JP2014127108A - Mail processing program, mail processing device and mail processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify mail approval work.SOLUTION: When a mail approval request is transmitted from a client 20 of an approval requester to a client 20 of an approver, a mail processing unit 40 of a server 10 stores the mail information in an approval DB 34, and transmits a mail corresponding to the approval request (an approval screen) to the client of the approver. When a change (addition/deletion) for a mail destination is received from the client of the approver, the mail processing unit makes information indicating that the destination is changed browsable in the client of the approval requester (stores corrected destination and comments in the approval DB 34), and transmits the mail to the changed destination.

Description

  This case relates to a mail processing program, a mail processing apparatus, and a mail processing method.

  An e-mail system used in a company or the like may have an approval function. This approval function is a function that allows an email to be sent only when the approver (such as a manager) checks the created email when the email is sent and the approval is approved by the approver. Note that the approver checks the content of the mail text and also checks the mail address when approving.

  A technique for easily specifying the destination of the reply mail is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-175322 A

  However, in the current approval function, when the approver finds an error in the mail address, it is necessary to send the mail back to the mail sender (approval requester) in order to change the address. In addition, since the approval requester had to change the destination and made an approval request to the approver again, it took time and effort to send the mail.

  In one aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a mail processing program, a mail processing apparatus, and a mail processing method capable of simplifying mail approval work.

  The mail processing program described in this specification stores the mail information in a storage unit when a mail approval request is sent from the first terminal to the second terminal, and the second terminal When the mail corresponding to the approval request is transmitted and the change of the mail address is received from the second terminal, the information indicating that the address is changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and This is a mail processing program that causes a computer to execute a process of transmitting a mail to a changed destination.

  The mail processing device described in the present specification, when a mail approval request is made from the first terminal to the second terminal, the storage unit that stores the mail information, and the second terminal A state in which information indicating that the address has been changed can be browsed on the first terminal when a change in the address of the mail is received from the first transmission unit that transmits the mail corresponding to the approval request and the second terminal. And a second transmission unit for transmitting the mail to the changed destination.

  The mail processing method described in the present specification includes a step of storing the mail information in a storage unit when an approval request is received from the first terminal to the second terminal; , A step of transmitting an email corresponding to the approval request, and when the change of the destination of the email is received from the second terminal, information indicating that the destination has been changed can be viewed on the first terminal. And a mail processing method in which the computer executes the step of transmitting the mail to the changed destination.

  The mail processing program, the mail processing apparatus, and the mail processing method described in the present embodiment have an effect that the mail approval work can be simplified.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an electronic mail system according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the server, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the client. It is a functional block diagram of a server and a client. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of user authentication DB. It is FIG. (1) which shows an example of the data structure of mail DB. It is FIG. (2) which shows an example of the data structure of mail DB. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of approval DB. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of reply management DB. It is a flowchart (the 1) which shows the process of a mail process part. It is a flowchart (the 2) which shows the process of a mail process part. It is a flowchart (the 3) which shows the process of a mail process part. It is a flowchart (the 4) which shows the process of a mail process part. It is a flowchart (the 5) which shows a process of a mail process part. It is a flowchart (the 6) which shows the process of a mail process part. FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating an example of a user ID / password input screen, and FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication error screen. FIG. 16A is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a received mail list screen, and FIG. 16B is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a received mail list screen. FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating an example of a mail transmission screen (when newly created), and FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating an example of a mail transmission screen (when replying). It is a figure which shows an example of an approval list screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an approval screen. It is a figure which shows another example of an approval screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the approval screen at the time of deleting a destination address. It is a figure which shows an example of the approval screen when the "destination addition" button is pushed. It is a figure which shows an example of the approval screen at the time of adding a destination address. It is a figure which shows approval DB when the approval process accompanied by a destination change is performed. It is a figure which shows approval DB when the approval process accompanied by a text correction is performed. It is a figure which shows mail DB after an approval process. It is a figure which shows an example of the mail display screen of the approved mail. It is a figure which shows an example of an approval result list screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an approval result confirmation screen.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic mail system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 schematically shows an e-mail system 100 according to an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic mail system 100 of this embodiment includes a server 10 as a mail processing device, and a client 20 as a first terminal and a second terminal. The server 10 and the client 20 are connected to a network 80 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). The e-mail system 100 enables the exchange of e-mails between the clients 20 by the user performing input and operation on the WEB mail screen (provided from the server 10) displayed on the browser in the client 20. System. In the present embodiment, when a user of a client 20 transmits an e-mail to a user of another client, the e-mail is checked by a predetermined approver (such as a boss). To do. Then, it is assumed that the e-mail is transmitted to the transmission destination only when the e-mail transmission is approved by the approver. In the following, electronic mail is abbreviated as “mail”.

