First, the mail 02 is (1) a mail transmitted and received first temporally, and (2) a Subje.
Since “Re:” indicating a subordinate relationship to another is not included in ct, and (3) the reference ID is not included in the header, this is specified as a parent (mail of the highest hierarchy). You.

Subsequently, the mail 04 is specified as a target to be processed. The Subject of the mail 04 includes “Re:” indicating the subordination to the other, and the mail 02 is also included in the header. The mail 04 is specified as a child mail of the mail 02 since the reference ID is included.

Subsequently, the mail 05 is specified as a target of processing. Since the subject indicates that the subject is a reply to the “Re: XX” indicating the mail 04, the mail 05 It is specified that the mail is a child mail of No. 04.

Similarly, it is specified that mail 06 is a child mail of mail 04. Finally, email 07
Indicates that the mail 06 is a child mail of the mail 06 because the reference ID included in the header indicates the mail 06.

With the above processing, the hierarchical structure of the mail 02 and the mails 04 to 07 is specified. The same processing is performed for other mails, and a tree is formed for each group.

When the tree formation of each group is completed as described above, the CPU 20a sets the display area 3 shown in FIG.
The display contents of 0g and 30h are updated according to the processing result.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a result of the update. In the example of this figure, following the mail 01, the mail 02 and the mail 04
To 07 are displayed with a tree structure. Next, the mails 03, 08, and 09 are displayed alone.

As described above, according to the above embodiment,
Reference ID and S, which are attribute information of emails sent and received in the past
With reference to the subject, grouping is performed,
Since each group can be displayed as a tree, the mail can be displayed in a format that is easy for the user to understand.

In the above embodiment, the outgoing mail and the received mail are displayed in the same display area, but they may be displayed in separate display areas. Further, the transmitted mail and the received mail may be distinguished by using an icon or the like.

Further, in the above description, the operation in the case where "Subjects whose character strings are substantially the same" is selected has been described. However, when other items are selected, grouping is performed by the same processing as in the case described above. Are performed, and a tree is formed for each group.

For example, in the case of the setting item 60c, the mail including the character string "defect" is grouped and displayed as a tree, so that the mail relating to the exchange of complaints for the defect of the product is displayed with a tree structure. be able to.

In the case of the setting items 60d to 60f, the grouping can be performed based on the character string of the recipient described in the transmitted mail. For example, setting item 6
In the case of 0e, only mails having a specific domain name can be selected, grouped, and displayed in a tree. As a result, a mail exchanged with an employee of a specific company can be displayed as a tree. In connection therewith, in the setting item 60f, a tree can be formed excluding employees of a predetermined company.

When the setting items 60g to 60i are set, the same processing as described above can be performed based on the character string of the sender described in the received mail. When the setting items 60j to 60l are set, the grouping process is executed on the basis of xxx (specific contents are separately set) which is information of the header. For example, for the information included in the header and indicating the server through which the mail has passed, mail passing through a predetermined server has a high risk of virus infection.
It is also possible to exclude this and display it.

Further, in the case of the setting items 60m to 60o, the priority (Priority) given to the mail,
Trees are created by grouping by sender and mailing list. For example, when the setting item 60o is selected, grouping is performed for each mailing list, and a tree of mail groups exchanged in each mailing list is created and displayed.
FIG. 13 is a display example (only the display areas 30g and 30h are shown) when "per source" is selected. In this example, the sender's email address is broken down by element,
It is displayed as a list of dendrites. According to such a display method, it is possible to easily find a target mail using the domain name as a clue. For example, "pfu.co.j
In the case where “p” is included, it can be immediately understood that the corresponding mail has two numbers “12” and “14”.

Further, in the case of the setting item 60p, mails whose body contains a predetermined character string are selected and grouped, and a tree is created. FIG.
In the setting contents shown in (1), any one of the setting items connected by a solid line can be selected. Therefore, when one setting item is selected, other items cannot be selected. On the other hand, setting items that are not connected to each other can be selected redundantly. For example, the setting item 60b and the setting item 60e can be selected redundantly.