  FIG. 2A shows the hardware configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG. 2A, the server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 90, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 92, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 94, and a storage unit (here, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive)). 96, a network interface 97, a portable storage medium drive 99, and the like. Each component of the server 10 is connected to a bus 98. In the server 10, the CPU 90 executes a program (including a mail processing program) stored in the ROM 92 or the HDD 96 or a program (including a mail processing program) read from the portable storage medium 91 by the portable storage medium drive 99. Thus, the function as the mail processing unit 40 shown in FIG. 3 is realized. The mail processing unit 40 executes various processes related to mail transmission / reception and approval processing. 3 also shows a user authentication DB (database) 30, a mail DB 32, an approval DB 34 as a storage unit, and a reply management DB 36 stored in the HDD 96 of the server 10. The specific data structure of each DB 30 to 36 will be described later.

  FIG. 2B shows the hardware configuration of the client 20. As shown in FIG. 2B, the client 20 includes a CPU 190, a ROM 192, a RAM 194, a storage unit (HDD) 196, a display unit 193, an input unit 195, a network interface 197, and a portable storage medium drive 199. Each component of the client 20 is connected to the bus 198. The display unit 193 includes a liquid crystal display and the like, and the input unit 195 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like. In the client 20, the functions as the display processing unit 50 and the input processing unit 52 illustrated in FIG. 3 are realized by the CPU 190 executing the program. In response to an instruction from the mail processing unit 40 of the server 10, the display processing unit 50 displays a screen related to mail creation, transmission / reception, or a screen related to mail approval on the display unit 193 of the client 20. The input processing unit 52 receives information input by the user of the client 20 via the input unit 195 and transmits the information to the mail processing unit 40 of the server 10.

  Here, various DBs included in the server 10 will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the user authentication DB 30. The user authentication DB 30 is a database that stores information used for authentication when a user logs in and information on an approver previously associated with the user. As shown in FIG. 4, the user authentication DB 30 includes a “user address (user ID)”, a “password” corresponding to the user ID, a “user name”, a “department name”, and a user. Each field of an approver address (“approver address”) and “approver name” associated in advance. For example, FIG. 4 shows that the approver “Kuroda” is defined for the users “Tanaka”, “Sato”, and “Suzuki”.

  5 and 6 show an example of the data structure of the mail DB 32. FIG. The mail DB 32 is a database that stores information on mails transmitted and received between the clients 20, and is prepared for each user. 5 is a mail DB corresponding to the user “Kuroda”, and a mail DB 32 in FIG. 6 is a mail DB corresponding to the user “Tanaka”.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the mail DB 32 includes “user ID”, “transmission / reception”, “message ID”, “sender address (user address)”, “destination”, “latest approval request date / time”. "," Date and time of transmission (approval date and time) ", and" Mail information (subject, text) ".

  In the “user ID” field, the user ID of the user who sent or received the mail is input. Information on whether the mail is transmitted or received by the user corresponding to the user ID is entered in the “receive / transmit” field. In the “message ID” field, a unique ID defined for each mail is input. In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the character string is easy to be associated with the mail, but actually, it is a character string in which alphanumeric characters are arranged meaninglessly. In the “sender address (user address)” field, the mail address of the mail sender is entered. If the “transmission / reception” field is “transmission”, the user ID is input as the sender address. In the “destination” field, the mail address of the mail address is entered. When the “transmission / reception” field is “reception”, the user ID is included in the destination. In the “Latest Approval Request Date” field, the date and time when the sender of the email sent an approval request to the approver to send the email (if the approval request was issued multiple times, the latest approval request Date) is entered. “Sent date / time (approval date / time)” is the date / time when the mail is transmitted to the transmission destination, and the date / time approved by the approver is input in the case of the mail that needs to be approved. In the “mail information (subject, body)” field, the subject of the mail and the body itself are entered. In this embodiment, the mail DB 32 is created and managed for each user. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to manage sent / received mail information of a plurality of users with one mail DB. Good.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the approval DB 34. The approval DB 34 is a database for storing mail information, approval results, and the like when a mail approval request is issued. Note that the approval DB 34 is prepared for each approver (FIG. 7 shows the approval DB 34 of the approver “Kuroda”). The approval DB 34 includes “approval ID”, “message ID”, “approval result”, “sender address (user address)”, “destination”, “corrected destination”, “approval request date / time”, “comment”, Each field includes “email information (subject, text, corrected text)”.

  In the “approval ID” field, a unique ID defined for each approval request is input. In addition, although the information on the approval request for the same mail is stored in the first line from the bottom and the second line from the bottom in FIG. 7, the approval ID is an ID defined for each approval request. The approval ID is different. In the “message ID” field, a unique ID defined for each mail is input. In the “approval result” field, whether it has been approved by the approver or whether it has been approved or not is entered. In FIG. 7, any one of “Approval requesting”, “Transmission (approval)”, and “Return (unapproved)” is entered in the “approval result” field. In the “sender address (user address)” field, the mail address of the mail sender is entered. In the “destination” field, the mail address of the mail address is entered. In the “corrected destination” field, the corrected destination information when the approver corrects the destination is input. In the “approval request date and time” field, the date and time when the mail sender sends an approval request to the approver to send the mail is input. In the “comment” field, a comment at the time of approval by the approver is input. In the field of “mail information (subject, text, corrected text)”, the mail subject, text, and the corrected text itself when the approver corrects are input.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the reply management DB 36. The reply management DB 36 is a database that stores reply mail information (current article information) and reply source mail information (original article information) when a reply mail is transmitted. As shown in FIG. 8, the reply management DB 36 includes “current article information” and “original article information”, and has “message ID” and “sender address” fields as “current article information”. As “original article information”, there are fields of “message ID” and “sender address”.