It should be noted that although not included in the above setting screens, for example, those transmitted directly, those transmitted by copying, those returned, and those transmitted are distinguished and displayed. You may. FIG. 14 is a display example displayed by such a method. In this example, “To” transmitted directly and “C transmitted”
c ", returned" Re ", and transferred" Fw ". By the way, mails directly transmitted are generally considered to have higher importance than, for example, forwarded mails. Therefore,
By classifying the mail according to the transmission method, it is possible to perform display reflecting the importance of the mail, and as a result, it is possible to enhance the visibility.

Next, an example of processing executed in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of hierarchizing a target mail in accordance with information input on the first and second display setting screens.

When this flowchart is started, the following processing is executed. [S1] The CPU 20a displays the first display setting screen shown in FIG. 5 on the display device 20h, and receives input of the first display setting information. [S2] The CPU 20a displays the second display setting screen shown in FIG. 6 on the display device 20h, and receives input of the second display setting information.

[S3] The CPU 20a specifies a target mail from the HDD 20d according to the first display setting information. [S4] The CPU 20a groups target mails according to the second display setting information. [S5] The CPU 20a initializes a value 1 to a variable n for counting the number of processes. [S6] The CPU 20a acquires the n-th group.

[S7] The CPU 20a sets the target n-th
Performs a process to create a tree for the th group. In addition,
Details of this processing will be described later with reference to FIG. [S8] The CPU 20a determines whether or not there is an unprocessed group, and if so, proceeds to step S9, otherwise proceeds to step S10. [S9] The CPU 20a increments the value of the variable n by one. [S10] The CPU 20a displays the mail in the display area 30g and the display area 30h according to the hierarchical structure.

According to the above-described processing, it becomes possible to group target mails according to the information input from the first and second display setting screens, and to tree each group. .

Next, the details of the tree processing shown in FIG. 15 will be described with reference to FIG. When this flowchart is started, the following processing is executed. [S20] The CPU 20a initializes a value 1 to a variable m for counting the number of processes.

[S21] The CPU 20a specifies the leading mail. Here, as the top email,
As a general rule, among the e-mails to be created, the e-mail with the youngest transmission / reception date and time is selected. On the first display setting screen shown in FIG. 5, “Create tree related to e-mail as parent” is selected. If so, the corresponding e-mail is selected as the head. [S22] The CPU 20a specifies a mail group belonging to the (m + 1) th layer derived from the mail group belonging to the mth layer.

[S23] The CPU 20a sets the (m + 1) th
It is determined whether or not there is a mail belonging to the layer. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S24; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S26. [S24] The CPU 20a associates the mail group belonging to the m-th layer with the mail group belonging to the (m + 1) -th layer.

That is, each mail is associated with each other so that it can be displayed as a tree. [S25] The CPU 20a increments the value of the variable m by one. [S26] The CPU 20a determines whether or not there is an unprocessed mail. If there is, the process proceeds to step S20. Otherwise, the process ends.

According to the above processing, the target group can be formed into a tree. By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a personal computer is used as the e-mail transmitting / receiving device has been described. However, a portable terminal device (for example, a mobile phone or the like) may be used. In such a case, the number of characters that can be displayed on the display device is limited. For example, by taking the following measures, a display with high visibility can be performed.

That is, the number of characters of the subject to be displayed is limited to a predetermined number of characters, and the hierarchy of the tree is limited to a certain depth. For example, FIG. 17B shows a case where the number of characters of the subject is limited to 10 and the depth of the hierarchy is limited to 2 when a tree as shown in FIG. 17A exists. In this example, since the number of characters of the subject is limited to 10 characters and the number of layers is limited to two, only a part of the information shown in FIG. 17A is displayed. Note that in this display example, a square whose inside is filled indicates that there are also lower levels. If you want to display a truncated hierarchy,
The cursor may be moved over the filled square and a predetermined operation may be performed to trigger the operation.