  According to this reply management DB 36, it can be understood to which mail a certain reply mail is a reply. In addition, when mail (reply mail) is exchanged multiple times for the same topic, it is possible to trace back the mail exchanged multiple times (mail associated with the same topic). .

  Next, the processing of the mail processing unit 40 in the present embodiment will be described in detail along the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 14 with reference to other drawings as appropriate.

  In the process of FIG. 9, first, in step S <b> 10, the mail processing unit 40 stands by until a mail use request is received from the client 20. The user of the client 20 can issue a mail use request by accessing the address of the WEB mail service on the browser displayed on the display unit 193 of the client 20. The mail use request is transmitted from the input processing unit 52 of the client 20.

  When the mail processing unit 40 receives the mail use request transmitted from the input processing unit 52 (when the determination in step S10 is affirmed), the mail processing unit 40 proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the user ID (mail address) and password entry screen data to the client 20 (display processing unit 50). In this case, the user ID and password input screen is a screen as shown in FIG. In the client 20, the display processing unit 50 displays a user ID / password input screen on the display unit 193.

  Next, in step S <b> 14, the mail processing unit 40 stands by until a user ID and password are received from the client 20. When the user inputs the user ID and password on the screen of FIG. 15A and presses the send button, the input processing unit 52 transmits the user ID and password to the mail processing unit 40.

  When the user ID and password are transmitted from the input processing unit 52 to the mail processing unit 40 (when the determination in step S14 is affirmed), the process proceeds to step S16. In step S <b> 16, the mail processing unit 40 performs user authentication using the user authentication DB 30 (FIG. 4). Next, in step S18, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the authentication is OK. If the determination here is negative, all the processes in FIGS. 9 to 14 are terminated. Note that the mail processing unit 40 may transmit the data of the authentication error screen (FIG. 15B) to the client 20 (display processing unit 50) before completing all the processes. In this case, the display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 15B on the display unit 193.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S18 is affirmative, that is, if the authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S20. In step S <b> 20, the mail processing unit 40 generates data of a received mail list screen corresponding to the input user ID using the mail DB 32 (FIGS. 5 and 6) and transmits the data to the client 20. It is assumed that the received mail list screen in this case is a screen as shown in FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b). Specifically, from the mail DB corresponding to the entered user ID, mail information that is “received” is acquired and sent, and the mail list screen is displayed using the sender address, the sending date and time, and the subject of the mail information. Is generated. In FIG. 16, the sender address is described as the sender at that time. 16A corresponds to the mail DB 32 in FIG. 5 (when the user is “Kuroda”), and the received mail list screen in FIG. 16B corresponds to the mail DB 32 in FIG. (When the user is “Tanaka”). The display processing unit 50 of the client 20 displays the mail display screen of FIG. 16A or FIG. 16B on the display unit 193 when the screen data is received. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S30 in FIG.

  When the process proceeds to step S30 in FIG. 10, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether a mail creation request (new creation, reply) has been received from the client 20. In this case, the mail processing unit 40 inputs information that the “new mail creation” button or the “mail reply” button on the mail display screen in FIGS. 16A and 16B is pressed by the user. It is determined whether it has been received from the processing unit 52. If the determination here is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S32. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S40.

  When the determination in step S30 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S32, the mail processing unit 40 creates a mail transmission screen and transmits it to the client 20. Here, when the “new mail creation” button is pressed by the user, the mail processing unit 40 creates the mail transmission screen (at the time of new creation) of FIG. 17A and displays the client 20 (display processing unit). 50). Further, when the “mail reply” button is pressed by the user, the mail processing unit 40 creates a mail transmission screen (when replying) in FIG. 17B and displays it on the client 20 (display processing unit 50). Send to. In the mail transmission screen (when replying) in FIG. 17B, an address (address of a user other than the user who is going to send mail among the senders and senders of the reply source mail) is displayed in the address and subject fields. And the subject (with “Re:” added to the beginning of the subject of the reply email) is entered, and the body of the reply email is entered in quote form on the article entry screen. Note that mail reply is performed, for example, when a “Reply” button is pressed after a subject is selected with a single click of a pointing device such as a mouse from the received mail list screen as shown in FIG. . Specifically, a message ID corresponding to the selected mail and information indicating a reply are transmitted to the mail processing unit 40 of the server 10. In that case, using the message ID of the selected mail, the mail information (subject, body, etc.) is acquired from the reception column of the mail DB 32, Re: is added to the subject, and a quotation mark is added to the body. By doing so, a mail transmission screen at the time of reply is generated. Although not shown, even if the subject is displayed on the received mail list screen of FIG. 16 by double-clicking the pointing device or the like, and the “reply” button is pressed after that, FIG. ) Screen is displayed.