According to such a display method, it is possible to prevent the visibility from being lowered even when displaying information on a display device having a limited number of display characters. As described above, according to the present invention, conditions for displaying a list are set, target mails are rearranged according to the set conditions, and displayed in a tree shape as necessary. , Visibility can be improved.

Finally, the above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing contents of the functions that the e-mail transmitting / receiving apparatus should have are described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the above processing is executed by the computer by executing this program on the computer. Is achieved.
Computer-readable recording media include magnetic recording devices and semiconductor memories. When distributing to the market, CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memor
The program may be stored and distributed in a portable recording medium such as y) or a flexible disk, or stored in a storage device of a computer connected via a network, and transferred to another computer through the network. When executing the program on a computer, store the program on a hard disk device in the computer,
Load into main memory and execute.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an e-mail transmitting / receiving apparatus for transmitting / receiving an e-mail, a condition setting means for setting conditions for displaying a list of information relating to the title of the transmitted / received e-mail, A sorting unit that sorts information about the titles of the e-mails in a hierarchical structure according to the condition and a list display unit that lists information about the titles of the emails sorted by the sorting unit are provided. The transmitted and received mail can be displayed for easy understanding. As a result, the work of sending and receiving mail becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram for explaining the operation principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the electronic mail transmitting / receiving device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an example of a screen displayed on the display device when mail sending / receiving software is activated.

5 is an example of a screen displayed when a first display setting button is operated on the screen shown in FIG. 4;

6 is an example of a screen displayed when a second display setting button is operated on the screen shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a series of exchanges of mail.

FIG. 8 is an example of a tree corresponding to the mail group shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing details of a mail 02.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing details of a mail 04.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing details of a mail 05.

FIG. 12 is a display example after the settings of FIGS. 5 and 6 have been made;

FIG. 13 is a display example in the case of grouping by transmission source.

FIG. 14 is a display example when grouping is performed by a transmission method.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3;

16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a tree forming process illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of display on a display device having a limited display area.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display condition 2 E-mail transmission / reception device 2a Condition setting means 2b Rearrangement means 2c List display means 3 Display result 20 E-mail transmission / reception device 20a CPU 20b ROM 20c RAM 20d HDD 20e GC 20f I / F 20g Bus 20h Display device 20i Input device 21 E-mail sending / receiving device 22 SMTP server 23 POP server 24 Internet

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An e-mail transmitting / receiving apparatus for transmitting / receiving an e-mail, a condition setting means for setting a condition for displaying a list of information on a title of the transmitted / received e-mail, and a title of the e-mail according to the condition An e-mail transmission / reception apparatus, comprising: a reordering unit that reorders information about the titles of e-mails sorted by the reordering unit. 2. The electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rearranging unit rearranges information on the electronic mail according to attribute information included in the electronic mail. 3. The electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information is information added to a header of the electronic mail. 4. According to a display capacity of the list display means,
2. The electronic mail transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display information reducing unit configured to reduce a part of information to be displayed. 5. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a process of transmitting and receiving an e-mail, wherein the computer sets conditions for displaying a list of information about the title of the transmitted or received e-mail. A program that functions as: a condition setting unit that performs sorting; a sorting unit that sorts information about titles of e-mails in a hierarchical structure according to the conditions; a list display unit that lists information about titles of emails sorted by the sorting unit. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded. 6. A program for causing a computer to perform a process of transmitting and receiving an e-mail, the computer comprising: a condition setting means for setting a condition for displaying a list of information on a title of the transmitted or received e-mail; A reordering means for rearranging the information on the titles of the e-mails in a hierarchical structure, and a list display means for displaying a list of the information on the titles of the e-mails rearranged by the reordering means.