  Next, in step S34, the mail processing unit 40 waits until it receives mail information such as a text and a transmission (approval) request from the client 20. When the user presses a “send (approval request)” button by inputting / correcting the address, subject, and mail text on the screens of FIGS. 17A and 17B, the input processing unit 52 transmits the information input on the screen to the mail processing unit 40.

  When information such as a mail text is transmitted from the input processing unit 52 to the mail processing unit 40 (when the determination in step S34 is affirmed), the process proceeds to step S36. In step S <b> 36, the mail processing unit 40 acquires the address of the approver corresponding to the mail sender from the user authentication DB 30. Next, in step S38, the mail processing unit 40 records the mail information in the approval DB 34 (FIG. 7) corresponding to the approver's address. In this case, the mail processing unit 40 inputs “in approval request” in the field of the approval DB 34 “approval result” (for example, refer to the uppermost record in FIG. 7). If the mail to be approved is a reply mail for a certain mail, the mail processing unit 40, in step S38, the message ID and sender address information of the mail, the message ID of the reply-source mail, Information on the sender address is stored in the reply management DB 36.

  Next, in step S <b> 40, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether an approval processing request has been received from the client 20. In this case, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether information indicating that the “approval processing” button on the received mail list screen (see FIG. 16A) has been pressed by the user is received from the input processing unit 52. To do. If the determination here is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S42. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S110 in FIG. In the received mail list screens shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the “approval processing” button is displayed only when an “approval requesting” mail exists in the approval DB 34 shown in FIG. It shall be displayed.

  In step S42, the mail processing unit 40 acquires unapproved “approved” mail information from the approval DB 34 corresponding to the user ID, and creates an approval list screen. FIG. 18 shows an example of an approval list screen created based on the approval DB 34 of FIG.

  Next, in step S44, the mail processing unit 40 waits until an approver selects a mail on the approval list screen. Note that the user (approver) uses the input unit 195 to select an email to be approved on the screen of FIG. Then, the input processing unit 52 transmits mail selection information to the mail processing unit 40. When a mail is selected as described above, the mail processing unit 40 proceeds to step S50 in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the approver selects the mail (message ID: system5@xxx.ww) of the subject “about XX system” in FIG.

  When the process proceeds to step S50 in FIG. 11, the mail processing unit 40 acquires information on the selected mail from the approval DB 34. Next, in step S52, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the message ID of the acquired mail is included in the message ID column of the current article information in the reply management DB 36. That is, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether the selected mail is a reply mail for a certain mail. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S66. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step S54. Since the message ID: system5@xxx.ww does not exist in the reply management DB 36 of FIG. 8, the determination here is denied and the process proceeds to step S66.

  In step S66, the mail processing unit 40 creates an approval screen in which a destination update button (“add destination” button and “delete” button) is provided at the current destination address. In step S62, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the data on the approval screen (FIG. 19) to the client 20 (display processing unit 50) used by the approver. In this case, the display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 19 on the display unit 193. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S70 in FIG.

  If the message ID of the email corresponding to the approval request (address of the approval requester: tanaka@xxx.ww) is “system6@xxx.ww”, the following processing is performed in the processing of FIG. Is executed.

  First, in the process of step S52, since the message ID: system6@xxx.ww is included in the current article information of the reply management DB 36 (FIG. 8), the determination here is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, the mail processing unit 40 acquires the message ID of the corresponding return source information. Since the message ID of the current article information is “system6@xxx.ww”, “system4@xxx.ww” is acquired as the message ID of the corresponding reply source information.

  Next, in step S56, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the sender of the message ID of the reply source information is the same as the user address (address of the requester of approval). In this case, since the sender address of the message ID “system4@xxx.ww” of the reply source information is “satou@xxx.ww”, which is different from the address “tanaka@xxx.ww” of the approval requester, in step S56 Judgment is denied and it transfers to step S64. In step S64, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the message ID of the reply source information is included in the message ID column of the current article information in the reply management DB 36. Since message ID: system4@xxx.ww is included in the current article information of the reply management DB 36 of FIG. 8, the determination here is affirmed and the process returns to step S54.

  Returning to step S54, the mail processing unit 40 acquires the message ID of the corresponding reply source information. When the current article information is message ID: system4@xxx.ww, “system3@xxx.ww” is acquired as the message ID of the corresponding reply source information. Next, in step S56, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the sender of the message ID of the reply source information is the same as the user address (address of the requester of approval). In the case of message ID: system3@xxx.ww, the sender address is “kuroda@xxx.ww”, which is different from the address “tanaka@xxx.ww” of the approval requester, so the determination in step S56 is denied. Then, the process proceeds to step S64 again. In step S64, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the message ID of the reply source information is included in the message ID column of the current article information in the reply management DB 36. Note that the message ID: system3@xxx.ww is included in the message ID of the current article information in the reply management DB 36, the determination here is affirmed, and the process returns to step S54.

  Returning to step S54, the mail processing unit 40 acquires the message ID of the corresponding reply source information again. When the current article information is message ID: system3@xxx.ww, “system2@xxx.ww” is acquired as the message ID of the corresponding reply source information.

  Next, in step S56, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the sender of the message ID of the reply source information is the same as the user address (address of the requester of approval). In the case of the message ID: system2@xxx.ww, the sender address is “tanaka@xxx.ww”, which is the same as the approval requester address “tanaka@xxx.ww”. The result is affirmative, and the routine goes to Step S58.

  In the loop of step S54 → S56 (negative) → S64 (positive) → S54 →..., When the approval requester searches for the email sent immediately before from the reply source email linked to the approval request email. I can say that. That is, when such a mail exists, the process proceeds to step S58.

  In step S58, the mail processing unit 40 acquires a destination address corresponding to the message ID of the reply source information from the mail DB 32. In the case of message ID: system2@xxx.ww, the destination addresses “satou@xxx.ww” and “kuroda@xxx.ww” are acquired from the mail DB 32 (FIG. 6) of the approval requester “tanaka@xxx.ww”. .

  Next, in step S60, the mail processing unit 40 displays an approval screen (FIG. 20) in which the acquired destination address information and a destination update button (“add destination” button and “delete” button) are provided for the current destination address. create. Note that the acquired destination address information is displayed in FIG. 20 as “the destination of the mail just before sent from Mr. Tanaka among related mails”. In step S62, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the data on the approval screen to the client 20 (display processing unit 50) used by the approver. In this case, the display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 20 on the display unit 193. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S70 in FIG. In addition, the approver can compare the destination when the approval requester previously sent an email related to the same topic with the current address by referring to the approval screen of FIG. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately support the approval process by the approver.

  By the way, if the determination in step S64 is negative, that is, if there is no mail sent immediately before by the approval requester in the reply source mail associated with the approval request mail, the process proceeds to step S66. Transition. When the process proceeds to step S66, the mail processing unit 40 creates the approval screen shown in FIG. 20 (without the display of the previous mail destination) as described above, and in step S62, the approver uses the created approval screen data. It transmits to the client 20 (display processing part 50) to utilize. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S70 in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the description will be continued assuming that the approval screen of FIG. 19 is transmitted to the client 20 used by the approver in step S62.

  In step S <b> 70 of FIG. 12, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether a destination deletion request is received from the client 20. If the determination here is negative, the process moves to step S74, and the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not a destination addition request has been received from the client 20. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S82, and the mail processing unit 40 determines whether an approval result has been received. When judgment here is denied, it returns to step S70. While this step S70 → S74 → S82 → S70... Loop is being executed, the mail processing unit 40 performs “deletion”, “add destination”, “transmission (approval)” on the screen of FIG. , It can be said that it waits until either the “change transmission” or “reject” button is pressed.

  When the “delete” button corresponding to any destination address is pressed by the approver while the mail processing unit 40 executes the loop (S70, S74, S82), the determination in step S70 is affirmed, Control goes to step S72.

  In step S72, the mail processing unit 40 creates an approval screen (FIG. 21) in which the address (deletion address) for which the “delete” button is pressed is shaded. The mail processing unit 40 transmits the created screen data to the client 20 (display processing unit 50) used by the approver. FIG. 21 shows an example of an approval screen when the approver presses the “delete” button corresponding to the address of “trademark department Yamamoto”. The display processing unit 50 displays the screen on the display unit 193 when the screen data of FIG. 21 is received. As a result, the approver can continue the approval work after confirming the deleted address.

  On the other hand, if the “add destination” button is pressed by the approver while repeating the loop (S70, S74, S82), the determination in step S74 is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step S76.

  If transfering it to step S76, the mail process part 40 will produce the list screen (screen 150 of FIG. 22) of the address which is not contained in the present destination using user authentication DB30. The mail processing unit 40 transmits the created screen data to the client 20 (display processing unit 50) used by the approver. In this case, the display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 22 on the display unit 193. The approver can select an address to be added by checking the “Select” column for the address to be added on the list screen 150 in FIG. 22 and pressing the “Add” button.

  Next, in step S78, the mail processing unit 40 stands by until receiving an address selection from the client 20 (input processing unit 52) used by the approver. The mail processing unit 40 proceeds to Step S80 when receiving the address selection information from the client 20. In step S80, the mail processing unit 40 creates an approval screen (FIG. 23) additionally displaying the selected address, and transmits data on the screen to the client 20 used by the approver. FIG. 23 shows an example of an approval screen when the approver adds the address of “license part Yamada”. The display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 23 on the display unit 193 when the screen data is received. Thereby, the approver can confirm the added address and continue the approval work.

  By the way, if the approver pushes one of the “Send (Approve)”, “Change Send”, and “Reject” buttons while repeating the loop (S70, S74, S82), the determination in Step S82 is made. The determination is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S90 in FIG. It is assumed that the approver presses the “change transmission” button when approving the transmission of the mail reflecting the contents after adding / deleting the address and correcting the mail text. In addition, the approver presses a “send (approval)” button when approving without changing the address and text of the email requested by the approval requester. Further, when the approver presses the “change transmission” button or the “reject” button, the reason or the like can be entered in the comment field of the approval screen.

  In step S90 of FIG. 13, the mail processing unit 40 records the approval result in the approval DB 34. When the approval result is rejected or the destination is changed, any comment input by the approver is recorded in the “comment” field of the approval DB 34. When the destination is corrected by the approver, the corrected destination is recorded in the “corrected destination” field of the approval DB 34. When the approver presses the “change transmission” button in the state shown in FIG. 23, the approval DB 34 is changed from the state shown in FIG. 7 to the state shown in FIG. The “Approval Result” field remains “Requesting Approval”).

  Next, in step S92, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether or not the approval result is OK, that is, whether or not the approver has pressed either the “Send (Approve)” button or the “Change Send” button. . When judgment here is affirmed, it transfers to step S94.

  In step S94, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether the approver has pressed the “change transmission” button. If the determination here is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S95, and if the mail text has been changed (corrected), the mail processing unit 40 changes the field after the change to the “corrected text” field of the approval DB 34. Record the email text. FIG. 25 shows an example of the approval DB 34 when the mail text is changed (corrected) (however, the “approval result” field remains “requesting approval”).

  Next, in step S96, the mail processing unit 40 stores the information of the approved mail together with the corrected destination and / or the mail text in the mail DB 32 (transmission category) of the approval requester. FIG. 26 shows a state in which new mail information (mail information of message ID: system5@xxx.ww) is stored (added) in the mail DB 32 of FIG.

  In step S98, the mail processing unit 40 stores the information of the mail approved by the approver in the corrected mail DB 32 (reception category). Note that the mail is transmitted from the approval requester to the destination by performing the process of step S98. Therefore, when the user who has received the mail selects the mail stored in the mail DB 32 on the received mail list screen (FIG. 16A, etc.), on the display unit 193 of the client 20, FIG. A mail display screen as shown is displayed. Thereafter, the mail processing unit 40 proceeds to step S100, changes the “approval result” field of the approval DB 34 to “send (approval)”, and records the comment in the comment column of the approval DB 34. And it transfers to step S110 of FIG.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S94 of FIG. 13 is negative, that is, if the approver has pressed the “approve (send)” button, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the mail processing unit 40 stores the information of the mail approved by the approver in the mail DB 32 (transmission category) of the approval requester. In step S104, the mail processing unit 40 stores the information of the mail approved by the approver in the destination mail DB 32 (reception category). In step S104, the mail is transmitted from the approval requester to the destination.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S92 of FIG. 13 is negative, that is, if the approval result is NG (rejected), the process proceeds to step S106, and the mail processing unit 40 determines “approval result” in the approval DB 34. Change the field to Send Back. If there is a comment, it is recorded in the comment column of the approval DB 34. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110 in FIG. As described above, if the determination in step S40 in FIG. 10 is negative, that is, if the user has not issued an approval processing request, the process proceeds to step S110 in FIG.

  In step S110 of FIG. 14, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether an approval result display request has been received from the client 20. In this case, the mail processing unit 40 receives information from the input processing unit 52 that the “browsing approval request status” button on the received mail list screen in FIGS. 16A and 16B has been pressed by the user. Determine whether or not. If the determination here is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S112. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S124.

  If the determination in step S110 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S112, the mail processing unit 40 determines the address of the approver of the user who has issued the approval result display request (the user who has pressed the “browsing approval request status” button) Obtained from the user authentication DB 30.

  Next, in step S114, the mail processing unit 40 acquires the approval result and the mail subject from which the user is the sender from the approval DB 34 of the approver, and creates an approval result list screen. The approval result list screen is a screen as shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S116, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the data of the approval result list screen (FIG. 27) to the client 20 (display processing unit 50). The display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 28 on the display unit 193 after receiving the data.

  Next, in step S118, the mail processing unit 40 waits until one mail is selected from the approval result list screen. In this case, when mail is selected, the process proceeds to step S120. In step S120, the mail processing unit 40 creates an approval result confirmation screen (FIG. 29) using the mail information in the approval DB 34. In this case, when information is recorded in each field of “corrected destination”, “comment”, and “corrected text” of the approval DB 34, the mail processing unit 40 reflects the information on the approval result confirmation screen. Shall be allowed to. In the next step S122, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the data of the approval result confirmation screen to the client 20 (display processing unit 50). The display processing unit 50 displays the screen of FIG. 29 on the display unit 193 after receiving the data.

  After the process of step S122 or when the determination of step S110 is denied and the process proceeds to step S124, the mail processing unit 40 determines whether a logout request has been received. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step S30 in FIG. 10 and the processing and determination after step S30 are repeated. If the determination in step S124 is affirmative, that is, the mail processing unit 40 has received information from the input processing unit 52 that the user has pressed the “logout” button on the screen of FIG. In this case, all the processes in FIGS.

  9 to 14, after user authentication, the determinations of steps S30, S40, S110, and S124 are repeated unless requested by the user. When a mail creation request is issued from the user, the mail processing unit 40 executes steps S32 to S38. When an approval process request is issued from the user, the mail processing unit 40 performs step S42. ~ S110 is executed. Further, when an approval result display request is issued from the user, the mail processing unit 40 executes steps S112 to S122. When a logout request is issued from the user, the mail processing unit 40 ˜All processes in FIG. 14 are finished.

  As can be seen from the above description, the mail processing unit 40 of the server 10 realizes a function as a first transmission unit that transmits an email corresponding to the approval request to the client 20 of the approver. Further, when the mail processing unit 40 receives a change in the mail address from the approver client 20, the information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the client 20 of the approval requester, and the mail is sent. A function as a second transmission unit that transmits to the destination after the change is realized.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when the mail processing unit 40 of the server 10 receives a mail approval request from the client 20 of the approval requester to the client 20 of the approver, the mail processing unit 40 The mail information is stored in the approval DB 34 (S38), and an email (approval screen) corresponding to the approval request is transmitted to the approver's client 20 (S62). When the mail processing unit 40 receives a change (addition / deletion) of a mail destination from the client 20 of the approver, the mail processing unit 40 makes the information indicating that the destination has been changed to be viewable on the client 20 of the approval requester. (The corrected address and comment are stored in the approval DB 34) (S90), and the mail is transmitted to the changed address (S98). Thereby, in this embodiment, even if it is necessary to change the address of the email corresponding to the approval request, it is returned to the approval requester, and after the approval requester changes the address, the approval process is performed again. Communication between the approver and the approval requester can be omitted. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to simplify the mail approval work.

  In the present embodiment, the mail processing unit 40 approves the mail body information after the change when the mail body change is received together with the mail address change corresponding to the approval request from the approver client 20. The client 20 of the client is made in a state where it can be browsed (the corrected text is stored in the approval DB 34) (S95), and the changed mail text is transmitted to the changed destination (S98). As a result, in this embodiment, even if it is necessary to change the body text of the email corresponding to the approval request (for example, a change in part of the email text based on the change of the address), it is returned to the approval requester and approved. After the requester changes the address, the approver can correct the text and send an e-mail to the changed address without performing a complicated process of performing the approval process again. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to simplify the mail approval work also from this point.

  In the present embodiment, when the mail corresponding to the approval request is a reply mail, the mail processing unit 40 transmits the reply requester immediately before the reply source mail associated with the mail corresponding to the approval request. The identified mail is identified (S54, S56 (Yes)), and the identified mail information is transmitted to the client 20 of the approver (S60). As a result, in this embodiment, the approver can perform the approval work by comparing the address of the mail that the requester of the approval is trying to send with the address of the mail that has already been sent. It can be simplified.

  In the above-described embodiment, the mail processing unit 40 identifies the mail sent by the approval requester immediately before the reply source mail associated with the mail corresponding to the approval request, and sets the destination of the mail on the approval screen. I decided to display it. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mail processing unit 40 transmits information on the sender / receiver (excluding the approval requester) of the reply mail of the mail corresponding to the approval request to the client 20 of the approver. It is good to do. In addition, the mail processing unit 40 may transmit information of any sender / receiver (excluding the requester of the approval) of the reply mail associated with the mail corresponding to the approval request to the client 20 of the approver. .

  In the above embodiment, the mail processing unit 40 has been described with respect to the case where the approval screen as illustrated in FIG. 20 is generated by performing the processes of steps S54 to S64. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mail processing unit 40 may omit steps S54 to S64 and generate an approval screen as shown in FIG. 19 in any case. In this case, the reply management DB 36 in FIG. 3 may be omitted.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the approver can correct the mail text on the approval screen has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the approver may be able to correct only the destination. In the above embodiment, the mail processing unit 40 on the server 10 side generates various screens and transmits them to the client 20. However, the information for screen generation is transmitted to the client 20, and the client 20 A screen may be generated and displayed using information.

  The above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In that case, a program describing the processing contents of the functions that the processing apparatus should have is provided. By executing the program on a computer, the above processing functions are realized on the computer. The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (except for a carrier wave).

  When the program is distributed, for example, it is sold in the form of a portable recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) on which the program is recorded. It is also possible to store the program in a storage device of a server computer and transfer the program from the server computer to another computer via a network.

  The computer that executes the program stores, for example, the program recorded on the portable recording medium or the program transferred from the server computer in its own storage device. Then, the computer reads the program from its own storage device and executes processing according to the program. The computer can also read the program directly from the portable recording medium and execute processing according to the program. Further, each time the program is transferred from the server computer, the computer can sequentially execute processing according to the received program.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the following additional remarks are disclosed regarding description of the above embodiment.
(Supplementary note 1) When there is a mail approval request from the first terminal to the second terminal, the mail information is stored in the storage unit,
An email corresponding to the approval request is sent to the second terminal,
When the change of the mail address is received from the second terminal, information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. A mail processing program for causing a computer to execute processing.
(Supplementary Note 2) In the process of transmitting the mail to the changed address, when the change of the mail text is received together with the change of the mail address from the second terminal, the fact that the mail text is changed The mail processing program according to claim 1, wherein the information is made in a state that can be browsed on the first terminal, and the text of the changed mail is transmitted to the changed destination.
(Additional remark 3) When the mail corresponding to the said approval request is a mail relevant to a certain mail, let the said computer further perform the process which acquires the information of the address of the said related mail,
The mail processing program according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein in the process of transmitting a mail corresponding to the approval request, information on the destination of the related mail is transmitted to the second terminal.
(Additional remark 4) The said related mail is a mail transmitted from the said 1st terminal among the mail linked | related as a reply origin with the mail corresponding to the said approval request, The mail process of Additional remark 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. program.
(Supplementary Note 5) When there is a mail approval request from the first terminal to the second terminal, a storage unit that stores the mail information;
A first transmitter that transmits an email corresponding to the approval request to the second terminal;
When the change of the mail address is received from the second terminal, the information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. A mail processing apparatus.
(Additional remark 6) When the said 2nd transmission part receives the change of the text of the said mail with the change of the said mail destination from the said 2nd terminal, the information to the effect of having changed the text of the said mail is said 1st 6. The mail processing apparatus according to appendix 5, wherein the mail processing apparatus is in a state in which it can be viewed on a terminal, and the text of the changed mail is transmitted to the changed destination.
(Additional remark 7) When the mail corresponding to the said approval request is a mail relevant to a certain mail, it further has an acquisition part which acquires the information of the address of the said related mail,
The mail processing apparatus according to appendix 5 or 6, wherein the first transmission unit transmits information on a destination of the related mail to the second terminal.
(Additional remark 8) The said related mail is a mail transmitted from the said 1st terminal among the mail linked | related as a reply origin with the mail corresponding to the said approval request, The mail process of Additional remark 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. apparatus.
(Supplementary Note 9) When there is a mail approval request from the first terminal to the second terminal, storing the mail information in the storage unit;
Sending an email corresponding to the approval request to the second terminal;
When receiving a change in the mail address from the second terminal, the information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. And a mail processing method characterized in that the computer executes.
(Supplementary Note 10) In the step of transmitting the mail to the changed address, when the change of the mail text is received together with the change of the mail address from the second terminal, the fact that the mail text is changed The mail processing method according to appendix 9, wherein the information is made in a state that can be browsed on the first terminal, and the text of the changed mail is transmitted to the changed destination.
(Additional remark 11) When the mail corresponding to the said approval request is a mail relevant to a certain mail, the said computer further performs the process of acquiring the information of the address of the said related mail,
11. The mail processing method according to appendix 9 or 10, wherein in the step of transmitting a mail corresponding to the approval request, information on the destination of the related mail is transmitted to the second terminal.
(Additional remark 12) The said related mail is a mail transmitted from the said 1st terminal among the mail linked | related as a reply origin with the mail corresponding to the said approval request, The mail process of Additional remark 11 characterized by the above-mentioned. Method.

10 server (mail processing device)
20 clients (first terminal, second terminal)
34 Approval DB (storage)
40 Mail processing unit (first transmission unit, second transmission unit)

Claims (6)

When there is a mail approval request from the first terminal to the second terminal, the mail information is stored in the storage unit,
An email corresponding to the approval request is sent to the second terminal,
When the change of the mail address is received from the second terminal, information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. A mail processing program for causing a computer to execute processing.   In the process of sending the mail to the changed address, when the change of the mail text is received together with the change of the mail address from the second terminal, information indicating that the text of the mail has been changed is received. 2. The mail processing program according to claim 1, wherein the mail processing program is in a state in which it can be viewed on the first terminal, and the text of the changed mail is transmitted to the changed destination. When the mail corresponding to the approval request is a mail related to a certain mail, the computer is further caused to execute a process of acquiring information on a destination of the related mail,
3. The mail processing program according to claim 1, wherein in the process of transmitting a mail corresponding to the approval request, information on the destination of the related mail is transmitted to the second terminal.   4. The mail processing program according to claim 3, wherein the related mail is a mail transmitted from the first terminal among mails associated with the mail corresponding to the approval request as a reply source. A storage unit that stores the mail information when an email approval request is received from the first terminal to the second terminal;
A first transmitter that transmits an email corresponding to the approval request to the second terminal;
When the change of the mail address is received from the second terminal, the information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. A mail processing apparatus. A step of storing the mail information in a storage unit when an approval request for the mail is made from the first terminal to the second terminal;
Sending an email corresponding to the approval request to the second terminal;
When receiving a change in the mail address from the second terminal, the information indicating that the address has been changed is made viewable on the first terminal, and the mail is transmitted to the changed address. And a mail processing method characterized in that the computer executes.

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